First Bowls - Impressions of a new Will Purdy Pipe

11th November, 2005: Posted by glpease in Pipes

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I was working on an article, This Old Pipe, about restoration of vintage briars, when I was derailed by something else; I don’t always have the longest attention span in the world. As I was writing, I was also smoking, really “breaking in” my latest pipe by Will Purdy, and simply HAD to take some time to put a few words on the page about the pipe, its aesthetics, it’s construction, its maker, and its characteristic Purdy smoking qualities. The other thing will just have to wait.

This pipe, one of his “007” models, was one of those unexpected gifts that sometimes arrive to bring some light to a dreary day, and it did that well. It’s a smallish pipe, with a conical bowl, somewhat narrower than Will’s “Martini,” and fitted with one of his exquisite saddle stems in brindle (“Cumberland”) vulcanite. The tobacco chamber, about 19-mm at the top, is drilled almost parabolically, to fit within the constraints of the bowl’s exterior. It’s 29-mm depth provides room for about 3-g of tobacco, just right for a morning’s smoke. Read more…»