What is it about a Kirsten Pipe?

[hawke]

Well, I got a Kirsten M in the mail today. Old style Pats and Pats Pend and such that is precision drilled and needs no 0-ring gaskets. So I got the one I wanted. I just dont see the hoopla on Kirsten pipes. The bowl chamber is too wide, hard to keep tobacco burning and I dont care for the draw hole in the middle, a dottle maker to me. It quite light weight however and seems to smoke cool so maybe its just the bowl issues. They sell pretty good on eBay but I cant see me buying another one.
What is it you Kirsten guys like so much about them? What am I missing.

 

[fishingandpipes]

I don't like them.
I bought a Falcon new last year and don't understand them either. Gave it a pretty good try too. Too bad, would have been a great fishing pipe if it had worked out. I will say, I liked it better than the Kirsten I tried.

 

[drennan]

fishingandpipes may I ask what you didn't like about the falcon? I've been considering one as a fishing pipe as they do seem a good solution to the multiple pipes issue, I fish light and mobile and it always on the bank so weight and bulk is a real issue.

 

[loneredtree]

I did buy a Kirsten full bent about 30 years ago. My complaint was that the bowl was small. The smoke was over way to fast. But I have slowed my pace down a lot now. I can make a bowl last 45 to 60 minutes now. I now own 3 Kirsten and one Viking Dr. Graybow "metal" pipe.
The Viking is similar to the Falcon and I think that they would smoke the same. Both the Viking and the Kirsten pipe bowls are small. Kirsten has some larger bowls and there are independent carvers that will make large bowls. I do have an independent made bowl to test. It is huge. I will report when I test it.
Lastly, The bowls have a tapered chamber which further reduces the amount of tobacc. And, I think that the center draft hole would promote a uniform burn whereas the side draft hole causes a lopsided burn toward the shank leaving dottle on the side opposite the shank. I do find less dottle in the metal pipes.
The falcon, I guess, and viking are very easy to clean. But, cleaning the Kirsten is no problem. BTW the falcon bit does not come out of the shank. The Viking bit does.
What is it about these pipes? They give a dry smoke similar to a meer or a cob. They clean up fast and are ready to go again for rapid turn around. The extra bowls take up little room making them great for travel.
YMMV. It takes all kinds.
:puffpipe:

 

[fishingandpipes]

drennan, probably I just didn't give it enough time. It was taking a very long time to break in and smoking to the bottom was tough because the size of the hole in the bottom of the bowl. And when I managed to I'd always end up with some burning wood flavor due to burning tobacco getting stuck in the hole.
In general I found it smoked harsh and flavorless.
If I preferred OTCs it may have worked out, but for the price, if I need an OTC dedicated pipe, a corncob will do the trick.
Plus, corncobs float.

 

[hawke]

Im warming up to the Kirsten a little more. I would like to try my hand at making a custom bowl for it. Loneredtree, do you know the size of the bowl screw?

 

[smokeybear]

Oh there terrible no one should ever buy then just send them to me lol
I have a kirsten S and it smokes like a charm. Might just be the bowl you got.

 

[loneredtree]

Hawke,
I did drill out a steel screw to repair a badly damaged pipe. I am looking for my notes on that.( I took the body to a hardware store and tried different screws). I have since found out that using a steel screw will damage the threads in the aluminum body due to the difference in thermal expansion. I think that K F Kirsten can supply you with an aluminum one.

 

[plateauguy]

Good Luck getting anything from Seattle Kirsten . . . I've been waiting on an O ring and additional bowl for over a year.
If you do a search you'll find that there has been quite a bit of discussion about Kirsten in the past. While the history page of their website is interesting, don't be fooled into thinking that you can order anything. They aren't even interested in sending out tobacco. Can't figure out how they stay in business.

 

[dottiewarden]

Sounds like a red flag to me. Thanks for the warning guys!

 

[loneredtree]

PG
It is illegal for a retailer to ship tobacco into or out of the fine state of Washington.
If you have not contacted them lately, you should as they are trying to get started producing again.
EOM

 

[brewshooter]

If you have not contacted them lately, you should as they are trying to get started producing again.

Well, I hope they do, but I won't hold my breath. It seems like the rumor that they are firing back up production comes around every year to 18 months. I was up there a few years back and they told me the troubles they'd had sourcing new parts at a decent price once their old stock ran out. They said they hoped to have a new supplier in a few months, two years later and still nothing from them. It's too bad. I picked up a Kirsten from Marty Pulvers a while back and I like it, but doesn't seem like there are going to be any new ones any time soon.

 

[hawke]

I just noticed something really nice with a Kirsten. When you clean it there seems to be no ghosting from previous tobacco. The aluminum doesnt soak up any flavor. The caked bowl didnt bother things that I noticed. Going from Latakia to Condor and the Condor came thru perfectly.

 

[voorhees]

Cannot comment on the Kirsten, but I like my Falcon very much. I added a meer bowl from meerschaumstore.com. That alone transformed the pipe in my opinion.

 

[phred]

I like the looks of the Kirstens, especially the full bent variety - they've got a very Steampunk vibe. I maintain an e-bay search just in case one comes up at the same time I have disposable income, but I haven't hit the button on any yet.
Someday, though... I will get my hands on one.

 

[peteguy]

There are some Kirsten stems on ebay ending this week. I know nothing about Kirsten pipes but they caught my eye during my weekly pad browse as I had never seen stems listed before