Real Talk Request: Peterson Deluxe vs Artisan pipe?
- Thread starter bigpond
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Just a quick update- the pipe arrived on Friday and I've been smoking it as often as I can. With a few smokes under my belt I can say that Al and Pat were absolutely spot on.
Chris' comment about grade was a concern. I'm glad to report that in my case there was nothing to it.
My 4's is as well made as my Tokutomi, the grain is in the ballpark of my Cavicchi three C, the briar stands up to back to back bowls just like any of my Castello's and it tastes as clean as my 80 year old Comoy's Grandslam. As promised, fill free.
No joke, the wood is at least as good as anything I own. It seems to be very neutral, total absent tannic, bitter notes found in under-cured or poor quality briar. But let's be real. Provenance is a big ol'black hole here. I'd guess Italian briar with a gun to the head. The vulcanite has a bit less give then I would expect from SEM rod stock. It's quality stuff and not what it used in lower ranges. Quite comfortable too.
So far I've tried Dark Star and Old Dark Fired. Both blends were presented in a way I've not experienced before. Briefly, the mouthfeel is thinner but the smoke takes on a silken quality that is unique. All the flavor is there with at least as much nuance. That said, I'm a breath smoker and believe my pipe suits my smoking style perfectly. It may simply fall to pieces for another piper. If I was a big puffer chasing deep, rich clouds of smoke I might find myself frustrated and disappointed with this pipe.
Bottomline: awesome pipe that punches way above it's weight. I'm not fool enough to say I'm done with Artisan's but this thing is a game changer. I'm already looking for a nice 2S.
Chris' comment about grade was a concern. I'm glad to report that in my case there was nothing to it.
My 4's is as well made as my Tokutomi, the grain is in the ballpark of my Cavicchi three C, the briar stands up to back to back bowls just like any of my Castello's and it tastes as clean as my 80 year old Comoy's Grandslam. As promised, fill free.
No joke, the wood is at least as good as anything I own. It seems to be very neutral, total absent tannic, bitter notes found in under-cured or poor quality briar. But let's be real. Provenance is a big ol'black hole here. I'd guess Italian briar with a gun to the head. The vulcanite has a bit less give then I would expect from SEM rod stock. It's quality stuff and not what it used in lower ranges. Quite comfortable too.
So far I've tried Dark Star and Old Dark Fired. Both blends were presented in a way I've not experienced before. Briefly, the mouthfeel is thinner but the smoke takes on a silken quality that is unique. All the flavor is there with at least as much nuance. That said, I'm a breath smoker and believe my pipe suits my smoking style perfectly. It may simply fall to pieces for another piper. If I was a big puffer chasing deep, rich clouds of smoke I might find myself frustrated and disappointed with this pipe.
Bottomline: awesome pipe that punches way above it's weight. I'm not fool enough to say I'm done with Artisan's but this thing is a game changer. I'm already looking for a nice 2S.
@irishearl @bigpond I've just been spoiled rotten by looking at very high grade pipes. The amount of grain I like on a "high grade" Peterson is simply not possible unless someone is ready to shell out $1000+; that being said Peterson pipes are good smoking machines once you break them properly.
I still prefer artisan pipes over Peterson when it comes to grain and stem work. Other than that, I still have lots of Peterson pipes to purchase
Antique, Rosslare, Royal Irish, Roundstone, Kapp Royal are fantastic series. Also, I prefer sandblasted Peterson over smooth ones, unless the grain is decent enough.
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
I still prefer artisan pipes over Peterson when it comes to grain and stem work. Other than that, I still have lots of Peterson pipes to purchase
Antique, Rosslare, Royal Irish, Roundstone, Kapp Royal are fantastic series. Also, I prefer sandblasted Peterson over smooth ones, unless the grain is decent enough. Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
If only all Peterson pipes were like this *sigh*
You can click on the pic to go to the SPC product page.
Cheers,
Chris
You can click on the pic to go to the SPC product page.
Cheers,
Chris
Chris, I have one non-deluxe Pete and it will remain a singleton. That's a nice one above and it's sporting a stain closer to the older Walnut finish. Mine is similar but without the 9mm filter. Interestingly, Italy does get newly produced Walnut stained Petes while the Natural stain are far more widely distributed.
I'm glad you were pleased, those are some interesting observations. I never thought about the specific needs of what you term a mouth smoker, but I suspect that I'm in the same group.
@bigppond The Italians import damn good Petersons. I read somewhere that the Italian importer cherry picks his pipes and have introduced new series exclusive to that region only. I see better grained/sanbdlasted Peterson pipes in Europe than the US.
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
Artisan pipes are of very variable quality. I stay away from them now unless they are from Lasse Skovgaard, my favorite maker. Petersons are slightly more predictable. They take a while to break in, but tend to be good smokes if you like a strong tobacco, especially a Lat mix, which covers most of the bad taste from unaged briar and poor staining. In my experience you have about a 50 50 chance of getting a good smoke from either.
Chris, that's a lovely 9s. 1 of my 3 smooth deluxe system pipes, (the other is a very nice blast-the only blasted 1 I've seen), is a 9s and half the bowl is covered in flame grain and the other half in birdseye. My 20s is covered 360 in flame grain. My 11s, though, has more spotty flame grain.
@irish Would some pics of your fab Petes. I have a few Peterson on my list but will have to wait a few months. What I like about Peterson is that even if the grain is not 100% the shapes themselves are a sight to behold. I generally prefer smooths over sandblasted but won't mind a few epic ones in my collection.
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
Foggy, Lasse is my favorite pipe maker. I stumbled across his pipes a few months ago and now have two.
Chris, I don't think the grain on the posted pipe is very rare for newer deluxe pipes. You should be able to find an equivalent with out too much difficulty. I appreciate grain but do not value it highly anymore. I do love a good sandblast though, and Lasse's blasting is absolutely first rate to my eye.
Chris, I don't think the grain on the posted pipe is very rare for newer deluxe pipes. You should be able to find an equivalent with out too much difficulty. I appreciate grain but do not value it highly anymore. I do love a good sandblast though, and Lasse's blasting is absolutely first rate to my eye.
@bigpond, I had a brain fart on my last comment. I meant that I prefer sandblast more than smooth. My bad.
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
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