Briar Spirit
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- Aug 30, 2012
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James Millar of FloggleWerks asked me if I would be willing to try out one of his rather interesting Maple & Myrtle Church Warden Pipes, well being rather partial to one of them in particular I said of course, I of course promised I would post an honest review about the pipe after I had smoked it.
The stummel is made from Myrtle wood and I must say it is a rather attractive looking wood which looks like it will colour beautifully over time, the stem is made from Maple and is a rather engaging stem, with the pipe intact one is granted a sense of almost being in the Shire, it is indeed a very splendid looking pipe and it feels marvellous in the hand.
Right from the charring light this pipe was wonderful, there was a very slight background hint of the wood coming through from the stem but it was a welcomed hint all the same, the only thing I was troubled by was the stem mouth end might gunk up over time being that it is a one piece stem with no bit attachment. This of course is acceptable as a forced manufactured stem bit would totally ruin the look and feel of the pipe so a modicum of attention during smoking will avert this from occurring I shouldn't wonder, I did not find it too distracting to be honest, I can see that stem care will become a much loved part of the smoking experience of this pipe over time.
The tobacco burnt very easily with very little heat developing on the stummel walls, a good and considerate sipping produced a marvellous smoking experience, the draw is easy with absolutely no hint of trouble what so ever. I cannot comment on how the tobacco flavour behaved in the pipe as I am on the old Dottle bottle until next week so the baccy I am using is a mix-match of a few blends and it's all 'iffy' to say the least, but the tobacco burnt down to a fine ash right to the bottom of the bowl and it did so effortlessly, I cannot tell you what a wonderful experience this pipe has proven to be.
The wife and our elder daughter both found the aesthetics of the pipe most pleasing, the wife commented that is any pipe could ever encourage her to take up the pipe then a slightly smaller version of the Middle Earth C/W would be the one, she's a non-smoker so that is quite the compliment really. Our eldest daughter asked if the pipe once belonged to a 'real Hobbit', her face was lit up like a Christmas tree, she was clearly very excited at the notion of the pipe being an actual Hobbit's pipe, when I told her that James made it and that it was a brand new pipe she promptly said "oh well, I'm sure he can make the Hobbit's another one", sometimes she can be the cutest thing in the World.
I can honestly say that I highly recommend this pipe and when I consider the extremely reasonable price of them I must wonder why every one isn't smoking one, if you are a Lord Of The Rings fan I urge you to snap one up ready for your next viewing of those marvellous movies.
My digital camera got broken and I don't have one just now so I will post an image from FloggleWerks website, mine is identical in size and shape but of course the grain is different!
The stummel is made from Myrtle wood and I must say it is a rather attractive looking wood which looks like it will colour beautifully over time, the stem is made from Maple and is a rather engaging stem, with the pipe intact one is granted a sense of almost being in the Shire, it is indeed a very splendid looking pipe and it feels marvellous in the hand.
Right from the charring light this pipe was wonderful, there was a very slight background hint of the wood coming through from the stem but it was a welcomed hint all the same, the only thing I was troubled by was the stem mouth end might gunk up over time being that it is a one piece stem with no bit attachment. This of course is acceptable as a forced manufactured stem bit would totally ruin the look and feel of the pipe so a modicum of attention during smoking will avert this from occurring I shouldn't wonder, I did not find it too distracting to be honest, I can see that stem care will become a much loved part of the smoking experience of this pipe over time.
The tobacco burnt very easily with very little heat developing on the stummel walls, a good and considerate sipping produced a marvellous smoking experience, the draw is easy with absolutely no hint of trouble what so ever. I cannot comment on how the tobacco flavour behaved in the pipe as I am on the old Dottle bottle until next week so the baccy I am using is a mix-match of a few blends and it's all 'iffy' to say the least, but the tobacco burnt down to a fine ash right to the bottom of the bowl and it did so effortlessly, I cannot tell you what a wonderful experience this pipe has proven to be.
The wife and our elder daughter both found the aesthetics of the pipe most pleasing, the wife commented that is any pipe could ever encourage her to take up the pipe then a slightly smaller version of the Middle Earth C/W would be the one, she's a non-smoker so that is quite the compliment really. Our eldest daughter asked if the pipe once belonged to a 'real Hobbit', her face was lit up like a Christmas tree, she was clearly very excited at the notion of the pipe being an actual Hobbit's pipe, when I told her that James made it and that it was a brand new pipe she promptly said "oh well, I'm sure he can make the Hobbit's another one", sometimes she can be the cutest thing in the World.
I can honestly say that I highly recommend this pipe and when I consider the extremely reasonable price of them I must wonder why every one isn't smoking one, if you are a Lord Of The Rings fan I urge you to snap one up ready for your next viewing of those marvellous movies.
My digital camera got broken and I don't have one just now so I will post an image from FloggleWerks website, mine is identical in size and shape but of course the grain is different!
