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Brothers of Briar

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    New Website and Blog

    Hello, All, As the title indicates, www.howellhandmade.com is up and running on a new host, offering some new features. I’ve worked pretty hard on the blog, if you’d care to have a look. Thanks, Jack
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    Meerschaum vs Briar

    You owe it to yourself to try a meerschaum carved by Fikri Baki. The pipes I have from him are quite a bit superior to those I've had from other makers. I find it takes a longer time for a meer to season and lose its waxy taste, which I don't enjoy at all, than a briar pipe takes to break...
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    Ser Jacopo's Leonardo - a missed concept?

    Hmm. I didn't think there was enough time for tobacco to make its way to France before both Leonard Da Vinci and Louis XII died. I went to the Ser Jacopo site to check out the pipe. I think the scholarship behind it is rather thin. Like you, I see no benefit to it. Briar doesn't get too hot...
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    Need a Dunhill Explanation

    http://www.apassionforpipes.com/classic-blog-posts/dunhill-pipe-or-icon.html
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    Lighter Reviews Anyone?

    Zippo. I don't notice the taste. I wouldn't leave a Zippo anywhere for occasional use as the fluid evaporates within a week, maybe less for some lighters. I have a couple of Old Boys but like the Zippos better, preferring the softer flame and the smooth pocket feel. I have a few cheapo...
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    SCHIP & Other Crap!

    I was wondering this myself. I ordered 5lbs of 5100 last week for $156. The same quantity from the same online dealer is now $196. 25% at a whack seems like a bit much. Jack
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    Dunhill Space Shuttle

    I agree; I think it's just dust and schmutz, not having been smoked. Jack
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    10 Random Facts About Me *Please Join In*

    1. I went through the class C international pistol coaches' school at the OTC in Colorado Springs. 2. I've performed Beethoven 7 over 40 times. 3. I'm allergic to cats. And horses. And seafood. Really bummed about the last one. 4. The coldest I've ever been was hunting ducks in -23F. 5...
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    Mouthpiece murderer?

    Well, yes, the stems are mutilated. But it will perhaps take enough value off the pipes so that the stems can be replaced or spliced and still be a bargain. If they lose the value of having original stems they're no worse off than many pipes that get chewed or broken. They may wind up being...
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    Tinning tobacco...

    Do you have a link? I'm happy with Mason jars, but that sounds interesting. Jack
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    Mouthpiece murderer?

    That's nothing compared with what I've seen some guys do to fly rod grips. It may drive everybody else nuts, but it's hard to argue with somebody modifying his own stuff. The guy figures what good is it to me if it's not comfortable? Jack
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    Smash yer piggy banks boys......

    Yeah, what he said. I remember a couple of years ago, talking on the phone with a man who was buying one of my pipes, $395 if I remember correctly. I told him what I tell all customers, that he should have a good look when it arrived, that it wasn't sold unless he was happy. "Look," he said...
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    Highgrade Grading

    I agree with Rad, the quickness doesn't mean a lack of care. You don't see the years of experience, you don't see the mental images of thousands of pipes in the carver's brain, not to mention that he actually made the pipe and remembers it. It's his area of expertise. We all have such areas...
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    Major cookie monster score

    Great. What am I supposed to do with all this saliva? Jack
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    I have the feeling I've been hosed...

    After the Jao Reis fiasco a couple of years ago, I always (a) make sure the address is firmly affixed, and often write the address in a separate location in ink, and include a slip inside the box with the to and from information; and (b) insure the package for retail value. It pisses me off to...
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    Curt Rollar pipes?

    Yes, that's another topic -- bowl coating or no bowl coating -- that's gotten lots of play over the years. I think a bowl coating does offer some initial protection, but most customers don't want it, and those few who really are going to burn out a pipe are likely to do so, coating or no. I'm...
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    Curt Rollar pipes?

    Hey, Byrd, 1) That's a rare and extreme case, but I used to know a guy who would burn out his pipes just like that, pretty much every one. It was kind of a race, whether he would burn it out before he bit through the stem/ Why didn't he stop? I don't know, some people can't stop chewing...
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    Curt Rollar pipes?

    Yes, that's an excellent example of habitual abuse. Notice the relationship of the damage to the draft hole in most of the pipes. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the CR above, just venturing a possible explanation of how a pipe with such excellent grain and a decent pedigree might...
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    Curt Rollar pipes?

    When the wall of the tobacco chamber begins to char deeper in one spot. Left unattended, this spot can char all the way through to the outside, at which point there is a burnout and the pipe is ruined. There can be a soft spot or a flaw in the briar that allows it to burn, or the smoker may be...
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    McClelland and Ketchup?

    Heh, heh. There were a few other boys around, and it seemed like all of them were fascinated by smoking, while few of them had access to actual tobacco. Coffee grounds and pieces of dried grape vine were two frequently touted alternatives. My pouch of Red Man was an El Dorado in that time and...
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