Puffer Mark
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2014
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Greetings, brethren.
Earlier this week I pulled the trigger on my fist system pipe, a standard Peterson shape 309 which can be seen here:
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/171849590/Vintage_K_P_Petersons_Signed_No_309_Pipe.html
I was intrigued to discover that this is likely the pipe favoured by Basil Rathbone in the Sherlock Holmes series and smoked by Lee Van Cleef in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (the stummel, at least). An eclectic movie heritage for a pipe, if ever there was one.
After the usual spruce-up I decided to do something that I have had in mind for a while. My only other P-lip is a straight pre-republic London & Dublin, and I find that the upward draft of the P-lip tends to give me a tender spot on my palate, if I'm not careful to move it around a bit. This especially so when I am clenching. I find the smoke a bit too concentrated. Given the age of the Pre-rep, though, I was reluctant to go hacking away at it.
Having gotten this one at a reasonable price, however, I decided to give my idea a go. I'm no good at posting pics here, so I'll try and explain what I did.
Essentially I took a small drill bit, the same diameter on the smoke hole in the P-lip, inserted it in the hole and then twisting by hand with downward pressure, wore away the rearmost 'ramp' at the rear of the smoke hole, which tends to direct the smoke directly upward. The effect is that the hole is no longer round and directed directly upward, but more oval toward the rear of the lip. The exit angle is now more parallel with the terminal angle of the stem, although not 100% so. I would say still about 25-30 degrees or so upward, if you get my meaning.
So this morning a fired it up with a bowl of Erinmore Flake (the only flake available to me locally), having read that the relatively long, narrow bowl lends itself to Flake baccys. Packed it fold and stuff (he said with the air of an experienced pipe man). By the way, on the Erinmore tin note debate: It's dried apricots, no question. Anyone who has opened a fresh packet of this South African product will attest to this. . . . but I digress.
So there I sat and smoked, imagining by turns that I was Angel Eyes, surveying the vistas of the Old West, or the great Holmes himself wistfully pondering a particularly perplexing case, and thereby connecting with my brethren on either side of the pond.
So the verdict. Well Messrs. Kapp and Peterson certainly knew what they were about when they came up with this baby. At the risk of cliché, she smoked cool, sweet and dry all the way down. Fine white ash and all, and not a hint of gurgle, even though the Erinmore was straight out of the tin. (Dottle? What is this 'dottle' of which you earthlings speak?)
My one concern about the systems was that they have to be broken down after each smoke to clean the sump, and I have become more lazy of late, preferring to smoke my 9MM filter pipes with an adapter so most times I can just run a pipe cleaner through after smoking. But that flake gave me a languid hour-long smoke, with a couple of relights, so I figure it's well worth it. More so, if it continues to smoke so well.
In terms of my modification, I have to declare it a success, for me at least. The smoke is now directed more toward the middle of the mouth as apposed to directly onto the palate, yet not directly onto the tongue, allowing a full appreciation of the flavour. The tongue can nevertheless be placed into the smoke stream to pick up added nuances. Quite possibly this has been thought of and done before, and I have simply reinvented the wheel. Either way it works for me.
In terms of Peterson systems, I believe I am a convert. Any unwanted system Petes can be dispatched forthwith to the following address. . . . .
Many thanks to SpeedyPete for encouraging me to pull the trigger on this one.
As usual, any comments welcome.
Mark.
Earlier this week I pulled the trigger on my fist system pipe, a standard Peterson shape 309 which can be seen here:
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/171849590/Vintage_K_P_Petersons_Signed_No_309_Pipe.html
I was intrigued to discover that this is likely the pipe favoured by Basil Rathbone in the Sherlock Holmes series and smoked by Lee Van Cleef in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (the stummel, at least). An eclectic movie heritage for a pipe, if ever there was one.
After the usual spruce-up I decided to do something that I have had in mind for a while. My only other P-lip is a straight pre-republic London & Dublin, and I find that the upward draft of the P-lip tends to give me a tender spot on my palate, if I'm not careful to move it around a bit. This especially so when I am clenching. I find the smoke a bit too concentrated. Given the age of the Pre-rep, though, I was reluctant to go hacking away at it.
Having gotten this one at a reasonable price, however, I decided to give my idea a go. I'm no good at posting pics here, so I'll try and explain what I did.
Essentially I took a small drill bit, the same diameter on the smoke hole in the P-lip, inserted it in the hole and then twisting by hand with downward pressure, wore away the rearmost 'ramp' at the rear of the smoke hole, which tends to direct the smoke directly upward. The effect is that the hole is no longer round and directed directly upward, but more oval toward the rear of the lip. The exit angle is now more parallel with the terminal angle of the stem, although not 100% so. I would say still about 25-30 degrees or so upward, if you get my meaning.
So this morning a fired it up with a bowl of Erinmore Flake (the only flake available to me locally), having read that the relatively long, narrow bowl lends itself to Flake baccys. Packed it fold and stuff (he said with the air of an experienced pipe man). By the way, on the Erinmore tin note debate: It's dried apricots, no question. Anyone who has opened a fresh packet of this South African product will attest to this. . . . but I digress.
So there I sat and smoked, imagining by turns that I was Angel Eyes, surveying the vistas of the Old West, or the great Holmes himself wistfully pondering a particularly perplexing case, and thereby connecting with my brethren on either side of the pond.
So the verdict. Well Messrs. Kapp and Peterson certainly knew what they were about when they came up with this baby. At the risk of cliché, she smoked cool, sweet and dry all the way down. Fine white ash and all, and not a hint of gurgle, even though the Erinmore was straight out of the tin. (Dottle? What is this 'dottle' of which you earthlings speak?)
My one concern about the systems was that they have to be broken down after each smoke to clean the sump, and I have become more lazy of late, preferring to smoke my 9MM filter pipes with an adapter so most times I can just run a pipe cleaner through after smoking. But that flake gave me a languid hour-long smoke, with a couple of relights, so I figure it's well worth it. More so, if it continues to smoke so well.
In terms of my modification, I have to declare it a success, for me at least. The smoke is now directed more toward the middle of the mouth as apposed to directly onto the palate, yet not directly onto the tongue, allowing a full appreciation of the flavour. The tongue can nevertheless be placed into the smoke stream to pick up added nuances. Quite possibly this has been thought of and done before, and I have simply reinvented the wheel. Either way it works for me.
In terms of Peterson systems, I believe I am a convert. Any unwanted system Petes can be dispatched forthwith to the following address. . . . .
Many thanks to SpeedyPete for encouraging me to pull the trigger on this one.
As usual, any comments welcome.
Mark.
