To Every Pipe Its time

Falling within the 4 1/2 inch limit of my latest smoking faze but not in my rotation at the moment is an old favorite, a Kirsten. Called a Jewel in their catalog, I've owned this pipe for many years, perhaps 15. Interestingly, Kirsten is located in Seattle where I lived and smoked for 9 years but never discovered them. I did visit their retail store in Seattle some years after I left when I was back visiting. I decided to try this pipe way back when because of its size and the promise of its ability to be smoked time after time with no need of rest days in between. At the time (as now) I had to restrict my pipes to those that could be smoked in a relatively short time since almost all of my smoking must take place out of doors. In addition I was going through a period when the pressure of deciding which pipe to smoke somehow became to much for me. I get that way sometimes. Anyone else ever have this happen? Despite, or really because of the number of pipes I own, deciding which to smoke somehow sometimes becomes a daunting decision. The notion of having an all-the-time pipe became very enticing. So I purchased the Jewel and, indeed, did smoke it non-stop for a long time. For the most part I found it lived up to its advertised claims. Near the end I finally tired of it for one reason or another and returned to my regular pipes. But not before purchasing a couple of more Kirsten's, larger bowl sizes so as not to be restricted to quick smokes. I never really enjoyed the larger sizes as much for whatever reason. But now that I've discovered them all again, I'm going to give them a try again.



The prices of these pipes blows me away. The Jewel is listed at $67.00 and the others go up from there. I can't remember spending anything near that much, but of course that was many years ago. If your looking for a reliable everyday pipe and haven't tried one of these very interesting alternatives to briar take a look at their catalog here.

Pipe of the Week




Another in my regular rotation of nose warmers. This is one of my favorite pipes (so much so that when the cat knocked it down and it cracked, I searched high and low and found a replacement. They are not that easy to find!) It is an unusually shaped oval bowl. I hope the pictures do that fact justice. It is 4 1/2 inches long with a 1 inch smoking bowl depth and a bit less in diameter. The perfect short smoke! The only drawback is a tight stem. I've been considering getting it widened, but haven't mustered the courage to try. I know there are some aficionados who do this regularly, but I've never felt the need. I don't suppose I'm a stickler for originality so much as afraid something will happen to the pipe. I'm not about to buy a third one. Usually, if I get it cleaned out well, it isn't a real problem. Just a minor annoyance.

The Tobacco Bar
This week I broke open a tin of McCleland's Dark Star. It is a mixture of pure Virginia tobacco and North Carolina tobacco. I've had it in my pipe closet for at least three years, possibly four. It is a lovely smoke. That nice sharp, unmistakable Virginia taste, but without the bite that I've traditionally associated with straight Virginia's. I usually like my Virginia spiked with Perique, the more the merrier, but this blend has enough taste to carry itself all alone. I'm not sure it is still available, but if you find a tin, give it a shot.

Finally today I want to mention a great on-line pipe community that I've joined and have been participating in a bit over the last week or two. It is called My Pipe Community and if you're interested in a low key, friendly pipe place without some of the posturing and showboating that I've noticed on other virtual communities, give it a try.

An Extra Bowl

Last night was the monthly meeting of the Christopher Morley Pipe Club. I haven't been to a meeting in years. That's a long story mostly having to do with the exigencies of my schedule, but I was able to attend last night at what for me was a new and very comfortable location, the Pen&Pencil club. Being a private club, smoking is not forbidden. Food and drink are available. It was great to see some of the original members of the club, co-founder Bob, old comrades in smoke George and Steve and Bruce. there were only two fellows who I didn't know and they were very nice. It was a small crowd, I'm told the smallest in years. In my honor I suppose. But it really was pleasant and I hope to make it part of my schedule more regularly in the future.

Pipe Photos

Continuing my leisurely reading of all the archived posts of the blog A Passion For Pipes recently brought me to one that described a pipe photography contest conducted by the Barcelona Pipe Club. Of the photos displayed on their site, this was my favorite, but there were many others to choose from.



You should go and check it out for yourself: click here.

A Little Bit Of Heaven

This is a pipe-related note. I am presently on Sabbatical from my pulpit and have been using the time to write a book that I have been working on for a few years. Since the Sabbatical began at the beginning of January I've been fairly disciplined about getting up and going to my desk and writing for a good part of the day. In years past, and for my three previously published books, I have written everything by hand and then transferred it to the computer. Early on I decided that that wasn't going to work this time. Since my laptop is old and clunky and my desktop is new and highly functional I gave up my previous routine of writing at one of a number of local cafes. But this week my wonderful wife bought me an HP Mini. I can almost fit it in my pocket, it comes with Windows, I loaded OpenOffice, an open source free office suite that is easily compatible with Microsoft Word and I was portable again. Today I began writing at a Starbucks, the third different cafe of the week trying to find the one that is most comfortable. This Starbucks is located three doors down from Holt's tobacco Shop mentioned in a previous post and i figured I'd grab a pipe after I finished work. After a couple of hours at the coffee shop I became restless and gathered up my things and wandered into Holt's lounge. Lo and behold I could continue working simply by keeping the Mini on my lap. After a little while, Phyllis, the den mother of the lounge brought out a stack table for me and I continued writing for another couple of hours, this time smoking 2 pipesful as I worked. I haven't been in a workspace where i could smoke my pipe for decades! What a treat. It will not be the last time, I can tell you that.

By the way I finished my can of G.L. Pease Embarcadero in my Former nose warmer(see below) while I worked.

PIPE OF THE WEEK



Every few years I re-arrange my regular pipe rotation. That is the group of usually 12-14 pipes that I smoke on a regular basis, one per day for a bowl or two or at most three and then allow it to rest until I get back to it days or sometimes up to a week later. For the last few years I've been smoking straight billiards but recently I re-organized my collection and decided to construct a rotation out of pipes recently called "nose-warmers," a term I must admit I don't remember from my early days of pipe smoking or collecting. I'm not sure when it came into general use, but it must be relatively recently. I define a nose-warmer as any pipe, regardless of shape, under 4 1/2 inches long. Most of these tend to be straight or at most 1/4 bent pipes and I actually have a good collection of them, some from some of the finest pipe carvers around. I intend to display and describe these pipes in my pipe of the week feature until we've worked our way through them all, though I won't always feature only one at a time so that we can get to some others before summer :)

The pipe pictured above is a Radice hand made in Italy. It measures 4 1/2 inches in length. With a 1 3/4 bowl depth and 1 inch bowl diameter (inside) in carries a substantial amount of tobacco. The bowl diameter (outside) is 1 1/2 inches, providing a very cool bowl to the touch. It is a tan sandblast with vertical striations, I assume carved, against the grain. A handsome and good smoking, mid-level pipe.

Introducing:Pipe Of The Week

In addition to whatever other random thoughts about pipes and tobaccos that I decide to share each week, I am going to focus on a different pipe from my collection each week. Usually it will follow the regular post of the week, but today I am beginning with it as an introduction.

The pipe pictured below was made at my request by American pipe-maker Mark Tinsky. Mark's American Smoking Company used to have its headquarters in Mt Pocono Pennsylvania near where Annie and I spent and continue to spend most summers. I visited Mark each summer, as I mentioned in my first post, I interviewed him for Pipe Friendly magazine and eventually was able to use his equipment to make my own pipe (not this one!)I asked mark to create this pipe modeled after the next pipe pictured below:



As you can see it is a traditional clay pipe that I bought from Olde World Clay Pipes by Stephen Bray, which I don't think exists anymore but used to make authentic clay pipes in the traditional manner. It is a fine specimen, but not too convenient for smoking. I loved the shape and the "look" of the pipe so I asked Mark to create it in briar as a sandblast. He did a magnificent job, did he not?



You can see the lovely grain of the pipe in this shot.



I am continuing to enter my pipes into the foundation database and therefore continuing to re-acquaint myself with some old friends. The newest edition of Pipe and tobacco magazine arrived in the mail today and I will take a close look at it tonight. Next Wednesday night is the monthly meeting of the Christopher Morley Pipe club of Philadelphia. I co-founded the club back around 1997. I used to attend regularly, but my schedule finally made it impossible. I haven't been to a meeting in a couple of years and the club has had to change locations a number of times due to the anti-smoking rules that have come into effect. I am planning to return to the club next week. It should give me something else to talk about in the blog.

Another Update - Out Of A Rut

This really won't become a daily habit. It's just that I'm getting a variety of ideas, all of which helped spawn this blog, out little by little. I basically want to talk about Pipes and tobaccos Foundations. A wonderful web-based fellowship of pipe smokers. I can't imagine having time to utilize the chat rooms, but the forums are interesting and I have been able to peek into them a bit. But the best part is the pipe and tobacco organizational software that you can download from the site. It allows you to enter each pipe you own, accompanied by more information than many of us, or me at least, can supply. Obviously the name and carver or company, the shape, the type of bit and stem, whether it was purchased new or from an estate, measurements,value etc. I decided right away not to get obsessive about it and leave out those spaces for information that either don't mean much to a low level collector like me, or that are too hard for me to figure out. But by using it slowly to enter all my pipes (including photographing them) I feel I am accomplishing a number of long standing goals. First, for insurance or eventual inheritance, my collection will be documented. Second, there is a pipe log that allows you to enter every time you smoke, which pipe and which tobacco. I have always struggled to remember whether I've allowed particular pipes to rest sufficiently. You can pre-set you rest requirements and the software will tell when its ok to smoke that pipe again. More importantly, by actually taking my pipes out of the cabinet and taking a look at them I've reminded myself of many good smoking pieces that have languished simply having been usurped by more recent acquisitions. this weekend I've smoked nothing but pipes I haven't smoked in years. I feel like I went out on an enormous buying spree and it didn't cost me a dime. How many of us abandon perfectly good pipes simply because we've been attracted to newer one's? If you're like me you might want to use Foundations to help remedy that situation. There is a very modest membership cost. And if you prefer, just cull through your pipe racks and pick out an old friend and get re-acquainted. Get out of the rut!

Below is a shot of my regular smoking hang-out. The lo9unge at Holt's Tobacco shop. What an incredible gift in the day and age of diminishing venues to enjoy a pipe. I can walk there from home or work, have a pipe, get a cup of tea or coffee, read, shoot the breeze with the regulars of visitors. In the winter it is invaluable. Now as the days warm I'll use my back-yard or the park near work more often, but it is a true haven. If you get to Philadelphia dont miss it.

Maltese Falcon

Yet another update between weekly "official"posts. In this one I want first to explain the name of this blog. I am not preaching to anyone about anything from my "pulpit." Although I hope that my enthusiasm for things related to pipes will do my preaching for me. Rather, the name of this blog is simply a reflection of my professional situation, which you might know something about if you've read the profile in the sidebar. I am a Rabbi with a congregation. Pipe Pulpit just seemed appropriate.

As to the subject of this post: Maltese Falcon tobacco by G.L.Pease. It is a traditional English blend, which, for those of you who may be novices, means a blend of Virginia and Oriental tobaccos with the indomitable presence of Latakia providing the central flavor element. It is usually the presence of Latakia the divides those who love English blends from those who hate them. For as long as I can remember I have been in the latter group. I can vaguely remember smoking the most famous of the English blends, Balkan Sobranie, back when I was in college. It was the must smoke blend of the college set. I hated it, though as a good adolescent I persevered in smoking it for some time. When I finally had the self-confidence to recognize that I hated it I was able to make the switch first to mostly milder Burley blends and then settle in with my regualar smoke for most of the last 25 years, Virginia/Perique blends. But I recently read a bit about Maltese Falcon in A Passion For Pipes and thought it waas about time I tried an English blend again. So I took out my personally commissioned Mark Tinsky created old clay pipe made in briar:



and went out to the front stoop which is my smoking room and fired up some Maltese Falcon expecting to be unhappy. boy was I ever wrong and man what have I been missing?! This was a remarkably smooth smoke and the Latakia rather than overwhelm as I remembered added a richness and depth that really transcends my poor verbal abilities to describe. At the same time I knew that I didn't want to smoke this tobacco all day. Perhaps that had been my mistake back in college. After dinner it goes well. In the morning? Not so much, I think. So yesterday morning I went back to my present regular smoke Stokkebyes Bull's Eye, but found that by late in the day I was beginning to anticipate the treat of Maltese Falcon.



Sure enough, after the flower Show Annie and I went out for Chinese food and when I came home I could hardly wait to get outside, this time in my Barbi billiard nose-warmer, and light up Maltese Falcon. It was deeper and richer than the night before. This is a heck've a tobacco blend. You should give it a try whether you typically smoke English blends or not. Until next time:
Smoke in the street

Second Light

I told you there would be some updates, especially this first week as I get into this. I wanted to mention that in addition to A Passion For Pipes blog that I mentioned last time, I have been listening to a number of pipe podcasts that have been very informative and even inspiring. There are three such podcasts. I listened to a few episodes of the Old Toby podcast and decided to unsubscribe. Enough said. Then there is Pipe Talk, which has definitely grown on me. It is by two or sometimes three guys just kind of talking about pipes. Their enthusiasm overcomes their clear lack of expertise. some of their misstatements just really grate on me (I've had to email them about one) but in the end I must say I like it. But far and away the best is called the Oom Paul podcast. Olie Sylvester is the host. I know nothing about him, but he is clearly knowledgeable and almost all the shows are interviews with really interesting and important people in the pipe world. His questions and conversations with these folks is quite intelligent. Come to think of it, when the guys on Pipe Talk do interviews, those shows are quite good. Their interview with the pipe seller Frenchy was a gas. All of these are available in i tunes. You really should at least take a listen to Olie.

That's all I wanted to add. There is much more. Today I attended the Philadelphia Flower show. As close as I came to a pipe was this hookah in flowers:



Smoke in the Street

Charring Light

That is the first rather tentative light of a pipe. Just enough to get things started, but not enough to keep things going. Hopefully, when the second light is applied, the pipe will burn coolly and continuously thereafter. I have chosen that phrase for this first post, as it is analogous. I am not an pipe expert not am I significantly connected to the pipe establishment either the professionals or the very talented amateur collectors and commentators who add so much to our hobby. I dabble in that world. I have a modest 100 or so pipes, many from well known companies or carvers. Usually the lowest price point those companies and carvers offer. I don't specialize and sometimes I can't even remember the name of a shape or all the parts of a pipe. I don't obey a lot of the rules about pipe rotation or (I must admit) even pipe cleanliness. Until this week (more about that later) I rarely experiment with different types of tobacco until I get entirely sick of one type. As I said, I dabble. I’ve been smoking a pipe since 1965 (that’s 43 years!) I've written two articles many years ago for Pipe Friendly magazine, an interview with Mark Tinsky and another with J.D. Boswell when both were pretty much starting out. I dabbled in tobacco blending and help a friend come up with a couple of blends that are still sold by Cornell and Diehl. And for a very short time I helped write the tobacco reviews in Trail by Fire in Pipes and Tobaccos magazine. My membership number in The Universal Coterie of Pipe Smokers (of blessed memory) is 778, which indicates that I have been around for a long time and own original copies of the Pipe Smoker's Ephemeris going back to 1971, only a few shy of a full set without having to buy the bound edition. I co-founded the Christopher Morley Pipe Club in Philadelphia, though my schedule has precluded my attending for at least the last 3-4 years. You can see I love pipe and smoking pipes and reading about pipes. I have also been blogging about bicycles and bicycle riding for the past almost three years. So I guess I like to blog. Either that makes me a narcissist or friendless or both. But for the last few weeks I've been reading some blogs about pipe smoking and listening to some podcasts about pipe smoking and I thought, this might be fun. First rule however: no way can I write about pipes every day. So from the beginning I’m going to make this a weekly blog with occasional updates between times. But this is going to have a publishing date, so to speak, each Thursday night starting tonight.

So much for introductions. I have a list of things I want to talk about and I’m going to parcel them out over time. For today I just want to say a few words about pipe blogs more generally. I must admit that I owe the provenance of this blog to the blog called A Passion For Pipes written by Neil Archer Roan. Neil is a prodigious collector of pipes, specializing in North American carvers. He has an astute aesthetic sensibility and best of all is one hell of a writer. The sheer love and level of discourse he brings to the hobby weirdly inspired me when it should have intimidated me. I have almost finished reading over three years worth of his posts from the archive and have learned an incredible amount. You should do the same. I may have a bone or two to pick with him before we’re through, but for the moment I have nothing put awe. So that got me started, but since then I’ve jumped in (as I am wont to do) and have, as I wrote, generated a number of other things I want to share with you. All in good time. Until next week or next update: Smoke in the Street.