The Pipe Whisperer - Part I

22nd January, 2008: Posted by glpease in Pipes

For quite a few years, this little Charatan Special has been hiding in its box, feeling bad about its broken stem. It had one of those peculiar Charatan “Double Comfort” mouthpieces that had gotten its fingers slammed in the glove box or something, snapping it right at the junction between the first and second comforts. Truth be told, I’ve never really liked this style of mouthpiece. It’s always seemed like a lot of extra effort in an attempt to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. The result is a stem that is neither particularly comfortable, nor particularly attractive, and the removal of so much material makes it demonstratively weaker at the junction of the additional “step.” (For those who don’t know what the “Double Comfort” mouthpiece is, it’s a stepped saddle-bit, cut quite flat, with the thinnest section just behind the button where the smoker’s teeth clench it, and a thicker section making up the balance of the saddle.) Read more…»

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