This is just some of the tar that was scraped from the well and shank of a 1920's System pipe bought in from eBay, and this was after it had a hot alcohol treatment.
I sell a lot of Peterson System pipes and they are all cleaned and sanitized to perfection. Just a quick tip I learned from an old pipe smoker - take a tiny bit of cotton wool and poke it down into the well before smoking. This traps the moisture and prevents it from leaking out. Poke it out and discard at the end of the smoke and it also keeps the well spotlessly clean.
Just a quick word on the price of estates. If you are going to get one, aim for a pre-1970's pipe. There may not be much difference in the price of a new one, but they are unarguably much better quality briar - especially the pre-Republic models - and give a superior smoke.
