I've never seen a Ceppo that wasn't ring grain. I have 4 of them.
Sandblast vs Smooth - and the questionable art of partial blasting...
- Thread starter quantumboy
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Questionable art? I suppose that depends upon the artist. In my opinion, Les Wood is simply without peer in that department:
I love every one of those. Beautiful!
I think the smooth “panels” of many of the Danish sub brands (like Stanwell’s Royal Danish, etc) look a little funky but feel good in the hand.
That being said, I’m not pro or con any finish-I’ve got smooth, rusticated, and blasted pipes.
If they smoke well and appeal to me, well then I like them.
What I don’t look to have is an object d’ art that I won’t smoke because it’s too pretty.
That being said, I’m not pro or con any finish-I’ve got smooth, rusticated, and blasted pipes.
If they smoke well and appeal to me, well then I like them.
What I don’t look to have is an object d’ art that I won’t smoke because it’s too pretty.
The majority of my pipes are smooth, many are rusticated, only a few sandblasted.
Of my beloved Marxmans, the vast majority are smooth and rusticated both, none are fully rusticated or sand blasted.
It’s a matter of the fashion and style of the era they were made, I think.
Of my beloved Marxmans, the vast majority are smooth and rusticated both, none are fully rusticated or sand blasted.
It’s a matter of the fashion and style of the era they were made, I think.
All of my pipes are smooth excepting for 2 cobs. The patina and coloring of my first pipe a Butz Choquin now 53 years has I believe the best finish. In my opinion the old smooth worn patina with some nicks and dings gives it character unlike the new shiny ones just out of the bag and box.
He was the greatest and friendliest carver I've known. When he picked up a block and started carving, he was like a kid with a new toy. Very fun to watch work!
I have an old (Mrs.) Hudson Peterson from the original Sherlock Holmes run that is blasted. I bought it especially to take with me on my golf outings. At the time I was a systems engineer and had to accompany the sales guys in case the client had an intelligent question about the technology that I would have to address. I must have taken that pipe golfing over a hundred times and it never showed any signs of wear and tear. I would smoke it while waiting to tee off, then toss it in the cart, only to relight it for the next hole. If I had done that with a smooth finish pipe, it would have been destroyed.
The other issue with rusticated / sandblasted pipes is the physics. Sandblasting provides many times more surface area on the outside of the bowl that is used to radiate the heat into the air. This keeps the pipe cooler and, hopefully, helps to prevent burn out.
The other issue with rusticated / sandblasted pipes is the physics. Sandblasting provides many times more surface area on the outside of the bowl that is used to radiate the heat into the air. This keeps the pipe cooler and, hopefully, helps to prevent burn out.
The majority of my pipes are smooth, but I enjoy rusticated and sandblasted ones as well. I have a soft spot for Savinelli’s weirdly organic Corallo/Capri finish, and the craggy Estella finish. I immensely dislike Peterson’s rustication that looks like someone used a drill bit on its side to carve grooves every which way; along these same lines, I can’t stand the random gouges seen on Marxman and Dr. Grabow pipes.
Jesse’s transitional smooth to sandblast pipe is beautifully executed.
While I’m not the biggest fan of Jekyll and Hyde finishes, one of my Savinelli Autograph Eccezionale/Extraordinaire pipes has a half and half finish (the Eccezionale grade is considered the highest grade Autograph, even above 000—based on today’s production numbers, approximately 1/250,000 Savinelli pipes achieves the E designation).
I’m glad I have this one, but I much prefer the full sandblast of my 60th Birthday Eccezionale.
Jesse’s transitional smooth to sandblast pipe is beautifully executed.
While I’m not the biggest fan of Jekyll and Hyde finishes, one of my Savinelli Autograph Eccezionale/Extraordinaire pipes has a half and half finish (the Eccezionale grade is considered the highest grade Autograph, even above 000—based on today’s production numbers, approximately 1/250,000 Savinelli pipes achieves the E designation).
I’m glad I have this one, but I much prefer the full sandblast of my 60th Birthday Eccezionale.
I'm glad I like textured pipes the best. Either blasted or carved (like a Searock) they're both fine for me. Why? No constant polishing and buffing, they don't show wear and little nicks like smooths and as they get older they get more "character", they are easier to grip so you don't drop them and they are cooler to the touch. Oh, and they cheaper.... 
i've bought this one because it was part of a lot of 2 pipes, and I said to myself, omg i don't like the look of it not my kind of rustication, bla bla bla, now it's one of my favourites because it smokes sooo good!!
moral of the story, let me smoke it first, if I enjoy it, I'll learn to love it :D
moral of the story, let me smoke it first, if I enjoy it, I'll learn to love it :D
The bottom pipe looks like peacock feathers to me.
Jim Cooke, the original "Master Blaster"...
