C&D Old Joe Krantz Red Label in a Becker bent Dublin.
***What Are You Smoking, July 2025?***
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Kildare Silver Mounted (X105) P-Lip Tried Erik Stokkebye 1882 Founder’s Blend again today, and I must say it gave me a rather unexpected impression. In the first third of the bowl, there’s a surprisingly pleasant interplay between the smoky Latakia and a caramel-like sweetness. That sweet-woody contrast really shines early on and gives the blend a warm, rounded character right off the bat. Unusual combo — but it works. As the bowl progresses, the sweetness fades along with the Latakia, leaving behind bready, toasty notes. Overall, a pretty enjoyable smoke with some interesting transitions. Curious to see how it behaves over time and in different pipes.
Solani 660 Silver Flake in the Briarworks 10th Anniversary Blasted Zulu, and more quality time with Agatha.
p.s. dinner was a sublime Fig with Blue Cheese and Crispy Prosciutto salad. Recommended! Pro tip: add avocado, and double the Basil
p.s. dinner was a sublime Fig with Blue Cheese and Crispy Prosciutto salad. Recommended! Pro tip: add avocado, and double the Basil
About a quarter of a bowl left of Ken Byron Ventures Jim’s Special Flake 2023 in a black rusticated full bend 1984 Peterson Mark Twain military mount egg with a silver cap and tapered black vulcanite p-lip stem. Ice water and bergs is my drink. Tomato the Brave has stayed in since he showed up to eat. He's extra hyper tonight. He's been on my lap, was biting my socks, and then bit my right leg, and then bit my feet, and was back on my lap again. Then, he jumped on his favorite blanket to annoy Harry the Hairy, who had been snoozin' under it. When I chastised Tomato to leave Harry alone, he ran up to me, head butted my leg, and went to the kitchen. Daisy the Feral Princess and Sleepy Suzy watched his silliness with amusement. Harry the Hairy was not amused and needed a little reassurance from me. All is quiet for now, though.
I took this photo for a thread on what we're reading, so you get to see my pipe and book.
I'm smoking 2013 Peterson Irish Flake in Savinelli Champagne bulldog.
I'm smoking 2013 Peterson Irish Flake in Savinelli Champagne bulldog.
Did a little low calorie snacking, and am near the half way mark of this bowl of year 2014 Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match in a very much appreciated 1979 brown, slight bend grain etched flat front Stanwell Rego 969-48 (09) with a black vulcanite saddle stem. As soon as I posted my last smoke, Tomato the Brave started jumping on his favorite blanket again. He didn't seem to realize that Harry the Hairy wasn't under there and had a very disappointed look on his face. After running around the den for a couple of minutes, Tomato wanted out. Since the rain has stopped, I let him. I saw Shy Stripsey run away as soon as I opened the door. Tomato saw SS too, and just stared in that direction. I'm getting ready to read baseball box scores.
Briar Fox in a Pete SPD 2011 69. 
Having Sutliff The Old Boss 175th Anniversary in a marTelo (Gustavo Cunha) Sandblasted Swan Neck Bent Billiard with Ivorite accent and purple and pink swirled Vulcanite stem.
I’m glad this went over well. It was a lot of fun to put together. I’ve amassed enough little doodads to change little things up once in awhile and look forward to doing so. This kind of thing reminds me of when I was in art school. My friends and I would create artwork to amuse each other, almost like making inside jokes within a class assignment. Much of the time, we got inspired by each other and made the art for each other. This forum is often times very much the same for me—I get inspired because of many of you, whether it’s to make a fake tobacco blend to amuse a single member (or all of you), or to go to the nth degree with something as goofy as creating an entire environment for a pipe rest. I explored 1:12 stuff far deeper than I expected, especially for what started out as a whim and amounts to an amusement, but if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it right. Plus, it’s fun.
Speaking of art school, I had a part-time job in my freshman year at the School of Visual Arts in 1981–82. My friend, John B. and I would punch in our time cards, and sweep up several drawing rooms in two different buildings. It usually didn’t take too long, so we would stop into a little hole in the wall candy store on 23rd Street that had a Williams Defender machine. We would play Defender until it was time to punch out. All of the top scores were held by someone with the initials “ABM” with 999,975 points holding each spot. One evening, ABM was in the store playing; that’s when we learned about shooting all the Landers that were picking up people before they could turn into Mutants, catching the humanoids and holding onto them while reversing back and forth to kill Baiters and landing all the people before killing the last adversary onscreen for bonus points. That’s when we also learned that ABM would just let himself die when his score reached 999,975 so that he could hold and fill all of the top scores—if you scored any more points, the count would roll over to 0 and you’d be playing an advanced level, but have your score start from the beginning. It wasn’t long before John and I were turning over the machine and playing for over an hour on a single quarter, much to the dismay of the shop owner. I also got very good at Robotron 2084 and was able to turn that over eventually (I bought an Atari 7800 to make a dedicated Robotron 2084 set up at home and still have it). I never played Stargate long enough to get good at it. The Inviso button was a fun twist, but I didn’t put in the kind of hours playing to get good enough to ever turn the machine over.
Believe me, if there were good 1:12 scale Williams arcade machines like Defender, Robotron 2084, or Stargate, they would’ve been part of my little room. There is a dealer who had a so-so 1:12 scale Defender, but the real deal breaker is that it has a generic plastic base with two joysticks—I refuse to have something so “wrong” for Defender in my little microcosm, hence my inclusion of the more accurate, albeit slightly less cool 1:12 scale Namco machines.
With my little foray into the 1:12 scale dollhouse world, I’ve learned it’s no different than anything people get passionate about like pipes—if there’s something you want, chances are someone makes it—it can be crappy (or acceptable) and made by a factory in China, halfway decent by a guy with a 3D printer, or beautifully done by an artisan, all at commensurate price points. I got the pipes from a dealer that sells all kinds of dollhouse scale stuff and was pleasantly surprised that these were decent enough that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to include them in the scene.
Once Larry mentioned pets, I knew I needed to have a little version of Wasabi included (those of you that follow the WAYS thread for cigars are very familiar with him). This 3D printed sculpt is a good bit chunkier than our little tyke, but I was just thrilled that I could even order a long haired Chihuahua. It was fun to paint it to match Wasabi’s markings (Susan asked if I included the little lighter fur friar hairline on the back of his tiny head—I did).
@Sobrbiker Your quote got deleted, but I meant to include it.
That’s Just Awesome
Wow! I want to take whatever Alice took and hang out there. Well done.
I’m glad this went over well. It was a lot of fun to put together. I’ve amassed enough little doodads to change little things up once in awhile and look forward to doing so. This kind of thing reminds me of when I was in art school. My friends and I would create artwork to amuse each other, almost like making inside jokes within a class assignment. Much of the time, we got inspired by each other and made the art for each other. This forum is often times very much the same for me—I get inspired because of many of you, whether it’s to make a fake tobacco blend to amuse a single member (or all of you), or to go to the nth degree with something as goofy as creating an entire environment for a pipe rest. I explored 1:12 stuff far deeper than I expected, especially for what started out as a whim and amounts to an amusement, but if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it right. Plus, it’s fun.
Speaking of art school, I had a part-time job in my freshman year at the School of Visual Arts in 1981–82. My friend, John B. and I would punch in our time cards, and sweep up several drawing rooms in two different buildings. It usually didn’t take too long, so we would stop into a little hole in the wall candy store on 23rd Street that had a Williams Defender machine. We would play Defender until it was time to punch out. All of the top scores were held by someone with the initials “ABM” with 999,975 points holding each spot. One evening, ABM was in the store playing; that’s when we learned about shooting all the Landers that were picking up people before they could turn into Mutants, catching the humanoids and holding onto them while reversing back and forth to kill Baiters and landing all the people before killing the last adversary onscreen for bonus points. That’s when we also learned that ABM would just let himself die when his score reached 999,975 so that he could hold and fill all of the top scores—if you scored any more points, the count would roll over to 0 and you’d be playing an advanced level, but have your score start from the beginning. It wasn’t long before John and I were turning over the machine and playing for over an hour on a single quarter, much to the dismay of the shop owner. I also got very good at Robotron 2084 and was able to turn that over eventually (I bought an Atari 7800 to make a dedicated Robotron 2084 set up at home and still have it). I never played Stargate long enough to get good at it. The Inviso button was a fun twist, but I didn’t put in the kind of hours playing to get good enough to ever turn the machine over.
Believe me, if there were good 1:12 scale Williams arcade machines like Defender, Robotron 2084, or Stargate, they would’ve been part of my little room. There is a dealer who had a so-so 1:12 scale Defender, but the real deal breaker is that it has a generic plastic base with two joysticks—I refuse to have something so “wrong” for Defender in my little microcosm, hence my inclusion of the more accurate, albeit slightly less cool 1:12 scale Namco machines.
With my little foray into the 1:12 scale dollhouse world, I’ve learned it’s no different than anything people get passionate about like pipes—if there’s something you want, chances are someone makes it—it can be crappy (or acceptable) and made by a factory in China, halfway decent by a guy with a 3D printer, or beautifully done by an artisan, all at commensurate price points. I got the pipes from a dealer that sells all kinds of dollhouse scale stuff and was pleasantly surprised that these were decent enough that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to include them in the scene.
Once Larry mentioned pets, I knew I needed to have a little version of Wasabi included (those of you that follow the WAYS thread for cigars are very familiar with him). This 3D printed sculpt is a good bit chunkier than our little tyke, but I was just thrilled that I could even order a long haired Chihuahua. It was fun to paint it to match Wasabi’s markings (Susan asked if I included the little lighter fur friar hairline on the back of his tiny head—I did).
@Sobrbiker Your quote got deleted, but I meant to include it.
Now smoking year 2020 D&R VIP in a 2004 smooth long shank Trever Talbot Ligne Bretagne Faite en Bretagne 4/3 lumberman with a tapered black vulcanite stem.
Haunted Bookshop Cake in a Jirsa 210.
Enjoyed a tasty golden delicious apple, and am smoking year 2016 Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake in a straight smooth brown post-1964 Parker Super Bruyere 88/F group 3 bulldog with a tapered black vulcanite stem. Still reading box scores. I may end the day with this smoke.
Big ones are fun to catch, but those 25-50lb fish are better eating for sure. Big ones are still fine table fare though.
Got called as l was retiring for the night to go in and play lumberjack in traffic.
The Briarlee was smoked with my Dark Sails mix, now I’m winding down so I can get a 60min nap before getting up for work
@TheIronMonkey: the Sav fan wallpaper is awesome!
The Briarlee was smoked with my Dark Sails mix, now I’m winding down so I can get a 60min nap before getting up for work
@TheIronMonkey: the Sav fan wallpaper is awesome!
Mario Pascucci -P Rust-2136.
Let’s talk about Robert McConnell’s HERITAGE line — in particular, 5 Year Matured Virginia. It’s a Va/Oriental blend, and according to the folks at Kohlhase & Kopp, most of the mixtures in this series are built on the original Dunhill recipes, with only minor tweaks here and there.
Now, is it really the spiritual successor to Dunhill Three Year Matured? Let’s be honest — probably not. But credit where it’s due: the team at K&K approached this project with remarkable care and reverence. Hats off to them.
In fact, it might be for the better that it doesn’t try to be a carbon copy. 5 Year Matured Virginia stands on its own as a beautifully crafted, elegant blend — smooth, nuanced, and full of character. It’s a class act in its own right.
Let’s talk about Robert McConnell’s HERITAGE line — in particular, 5 Year Matured Virginia. It’s a Va/Oriental blend, and according to the folks at Kohlhase & Kopp, most of the mixtures in this series are built on the original Dunhill recipes, with only minor tweaks here and there.
Now, is it really the spiritual successor to Dunhill Three Year Matured? Let’s be honest — probably not. But credit where it’s due: the team at K&K approached this project with remarkable care and reverence. Hats off to them.
In fact, it might be for the better that it doesn’t try to be a carbon copy. 5 Year Matured Virginia stands on its own as a beautifully crafted, elegant blend — smooth, nuanced, and full of character. It’s a class act in its own right.
C&D Exclusive in a Nuttens Bing and Coffee 
️ on the side.
️ on the side.
Prince Al in a Country Gent.
Congratulations Sir, you have won Jim's Forum this month. It's impressive. Very well done.
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