I too inherited the love of the briar from from dad. One of my favorite stories he told me was from his stay in England with the 8th Army Air Force as a waist-gunner in a B-17. Seems the airman were issued tobacco on a monthly basis, either cigarettes or an allotment of loose tobacco (I forget the amounts). He said he always chose the cigarette allotment. When I asked why he told me that they actually received more tobacco so he would just crush them up to fill his pipe. He kept a small briar in his flight jacket and as soon as they touched down he would light it the second he got off the bomber. He passed away in 2002 and I have that pipe and smoke it when feeling nostalgic about my first pipe smoking "Buddy."