Daily Archives: October 21, 2012

My Favourite Pipe Spot – A Small Piece of Solitude

When I think of my favourite spot to smoke a pipe I cannot think of a better place than on my front porch. I live in an old Victorian cottage on a side street in East Vancouver. The house is about 112 + years old and has had many face lifts in its long life. Since the photos were taken I have replaced the stairway with more solid new one. Other than that it looks much the same throughout the warm parts of the year. The porch sits about five feet above the street and the rhododendrons along the front of the porch give some privacy while you are sitting and enjoying the spot.

It is a comfortable place in terms of situation but I always like to make it a bit homier by adding to the natural setting. I put a reed mat rug (made of recycled plastic) on the floor of the porch. It is more decorative than necessary, but it adds some ambience to the space. I set up my two wicker chairs and love seat with a wicker and glass table for the accessories and tobacco. The table also serves as a resting place for a cold drink and also the laptop should I want to scroll through a forum while sitting there. There are hanging baskets along the front and side beams of the porch and fichus trees and other trees and plants on the railings and the floor. These also add to the setting. My cocker spaniel Bailey generally joins me on the porch as he enjoys the setting and the scenery. He commandeers one of the chairs as is his spot. And together we sit and observe life on the street out front and walking down the sidewalk outside the fence. Many a time it also serves as a spot to do a bit of quiet reading and writing when the muse moves.

From the porch my small yard is a garden that I enjoy filling with perennials and some annuals to give colour and depth to the foreground. The light green picket fence and gate surround the yard and give a bit of privacy setting it back from the sidewalk.

This spot has become a favourite and comfortable place for me. I find it a spot to relax and unwind throughout the late spring days and on into the late fall. For us here in Vancouver it means that I can set things out about the end of April and use the porch until mid to late October. I can also use it a bit later but it gets cold with the damp winds and rain so it is relegated to the months I have mentioned above. I thought I would share the favourite spot with all of you. Won’t you join me on the porch for a bowl and a visit?

Cheers!

Setting up a Pipe and Tobacco Box Pass

Over the years I have set up several box passes of tobacco to facilitate sampling of different blends and a way of trading pipes. The concept is quite simple and generally works best when kept within a geographic area. For instance – Canadians start a Canadian pass, Americans and American pass, etc. I have found over the years that fighting the Customs people at the borders is not worth the lot of problems that cross border or ocean shipping can cause. The one who starts the pass packs a box with tins or samples of tobacco and a few pipes that are available to each person on the list of those participating. The basic idea can be adapted to fit a particular region or even type of blend. I have also seen it used with cigars and it also works very well.

I am including two documents in this post that I include with each box pass. The first is a document called How It Works. The second is called Contents of the Box – Puts and Takes. The idea of the box pass is explained and a few simple “rules” are included in the How It Works document. I have found it important to include these in the box pass as they give a framework for recruiting of participants in the box pass as well as guidelines for the recipients of the box when they look at the contents and swap tobaccos or pipes.

I have participated in box passes where there were no rules and generally there have been problems with things being lost or kept too long or with items being swapped that had lesser value than the ones that were taken. The Contents document works to keep people honest. It lists what was sent when the box went out and what was taken and added. The Puts and Takes list is updated by each participant. In my passes I have asked that other participants put their name or initials by what they added and/or took.

Box passes are great fun and are a way to connect people who otherwise may not ever connect. I would invite and encourage you to give a box pass a try in your location. Gather about 6 to 12 individuals and collect names and addresses. Make a sheet with these names and addresses in the order of the pass. Send it out to the first name on the list, they will send it to the second and so forth. The last person on the list returns it to the original sender and they can either take and put and start it over or lay it aside until a later date.

HOW IT WORKS: (This is the sheet that I send out with my box pass)

— This pass is open to Canadian Residents ONLY! We have many friends across the borders that we’d love to have participate with us in this pass, but issues with Canada Customs makes this impractical, at best. Our apologies are extended to those Brethren of the Briar outside Canada.

— Each participant can keep the Box till the following Monday before shipping it out to the next person on the list. This means if you get the Box on a Wednesday you can keep the Box till the next Monday (yep, that is 4 days), if you want to ship it sooner you can.
Hopefully this will give you longer to sample the goodies. Feel free to sample from the open tins and from the bulk tobaccos (but, please be sure to reseal the baggies that contain them once you are done thanks!). All that is asked in exchange for this is that you leave something in the box for others to sample. While this is fun, please remember that those further down the list from you are anxiously awaiting the box’s arrival. Uncalled for delays spoil the fun!

— When shipping the box to the next participant the use of Priority Mail service with Delivery Confirmation is required. Shipping via UPS is also acceptable.

— If the box is beginning to show some wear and tear, or needs a bigger box (last time we changed the box several times), please replace it with a new box. “It can make it one more time” thinking in the past has resulted in items being lost due to the box failing while in the shipping company’s hands.

— Puts and Takes should be of like kind of items in the box. If you take a sealed tin, replace it with a sealed tin. If you take a partial tin, replace it with a partial tin. The only caveat is that sealed tins can be used to replace any tobacco in the box. Partial tins in this box will be individually placed in Ziploc bags, so please be courteous and place your partial tins going into the box in Ziplocs as well (this is to insure that they do not dry out).

— Tobacco used for Puts into the box should be of good quality and should be blends that you would like others to try. This is not a disposal service; it is an opportunity to sample and trade for some tobaccos you may not have had the chance to smoke and to give your
fellow Brethren of the Briar a chance to try some tobaccos they may not have tried before.

–Please, no glass containers. One word breakage! `Nuff said!

–Puts and Takes should be notated on the list enclosed in the box. Additionally, all puts and takes should be posted to this thread of the Web forum (if you are a web forum member. Web forums are great places to recruit a list). Remember: That part of the fun of participating in a box pass is watching the thing play out on the board!

CONTENTS OF THE BOX – PUTS AND TAKES (this is a copy of the initial list I sent out in the last box pass I sent out. I include it to give you an idea of how it works for the one starting the pass.)

(Note: Alongside the item you take from the list of contents add your name. Add your puts at the end of the list and also add your name. It is always interesting to follow the box and see what others have taken and put in. Thanks!)

Tobacco

1 unopened tin of GLP Haddo’s Delight

1 unopened tin of Bjarne’s Flake DeLuxe

1 unopened pouch of Three Star China Black Whiskey

1 unopened pouch of Three Star China Black Fire Cured

1 unopened pouch of Three Star China Black Vanilla Burley

1 opened tin of F&T Blackjack (VA Flake)

1 opened tin of Dunhill Royal Yacht (older and a bit dry but smokes well)

1 50 gram +/- of GLP Tribute (this is the first edition of this tobacco. It came out after 9/11.)

Accessories

2 Drift wood tampers from the Pacific Ocean

3 briar tampers

Pipes

1 Edwards Algerian Briar Canadian (refurbished, new stem and ready to smoke – older probably 50’s)

1 Edwards Algerian Briar Canadian 721 (refurbished, original stem, ready to smoke –older probably 50’s)

1 Weber Blackthorn 245 (shank was repaired by Mel Cates, YPSC, barely smoked, very good condition, ready to smoke)

1 Milano (a Savinelli second, there is a new stem with it and the original as well. Ready to smoke.)

1 Middleton Silvay, a saddle stemmed lumberman. (refinished, stained and waxed, ready to smoke)

Refurbishing a GBD Penthouse with a Chairleg Stem

While scanning EBay for interesting old pipes to work on I came across a pipe for sale with the stamping Penthouse. There was little other information on the advert regarding the pipe but it looked interesting to me. The chairleg type stem made me think of the series of pipes that Al (upshalfan) has restored so I put a bid in for the pipe. I contacted Al and he sent me the following picture from a Tinderbox catalogue showing that indeed the pipe was a GBD line. (NOTE: The GBD catalog page came courtesy of Jerry Hannah. Jerry created the GBD Shapes/Model page that I frequently use for reference. I’m not sure if he reads this blog, but if so, thanks!) The headline on the page says that GBD breaks with tradition and forges bold new designs. Pipes marked J, K, and L in the picture below are all Penthouse pipes. I have no idea where they took the name but let imaginations rest, the pipes are stunning and the stems are uniquely beautiful.

The Penthouse pipe that I bid on and subsequently won is an apple shape. The first six photos below are the seller’s pictures. It was these pictures that tempted me to place my initial bid on this pipe. As it turned out I was the sole bidder. The stem was badly oxidized and had some tooth chatter at the button. The stamping showed up but was not as deep as it appears in the photos. The rim appears to be darkened but not charred in the photos and the finish appeared to be dirty but not dented or scratched deeply. It was stamped on the left side- Penthouse in script over Made in England in block letters. On the right side it was stamped London England over 347. Now the wait began.

When the pipe arrived it was much as the pictures had shown. I am never sure what to expect when I bid on these old pipes as I have been utterly surprised both ways – they have shown up in much worse shape than the photos showed or in much better shape. The next four photos show it as it appeared when I removed it from the box.

The finish was actually quite dirty. Many of the dark areas of the finish were actually grime and grit and not the understain on the pipe. I wiped the pipe down with acetone to remove the grime. I also used a battery terminal brush to clean out the remaining cake remnants in the bowl. Then I dropped the bowl in the alcohol bath and the stem in a bath of Oxyclean. The bowl sat for about an hour in the alcohol bath and the stem sat in the bath overnight. When I removed them I cleaned out the shank and the inside of the stem until the pipe cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean. I wiped the entirety with a soft cotton pad and acetone to remove any remaining grime and the next series of four photos show the state of the pipe at this point in the process. The alcohol bath and acetone had successfully removed the remaining finish and the grime on the surface of the pipe. The Oxyclean had done a great job on the oxidation. You will notice the shiny areas on the top of the stem – I had run my fingernail across the surface to show how the oxidation had softened. It was ready for the next step in the process of cleaning the stem.

The next two photos show the stem after I had scrubbed it with a Magic Eraser. The stem was wet and shiny and you can see the oxidation on the Magic Eraser under the stem. I continued to scrub the stem with the Magic Eraser until it came out clean.

The oxidation was greatly decreased at this point but there was more work to be done on the stem. The hard points on the stem were obviously around the chairleg section. The grooves were difficult to get to with the Magic Eraser. I decided to use some Meguiar’s Scractch X 2.0 which is a scratch and blemish remover for auto paint finishes. I used soft cotton pads (makeup removal pads) with a spot of the Scratch X 2.0 on them to scrub the grooves and the area around the button as well. The next series of three photos show the stem after the scrubbing with X 2.0. The oxidation is further removed but still evident.

At this point I continued to scrub with the X 2.0 until the stem was once again black. I buffed the stems with White Diamond on my buffer once that was finished. The next two photos (please forgive the blurry focus) show the stem after the application of Obsidian Oil to the clean stem. I left the Obsidian Oil on the stem until it was absorbed and then coated the stem with an initial coating of carnauba wax to protect it while I went to work on the bowl.

I coated the bowl with an oxblood aniline stain. The next two photos show the coated bowl before I flamed the stain to set it in the grain. The stem appears to be brown again but I had coated it with wax and left it to dry while I worked on the bowl.

I buffed off the stain with a soft flannel cloth that is pictured below. I wanted to highlight the variety of grain in the pipe so that is why I chose the stain I did. It also shows that the black understain that appeared in the original photos still remained and makes the grain very visible in the pictures below.

Once the stain was dry I put the pipe back together and took it to my buffer. I buffed the stem and bowl with White Diamond until is shone. Then I moved on to a soft flannel buff with carnauba wax and a final polishing buff with a clean soft flannel buff. The finished pipe is pictured below. All that remains is to fire it up and enjoy a bowl in the “new” Penthouse pipe. The stamping on the stem is still present and not harmed by the work but it is light and will not hold any whitening product.