There’s Something About Old Pipes

10th January, 2004: Posted by glpease in Pipes

The aggregation of pipes that I refer to as my collection, though it lacks any sort of cohesiveness that should be present if the title were to fit it accurately, can be loosely divided into two categories - those that I purchased new and unsmoked, and, the larger part, those that I acqired as “estate” pipes. It’s the latter category that has my attention tonight. As I write this, I’m smoking a rather old GBD bent rhodesian. The pipe is lovely in every way. Though it lacks the spectacular straight grain of today’s high-grades, though it’s internal construction may not be as precise or as perfect as that of a modern marvel of briar, it is nevertheless wonderfully cut, comfortable in the hand and between the teeth, made from beautiful wood with wild flames of grain, and nary a sandpit. It is classic and timeless in its shape. I smokes delightfully. Further, it possess something truly special, something that is not, can not be duplicated by any of today’s pipes. It is old. Read more…»

How Does it Smoke?

7th January, 2004: Posted by glpease in Pipes

What are we really talking about when we discuss how a pipe smokes? A pipe is at least two things. Functionally, it is a vessel in which we burn tobacco, but it is also the vehicle through which the flavor of our tobacco is delivered. We tend to stuff these two aspects of a pipe’s smoking qualities into one box, treating them almost interchangably, though they really deserve separate investigation. Of course, to many, importantly, a pipe is not only an object of function, but also one of art, satisfying a desire for aesthetic beauty, but that is a different topic, perhaps for exploration at a later date. Read more…»

Recreating the Past

3rd January, 2004: Posted by glpease in Tobacco

Often, especially at pipe shows, I’m asked why I don’t recreate some of the long-lost blends of yesterday - those classics whose passage from tobacconists’ shelves has been often lamented. You know the ones I’m talking about, or, at least you have your own list. Of course, it’s not just the blends that have disappeared, but those that have been changed radically through reorganizations, buy-outs, manufacturing changes, the disappearance of varietal leaf and, probably, cost cutting measures. My reaction to the question is always the same. To do so is pretty much impossible. Certainly, some have claimed to recreate old blends, but every time I sample them, I’m disappointed with the result. Never once, in my experience, has someone really “cloned” a classic old blend successfully, at least not to my perhaps overly critical palate. Read more…»

Used - Not Abused

2nd January, 2004: Posted by glpease in Pipes

This morning, I received a pipe in the post. I’d placed a bid on Ebay, and was fortunate to “win” the pipe, a wonderful old Castello Sea Rock being sold by a delightful woman named Dierdre for her father. It’s a large piece, a G, shape 34 - a beautiful slightly bent Dublin, with a smooth, wavy top, a red pearlized acrylic mouthpice, sporting the once more common “diamond”, indicating the pipe’s destination for US shores. My first reaction upon looking at the pipe was, “My GOD! How could anyone treat such a nice pipe like that?” There was too much cake in the bowl, cracked and chipping, and crawling over the bowl’s edge. The top was coated with hardened carbon and tar, fully occluding the beautiful red-stained wood that graced the pipe when it was new. The stem, while not chewed, did have a couple of toothmarks, and was rather grimy. The overall appearance of the finish was more gray than black. Read more…»

Filling the Bowl

27th December, 2003: Posted by glpease in Technique

When I first began to smoke a pipe, or rather, when I became serious about our delightful pastime, I seemed to find myself nearly obsessed with the techniques of pipe smoking. I read books, talked to inveterate pipe smokers, conducted experiments, all in the interest of increasing my enjoyment of my new hobby. At every turn, though, I found contradictions. It sometimes seemed that if one were to poll 100 experienced pipesters, one would return with at least 101 answers to each question. Still, after over 20 years of puffing, I sometimes have the idea that I know no more today than I did when I touched my first match to a bowlful of tobacco. Read more…»

‘Tis the Season

19th December, 2003: Posted by glpease in Tobacco

This has nothing, really, to do with the holidays, despite the lyrical allusion in the title. But, as we approach the winter solstice, as the sky changes from blue to gray, as the sun sets earlier, the rains come, and a chill fills the night air, changes, too, come to my pipe smoking. During warmer months, I more often reach for a lighter blend, perhaps a Virginia/perique, a light English or subtle Balkan style. Certainly there are times when I still want a good wallop of Latakia in all its glory, but mostly, it’s the more subdued blends that appeal to me then. Read more…»

The Pleasures and Perils of Perique

18th December, 2003: Posted by glpease in Tobacco

Alliteration aside, perique is one of the most fascinating and temperamental of the tobaccos. No other leaf in the blender’s spicerack has the ability to destroy a blend quite like perique. Bold words, yes, but even the smoky pungency of Latakia must walk in the murky shadow of the piquancy of perique. I said it. I’m prepared to back it up. Read more…»

Duckling into Swan

12th December, 2003: Posted by glpease in Pipes

This is the story of the transformation of a pipe. Perhaps the title is a little misleading. The pipe was never ugly. In fact, it is, and always has been, quite lovely, but beneath that beautiful skin beat a heart as black as the cake I scraped from its capacious bowl. Read more…»

The Fickle Palate

5th December, 2003: Posted by glpease in Tobacco

There are pipe smokers who can smoke the same blend, day after day, year after year, never seeming to tire of it, never wishing to try something new. I am not among their ranks, I am afraid. I can’t really even comprehend such unfaltering allegiance, though I’m often jealous of it. I sometimes long for a tobacco blend that I could smoke happily until the end of my days, but I know myself, I know that such a blend could never exist; my palate, and my pipes, are far too fickle. Read more…»

Evaluating Pipe Tobaccos

2nd December, 2003: Posted by glpease in Tobacco

I’ve read a lot of tobacco reviews, and some of them really puzzle me. It’s remarkable, even unthinkable, that someone would be so bold as to believe they can “review” a blend after only a single bowl, or even two (thought, I’ve been guilty of this myself on more than one occassion). Tobacco blends do not reveal themselves instantly. They emerge in layers, responding gradually to the smokers mood, the environment, the pipe. Even a blend that fails to impress upon first experience can expose its charms to the smoker after many subsequent smokes. Tobacco is complicated stuff. It takes time to get to know a blend. Read more…»

Matching Pipes and Tobaccos—Part 1

1st December, 2003: Posted by glpease in Pipes, Enjoyment, Technique

For quite a while, I’ve been attempting to discover some rhyme and reason for why some tobaccos just seem to “work” better in some pipes than others. At first, I looked to the conventional wisdom of my pipe smoking brethren to find answers. “Flakes are better in small pipes.” “Latakia blends are best smoked in larger bowls.” What I found there was a lot of disagreement, both amongst the folklore I collected, and within the context of my own experiences. I had to seek further to find the key to this particular mystery. I attempted to forget everything I thought I knew about the subject, and set out anew. Read more…»

Dangerous Beauty

28th November, 2003: Posted by glpease in Pipes

There are pipes in my collection that are not the greatest smokers in the world, yet they somehow draw me to continue reaching for them. Something about them whispers in my ear, “Just one more bowl, and I’ll be all that you want me to be.” These pipes manage to seduce me into smoking them again, and again, and again, singing their siren’s song from the rack each time I sail by, until I buckle, succumbing to the sweet melody. Every time, it’s the same. I take the pipe, admire its form, its beauty, its wood, its construction. I choose a tobacco, and prepare for the rites. Read more…»


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