My Favorite Tamper

[bluegrassbrian]

I've long been a fan of the older model Vauen telescopic tamper.
It's out of production now, but if you're lucky, you may find one buried at a brick n mortar.

For me, they're just the right size and I LOVE that the pick is a friction fit instead of screw-in.

My good pal Jim (Lazarus Eatates) picked another one up for me while he was in St Louis!
So, what's your favorite tamper?

 

[dottlejockey]

Looks like it'd do the trick. I have a few...



My favorite (1st on the left) is one i made from a Doug Fir twig in the back yard of a rental property i own in Tacoma. I made it probably 15 years ago, before i built the house i'm in now, while i still lived there. The second one is a Davorin Denovic morta which he generously gave me with the freehand i bought years ago. The third is made from agate - ebay buy. The lighter tamper combo i never use. The last one i use regularly for poking and scraping out bowls. But, of course, the home made one is with me always. I set a BB at the top and a ground down penny at the bottom (color coordination). If i took the time to rinse it off you could see the Lincoln head under the ash there.

 

[tbradsim1]

Son made this one for me!

 

[OzPiper]

I have several custom ones, but my favourite ?

This.


Cheap enough to buy by the dozen. And cheap enough not to lose sleep over if misplaced

 

[olkofri]

8deco's.

 

[bassbug]

A found piece of birch that had the beginings of spating. Drilled through from one end. The hole is plugged with a small magnet and then capped with a piece of ebony. Stainless rod epoxied into the top and finished with a few coats of wipe on poly. It was a great little day project.

 

[mingc]

This is not my picture but I had one exactly like this. It was my favorite ever tamper. I especially liked the thin edge for gentle scraping and the slight concave surface for moving stuff around. Unfortunately, I lost it. If you see one like it for sale, I'd appreciate a heads up.

 

[AreBee]

I’ve got the workhorse multitool tamper and three favorites. The gold skull and bones is a cheapie I got on Amazon and the two Poe themed tampers were an LJ Peretti exclusive set that my kids got me for my birthday.

 

[PaulRVA]

Of all the Tampers I have these get the most use.
L To R
Bruno Nuttens Horn with Silver
Unknown - Possibly Charatan
Scott Tinker Zeppelin Mosaic
Larry Blackett Railroad Nail


I would like to find someone to make a copy of the Unknown Acrylic
In Silver or German Silver.
It came from a B&M back in the early 90’s and they had a fish bowl full of them for $5.00 each. It’s been a righteous tamper honestly.

 

[FLDRD]

Lots of us use it.
Someone had to show it...........

 

[agnosticpipe]

I've had a lot of tampers over the years, but for the last 5 years this bamboo 8deco is the only one I use anymore. Long enough for any bowl, and the tamp end is cup shaped with holes in it so you can draw through it as you tamp. Not the greatest looking but works better than any of the others I have.

 

[agnosticpipe]

View attachment 375682

Lots of us use it.
Someone had to show it...........

Ooo, a tamper with a message! Cool!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Of all the Tampers I have these get the most use.
L To R
Bruno Nuttens Horn with Silver
Unknown - Possibly Charatan
Scott Tinker Zeppelin Mosaic
Larry Blackett Railroad Nail

View attachment 375635
I would like to find someone to make a copy of the Unknown Acrylic
In Silver or German Silver.
It came from a B&M back in the early 90’s and they had a fish bowl full of them for $5.00 each. It’s been a righteous tamper honestly.

Your "Unknown" is quite similar to a briar Nording tamper I have. It's not black though and has Nording's signature stamped on it.

 

[PaulRVA]

Your "Unknown" is quite similar to a briar Nording tamper I have. It's not black though and has Nording's signature stamped on it.View attachment 375792

It is at that! It’s a handy shape and rides in a pocket nicely.

 

[warren]

Discarded/lost tampers are all over the house, in drawers, ash trays, on the workbench and so forth. My left forefinger is my tamper of choice.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

I've got a Rattray's basic tamper I use a lot. It's a nice shape, weight, has a pick screwed in and the concave shape of the tamper head seems to help keep pipes alight versus just using my convex finger. I've also got a few Larry Blackett pewter tampers I really like. I don't use them as much, they're heavy and don't have a pick, but they're just really fun pieces.