P-Lip or Fish Tail

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MC

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having only one straight billiard and two cobs could someone explain why I might or might not like a P-Lip. Whats the difference between it and a Fish-Tail besides the obvious shape.
 
Have both. P-Lip directs the smoke to the roof of your mouth while the fish tail directs it straight out into your mouth. If you like to smoke a pipe there really is no difference. If you like bit cushions as I do, the cushion rides on the P-Lip over and beyond the ledge at the end of the stem. Good news is it you are considering a P-Lip it's probably on a Pete pipe; and there a man cannot make a mistake.
 
I buy estate P-lip's if they are a darn good price, but if I am buying a new pipe I will always search for a fishtail over a P-lip all day. I like the smoke coming straight to my tongue and personally do not like the P-lip right now. They sit in my collection and are smoked on occasion, but I smoke the fishtails about 10x as much.
 
Just send the P-Lips to my rack if you have any parking problems man. I've still got a few empty spaces.
 
LIPIPE":g6hp2v5s said:
Just send the P-Lips to my rack if you have any parking problems man. I've still got a few empty spaces.
Just bought another Peterson 12 pipe rack so i still have room. Maybe when I get a little older I will like the direction which is why I keep them around.
 
A fishtail stem would be my first choice.

But I do not dislike the P-Lip and if there is a pipe I want and it has a P-Lip it's coming home with me.

If you are a clencher a P-Lip might seem a little awkward

 
Another advantage you may find to having a P-Lip in your rotation, is that it can give your tongue a needed break, if you have recently experienced tongue bite.

This is rarely a problem for an experienced pipe man, who knows the in's and out's of drying his tobacco, packing his pipe, and lighting and tamping his tobacco. However, it can be especially helpful to someone new to the hobby who is running the tongue bite gauntlet.
 
I'm a clencher w/cushion. P-Lip is no problem whatever.
 
I've got three P-lips and I like the way they smoke. The only down side is getting a pipe cleaner through them. Coming from either end, they tend to scratch the inside (bad, bad thing :twisted: ).

Natch
 
Slide":49c313hy said:
A fishtail stem would be my first choice.

But I do not dislike the P-Lip and if there is a pipe I want and it has a P-Lip it's coming home with me.

If you are a clencher a P-Lip might seem a little awkward
+1

I would also add that the difference between Plips can be startling. I have some that clench quite easily and others that feel like I've got a piece of 1/4" pipe in my teeth. I've never taken a caliper to them but there is a noticeable difference in thickness.

As far as giving your tongue a break, all a P-lip does is redirect the smoke to the roof of your mouth, so instead of burning your tongue, you'll burn the roof of your mouth.

Other disadvantages are a tighter draw and the tendency to smoke too fast since you cant feel the smoke on your tongue as well as the roof of your mouth.

So for me I like fishtails better, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a P-lip if it was on a pipe I really wanted.
 
I put a slight bend on the very tip on a pipe cleaner and go in from the p-lip end. Never a problem. Once inserted, I point the bent end toward the direction of the bend in the stem. I have a Kinsale XL 20 P-Lip. Great pipe, love to smoke it.
 
I like the P-lip! Indeed can be a bit more difficult to clean, but I'm a weirdo who enjoys a bit tighter draw. :shock:
 
THIS ^^^^

Once you learn to manage them, "tight" draws can produce sublimely intenified flavours. I'm remembering a Peterson 150 here that dropped from Phenomenal down to Very Good when I snapped the tenon of its P-lip stem & had it replaced by a fishtail.

There are no procrustian beds in the pipe world.

:face:
 
Yak":08zaj09a said:
Once you learn to manage them, "tight" draws can produce sublimely intenified flavours.
So glad to find out I'm not the only one who feels like this. I have a Pete 406, long-ish stem and P-lip, and the concentrated draw really lights up the sweetness of my favourite VAs.
 
I like P-lip and fishtail bits equally. They're just different from one another. The two P-lips I have, one is pre-Republic and the other was probably made last year--the newer one passes a pipe cleaner perfectly, but the older one does not. No matter, both smoke wonderfully.

I also prefer a bit tighter of a draw with tobacco, but it has to be at the "right" moisture level (practice and experience there, can't really describe it). Couple that with a wide-open draw pipe and then adjust the draw with the bowlpack, some good stuff comes of it for sure. Cobs actually taught me about this when I started out. :)
 
I also enjoy P-lips alongside fishtails.

And yes I do find the draw on P's to be a bit firmer. I just adjust my puffing accordingly. And if I'm clenching I make sure it isn't positioned against the roof of my mouth.

I don't prepare or pack them any different than I do anything else.

Got 12 Petes now, and all but 2 have P-lips. Guess I must be OK with them!


:p (requisite monblaticon)



Cheers,

RR
 
Being a full denture wearer, a thin wide fishtail ala those that Comoy's, GBD, Dunhill and Savinelli used are my first choice. The P-lips don't fit my "teeth" as well and as such I have tried to buy my Pete's with the fishtail bits and have had replacement fishtails made for most of my Petes.
 
Of my ten (?) Petes, three have fishtails. I have a slight preference for fishtails but don't actively dislike the P-tail and have learned to get along with them. Couple of my Petes seem to have a restricted draw, but I can't say I've noticed a diff in taste, since subtle nuances of flavor are no big thing to me, having burnt out my taste buds long since.
 
I had to count mine :lol:

16 Pete's

4 have P-lips

My favorite shapes are the 999 and the 80s. I would be happy to have a fishtail and P-Lip in most of the various incarnations of those shapes.
 
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