Let's See Some Pictures Of Your Polinskis

[ExcessEnergy]

Was getting ready for the jury trial in which I've been embroiled the past four weeks (still in it . . . back to court first thing tomorrow morning), which afforded me plenty of time to succumb to PAD, including the following Polinskis in addion to the two shown above:

This one was sold by a third party who apparently bought it and was not too crazy about it, but it's a nice one and perfect for those late night poker parties:

And, while we're on the subject of poker, here's another one for the same event, just in case the friendly game goes late into the night and I'm hocking the silver to stay in the game:

I also bought one of his by-now-traditional shapes in brown, as God meant a pipe to be:

And, then, I know that I said that I'd wait until someone else bought one of the new shapes and reported back, but curiousity got the better of me and impelled this impulse surge of PDA:

That's all the news from up here in Chatsworth where the trial drags on and on.  Happy puffing, guys!

 

[Pipe'n Prof]

Very nice pipes, EE. I particularly like the pokers. I've had my eye on a few of those. I love the first with the lucite stem, as I'm beginning to view vulcanite stems as a deal breaker for me -- too much maintenance.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

Yes, I'm coming to the same conclusion on stems.

 

[Hawker]

Wow Excess you've been on a roll lately. How do you like the full bent pipe. I've been keeping the PAD under control lately but have been very tempted by the dark semi rusticated ones of late. Must resist, must resist.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

Actually, I've been so busy with the trial that I have not had any time to smoke any of the new acquisitions. They just keep piling up in the bar, waiting until the end of trial. I will let you know. Ascorti makes a pipe very much like that Polinski bent series, I was noticing at the local Tinder Box where I was getting yet another Savinelli Lumberman cleaned (you can never have too many Lumbermen!).

Off to Kathy's birthday dinner . . . got her a little light blue box present. Won't be buying any more pipes after that puppy!

 

[Hawker]

Just getting around to posting a bent Polinski I picked up back in mid Dec 2013.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

That's a great shape.  I had not seen Polinski put out a heavy bent one like that when I was buying mine the last few months.  Looks sharp and probably hangs without hassle.  I am really amazed at the quality of his pipes.  Congratulations on a great buy!

 

[ExcessEnergy]

I am pleased and a little relieved to report that the above rather oddly-shaped and less-massive-than-the-other-Polinskis pipe smoked coolly on the first break-in smoke, nothwithstanding its lesser bowl mass and short shank and stem.  I don't know what Polinski does to make his pipes smoke so coolly, but that they do seems to be a fact.

On the other hand, shapes like this, no matter who makes them, are very hard to make easy to pass a cleaner through, and this one is no exception. This is one of those that has to be taken apart after it's cooled down to clean properly, which is not a very appealing characteristic. I generally prefer pipes that can be cleaned with an easy pass through of the cleaners.

Oh and by the way, on the acrylic vs. vulcanite discussion, I have become an advocate of acrylic because of maintenance issues, just like the Prof, but the stem on this little guy IS acrylic, even though it's black.  It is hard and exhibits none of the give of the vulcanite "clincher" stems and bits.  I am not yet sure about the stems on the chunkier Polinski's I bought lately that are pictured earlier in this topic, as I have not had time with the trial to break those guys in.

Happy puffing, guys!

 

[joshoowah]

EE, you seem to be raking in those Polinski's lately. I'm happy for you. They are simply too heavy for my liking, but for you they are to be had at a reasonable enough rate. Enjoy it while it lasts! If he grows too popular, they'll be shooting up in the 100-200 range

 

[ExcessEnergy]

EE, you seem to be raking in those Polinski's lately. I'm happy for you.  They are simply too heavy for my liking, but for you they are to be had at a reasonable enough rate.  Enjoy it while it lasts! If he grows too popular, they'll be shooting up in the 100-200 range

Well, you're right.  However, sometimes the bidding is intense enough to drive some of the big, bulky ones over $100.  Even so, their smoking characteristics make them worth it so long as their price stays below the similarly-configured Morettis.  As between Polinski and Moretti, I suppose I would still prefer a Moretti because of Marco's reputation for craftsmanship and punctilious briar selection, but it's getting to be a pretty close call.  These Polinskis are almost as satisfying to smoke as my giant Don Carlos, Moretti and Tim West Canadians, which is really saying something.

BTW, in my rush to document the latest Polinski acquisitions, I neglected to add one other that I cadged during the presentation of evidence phase of the trial, which is pictured below.  It is very similar to the other brown rock rusticated that I bought in a rash of acquiring Polinski pipes, but it is darker than both of the other brown rock pipes and has more rustication on the shank (the other two brown rocks are smooth-shanked).

This one also has a little more bend to it than the others.  Anyway, that's all the Polinskis for me unless he comes out with a 9-11" Canadian.  Then, I might be tempted.

But I take your point about smaller pipes.  I picked up this one from Brother Nathan Mattia on his Viking Pipe Club site - it's a nice little Danish style freehand estate pipe from Randy Wiley that smoked cool and sweet upon arrival yesterday, which shows that small pipes apart from Dunhills can smoke well:

Happy puffing, guys!

 

[ExcessEnergy]

On the other hand, the first break-in smoke of this Polinski rock with the same tobacco (Harbor Island) used in the little red Polinski bent ball discussed above was rather hot about half way through the 1/3 break-in fill with that tobacco, so I'll be using Deep Hollow on the 2/3 fill break-in smoke in this one next time.

Well, back to the salt mines.

Happy puffing, guys!

 

[ExcessEnergy]

On a happier note, the break-in smokes of the two Polinski poker pipes shown above with Harbor Island went very well and very coolly. Polinski must have somehow cadged some good briar for a considerable number of his pipes, although the break-in smoke of that rock referenced above was a bit hot. Overall, most of the pipes sampled so far were surprisingly cool on break-in, despite their relatively short shanks and stems. There must be something to having those thick bowl walls as a means of dispersing the heat. They must operate as an effective heat sink. Hopefully, the hotter ones will settle down to cooler puffing once broken in. My thanks again to you fellows for drawing my attention to these extraordinary pipes that can actually travel well, unlike my war clubs that smoke cool but really cannot be taken on the road, as it were.

Happy puffing,