To My Fellow Falcon Owners

[folkleaf]

I just recently started smoking falcons, so I've only smoked relatively new bowls. Tastes exactly the same as a Briar pipe.

 

[The_Non_Compliant_One]

How do I do that without getting the alcohol all over the outside of the bowl?

the finish is comprised of two parts.

a stain, and then a lacqueer or varnish over that.

The alcohol bath is simply stated, the pipe gets a bath in alcohol. it goes for a midnight naked swim in the pond.

the biggest proponent was a pipe maker who tosses his pipe into a plastic ziploc storage bag, fills it with about a pint of cheapo 90% rubbing alcohol, seals the bag up. swishes it all around and goes and leaves it.

The stain on your pipe wont be affected much at all. Seriously, my "beater" pipe. It has spent 4 days of 24 hours in 91% isopropyl. and the ONLY issue to the stain is on the stummel were i sanded to hard with steel wool.

 

[Waning Embers]

How do I do that without getting the alcohol all over the outside of the bowl?

I'd just use sandpaper if you're worried about ruining the stain.

 

[Morbius]

Thank you, Oz Piper, The_Non_Compliant_One, and Chasing Embers for your answers to my question. Just like every other thing in piping, there are many ways to go it seems.

The information about the layers of stain and varnish/lacquer is very important to me concerning my Rossi pipe. About two weeks after I bought it, the finish on the bowl got dirty. My bad - I touched it when my fingers were sooty. Anyway, nobody ever told me not to use furniture polish spray sooooo...... Well you can guess what happened. I basically stripped it down to the stain.

I have to admit I like the pipe better without the candy apple red high gloss finish. What's left is a brownish stain that shows off the grain nicely. I truly prefer a low gloss finish on briars, like my grand dad's old pipes. Just touch it up with a couple of drops of mineral oil and a cloth after each smoke and you are good to go.

Again, thank you. When I succomb to a spell of PAD and get myself a new Falcon bowl I will take your advice under consideration.

 

[OzPiper]

Thank you, Oz Piper, The_Non_Compliant_One, and Chasing Embers for your answers to my question. Just like every other thing in piping, there are many ways to go it seems.

The information about the layers of stain and varnish/lacquer is very important to me concerning my Rossi pipe.
I have to admit I like the pipe better without the candy apple red high gloss finish. What's left is a brownish stain that shows off the grain nicely. I truly prefer a low gloss finish on briars, like my grand dad's old pipes. Just touch it up with a couple of drops of mineral oil and a cloth after each smoke and you are good to go.

@Morbius
You’re welcome,
When I got back to my pipes, I was astounded at the wide range of pipes available nowadays.
In the 1970s and 1980s (pre-internet and pipe forums) there was a pretty paltry range to be found in B&Ms

Like you I do not like a highly lacquered look on briar.
However I do like the look of a well-looked after pipe, and always give my pipes a buff with a piece of rag after each smoke.

If the wood looks dull, I use a small dab of wood balm (quite a range of products on the market). Rub in and buff with a microfibre cloth or jeweller’s cloth.
If it is really dull, I might use Micromesh pads to give it a bit of a shine

 

[Morbius]

@Morbius
You’re welcome,
When I got back to my pipes, I was astounded at the wide range of pipes available nowadays.
In the 1970s and 1980s (pre-internet and pipe forums) there was a pretty paltry range to be found in B&Ms

Like you I do not like a highly lacquered look on briar.
However I do like the look of a well-looked after pipe, and always give my pipes a buff with a piece of rag after each smoke.

If the wood looks dull, I use a small dab of wood balm (quite a range of products on the market). Rub in and buff with a microfibre cloth or jeweller’s cloth.
If it is really dull, I might use Micromesh pads to give it a bit of a shine

My first pipe was a basket pipe sandblasted briar I bought at a B&M in 1978. You're right, there wasn't much to choose from then. I smoked it for two weeks and gave myself tongue bite every single day. I had nobody to mentor me. Every ten or twelve years I would try again - and fail just as miserably. About 14 years ago my wife saw me looking longingly at it and thought I should have a new pipe, so when she was in D.C. she stopped at Georgetown Tobacco and bought me a new meerschaum pipe! I never would have spent that much on a pipe, but it was the single most perfect gift I have ever received. I was kind of intimidated by it at first because I thought it was so fragile. I set out to try to get good at this hobby and failed again. I finally succeeded a year and a half ago when I discovered some blogs and forums and YouTube channels and a very helpful tobacconist on the internet. Reading posts like John Patton's Corncob Primer made it easy for me to finally succeed.

I guess what I am saying is that folks today don't know how lucky they are. Click a few buttons and the world is at your feet.