Pipes And Cigars Unfinished Stanwells!

[3rdguy]

Yep! They had 2 good ones last month. I havent purchased anything since to see the new one which comes on a card in your shipment...if there is a new code.
On the plus side I was able to turn my electricity back on

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Ok... so my package finally arrived in the mail today. Not Pipesandcigars fault by the way. No, I can thank the USPS who let it sit one big city over for a day and then moved it to my city where it sat for two days (when it was supposed to be delivered Wednesday. But blah blah blah.... alright, this thing is actually very nice. The unfinished Stanwells are sanded to a higher grit than the unfinished Savinellis, so they're smoother (duh, Anthony, we're not stooopid...) and the grain shows a bit more than on the Savs because of it. Now the pipe I received is not the actual pipe in the photo which shows a couple minor sandpits on the sides of the bowl. Mine has a few as well, but they're on the underside of the bowl. No big deal... the grain on mine appears like it's going to be pretty cool, and I only see the pits when I look at the bottom of my pipe. Not that I care too much about a minor pit here and there in a lower cost pipe anyway. I'm presuming Pipesandcigars is using stock images for these. Again not that big of a deal in a lower cost pipe to me.
I knew this was going to be a pretty substantially sized pipe, but was surprised at it's actual size when seeing it in person. The bowl is about the width of a Peterson B42 for those of you familiar with that substantial sized pipe, maybe even a hair wider, but not as tall, and with a fairly narrow chamber. Of course I'm only describing the pipe I ordered, not any of the other shapes available. The stem is a mirror finished acrylic, and quite comfortable. With the narrow chamber and thick bowl, I may dedicate this pipe to flakes, but for it's first smoke I decided to try Belmont Station for the first time, which I ordered along with the pipe, along with another blend and that free The Pipe book P&C was offering for orders over 100 dollars. Did I mention Belmont Station is awesome? Well I should have... I'm mentioning that now... Belmont Station is awesome. It's one of those few blends that actually tastes like the tin note smells. I'm officially wowed. But more about the pipe. I was going to try the filter that came equipped, but the draw with the filter was too restricted, so I took it out, and it's just about perfect like that. Brand new naked briar chamber, it smoked Belmont Station remarkably well, which burned remarkably well, with just a few relights. So, aromatic blend, in a brand new pipe, a good smoke... well that's a win in my opinion. If you like the unfinished Savs, or any unfinished pipes for that matter, I'd recommend giving these a try. This is actually my first Stanwell as well, and I'm very pleased with it.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Just finished my second smoke in the Stanwell earlier this evening, this time with my first smoke of G.L. Pease's The Virginia Cream. Two smokes in, and the briar is already taking on a nice golden hue. I can't wait to see what this looks like 10 to 15 smokes in. Second smoke was as good as the first, The Virginia Cream, a shag cut ready smoke right out of a freshly opened tin. I won't go into too much detail about the blend, other than saying it's an aromatic for the Virginia Perique lover. Not heavy on the Perique though. You get nice hints of vanilla and bourbon mingling with sweet grassy Virginias and slightly spicy sweet plummy perique. The Kentucky can be a bit bold at times, and the nicotine just gives a friendly hello. The addition of black cavendish keeps it smooth and cool burning. Lovely blend. Tomorrow I may well give the Stanwell another smoke with either more Belmont Station, or I might see how it smokes Kramer's Blend For Danny Kaye. ::

 

[blendtobac]

The Stanwell Authentics have gotten a great reception so far. They're very well executed and I'm sure that they'll color very well.I'm looking at the 139 and 63, myself.
Russ

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

.I'm looking at the 139 and 63, myself.

Russ, I'm seriously considering another one for myself. I'm glad Pipes And Cigars got them. :clap:

 

[kilroyjune6]

I've got one due tomorrow, a 63. I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Hey Anthony nice hat in the new pic! My old man and I are nuts about cowboy hats. My buffalo never leaves my head.

The hat was my father's who just passed away on the 4th of January. It's mine now, I suppose. Something to remember him by.

You gotta smoke the blazes out of that pipe so we can see how it looks when it changes.

It's coloring up pretty good so far. All I've been smoking the last few days are my unfinished pipes. I have a Nording signature, three of the lower cost Savinelli unfinished, a Savinelli Noce (it's the unfinished Sav rusticated to look like a walnut)and now the Stanwell. My two newest Savs are coloring very nicely, and the Stanwell looks like it's going to catch up quite nicely.