An old friend

Joined : 15 Dec 2007 Posts : 38

Who is your old friend?
When I ask about an old friend I don't mean TJ, PB or any one else on the BOB. I am actually asking about a pipe that you have owned for may years and would not part with.
My old friend is a Lane era rusticated Charatan that I bought in the late 60s. The pipe is stamped with the L in a circle and "Charatan Make London England 211 DC" While I don't remember what I smoked in it, I do remember smoking it in a small office with no ventilation. This was back in the good old days.
My old friend sat in a box for many years and, while it has not received the PSPRR rejuvenation treatment, it has lots of character and helps me enjoy Maltese Falcon.
Who is your old friend?
Bub

Subject: Re: An old friend Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:40 pm

Great topic Bub!

I would have to say that my old friend is a Luciano A0428 with SA in a circle what ever that means. It is the first nice estate pipe that I purchased from a TAPS club member several years ago when I got serious about pipe smoking. I always pickup that pipe when I can't decide which one to smoke and everything smokes well in it. It is a slightly bent sandblasted Dublin. I believe Luciano pipes were made in the Brebbia Factory.
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"Man is the only religious animal. In the holy task of smoothing his brother's path to the happiness of Heaven, he has turned the globe into a graveyard."

Mark Twain

Subject: Re: An old friend Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:43 pm

Mine would be a little lions head meerschaum that my son bought me about ten years ago. Not the greatest of smokers but the minute I pick it up I remember all the good times we have had together.
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Arizona, where the temperature is always warm but the pipe smoking is always cool. Mikem

I highly recommend Scott Bundy at www.piperestore.com for all of your pipe cleaning and restoration work.

Subject: Re: An old friend Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:14 pm

Mine is a fairly large Hardcastes full bent that was picked up for a fiver at a flea market a decade ago.It's a better smoking pipe than any high or ultra high grade I own! Just further proof that it's the briar itself that makes a great smoking pipe...

Best,
Dock

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My Pipe Rack: http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/DockJPerry/?start=0

Subject: Re: An old friend Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:22 pm

Mine is a Savinelli Laguna Billiard (111 KS) I bought in May of 2005, the first "High-quality" pipe I ever bought. It was about the time I switched over from the cheap aromatics offered in town to the few tins of Aperitif, 3-Year Matured VA, and Davidoff Scottish Mixture offered at the local establishment, and it got quite a workout on those blends over that summer! It also had the distinction of being the pipe that I would smoke Erinmore Mixture in for the first (and last) time Embarassed

Doesn't seem to matter what I put in that pipe, it smokes everything absolutely great, though I've since kept it only to VAs.
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-Lew
Lisbon, ND
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Flickr - Kind of Lew
Form 19

Subject: Re: An old friend Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:59 pm

That would have to be my Comoy Lumberman I bought back in the mid 80's at Drucquer & Son's. Did alot of hunting and fishing with it sticking out of mouth. Every nick and scratch has a story, some of then I'm still trying to forget.

Age : 88 Joined : 22 Dec 2007 Posts : 127

I bought a Butz-Choquin in Paris in 1972 on a trip w/ my now wife of 30 years, SheWhoSpeaksLoudly (we met in 1968, and were married in 1978). My wife's older sister married my best friend in 1970, he was in the AirForce, and they went to live in ZweiBrucken, Germany. They had a son for whom we were godparents (I was best man and my now-wife was maid of honor). After the christening, we did some sight-seeing which took us to ....Paris, and the pipe. A BC geant 1/2 bent, with thick walls but light on the jaws. There have been 4-5 stems replaced but the pipe smokes really well; a great at-home pipe.

Subject: Re: An old friend Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:26 am

It would have to be my Dad's Dr. Grabow saddle bit pot. He would be 93 years old now and he quit smoking when he was 50. I still smoke it once a month with a latakia blend in memory. The smell and taste of latakia reminds me of tack polish. When I was young, my dad convinced me that tack polishing was a VERY important job. LOL

Jim
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Not all rainbows end in a pot of gold.

Subject: Re: An old friend Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:25 pm

My old friend happens to 2 brothers. I picked up 2 Peterson Sherlock Holmes pipes from the original series years ago. Although my taste in pipes have changed over the years I still love these. I smoke them regularly and would never part with them.
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United We Stand, Brothers Of Briar

Subject: Re: An old friend Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:00 pm

My old friend would be this Charatan Diplomat, a pipe I've had since I was 19.

It's still a wonderful smoker.

Subject: Re: An old friend Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:34 pm

I have a Comoy Golden Matte Canadian that has seen its share of travels. I have smoked just about every kind of tobacco in it and it perform beautifully. Another would be a Charatan's Make Dublin Executive with a big horkin' bowl that has proved to be a wonderful smoker for several years now.

Jay

Subject: Re: An old friend Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:06 pm

Even ' All, Mine would be the 7 original S.S. Pierce that I bought around 1960, for $2.95 each, all Algerian briar, I've only lost 2 of the originals,I still smoke them to-day, they are going with me to the other side, Mary has her Orders!! tongue

Ken.
Pacem en S.S. Pierce! tongue

Joined : 18 Dec 2007 Posts : 118 Location : West Allis, WI

Mine is a no name italian briar that I picked up 30+ years ago at a local pipe shop.

Not much to look at, after cutting back the shank several times and 3 stem replacements. ( It wasn't much to look at even when new)

This pipe is absolutely the best Virginia smoker I have ever owned.
I have carved exact duplicates of this pipe many times, but none smoke quite as well as this old clunker.

Mike

Subject: Re: An old friend Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:12 am

Subject: Re: An old friend Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:43 am

Thanks, Dock.

I just took the pipe through a refurb and polish shortly before I took the photo. The pipe looks pretty good at this point. Fortunately, you can't see the few handling marks on the bowl in this photo, but it's got them as one might expect.

In terms of taste, I remember getting a very strong recommendation of this pipe when I bought it. I remember thinking that it cost a fortune at the time, which it really didn't. This isn't one of Charatan's premium lines; it is just a Special. Still, it has very good wood and it is a Lane era pipe.

Aside from the flavor - which is superb - the thing I appreciate most about this pipe is the bit. It is supremely comfortable, primarily due to the width. Since the pipe weighs 54 grams (1 1/8 ounces), the nice wide bit makes it seem much lighter than it is.

Neill