What Was Peterson’s Bowl Coating Circa 2020

[buroak]

This morning I took a Peterson System Premier Sandblast 01 for its maiden voyage with WCC’s Ahab’s Comfort. Perhaps what happened was a consequence of my decision to tempt literary fate with my tobacco choice, but I think not. I think it was the bowl coat.

What happened was that a lot of dottle and wholly unburnt leaf got stuck in the coating. The fact that there was so much dottle and unburnt leaf is not the fault of the pipe. I had cut my smoke short to get to work, so I had more than usual to dump out.

I had previously noticed the the coating on this pipe was glossier than the current guar gum/charcoal coating. It looked like freshly applied hot tar, and acted like it during the first smoke. I had to scrape at the bowl walls with my pipe nail to dislodge the remaining tobacco. There is still quite a bit that I have to hope will turn to cake with repeated smoking.

The smoke tasted and smelled as good as ever, and the pipe never got hot. The only problem was the La Brea Tar Pit the bowl became.

The silver on the pipe dates to 2020 and it is the only Pete I have from that timeframe. Can anyone tell me what Peterson were using for their bowl coatings then?

 

[Sigmund]

Asphalt

Whatever it is Id be removing it. You can see if a wet cloth takes it off. Light sanding might be needed to get the bulk of it off.

 

[JoburgB2]

Asphalt

 

[Hillcrest]

bowl coating – Peterson Pipe Notes

petersonpipenotes.org

 

[buroak]

bowl coating – Peterson Pipe Notes

petersonpipenotes.org

What is in my pipe is decidedly not the newer bowl coating.

Asphalt

Whatever it is Id be removing it. You can see if a wet cloth takes it off. Light sanding might be needed to get the bulk of it off.

My hunch is that it is not water soluble. I may try sanding, but I am going to few more bowls through. If it doesn’t start behaving, it should at least become more amenable to sanding.

 

[rotate]

I don’t know but what I can tell you is that they were not using the bowl coating you describe on System pipes in the year 2000 or earlier in 1991as I’ve recently bought four new old stock Peterson System pipes.

Silver Hallmarked for 2000 the smooth natural finish 303 and 314 Premier pipes had uncoated internal bowls, the only surprise being that the briar darkened down in colour faster than any other natural finish, ’in the White’ new pipe that I’ve ever owned and that was with half bowl fillings and short lengths of smoking to break the briar in.

Silver Hallmarked for 1991 the two smooth finish Deluxe System pipes I bought, an 8S and a 5S did have a sooty looking black internal bowl coating which gave off no offending or otherwise taste to the tobacco I smoked in them.

My first attempt at smoking P Lip Petersons since trying and failing around forty five years ago to come to terms with a P Lip which had its bowl coated in something similar to what you describe but extremely nasty to smoke I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of smoking I achieve with these Peterson System pipes.

 

[Hillcrest]

What is in my pipe is decidedly not the newer bowl coating.


My hunch is that it is not water soluble. I may try sanding, but I am going to few more bowls through. If it doesn’t start behaving, it should at least become more amenable to sanding.

I have two Erica System seconds from 1983. I washed out the bowls with alcohol then water let them dry then I used a thin film of blackberry brandy to coat the inside, let dry then smoked as normal. 42 yrs later they are still the sweetest smoking pipes I own. The early 80s was the foul tasting coating where the outside stain got inside. 2 cents.

 

[VDL_Piper]

Asphalt

Whatever it is Id be removing it. You can see if a wet cloth takes it off. Light sanding might be needed to get the bulk of it off.

I would have said Fly ash from the Nuclear Power Plant . Either way its terrible stuff and has no place in a pipe bowl.

 

[buroak]

I don’t know but what I can tell you is that they were not using the bowl coating you describe on System pipes in the year 2000 or earlier in 1991as I’ve recently bought four new old stock Peterson System pipes.

Silver Hallmarked for 2000 the smooth natural finish 303 and 314 Premier pipes had uncoated internal bowls, the only surprise being that the briar darkened down in colour faster than any other natural finish, ’in the White’ new pipe that I’ve ever owned and that was with half bowl fillings and short lengths of smoking to break the briar in.

Silver Hallmarked for 1991 the two smooth finish Deluxe System pipes I bought, an 8S and a 5S did have a sooty looking black internal bowl coating which gave off no offending or otherwise taste to the tobacco I smoked in them.

My first attempt at smoking P Lip Petersons since trying and failing around forty five years ago to come to terms with a P Lip which had its bowl coated in something similar to what you describe but extremely nasty to smoke I am pleasantly surprised with the quality of smoking I achieve with these Peterson System pipes.

My earlier Petes and newest Petes do not have the same 2020 coating. It is worth repeating that the coating did not negatively effect the smoke. All the nuances I would usually get from the complex blend I was smoking came through unscathed. The post-smoke mess was the problem.

 

[Hillcrest]

My earlier Petes and newest Petes do not have the same 2020 coating. It is worth repeating that the coating did not negatively effect the smoke. All the nuances I would usually get from the complex blend I was smoking came through unscathed. The post-smoke mess was the problem.

On some interview (article or internet), one of the Peterson reps explained that it can take up to 10 bowls for a system pipe to properly moisturize and break in ... until then the moisture may go into the bottom of the bowl.
--- just 2 cents worth of imprecise memory.

 

[ThermionicScott]

The smoke tasted and smelled as good as ever, and the pipe never got hot.

For the first smoke in a new pipe, it sounds like it did the job. The buildup of gooey unburnt tobacco could be the result of burning so cool -- OGS often does that for me.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

 

[coming to_falling too]

The bowl coating from around this time was horrible in my opinion. Glad they changed it, though I still always remove it before smoking.

 

[LeafErikson]

Here’s the body of an email I sent to smokingpipes after purchasing a Peterson pipe in 2020:

“Hope you had a jolly holiday season and a pleasant new year. I recently purchased my first Peterson pipe (Aran 15) from you and unfortunately (through no fault of your own) had astoundingly unenjoyable experiences in my first two smokes. It is the wettest smoking pipe I’ve endured and the inside of the chamber is finished with a substance so adhesive that I can only surmise it has been employed to actively collect tobacco for a slow fossilization within the bowl. I’m not just talking dottle here. I’m talking about copious amounts of leaf clinging for dear life to all parts of the chamber from top to bottom. I don’t think I can return the pipe as it has been smoked but I was wondering if I could exchange it for store credit. An unfortunate first and last experience with Peterson for me.”

When I sent it back; they gave me store credit for the full price that I paid for the pipe, not just the ‘trade-in’ estate value. That tells you all you need to know.

 

[buroak]

Here’s the body of an email I sent to smokingpipes after purchasing a Peterson pipe in 2020:

“Hope you had a jolly holiday season and a pleasant new year. I recently purchased my first Peterson pipe (Aran 15) from you and unfortunately (through no fault of your own) had astoundingly unenjoyable experiences in my first two smokes. It is the wettest smoking pipe I’ve endured and the inside of the chamber is finished with a substance so adhesive that I can only surmise it has been employed to actively collect tobacco for a slow fossilization within the bowl. I’m not just talking dottle here. I’m talking about copious amounts of leaf clinging for dear life to all parts of the chamber from top to bottom. I don’t think I can return the pipe as it has been smoked but I was wondering if I could exchange it for store credit. An unfortunate first and last experience with Peterson for me.”

When I sent it back; they gave me store credit for the full price that I paid for the pipe, not just the ‘trade-in’ estate value. That tells you all you need to know.

We had exactly the same experience. My Pete was from tobaccopipes.com, so there’s no sending it back.

For the first smoke in a new pipe, it sounds like it did the job. The buildup of gooey unburnt tobacco could be the result of burning so cool -- OGS often does that for me.

Experiences like yours are the reason I’m more curious than revolted. Peterson’s new bowl coating is all around better, but this one may not turn out so bad. I might run several rounds of Kendal Kentucky through it. A finer, more even-burning tobacco might be just the thing for it until it is seasoned.

View attachment 384987

Is that just rebranded Erin Go Bragh brought to us by STG?