Rattray's Ahoy Questions

[jiminy]

Right, so I have a couple questions born more out of genuine curiosity than any concern. I know there are lots of knowledgeable folks who will likely know the answers, so here we go!

I picked up a Rattray's Ahoy a while back, and love the little thing. Right from first smoke it was excellent: burned excellent with few relights (odd for me), and while it got a touch warmer than my other pipes, it was nothing concerning. As I've been smoking and handling it, I've been pondering two things about it.

The first question is one I suspect I know the answer to. Given the lack of shank, would a person be able to take it down hot? I know that some wiser folks say any pipe can be taken down so long as the pipe isn't crazy hot, so I'm imagining that is the case here. I'm also going to assume that it has a little advantage in this area over a traditional shape.

Secondly, how do you figure it'll hold up long term with the fit? I suppose that my only concern here is that over time the tenon to stummel for may loosen given the design. It would likely take forever given my smoking habits, but if someone smoked it regularly it could be a concern I suppose.

I honestly love the pipe, and actually love the small bowl size. I've thought about picking up another one and selling off some lesser smoked ones yet.

 

[didimauw]

This is interesting. So the draft hole in the bowl, is the same huge size as the silver end of the shank? Or does the hole in the bowl taper down? I guess what I'm getting at is, dont bits of tobacco fly through that thing?

 

[jiminy]

Ah, I should have clarified more. The bowl is only about 2/3rds of the stummel. It has a draft hole punched dead center and down, and then the stem plugs right in. The stem only goes so far in, but it is a 9mm pipe, so the filter extends a little further in, basically right up to the draft hole. So essentially the filter is very important to take out all the crud.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

I was eyeing these, they looked like pretty neat little pipes and I'm always a sucker for naval theming.

The draft hole arrangement is pretty funky. It's like a combo standard and reverse calabash with a tiny reservoir, more so with the filter in. Pretty cool.

You should be fine taking off the stem. I've got a handful of Vauens and usually smoke with 9mm filters. I don't want leave a brown wet filter to just fester so I tend to take them out directly after a smoke. I've never had stem fitting issues, if you're really concerned you could always turn it clockwise.

As for the longevity of the mortise it looks like the tenon is tapered like you'd see in an any army mount. Typically the mortise is metal so it's less likely to wear away or warp, but the taper of the stem should offset that regardless. I'd be a little worried about the filter not fitting well if it got much deeper in. Worst case scenario you could reinforce the mortise later with filler and a metal applique.

 

[jiminy]

I was eyeing these, they looked like pretty neat little pipes and I'm always a sucker for naval theming.

The draft hole arrangement is pretty funky. It's like a combo standard and reverse calabash with a tiny reservoir, more so with the filter in. Pretty cool.

You should be fine taking off the stem. I've got a handful of Vauens and usually smoke with 9mm filters. I don't want leave a brown wet filter to just fester so I tend to take them out directly after a smoke. I've never had stem fitting issues, if you're really concerned you could always turn it clockwise.

As for the longevity of the mortise it looks like the tenon is tapered like you'd see in an any army mount. Typically the mortise is metal so it's less likely to wear away or warp, but the taper of the stem should offset that regardless. I'd be a little worried about the filter not fitting well if it got much deeper in. Worst case scenario you could reinforce the mortise later with filler and a metal applique.

Thanks for the advice! I figured that taking the stem off right after smoking shouldn't be an issue given the set up. Mind you, I'm not all that intelligent or knowledgeable, so just wanted to make sure before I tried.

The eventual wear in the mortise is the primary concern for me. They do have a reduced drilling where the face of the tenon rests up against, so in theory it should hold up for quite a while given the density of briar. I hadn't thought about what kind of repairs could be done should something happen, but you've given some good ideas there. For the price I think they are worth it. Apparently you can use the stem interchangeably with the bowls, so in theory you could bring one stem along and a few bowls for a trip, rotating through them or having them available if you dedicate them to separate tobacco varieties. I find that neat, and somewhat appealing.

 

[huckleberry]

I was wondering how a screen of some type would work at keeping the filter free of debrit?

 

[jiminy]

I was wondering how a screen of some type would work at keeping the filter free of debrit?

As in a screen in the bottom of the bowl?