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Hillcrest

Lifer
Dec 3, 2021
3,682
18,751
Connecticut, USA
This afternoon CC Rivendell minus Burley (picked out) in a Vauen Olaf bent egg ... as before in the Barontini ... this time like smoking a whole loaf of warm french bread which probably isn't good for my diet ! ;) Towards the end a bit of perique then a mild citrusy tomato taste. Very very smooth.

Funny note while smoking: Got a panic recording call from 'Dear Leader' of local gov't at 4:25pm - Tornado warning in my area from 4:30 - 6:00 pm - everybody panic, batten hatches !! :eek:; I immediately went on National Weather Service and local TV news - Tornado warning called off 2 hrs ago and no rain in 50 mile radius of me until after 8pm !! :ROFLMAO: Glad I didn't put out pipe ! We do expect 2 inches of rain in next 36 hrs which we need. Be Nice - Remember they are here to help ! :rolleyes:
 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
64,390
643,755
The rain stopped, and I managed to get in a set of walking reps though it was rather muggy. Smoked a bowl of unreleased Sutliff VaPer in a 1970's straight rusticated black Savinelli Estella 915 KS dublin with a flared top and pearl brown acrylic saddle stem. Deciding on my next smoke as I type this.
Estella_915KS_dublin .jpg
 

The Clay King

(Formerly HalfDan)
Oct 2, 2018
6,324
60,114
42
Chesterfield, UK
www.youtube.com
First a wall of text and then a picture.
Sorry to clutter up your screens and this nice thread, ladies and gentlemen. :)

A recent conversation with our King of Clay, halfdan, inspired me to find a new way to clean out the long stem of my clay pipe. Regular pipe cleaners are too short, paying more for longer ones is out of the question and I'm too forgetful and lazy to harvest new pipe weed/moor grass all the time.
I used to waste lighter gas to burn it out, that's no good. These days it's downright disrespectful
and that's something I don't want to be.
So I remembered the wooden skewers I used for shashlik one year and sanded one of them down until it was thin enough to fit through the stem.

I can even roll up a tiny ball of tissue paper and stuff it down all the way into the chamber, just like a muzzle loader. It's lots of fun! 😁 It's also pretty strong and flexible, I predict many uses out of it.
Clay pipes don't soak up moisture well at all and I often like to draw up some heat, so it often starts to gurgle. Now I push this down the stem and the wood will soak everything up and clear it in seconds.

So I don't need to burn my clay anymore, this allows me a little modification I used before:
Strong hemp wick around the chamber, where I like to hold it and where my clay likes to burn me.
Bound tightly and roasted over a flame.
You can bind it in many ways and to me it'll always look and feel great. I can just put it on the table and the chamber will be at a nice enough angle - it won't spill. That's also great. It also doesn't add much weight so clenching it is still no problem.

And here it is, filled to the brim with that "Jolly Turk" batch I made up.
(30% Oriental, 25% bright and dark Kentucky, 15% bright Latakia Virginia, 15% Virginia and 15% Burley)
I gotta admit that my previous "bind" looked much better, this one is quite unshapely.
Soon I'm going to burn/clean the clay out properly in a bed of hot coals, then rebind it with a nicer shape.
But for now I'll just enjoy the good tobacco. puffy And wish you all a good time to enjoy.

View attachment 167186
@Chaukisch I like the basket weave on your clay pipe; I've just made a woven basket today!
 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
64,390
643,755
Just passing the quarter mark on this bowl of year 2018 Esoterica Dunbar in a smooth straight, dark brown early 1960s Lane era Charatan Selected 43 Dublin with a black vulcanite double comfort saddle stem. This pipe wConrad-Dublin copy.jpgas formerly owned by actor William Conrad. Ice water and bergs is my drink.
 

coys

Can't Leave
Feb 15, 2022
337
789
Missouri
I also began pipe smoking last year, after having quit cigarettes for about two years before. 965 was the first Pipe tobacco which gave me a lot satisfaction, after some aromatics and Capstan Blue, which I found quite boring. Now I enjoy some Latakia blends and those with Perique the most.
One thing that’s great is that if you don’t like a pipe tobacco you can always put it away and let it age, or blend it with something else!

My main struggle is getting a good pack and burn without a million relights. In my briar it still eludes me, but in my cob (to which I delegate the aromatics) I’ve no issues.

Still need my training wheels!
 
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