Your Experience with Charatans

[mngslvs]

In the last year I've bought 4 Charatan estates, from their glory years vintage. Every one smoked wet. 5 or 6 pipe cleaners in the course of the bowl. No more for me. I talked with one well known pipe vendor here in the states, and he said that was exactly his experience. In fact, he said "I've never had any luck with English pipes". Having purchased 6 or 7 English pipes in the last year, have to say that has mostly been my experience .....much better experience with Italians by and large. Yes I know it is only a limited sample.

What's your experience ? Maybe just bad luck on my part, but I have to wonder.......

 

[dcon]

I have a much smaller reference size in just owning one Charatan. I have a Lane Era Distinction Straight Grain Freehand and don’t have a problem with particular ”wet” smokes. Given its size and bend I would expect the occasional wet spot. It has not been a slurper. In regard to “English” pipes, I own Dunhills, GBDs, Barlings, Ben Wades, and Saseini. Most of these smoke desert dry. I believe that your experience is not an “English” pipe problem.

 

[Scottishgaucho]

Not had a problem with any of the English estate pipes I have including the pre Lane era Charatan I recently bought. Does it happen with every blend you smoke?

 

[captainsousie]

I've tried to love my low-end Charatan pipes but just can't seem to find one that smokes well. Its probably my bad luck but that's the way of it. Maybe I will eventually spend on a high grade and change my mind but there it is.

 

[JimInks]

I have seven Charatans and three Charatan seconds. Never had that problem with any of them, except for the one with a small draft hole that I occasionally need to run a pipe cleaner through during the smoke. It does have a big bowl. Still, it's a very good smoker and if I need to use a pipe cleaner twice in the hour or so it takes to smoke it, that's not something I'm worrying about.

 

[jaytex1969]

My very unscientific sample of one pipe is this huge Dublin I got from @agnosticpipe last year.

I use it mainly for Tabac Manil these days. No moisture problem but it will get hot in short order, if not careful.

 

[trubka2]

My experience with Charatan and Charatan seconds has been without exception very positive. No issues of any kind, they're some of my favorite pipes to smoke. I hope to buy more of them. I have a couple dozen other pieces of old Britwood, and most of them also give me stellar performance.

 

[kenbarnes]

What I have learnt along the way is that some pipe smokers experience pipes smoking wet because they inadvertently touch their tongue on the opening (slot) of the mouthpiece which can create a 'wet smoke - just a thought.

 

[paulfg]

75% technique 25% user has often been stated here.
I have had several Charatan's pipes and they have smoked no wetter or drier than any of my other pipes.
You state you get on better with Italian pipes could this be something to do with draft hole size,many britwood have smaller draftholes than Italian pipes,although I know some Castellos were quite restrictive in the past

 

[alaskanpiper]

I have two, neither smoke wet, and one of them is huge. Both very good smokers.

 

[Civil War]

I have several Charatans (30+), they are amongst my top three favorite makers (the others being Claudio Cavicchi and Peterson). In my Charatan pipes I smoke English style tobaccos (which I keep very dry, almost crunchy) and have not experienced any undue wetness issues.

 

[creole]

I only have three Charatans but have been smoking them for close to forty years without any issue. One of them - a not very collectible Distinction I bought in the mid 1980s - is perhaps my favorite briar for English blends.

 

[mngslvs]

Scottishgaucho : to answer your question, the blends I smoke are almost all virginia based. Maybe one out of 10 or 20 smokes will be an English blend. I don't keep a log of what I smoke in what pipe and when, and I have 27 pipes which I rotate. I average one or two pipe cleaners per smoke in other pipes, and a couple or three of my pipes require not one cleaner in the course of a smoke. So I don't think it has to do with my technique.

 

[cigrmaster]

I own a Lane Era Distinction Grade After Hours Dublin in a group 4 size.
I do enjoy the style of the double bit comfort stem. It is flat and comfortable. My only bitch is the vulcanite stem oxidizes way too much for my tastes. It was an imprtant pipe years ago as I got my first great smokes of Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Fllake in that pipe and it is dedicated to that blend. I would smoke the pipe a lot more if the stem wasn't oxidized as bad as it is. I am just too lazy to do anything about it.

It is a fine smoking pipe.

 

[davet]

I have three pre Lane Charatans with absolutely no problems. If you average one or two pipe cleaners per bowl in other pipes might the problem be you ? I rarely, if ever, use a pipe cleaner unless it's for cleaning.

 

[mso489]

My several English pipes smoke dry -- Ferndown, Britannia, and Parker. However, I generally don't have gurgle from any of my pipes from a number of national origins.

 

[lraisch]

I've owned two Charatans a Belvedere which I still smoke regularly and a bent with a DC bit which I got rid of as the bit was so uncomfortable. Both were dry smokers. I also have GBD, Comoys, Dunhill, Sasieni, Upshall, Barling and Ferndown none of which have a wet smoking problem. In fact I only have to use a pipe cleaner to correct a gurgle once or twice a year. I feel these are on par with my Italian pipes with the possible exception of one of my Castellos which seems to be notably dry.

 

[craig61a]

I’ve got 15-20 Charatans. I never had a problem with them...

 

[BROBS]

If you average one or two pipe cleaners per bowl in other pipes might the problem be you ? I rarely, if ever, use a pipe cleaner unless it's for cleaning.

I never run a cleaner down a pipe while smoking. I’d say it’s the OPs smoking technique. Almost any pipe can smoke dry or wet depending on the user.

 

[mngslvs]

Thanks to all. I still have yet to hear a plausible explanation as to how my smoking technique contributes to gurgle, and even more, why my experience is not consistent across all my pipes. Much has been written about the physics, engineering, calculus, etc of the airway, and I expect that is where the greater part of the problem is. There are pipe doctors out there who owe a good deal of their business to correcting these issues.
But then of course, the rest of you don't seem to have the problem.
So the bottom line is : I am cursed. Born under a bad sign. Maybe I need an exorcist.