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Post by mrlunting on Feb 12, 2021 10:52:38 GMT -5
Have any clay pipes arrived? I'm looking forward to see how this goes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2021 17:25:04 GMT -5
Have any clay pipes arrived? I'm looking forward to see how this goes. Did any of you order a Lepeltier? They have a glaze so there's no issue with heat from holding the bowl. The Peterson clays could be bought with or without a glaze, but I have both and haven't had a heat issue with either. But the above aren't cheap one-piece pipes - those really should be a different discussion. I love my meers, but the Lepeltiers and Petes give a cleaner smoking experience in my opinion. And Lepeltiers aren't expensive. |
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calabash
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Favorite Pipe: Baki meerschaum, 1972 Dunhill
Favorite Tobacco: C & D Yorktown, Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake, Gawith St James Flake
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Post by calabash on Feb 15, 2021 8:09:03 GMT -5
Clay pipes were VERY popular in the Colonies. They find them in archeological digs along the New England coast. A lot are from custom molds with the owners name cast into them. So most well to do people had their own molds, often with slightly customized shapes. They have found thousands of them in digs at Jamestown. |
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Post by taiguy66 on Mar 7, 2021 21:08:40 GMT -5
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Post by trailboss on Mar 7, 2021 23:41:17 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2021 11:57:10 GMT -5
Good read - thanks for posting. I have had more clays arrive - a couple of one-piece'ers and one old one with a thin silver ferrule and vulcanite stem. Giving this more thought, I probably do enjoy my briars more, but it's not because of the material, but rather, the construction - my very best pipes;e.g-Dunhills, Radices, BSTs, are all constructed perfectly - perfect sizes and shapes, no gurgling, feel great in your hand, etc. I bet if any of those pipe-makers made clays or meers, they'd be pretty damned good. |
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Post by jeffd on Mar 11, 2021 12:33:58 GMT -5
Final Report on February Clay month -
I did a lot of traveling in February, and so I did not get to smoke as much as usual anyway, but every smoke in February was clay. I kept it up until last night to kind of make up for the smoking time lost.
Clay is easy to get used to, and the smokes can be heavenly. They are a little awkward to clench, so it is a bit more difficult to be doing something else while smoking. Which only means smoking clay may be a bigger break from the world of doing things.
The following is not rigorously investigated, or even adequately explainable, but I did experience it enough to further ponder - I experienced greater and more frequent nicotine hits with clay, than with briar. Tobacco that had an expected nic hit in briar, punched me out in clay, and tobacco that had little or no nic hit when smoked in briar contained noticeable nicotine in clay.
I looked around the interwebs and could find no corroboration for this experience. I can only guess that some how I am smoking the clay differently than the briar. For example, since I hold clay by the stem, as the bowl gets too hot anyway, and as it is impossible to burn out a clay, perhaps i was drawing more aggressively - something I would control in a briar by not letting the bowl get too hot to hold. That is a working hypothesis anyway.
It was a joy to get back to briar last night. Not a relief, just something old becoming new again. A pleasurable change.
Conclusion: Clay pipes are a whole lot of fun, and smoking clay exclusively for a month was an interesting experience. I will continue to keep February Clay as a yearly practice.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2021 13:51:41 GMT -5
I can only guess that some how I am smoking the clay differently than the briar. For example, since I hold clay by the stem, as the bowl gets too hot anyway, and as it is impossible to burn out a clay, perhaps i was drawing more aggressively - something I would control in a briar by not letting the bowl get too hot to hold. That is a working hypothesis anyway. It was a joy to get back to briar last night. Not a relief, just something old becoming new again. A pleasurable change. I've found that I get a much stronger nic hit if I'm clenching, walking and thinking about stuff. Normally I'm sitting on the porch, holding the pipe, relaxed and clearing my mind - the only thought being the pleasure of the smoke. So to me what you said makes complete sense. |
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Post by jeffd on Mar 30, 2021 15:52:26 GMT -5
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Post by Legend Lover on Mar 31, 2021 1:22:08 GMT -5
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Post by terrapinflyer on Apr 1, 2021 16:18:29 GMT -5
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Post by kxg on Apr 1, 2021 17:25:11 GMT -5
Have any clay pipes arrived? I'm looking forward to see how this goes. Did any of you order a Lepeltier? They have a glaze so there's no issue with heat from holding the bowl. The Peterson clays could be bought with or without a glaze, but I have both and haven't had a heat issue with either. But the above aren't cheap one-piece pipes - those really should be a different discussion. I love my meers, but the Lepeltiers and Petes give a cleaner smoking experience in my opinion. And Lepeltiers aren't expensive. I dug around in a box of old pipes that I bought in a lot from a friend. Sure enough, there is an unsmoked (or so it appears) LePeltier. I've cleaned up the stem and am going to give it a try this evening or tomorrow. I'll report back, perhaps with a pic. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Apr 1, 2021 17:48:25 GMT -5
I've got a couple of horn stems and I like them. They don't break easily or oxidize. |
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Post by terrapinflyer on Apr 1, 2021 17:58:59 GMT -5
I've got a couple of horn stems and I like them. They don't break easily or oxidize. Cool. I've been told that horn was more brittle. No oxidation is a plus, too, because I am lazy. I might think about this pipe --no, no, no, I don't need a pipe! Maybe. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Apr 1, 2021 18:08:29 GMT -5
I've got a couple of horn stems and I like them. They don't break easily or oxidize. Cool. I've been told that horn was more brittle. No oxidation is a plus, too, because I am lazy. I might think about this pipe --no, no, no, I don't need a pipe! Maybe. That particular pipe will always be a novelty. The beachwood will soak up juices and probably burn where it goes into the clay. If you want a clay pipe you can smoke look on eBay for a Zenith double wall. I have 3 or four and they smoke like a clay, have acrylic stems and only get half as hot. www.ebay.com/itm/zenith-porcelain-pipe-with-pewter-stand-gouda-holland-UNUSED-/124654865240?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 |
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Post by terrapinflyer on Apr 1, 2021 18:39:06 GMT -5
Thanks! It looks a little cheesy, but they say it's a Gouda pipe. I'll be in Dutch if I buy a new pipe, though. Dam it.
Seriously, that's cute. I'll keep an eye on the Bay. I've heard those are cooler and hardier, which is good, because I am a klutz.
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Post by Ronv69 on Apr 1, 2021 20:51:04 GMT -5
Thanks! It looks a little cheesy, but they say it's a Gouda pipe. I'll be in Dutch if I buy a new pipe, though. Dam it. Seriously, that's cute. I'll keep an eye on the Bay. I've heard those are cooler and hardier, which is good, because I am a klutz. They have plain ones that look like a Meershaum, but it will smoke the same. The delft ones are more common. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Apr 1, 2021 20:53:02 GMT -5
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Post by terrapinflyer on Apr 1, 2021 21:19:33 GMT -5
I like some of the Zeniths I'm seeing. Thanks, Mister Enabler. Judging by the suggestions for similar items at the bottom of the pages, I might have some splainin' to do to an officer. Ha ha!
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Post by kxg on Apr 1, 2021 21:46:31 GMT -5
Smoking some WC Ernie Morning Pipe in the LePeltier. A full flavor smoke, not unlike a Meer. I seem to be getting the full benefit of the nicotine but yet the smoke is staying relatively cool. Because of the double wall design, the bowl is slightly warm, not at all hot. I should have cleaned this up sooner. I need to do more work on the oxidation on the stem, but the worst of it is off.  |
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Post by urbino on Apr 1, 2021 21:52:08 GMT -5
Smoking some WC Ernie Morning Pipe in the LePeltier. A full flavor smoke, not unlike a Meer. I seem to be getting the full benefit of the nicotine but yet the smoke is staying relatively cool. Because of the double wall design, the bowl is slightly warm, not at all hot. I should have cleaned this up sooner. I need to do more work on the oxidation on the stem, but the worst of it is off. In that shot, at least, the stem looks like it's a good color-match to the stummel just as it is. |
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Post by kxg on Apr 1, 2021 22:48:17 GMT -5
Smoking some WC Ernie Morning Pipe in the LePeltier. A full flavor smoke, not unlike a Meer. I seem to be getting the full benefit of the nicotine but yet the smoke is staying relatively cool. Because of the double wall design, the bowl is slightly warm, not at all hot. I should have cleaned this up sooner. I need to do more work on the oxidation on the stem, but the worst of it is off. In that shot, at least, the stem looks like it's a good color-match to the stummel just as it is. Before I did a little sanding with a micro-mesh stick, the color was more pronounced from the oxidation and tasted bad. After sanding and an application of Obsidian oil it tastes like a normal ebonite stem but is not a polished black. I will likely leave it as is until I decide to put a new cork joint on the stem. |
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Post by taiguy66 on Apr 3, 2021 8:19:07 GMT -5
Yikes... not for me...... |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2021 16:10:08 GMT -5
Smoking some WC Ernie Morning Pipe in the LePeltier. A full flavor smoke, not unlike a Meer. I seem to be getting the full benefit of the nicotine but yet the smoke is staying relatively cool. Because of the double wall design, the bowl is slightly warm, not at all hot. I should have cleaned this up sooner. I need to do more work on the oxidation on the stem, but the worst of it is off. That's a really nice-looking LePeltier. I'm not sure what their stems are made of, but they get ugly very quickly. |
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Post by kxg on Apr 3, 2021 17:10:32 GMT -5
Smoking some WC Ernie Morning Pipe in the LePeltier. A full flavor smoke, not unlike a Meer. I seem to be getting the full benefit of the nicotine but yet the smoke is staying relatively cool. Because of the double wall design, the bowl is slightly warm, not at all hot. I should have cleaned this up sooner. I need to do more work on the oxidation on the stem, but the worst of it is off. That's a really nice-looking LePeltier. I'm not sure what their stems are made of, but they get ugly very quickly. The stems are ebonite, in other words, hard rubber, or vulcanite. My assumption is, there are differing grades of ebonite, depending on the particular recipe. Perhaps that is the issue with LePeltier stems? If the stem is quite oxidized to begin with, it takes some serious sanding and polishing to remove all the oxidation and get back down to good solid black hard rubber. If any oxidation is left on the stem, it will degrade rapidly; at least that has been my experience with hard rubber stems in general. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2021 18:50:18 GMT -5
That's a really nice-looking LePeltier. I'm not sure what their stems are made of, but they get ugly very quickly. The stems are ebonite, in other words, hard rubber, or vulcanite. My assumption is, there are differing grades of ebonite, depending on the particular recipe. Perhaps that is the issue with LePeltier stems? If the stem is quite oxidized to begin with, it takes some serious sanding and polishing to remove all the oxidation and get back down to good solid black hard rubber. If any oxidation is left on the stem, it will degrade rapidly; at least that has been my experience with hard rubber stems in general. Thanks. I suspected they were lower-grade hard rubber or Vulcanite, as they aren't as hard as normal Vulcanite stems. But that might be intentional due to the cork. I don't know. They smoke well though. |
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