In the Al'Pascia Shipping thread, I mentioned that the pipe shipped Monday, and it arrived this morning at 9:45... I kid you not! 8O Wicked fast shipping from Italy to Texas. I think they win the International Pipe Shipping Championship Of The World. It's not really a thing, but it should be a thing.
Anyway, I just finished the first smoke with a bowl of Kramer's BFCG (Blend for Cary Grant) and it performed quite well. I did have a few relights, but I can live with that, especially with a brand new pipe. And I did baby it a bit more than normal with my briars. I believe I recall hearing about olivewoods sometimes getting a bit hot, but this one never went beyond a comfortable warm. Granted, the bowl is very thick, and I'm sure that contributed to that in no small part. First half of the bowl, the latakia present in the blend seemed more pronounced than in my Sav 320 or William Anderson Egg that I've been smoking the blend out of mainly. It also seems there was an underlying sweetness... perhaps the olivewood? About mid-bowl the sweetness of the blend came through in a big way as the latakia faded a bit more into the background. The end of the bowl, the ash was a bit darker than in the other pipes, and there was a bit of dottle, a little on the wet side, explaining the darker ash I believe. So on it's first go, it smoked a bit wet compared to the briars, but not so much as to cause gurgle or stem soup (yuck). I'm quite pleased, actually, and I feel like it's only going to improve as it gets smoked more often.
Other notes: It's a bit heavy, as there is a lot of wood especially in the bowl, so clenching is out of the question.... not that I clench often anyway. The size and shape of the bowl lends to a wonderfully comfortable feel in hand, it's a joy to look at it... beautiful shape and grain, and the silver duck on the stem (called the goose by L'Anatra, although L'Anatra means "the duck") is quite fun.
I'll rest it tomorrow and have another smoke the following day if time allows. Quite pleased :D
Anyway, I just finished the first smoke with a bowl of Kramer's BFCG (Blend for Cary Grant) and it performed quite well. I did have a few relights, but I can live with that, especially with a brand new pipe. And I did baby it a bit more than normal with my briars. I believe I recall hearing about olivewoods sometimes getting a bit hot, but this one never went beyond a comfortable warm. Granted, the bowl is very thick, and I'm sure that contributed to that in no small part. First half of the bowl, the latakia present in the blend seemed more pronounced than in my Sav 320 or William Anderson Egg that I've been smoking the blend out of mainly. It also seems there was an underlying sweetness... perhaps the olivewood? About mid-bowl the sweetness of the blend came through in a big way as the latakia faded a bit more into the background. The end of the bowl, the ash was a bit darker than in the other pipes, and there was a bit of dottle, a little on the wet side, explaining the darker ash I believe. So on it's first go, it smoked a bit wet compared to the briars, but not so much as to cause gurgle or stem soup (yuck). I'm quite pleased, actually, and I feel like it's only going to improve as it gets smoked more often.
Other notes: It's a bit heavy, as there is a lot of wood especially in the bowl, so clenching is out of the question.... not that I clench often anyway. The size and shape of the bowl lends to a wonderfully comfortable feel in hand, it's a joy to look at it... beautiful shape and grain, and the silver duck on the stem (called the goose by L'Anatra, although L'Anatra means "the duck") is quite fun.
I'll rest it tomorrow and have another smoke the following day if time allows. Quite pleased :D
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