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I am very much a beginner at wood turning and mostly use my lathe for pipe repair work.  But I decided to try and make something as a Christmas gift for my wife and it turned out less embarrassing than I expected :lol: Hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Mike.

I haven't been active on BoB in a while, mostly because I've been working too much and not taking the time to relax and enjoy life.  Well, the bombers knocked me out of my routine this weekend, and I thought I would try to jump back in and share some of the work I've been doing. This is one of...

I just completed a series of videos on corncob pipe modification that might be of interest to some of you that like to tinker.  While I think Missouri Meerschaum (and other) corncob pipes smoke just fine as is, there is a lot that can be done to improve or just plain tart up the cobs.  The...

This was an fun restoration of a pipe with an interesting history and a bit of mystery.  As I explain in the first video, the pipe for all the world appears to be a Marxman pipe from the Benchmade Jumbo series, but it is not stamped with the Marxman name.  I've searched extensively and have not...

I've been mostly absent here on BoB for most of the year and I want to check in and explain why.  I also want to tell this story as a cautionary tale and hopefully raise some awareness for all my Brothers of the Briar. Right after the new year I developed some pain in my left chest.  It felt...

This one was a a lot of fun.  I learned a lot on this project as I had never even held a gourd calabash before this one and I had to do quite a bit of research to figure out the best way to clean the gourd.  Honestly I was building the plane as I was flying it, but in the end I'm quite pleased...

I know it's a long shot, but I'm hoping someone might recognize the stamping on this pipe I'm refurbishing.  It is probably a basket pipe, but I would like to decipher the stamping if I can.  Unfortunately it is partial, and while I think the first word is "pipe" it goes down hill quickly after...

This may be old news to some, but the Standard Tobacco new Bengal Slices is now available from P&C: http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipe-tobacco/100142/bengal-slices/#p-194970 I bought a few tins and will let you all know what I think after a few bowls. Its been so long I doubt I really remember...

Here is my latest project, restoration of an L.J. Peretti billiard.  If you are interested the full project is documented here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQFCU-_AnJEnGp3YnnvJ530iAvnezMpsi Thanks for looking, Mike.

Here is my latest estate pipe project.  It is an LL Bean pipe that was made by Dr Grabow as part of the Smokemaster line.  It has a really cool pipe cleaner filter insert in the stem that will probably smoke awful, but is an interesting historical curiosity. If you are interested, I have started...

I've continued my exploration of uncased Virginia tobacco and thought a review of C&D Red Virginia Ribbon might be of interest.  I confirmed with C&D that they only use distilled water in processing their non-aromatics, so if anyone wants to debate that point please talk to them. I've smoked...

I added this blend, and it's periqued cousin Bad Nun II to my recent order from the Synjeco group buy as a afterthought. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was pulled in by the dark black flakes, and the description on the web page stating, “If you like it strong... then you will be...

This is an odd story.  I can usually get away with filling my zippo once every 2 days.  A while back I was out of fluid and stopped at one of these roll your own/hooka/head shops to grab a tin.  Soon after I started having trouble lighting the lighter.  Usually it lights on the first try and...

I picked up an Aldo Velani back around 2000 at a J&R for about $20. It was a second,  but seemed to be in reasonable shape.  When I got it home I discovered a small sandpit in the tobacco chamber, and foolishly  thought I could fix that by building cake.  Well, after a few months the briar...

I'm heading out tomorrow afternoon for a week of trout chasing. I'll start in the Catskills and work my way up to Northern Vermont where I'll be visiting my dad. So I'll likely be offline till after the July 4th holiday. I just finished a marathon fly tying weekend and have my gear ready...

Let me start with a disclaimer.  I do not intend to start a discussion on the merits of popular Virginia blends, or to suggest that anyone that enjoys blends that I do not enjoy is in any way wrong or misguided.  That would be silly as I firmly believe that smoking what you enjoy is the only...

I’ve been smoking this blend for a few weeks and have been thoroughly impressed.  Since I have not seen much mention of it here on BoB I thought a review might be of interest. According to the C&D website, Bayou Night is  “A Scottish type blend of Latakia, Perique, Virginias, Turkish, and...

PublicPiper did a nice job on this one: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h2P7St1pWDw" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" allowfullscreen ></iframe>

After 15 years my beloved Farberware 12 cup percolator has ceased operation. Now before anyone suggests any wacky hipster presses or chemisty set drippers, I grew up drinking Eight-O-Clock coffee ground in a Kitchen Aid burr grinder and perked in a percolator, and that is what I drink now and...

I've never really gotten into aged tobaccos and have been building a cellar from fear of where taxes are heading more than a desire to age the tobacco. Tonight I had a craving for some Old Joe Krantz and opened a jar I had put away 5 months ago. I was surprised at how wonderful the stuff has...