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Puff Daddy

Puff Daddy

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Peterson shape 999, a much loved shape that has been in production for decades in many different incarnations. A shape immediately recognizable but one that is found with many variations in design and proportion. some months ago I found an old unsmoked 999 marked Dublin and London on one side, and Made in Ireland on the other. The nomenclature would suggest to most that it is a pre republic pipe, but the Made in Ireland is in straight line script, not a circle. I've heard from a few gentlemen who are pretty recognizable authorities on collectable Peterson pipes and all do not agree on this point. A couple said it was definitely pre republic nomenclature, one suggested that Peterson have made so many special and commemorative models over the years for so many different nationalities that it likely could be some later version of this. all agreed that it was an old pipe, though specific dating is tough given there is no silver for hallmarking. I'm happy to settle on the fact that it's just a cool old pipe that may be pre republic, and I refer to it simply as The Old Fat Boy.

The pipe has an enormously fat shank, resembling the GBD 9242 ( a bit about them can be seen here: http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2011/3/13/old-soldiers.html ) or the Dunhill CK ( http://the-hex.ldblog.jp/archives/53739133.html ). The pipe is nice and fat and sits wonderfully in the hand, but is not a terribly large pipe overall, having a chamber of aprox .75 X 1.5 inches. I sent it off to the Pipe Whisperer, George Dibos at Precision Pipe Repairs in Kansas City. The old pipe, though unsmoked, has a P lip stem that was pretty oxidized from time, and I'm not a fan of P lips anyhow so I wanted a new acrylic stem made for it that would keep with the classic look of the pipe, and leave it looking like it belonged with the venerable CK and the impressive 9242. George is a master at restoration and stem creation and has an eye for this sort of thing that is second to none. When he saw the pipe and saw that he was going to have to find some rather large rod stock to accomplish the task, he dubbed the pipe The Sumo Shank :affraid:

The new acrylic stem is perfect, the pipe is a classic and the improvement is priceless. The first tobacco set fire inside her was a bowl of Uhle's 00, a soft, straight, creamy burley that will allow the pipe to tell you what it wants to say. I believe it said thank you :) . At least that's what I heard ;) . The draw is perfect, passes a cleaner, no moisture, tasted quiet and clean. It now sits along side it's brethren, a few other more modern 999's. Enough talk, time for pics :)















 
Very nice acquisition brother. How does the spigot smoke when compared to the other lines?
 
Dang! That is a fat shank!

What a great find. The 999 is one of my favorite shapes.

Congratulations :D
 
kaiser83":gtlw7nm5 said:
How does the spigot smoke when compared to the other lines?
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It smokes great. The plus is the classy look of the silver work and the fact that it breaks down easily in mid smoke, the negative is that it does tarnish and requires a bit of extra attention, but it's not too much work.
 
Awesome, I have been looking at them but have held off on them for the time being. Next estate I see at a decent price is so mine (decent means low lol).
 
kaiser83":1nhbcr6z said:
Awesome, I have been looking at them but have held off on them for the time being. Next estate I see at a decent price is so mine (decent means low lol).
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The best price I've found on them new is here (scroll down about 3/4 of the way down the page, they have a few spigots) : https://www.iwanries.com/peterson-C251.cfm . Their new prices are pretty close to what I see estate spigots selling for.
 
Heck yeah, that green XL02 looks to be calling my name come payday. Thanks for the link brother.
 
Congratulations on The Old Fat Boy - superb job! :cheers: :cheers:

Your 999's make up a great collection.

Fraternally

Jers
 
Puff Daddy":68i5kl1l said:
Those are nice Kaiser. The Sherlock Holmes spigots are really amazing too. Dangerous, don't look :affraid:

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=74856

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=51903

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=75979

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=77758
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The first one of those 4 is awesome, but man would I ever hate to see the prices. The Sherlock sets already are in sane on price.
 
Back to your "chubby" 999 :p I have two pr-republic Pete's that my father bought in London in 1946, one a Sytem bent with the round circular pre-republic stamping and the othe is a 150s sandblasted Premier with the straight line pre-republic stamping as yours. I think Peterson did both forms and your "chubby" 999 is a definate style of this model probably made in London during that time. Here's two links that show your style and give some info:

http://sandpiper.smugmug.com/Hobbies/Pipes/12269193_MRfnn4/920703622_n9Wvxv4#!i=920703622&k=n9Wvxv4

http://ermtony.blogspot.com/2012/05/peterson-999-chubby.html

http://thepetersoncollector.blogspot.com/2010/11/popular-shape-999.html
 
Puff,

At one point you were big on Castellos; but your allegiance would appear to have shifted to Peterson. Any reason other than cost? I could see myself having the money to collect Petersons, but it would be a stretch even to imagine me collecting Castellos.
 
I love Castello, but Stanwell and Peterson are easier to collect for financial reasons. The best smoking pipe I ever owned was an S Bang, and if money were no object I'd be collecting those. I guess it came down to one thing (after my financial situation changed and I was once again a single income parent), did I want to continue collecting pipes or sit on the ones I already had? It's more fun to actively collect, I guess. I enjoy the search, the chase, the planning.

I still have a few of those pipes I used to collect ;)
 
Nice score (for whenever you got it :lol: ), and great new stem on that fatty 999, PeeDee. :cheers: I don't have any 999s yet, but they're my second-favorite Pete shape after the 80/80S. It's interesting to see some of the size differences Peterson has put out over the years. Between the pre-Republic 80 my buddy James got me to the 1970s "Dinky" 80S an anonymous friend sent my direction (which, namesake aside, is small compared to the others--but no less a pipe) the modern turnings in the 80S line seem to have these fatter stems but a mid-sized bowl. The tobacco chambers are all relatively the same, though.

To compliment the stem again, wow. It looks perfect, great shape to compliment that setup for sure. :D

8)
 
I love the proportions of that gorgeous pipe.

I guess that makes me a Chubby chaser.

Great find PD. Smoke her in good health.
 
I remember when you first posted a pic of that pipe, pre-LL hot rod customization.
It really is a great pipe, and that new stem is a work of art.
Sweet!
 
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