I love POT (the pipe shape that is!)

[scottbtdmb]

Anyone else on here like the pot shape? I know that it isn't historically the most popular pipe shape, but to me it smokes English/Balkans like nobody's business. The wide chamber seems to really bring out the full bodied flavors of the more robust English mixtures. I am currently on a mission to own one "pot" from each of the classic British pipe making companies. My list would include GBD, Comoy, BBB, Sasieni, Charatan, and Loewe. I already have 2 Barlings, one of which I am selling to make more money to buy these other brands that I am after. Also, I have a great one line E Wilke pot from the early 50's that I treasure. So let's hear it....fellow pot smokers unite, lol!

-Scott

 

[user 2031]

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[monbla256]

Behind the Bulldog shape ( and it's cousin, the Rhodesian) the Pot shape is my second favorite shape! I've 23 of them, from GBD, BBB, Sasieni, Peterson, Savanelli, and Charatans. I've the most of the Charatan's (8) and I really like how they smoke! Most of the firms made this shape in just about every model range they made!! You could pick one maker and spend therest of your smoking life aquiring examples of every Pot they made I have Charatan pots in the Special, Belvedere, Perfection, Relief Grain, Executive models and there were others!! Savanelli still makes Pots in just about every range as well. They are some of the best smoking shapes and most (especially my Charatan's) hold a lot of tobacco!! Dunhill made some as well but not many and when you run into them I'm sure they would bring a nice penny in price because of that! Nice, nice shape to focus a collection around !!

 

[ruta2]

Add me to the list, and for the same reasons stated above :cheers:

 

[Harlock999]

I'm a recent convert to the pot shape, having dismissed it before, and now I understand it's appeal.
In keeping with the general theme of my collection, I'm drawn to 1/4 bent pots.

 

[jlong]

The closest I've gotten to the pot shape is the ball shape.

 

[glpease]

Anyone else on here like the pot shape? I know that it isn't historically the most popular pipe shape, but to me it smokes English/Balkans like nobody's business. The wide chamber seems to really bring out the full bodied flavors of the more robust English mixtures. I am currently on a mission to own one "pot" from each of the classic British pipe making companies. My list would include GBD, Comoy, BBB, Sasieni, Charatan, and Loewe. I already have 2 Barlings, one of which I am selling to make more money to buy these other brands that I am after. Also, I have a great one line E Wilke pot from the early 50's that I treasure. So let's hear it....fellow pot smokers unite, lol!

-Scott

Pots aren't popular, probably because some find them challenging to smoke, and because they can look a little odd, but they really do bring out a lot of character from the tobacco smoked in them. I'm also quite fond of VAs, especially flakes, smoked in a wide bowl. I like a lot of pot shapes, but my faves are the GBD 9493, sort of a lovat with a pot bowl, and the Castello 55, which in some ways combines some of what I like about the prince shape with a shorter length and a pot-like bowl.

 

[s.ireland]

I'm a big Pot fan!

Specifically a classic English pot with a saddle stem. And like Greg stated, a wide chamber that isn't too deep makes VAs sing! I've heard many say they like English/Balkan blends in wide-chambered bowls but I guess it works for just about any blend. Some of my favorite "Pot" blends include Stonehaven (burley), FVF (VA), and Solani 633 (VA w/perique). Flakes and Pots seem to go together.

 

[glpease]

I'm a big Pot fan!

Specifically a classic English pot with a saddle stem. And like Greg stated, a wide chamber that isn't too deep makes VAs sing! I've heard many say they like English/Balkan blends in wide-chambered bowls but I guess it works for just about any blend. Some of my favorite "Pot" blends include Stonehaven (burley), FVF (VA), and Solani 633 (VA w/perique). Flakes and Pots seem to go together.

Indeed! Actually, for the most part, the more intense the flavours of a blend, the more likely I am to smoke it in a smaller bowl. Virginias are all about subtlety, usually, so the wide chamber of the right pot gives the smoker a lot to chew on. Of course, it's also very dependent on the briar, the pipe's construction, the packing method and the smoker. There simply are no rules that can be applied universally, no matter how diligently we may seek them.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Pots are indeed odd. To my eye, nothing is more boring, ungainly and unbalanced than a pot--that is, until you put a slight bend (1/4, I'm with Harlock on this one ) and it becomes an elegant, if not somewhat portly, dancer. Add some nice grain or blast rustication, because that extra surface area is good for presentation, and you can have a brilliant piece. The sad part is, really nice pots are hard to find.

The first pipe I carved was essentially a pot, and it's the only one I own so far. I didn't like it very much because it turned out a little less stellar than my mind's eye would have liked. It has grown on me, though, and while not the easiest thing to smoke, it loves roughed-up flakes and chunkier tobacco, and is quite forgiving when the smoker (me) is tugging just a bit too hard on the draw.

I don't smoke the other kind of pot. While my personal preference has no bearing for people's freedom to do so or the value of the product, I find a lot of the "aficionados" and "culture" that surrounds it to be a boring, aging cliche, and there's little more to it than simply the pursuit of cash and the chemical rather than the flavor or any "craft"--ever see a savoring pothead? Only if they're savoring a gas station hot dog after the toke. Plus, that violent coughing seems pretty rough. :lol:

So I stick with whiskey and pipes, and the people that surround them. 8)

 

[glpease]

Pots are indeed odd. To my eye, nothing is more boring, ungainly and unbalanced than a pot--that is, until you put a slight bend (1/4, I'm with Harlock on this one ) and it becomes an elegant, if not somewhat portly, dancer. Add some nice grain or blast rustication, because that extra surface area is good for presentation, and you can have a brilliant piece. The sad part is, really nice pots are hard to find.

The first pipe I carved was essentially a pot, and it's the only one I own so far. I didn't like it very much because it turned out a little less stellar than my mind's eye would have liked. It has grown on me, though, and while not the easiest thing to smoke, it loves roughed-up flakes and chunkier tobacco, and is quite forgiving when the smoker (me) is tugging just a bit too hard on the draw.

I don't smoke the other kind of pot. While my personal preference has no bearing for people's freedom to do so, I find a lot of the "culture" that surrounds it to be an aging cliche, and there's little more to it than simply the pursuit of cash and the chemical rather than flavor and craft--ever see a savoring pothead? Only after the toke. Those violent coughing fits seem uncomfortable. So I stick with whiskey and pipes. 8)

I agree that the simple, straight pot can be a little on the boring side, and is often out of balance, but the shape doesn't need a bend as extreme as 1/4 to become interesting! The 55 is a 1/16 bent shape, and thought it's not to everyones taste, I find it far from boring! Here are a few examples from my collection:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Thanks, Greg, for showing me the error of my ways: I rescind my 1/4 bend preference and think 1/8 - 1/16 is all that is needed on a good pot. :lol: 8) As if I needed another pipe style/type to covet.

In particular: the rusticated panel pipe examples, and the blast pipe: bottom pipe in the top picture.

 

[glpease]

TAs if I needed another pipe style/type to covet.

I know exactly what you mean. The first 55 I got was a lark. I thought the "dots" on the side were cool, and the shape was interesting. I had no idea what I was getting into with that one...

It ended up on the cover of my first year's In Celebration of Briar calendar. And, I've had this weird sort of affair with the shape, ever since.

 

[Zeno Marx]

Both the pot and the prince are under-appreciated. My 2nd or 3rd pipe was a very slightly bent prince, and it was the master of Escudo. I've found similar experiences with pots and pot derivatives.

I love the 55. Beautiful collection, GLP. eBay, start your engines.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Greg, that pipe is stunning. I just did a weird abstract painting that had a lot of random circles on it like that--they kind of add a whimsical dash to an otherwise serious affair--something I like, additions of something that doesn't quite make sense, especially if once you see them, you realize removing them would be what didn't make sense. That pipe, sans the dots, would look great, but it wouldn't stand out like it does.

Mind my ignorance, but a "55" is referring to that model of pipe specifically, or slight-bent pots in general?

 

[scottbtdmb]

Anyone else on here like the pot shape? I know that it isn't historically the most popular pipe shape, but to me it smokes English/Balkans like nobody's business. The wide chamber seems to really bring out the full bodied flavors of the more robust English mixtures. I am currently on a mission to own one "pot" from each of the classic British pipe making companies. My list would include GBD, Comoy, BBB, Sasieni, Charatan, and Loewe. I already have 2 Barlings, one of which I am selling to make more money to buy these other brands that I am after. Also, I have a great one line E Wilke pot from the early 50's that I treasure. So let's hear it....fellow pot smokers unite, lol!

-Scott

Pots aren't popular, probably because some find them challenging to smoke, and because they can look a little odd, but they really do bring out a lot of character from the tobacco smoked in them. I'm also quite fond of VAs, especially flakes, smoked in a wide bowl. I like a lot of pot shapes, but my faves are the GBD 9493, sort of a lovat with a pot bowl, and the Castello 55, which in some ways combines some of what I like about the prince shape with a shorter length and a pot-like bowl.

Figures you would mention a 9493. I just missed out on this beauty on ebay (GBD 9483). I am still working my way through a box of kleenex over missing this pipe!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/260945661517?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_720wt_1141
-Scott

 

[glpease]

Figures you would mention a 9493. I just missed out on this beauty on ebay (GBD 9483). I am still working my way through a box of kleenex over missing this pipe!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/260945661517?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_720wt_1141

A nice one, but a 9483. The 9493 has a longer shank, and a lovat-like, short saddle stem. Here are some (the middle four):

It's a really neat shape, in that it combines the best features of the pot with the best features of the lovat.

 

[user 2031]

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[glpease]

Mind my ignorance, but a "55" is referring to that model of pipe specifically, or slight-bent pots in general?

The 55 is a specific Castello shape. It's one of the classic Castello shape numbers, and has been around since very early in the company's history.

 

[glpease]

Love the dark blast and the one on the bottom with the clear stem... you have some excellent pipes, but then again, go figure. :lol:

Thank you.