Pipe Smokers
Question: Which is the best pipe for a new Pipesmoker?
Pipes like many other utility items, have evolved as adaptations and new ideas have come forward to overcome any negatives aspects of their use, making them easier, more enjoyable and satisfying, for those who use them.
With pipe smoking, a problem from day one has been what to do about the moisture which accumulates in the bowl as it is “filtered” out from the burning tobacco, especially with Briar pipes.
Some will be absorbed by the briar itself which is why clean dry Briar is the most chosen wood from which to make pipes.
Some moisture will settle in the tobacco at the bottom of the bowl – forming the “dottle”, which is difficult/impossible to smoke.
This “dottle” needs to be gently cleaned out between smokes to allow the bowl to dry out before it can be put to use again.
Some moisture, increased by the flavouring used in the Modern blends, will flow through the pipe up into the mouth (especially if you are smoking a straight pipe) – distasteful and unpleasant.
There is a theory that this problem motivated pipe makers to produce bent pipes, which make it more difficult to draw the excess moisture up into the mouth.
This was probably successful but it increased the mess in the bottom of the bowl, and increased the wastage of good tobacco - which was expensive.
The term “a smelly pipe” could have originated here, since absorbent pipe cleaners and aerosol sprays were still to join the pipe paraphernalia. Feathers were used to clean out what they could, which wasn’t much.
 Then came the big Game Changer when in 1865 the Irish firm Kapp and Peterson
introduced their “System” pipes. The “sump” collects any moisture condensing
from the smoke in the shank. Likewise any excess moisture entering the pipe from
the mouth will end up in the sump, not in the bottom of the bowl.
This is a common problem with new pipe smokers until the salivary glands become accustomed to the fact that a pipe mouthpiece is not eatable.
The ingenious system pipe minimised this problem by releasing the smoke into the
mouth through the smoke hole on the top of the mouthpiece, not at the tip.
The Peterson system was patented in 1894 and went on to be a top selling pipe, worldwide.
In 1981, after 4 years of research and development Savinelli introduced the “Dry System” pipes, based on the
Peterson design,
but with improvements
- The small round smokehole on top of the mouthpiece was changed into a rectangle across the width of the mouthpiece. This releases the smoke in a fanlike fashion as opposed to the thin jet from the Peterson lip.
- They changed the connection between the shank of the bowl and the end of the mouthpiece from a tapered type (prone to coming apart when twisted even a little) to a parallel peg fitting, which is firm and steady.
- They introduced the option of fitting a 6mm balsa “filter” into the peg to mop up moisture. This made moisture trapped in the sump less likely to spill (or gurgle).
Combined with the pipemaking experience of Savinelli, and the skills of their artisans, in the Dry System pipe you have the makings of the best pipe for any Pipesmoker - new or old. Prices from R1395.00.
So there you have it, our answer to the question - choose the pipe with technically the best design.
Is the Savinelli a little beyond your budget?
Consider the Marca Dry pipe:
With new pipesmokers in mind, after two years of discussion and development
with the manufacturers, we introduced the Marca Dry to South African
pipesmokers in 2015. This excellent value pipe offers all the benefits of the Dry
System pipe other than the smokehole on the top of the mouthpiece.
And the price of R695.00 should suit most budgets.
You don’t fancy a bent pipe?
The Nording Eriksen Keystone pipe has plenty to offer including
- its rugged construction and easy maintenance;
- No dottle - juice won’t stay in the bowl, or reach the bowl from the mouth;
- Lava Pellets in the “sump” chamber under the bowl will trap the moisture and clean up the smoke.
 R715.00
Are you new to pipe smoking, or about to start? Here is some advice to help you on your way.
And here is a good introduction to your new hobby:
You are an old hand on our database?
Take this opportunity to expand your pipe selection to include a System pipe, or to add another to your collection - at a great price.
Colin Wesley
No.467 December 5, 2019 to January 8, 2020 |
Cigar Smokers
Enjoying your cigar – the ash
Once a cigar has been carefully cut and baptised with fire, as Rick Hacker so neatly put it, the anticipation of the expected enjoyment of what is to come arises in the subconscious.
How good is this cigar going to smoke?
From an article I recently found, here are some pointers to look out for as you smoke through the cigar.
The first puffs:
any bitter taste of charred tobacco may spoil these, but this should not last long. Blow gently through the cigar and then continue puffing.
Up to first 2 cm:
if you have been puffing slowly (2 puffs per minute is good), and rotating the cigar with gentle hand movements, the ash should be firm. It is a bad sign if the ash had already started to flake and fall off. This could be from poor quality leaves being used, or poor quality rolling; even a combination of both. Close your eyes and hope things will improve. Make a mental note to avoid this cigar in the future.(Exception, short filler cigars will obviously not hold the ash as long as long filler cigars.)
The ash is firm and stable: good! After a few more puffs, if it doesn’t drop off by itself, gently tap it off.
Note the shape of the hot point of the cigar. The more
cone-shaped, covered with a thin layer of ash, the better.
Why?
Because the Ligero leaf, which contributes most of the taste to the cigar, is normally placed in the very middle of the bunch, and due to its density it burns more slowly than the other leaves in the bunch. The more Ligero in the bunch, the sharper the point of the cone, and the stronger the cigar.
A good cone-shaped ash is considered to be a tribute to the skill of the roller, and to the smoker for the care he has taken to smoke it correctly.
The ash: the colour of the ash is a signpost of the soil in which the cigar leaf was grown. It is not testing the quality of the leaves themselves; it is revealing the natural chemical and mineral combinations of the soil in which the plants were grown.
Potassium and magnesium, which on their own produce white ash, are vital components of the soil for growing tobacco plants. Other minerals in various percentages, which produce grey ash, are needed to balance the composition of the soil for tobacco growing.
Cigars rolled from tobacco grown in central Cuba
(Remedios) produce almost pure white ash.
Cigars rolled from tobacco grown next door in the Vuelta Abajo valley produce grey ash.
The soil in the Vuelta Abajo valley has multiple minerals in almost equal quantities.
Black ash is not a good sign. It may indicate that the soil was rather more suitable for other plants, probably confirmed by the poor smoking quality of the cigar in hand.
Incidentally every tobacco plantation in Cuba is registered, with the soil being regularly monitored to check the soil composition and condition before planting each year.
The ash, like the cigar band, on or off?
Up to a length of 15 to 20 mm the ash will cool the smoke down, making the smoking process pleasantly milder. When it is removed, either by gravity or a gentle tap, there is an evident increase in the taste and strength of the smoke. This subsides as the ash builds up again.
There will be a lot of ash – what to do with it?
 What to do with the cigar if you need to stop smoking it for a short while?
Lay it down, but keep it horizontal to prevent it burning unevenly.
The bitter end - when should you stop smoking a cigar?
To paraphrase Davidoff – stop smoking it when you stop enjoying it.
At the stage when the taste goes from mellow to bitter.
What to do with the cigar when you’ve finished with it?
What not to do: unlike a cigarette it does not need to be stubbed out.
Lay it down and it will extinguish itself after a short while, without any unpleasant smell.
To hold all the ash, and the remnants of the finished cigar, a special receptacle is required:
The receptacle should have a big enough bowl to hold all the ash.
The design should include a support so that the cigar will rest horizontally.
In fact a specialised Cigar Ashtray!
It can be of any material, any price, open or with a lid.
We offer a wide range of Cigar Ashtrays in a wide range of finishes at a wide range of prices.
And right now:
25% off all Cigar Ashtrays (and rests)
From December 12, 2019 to January 8, 2020
Normal prices from R175.00 to R1175.00
Cigar Rests from R65.55 |
 Thought:
You already have a favourite ordinary ashtray?
No suitable ashtray for your cigar?
Convert it to a cigar ashtray with a Cigar Rest – also less 25% for the period.
Out and about? You can carry a Cigar Rest with you!
Colin Wesley
No.468 December 12, 2019 to January 8, 2020 |
(ZAR)
