Anyone try a Davorin Morta?

[joequo]

I've been a long time admirer of Davorin's pipes. I was wondering if anyone has some to show off? Right now pipes2smoke.com has this one that I think is pretty sweet lookin'.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Davorin's a really nice guy, and very good at what he does. He and I have exchanged emails quite a few times. I just can't afford his work.

I get my morta pipes from our own Todd Harris here on BoB. 8)

 

[skaukatt]

I have one that I purchased about two years ago. I like Davorin's work which is what led me to buy this pipe. I will say that it smokes perfectly but it defies reason - why? It will not pass a pipe cleaner, not that that is the do all to end all in my opinion as I have a bunch of pipes that do not pass the cleaner test and smoke great. I was less a stickler for that a while ago than I am now and I will still buy a pipe if I really like it and it fails the test but these days I find myself more inclined to wanting that construction feature in a pipe I purchase.

Honestly, I was a bit miffed when I got this pipe but it smoked so perfectly, (seemingly to defy reason - I say that based upon the cleaner test failure) that I just kept it and it is in my usual rotation. I did not contact Davorin since it smoked fantastically despite that issue. I have absolutelly no issues other than I cannot pass a cleaner through to the bowl while smoking which is something I prefer to have the option to do.

In all other respects the pipe is beautiful and again, it is a great smoker!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I have heard from more than one person that morta is extremely hard to work with, and because of this, I believe drilling would present a problem (especially in bent pipes). Drilling involves getting the angle right, and if it is off (or skips) even half a degree, the craftsman might opt to retry or scrap the project. Morta is also very expensive material to procure. What likely happened is there was a bit of an unpredictable path and Davorin had to readjust, and there really isn't a way to "smooth out" the first pass, and it's possible that's what your pipe cleaners are hanging up on. I'm pretty sure it wasn't quality negligence.

Always insist on quality, I'm with you there. I do, however, think morta can be judged a little differently than briar. Unless you believe the standard should be "all pipe clears must pass" on morta, which would mean more throwing away of morta, and the price going up to $1,000+ per pipe.

Just some thoughts.

8)

 

[skaukatt]

I have heard from more than one person that morta is extremely hard to work with, and because of this, I believe drilling would present a problem (especially in bent pipes). Drilling involves getting the angle right, and if it is off (or skips) even half a degree, the craftsman might opt to retry or scrap the project. Morta is also very expensive material to procure. What likely happened is there was a bit of an unpredictable path and Davorin had to readjust, and there really isn't a way to "smooth out" the first pass, and it's possible that's what your pipe cleaners are hanging up on. I'm pretty sure it wasn't quality negligence.

Always insist on quality, I'm with you there. I do, however, think morta can be judged a little differently than briar. Unless you believe the standard should be "all pipe clears must pass" on morta, which would mean more throwing away of morta, and the price going up to $1,000+ per pipe.

Just some thoughts.

8)

Thank you, Kyle, that was very educational! I would think that this is precisely what happened. I did not know that morta was so difficult but thinking about it now I can understand why.

Also, I don't think you inferred that I did but, I never for once questioned the quality of the pipe, I mean just look at the photos.

That "path" thing you describe seems to be what's going on there in my pipe - I say that because even with the stem removed it will not pass a pipe cleaner without twisting, turning and bending it to adjust for a different path, or an interruption in the path and then proceed to the bottom of the bowl. This is what really got me miffed initially. I am not describing that as eloquently as you did in your explanation but that is what's going here I presume.

Again, while I do like a pipe to pass a cleaner test and think that it definitely aids in a better smoking experience, I am not opposed to purchasing a pipe simply on its failure to pass a cleaner through. Yes, I work hard for my money and money for pipes comes by with much effort on my part so I would prefer the pipe to include this feature but I would not pass on a pipe that I absolutely love the look of. I would really have to love it though.

Thanks!

 

[Hermit]

I have one Davorin morta. Great pipe.
I'd prolly have another at least if he listed prices on his website.

Hint to pipe makers: Make yer site easy to order from.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I'm with ya 100%, skaukatt. I LOVE the look of morta (I have two now, both from Todd Harris), and both of them smoke brilliantly. I also much prefer a pipe to pass a cleaner--I'm a "wet" smoker, and being able to sop up excess moisture when it happens is a must...even if it happens infrequently since I've been practicing to smoke drier. Spending money on pipes should mean you're totally happy--I'm not a rich man, but like to live richly. :lol: Sometimes that can be tough.

There's a lot of folks who would likely consider a pipe not passing a cleaner as a flaw of crafting or manufacturing, and for a machine-made pipe, sure--fair game, however, I don't know any manufacturer of a major company that uses morta, only artisan or small-time carvers (I could be wrong). Probably because it is so expensive and tough to work with.

Sorry to hear your Davorin gives you pipe cleaner problems...but if it smokes great and looks great, it's worth it! Your pipe is a stunning example of his work. 8)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I have one Davorin morta. Great pipe.
I'd prolly have another at least if he listed prices on his website.

Hint to pipe makers: Make yer site easy to order from.

From what I understand from him, he goes through a specific distributor (in Canada, I think?) for those of us across the Atlantic from where he lives, and prefers we Yanks go through them. I can't remember who they are... *shrug*

 

[joequo]

I have one Davorin morta. Great pipe.
I'd prolly have another at least if he listed prices on his website.

Hint to pipe makers: Make yer site easy to order from.

From what I understand from him, he goes through a specific distributor (in Canada, I think?) for those of us across the Atlantic from where he lives, and prefers we Yanks go through them. I can't remember who they are... *shrug*

The North American distributor is www.pipes2smoke.com

 

[Hermit]

I have one Davorin morta. Great pipe.
I'd prolly have another at least if he listed prices on his website.

Hint to pipe makers: Make yer site easy to order from.

From what I understand from him, he goes through a specific distributor (in Canada, I think?) for those of us across the Atlantic from where he lives, and prefers we Yanks go through them. I can't remember who they are... *shrug*

The North American distributor is www.pipes2smoke.com

I bought mine directly from his site (for $210.00.)

 

[joequo]

I have one Davorin morta. Great pipe.
I'd prolly have another at least if he listed prices on his website.

Hint to pipe makers: Make yer site easy to order from.

From what I understand from him, he goes through a specific distributor (in Canada, I think?) for those of us across the Atlantic from where he lives, and prefers we Yanks go through them. I can't remember who they are... *shrug*

The North American distributor is www.pipes2smoke.com

I bought mine directly from his site (for $210.00.)

That was a helluva deal!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

He's commented that the North American distributor was a bit of a high price... :| Great deal, Hermit. Maybe he'll do more personal orders directly from him.

 

[Fishfuzz]

Didn't expect this thread to lead me down such an interesting rabbit hole of information. I'll have to put a Morta on my list.

 

[joequo]

On a side note, does anyone feel like any particular type of tobacco has paired best with their morta pipe? I have an Chris Askwith morta that seems like it was made for 1792 flake.

 

[skaukatt]

In my opinion, LATAKIA blends work perfectly with morta pipes. That being said, I bought the Davorin morta to smoke Virginia blends from since at the time I had a Tom Richards that I smoke English blends out of. Since then I have added a Trevor Talbot morta beta fish that I also smoke Va. blends from. But I think they were born for Latakia!

 

[Harlock999]

In my opinion, LATAKIA blends work perfectly with morta pipes.

I've heard this opinion expressed a number of times, but an explanation as to "why", is never given...

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I believe I can shed some light in my personal experiences with morta versus other blends...

Morta, at lest the two I have, are called "bog oak" for a reason: they come from swamps. They have a slightly more earthy, even swampy nose to them. Once heat has been applied, some of that comes out in a mineralized, peaty note. Latakia seems to mesh very well with this material under fire (EMP and Squadron Leader and other medium and light English mixtures especially), however, out of my two, only one is used for Latakia--the other is for darker VAs and even my mild VaPers. Rattray's, for example, especially HOTW (Marlin Flake and Old Gowrie, too) does wonders in morta. Dark Star, McCon's Scottish Flake, anything that has some age to it--I even tried some Wessex Burley in it and yeah, it did just fine.

So just Latakia? No.

However, Union Square, Embarcadero, P&W Nut Brown Burley, PS LNF, MacB Plum Cake, Storm Front and other light tobaccos or those with unique characters would be best left to the briar or cob. It wasn't that they smoked badly, but I noticed odd wafts of smell coming from...whew! Yep, the morta.

8)