Stinger and a Fill - Myon

[irwinmetro]

Bought a little pot on eBay for about $25 with shipping (from Italy). From the research I've been able to do Myon is a French lighter brand that had a few pipes commissioned for them. Who actually made the pipes remains a mystery to me (anybody know?). As an aside, the lighters look pretty awesome in their own right:

Now, the pipe which looks like this:

... has a spiral metal stinger that I assume is removable. Has anyone used a pipe with a spiral stinger such as this and kept it in?

Also, there is what looks to be a large fill on the front. Is this purely an aesthetic problem? These pictures were taken by my wife as I haven't had the chance to hold/smoke it myself yet.

 

[4dotsasieni]

I've usually taken my stingers out, as they tend to collect a lot of gunk in a hurry. But that spiral design just might be a better idea. Try it - you can always remove it later.
As for the fill, it looks like a purely aesthetic issue -- I have a Dr Plumb with a similar fill, and it doesn't affect the smoking quality at all. Remember, one of the qualities of briar root is that it is accumulates little grains of sand that create holes, often not discovered until well into the carving process. It's just a natural quality of the material and should not be a problem.
That lighter does indeed look extremely cool - where did you get it?

 

[irwinmetro]

Thanks 4dot, I'm dying to get home and see it for myself. I didn't actually purchase the lighter, I found the picture online while looking for info on Myon.

Myon - Pipeflam

 

[plateauguy]

That is a nice looking pipe. Not usually one for straight stems, but this one has appeal. Enjoy!

 

[captainsousie]

Nice little pipe. I hope it smokes well. Don't worry about the fill, purely aesthetic as 4dot says.
Unfortunately, with it being made in St Claude and with the stampings I've seen, it could've been made by any of the multitude of contract pipe factories in the area and I have no way of nailing it down further than about 30 companies. The stinger is a shape that I've found particularly problematic to smoke with (draw, gurgle, etc.) and hard to remove but with an unsmoked pipe, it might be easier. Couldn't hurt to try it with the stinger installed.
Enjoy her.

 

[irwinmetro]

Tried her out last night, and again this morning (forced DGT on account of a toddler unwilling to sleep). It smoked okay, considering the bowl is completely void of any cake. I have no idea what the age could be, or it's smoking history, but it feels like it needs some breaking in.
I will probably remove the stinger, it really cuts down on the draw and forces me to pull harder. Though it burns remarkably cool.
There's one other thing that's new to me. At the very bottom of the bowl there is a small, hard cone-shaped spike. Maybe about 1/4". Has anybody seen this before? I'm trying to get a photo, but I don't have good lighting right now.

 

[snagstangl]

I have pulled a stinger out of something that looks like that. I will have to look again at work and see which brand of pipe I pulled it out of. Maybe we could narrow it down then.

 

[irwinmetro]

Well I pulled the stinger out and had an English blend sandwiched between Five Brothers last night. Much more enjoyable smoke. Very pleased.
Roth, I had also never heard of it. I'd really love to get a date on this thing but all I can find is that the company was open from about 1950 to 1994. That doesn't mean they've been making (read: commissioning) pipes during that whole time though. I wish I owned that lighter, but as far as I can tell they are very rare.