RENAISSANCE MAN

Well, it has been a few days...so what have I been up to? Aside from work, family life and having fun on the most beautiful island in the world, I have been researching and exploring the world of pipedom. I received another pipe that I bought from ebay for a whopping $8. It is a Wally Frank, I think it's a Bulldog. It says "unvarnished briar" and has two dots on the stem. It needs a bit of work before I smoke it, but that should be some fun.

I also received a very exciting care package from a supportive fellow piper that included some 4 estate pipes (a meerschaum and an Astor in the mix) which look like they will all be great, after I work out some restoration skills. So I have a total now of 5 pipes to restore, and 3 fantastic smokers that are in use at the moment.

Also included in this surprise care package were a number of tobaccos, some of them a bit dried, but all of them smokable with a little care. Some weren't labelled, and so are kind of "mystery smokes", some classics like some 2000 G.L. Pease Renaissance and 2000 Balkan Sasieni, a big old bag labelled Edward's - 10/00 Bayou Night(I think it is bulk from C&D and sold from an Edward's Shop), and a box of Mixture 79. I did some research on the named ones, and I am a both curious and apprehensive about the #79. A lot of hot and cold in the reviews, and warnings about "ghosting", so I will likely try that stuff, but I'll wait until I grab a cheap cob.

Based on the reviews, I thought I'd start with the Renaissance. I figure there are about 5 bowls there, and it was a bit on the dry side. So I got a 250ml wide mouth mason jar, a 2-inch square of sponge, and a hot glue gun. I glued the sponge to the inside of the jar lid, and wet it with some distilled water. I put the dry Renaissance in the jar, tightened up the lid and left it overnight. This evening I openned it up and found that the tobacco had rehumidified well, in fact, if anything it was over moist. I pulled some out, changed the lid to a sponge free one, loaded up my Peterson Killarney and headed for the deck.

What a nice smoke! Nice, round, tasty, mild...just lovely! Simply a great way to start the Labour day weekend! It had a lovely aroma and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I feel like a pretty lucky fella to have folks sending me free samples of fine 9 year old tobaccos! I am spoiled rotten! I guess there can be no turning back now!

The more I read on the various boards, the more I see that these random acts of generosity are far more frequent than one would expect, and I think if more people smoked pipes, the world would be a kinder, gentler place. Am I being over enthusiastic? Maybe, but I am really just feeling grateful. Thanks man, you know who you are!

As I have said already, I am a fairly infrequent smoker, at most five to seven bowls a week, so I figure I have about 16 or 18 ounces of various tobaccos, with 8 ounces of Just for Him's Shortcut to Mushrooms in the mail...so it may take me quite a while to work through it all. It's a tough job, but hey, someone's got to do it!

If you have any stellar tobacco recommendations, please comment below, I'd love to hear about them! Until next time!

WORKING ON A PIPE...AND THE MERITS OF BEESWAX

I am pleased to report that my new Savinelli Churchwarden (now dubbed Madam Savinelli) is truly a wonder. I filled it up (yeah I know I said I would only do a half bowl...so sue me) with my Peterson's Old Dublin. I had aired the tobacco for about an hour, and I used the three pinch and pack method, which I seem to be getting better at.

I went out on the deck and looked at the stars...it was fan-freakin-tastic! I enjoyed the flavour, I enjoyed the contemplation, I enjoyed the beautiful evening. The pipe burned wonderfully throughout, and I hardly had to relight at all. I tend to err on the side of puffing slowly, so I don't seem to have any tongue problems (or bite as the experts call it). Just billows of lovely white smoke and the sounds of nature.

Before and after I finished my bowl, I decided to test my research on fine tuning my Peterson Meerschaum. Using only what I had on hand, this is what I did... the inside of the bowl was black, and a little tacky. Now, I have learned that the inside of a meerschaum bowl, once smoked will turn black, so it is a bit of a sensitive matter to go poking around in there. All of the experts say that you don't want cake, but you also don't want to gut the thing down to white, or you have gone too far. So...I got some sandpaper, and ever so gently began sanding away in the darkness. I can now describe how you tell the difference. Blackened meerschaum is cool, smooth and hard to the touch, cake is not. Cake is textured, and if you are sliding your finger around in the bowl, will be sticky enough to give some resistance.

Next, I turned my attention to the outside of the bowl. I had some half burned, very high quality pure beeswax candles, that I put into a thoroughly washed can, and put on medium-low heat on my stovetop, and melted it until it was liquid. After wiping down the outside of the bowl thoroughly with a clean cloth, I used a q-tip to paint beeswax all over the outside of the bowl and shank. As it was spread it began to cool and solidify. After about five minutes, I had the whole thing covered, it kind of looked like it had a giant scab all over it. To tell the truth, I was kind of thinking "WHAT HAVE I DONE", but I figured I'd have faith and follow through with what I had gleaned from my internet research. This is where I went out and smoked my new Churchwarden.

When I came back in, I got out some nice soft cloths, a small pile of paper napkins, and my wife's hot air embossing gun. She uses it to make homeade cards and such...that I am using it to refurbish pipes is out little secret;)

Holding the bowl over the napkins I alternately heated the bowl, which melted the wax, and rubbed it with the soft cloth. Heat...rub...heat... rub... some of the beeswax dripped off and was caught by the napkins, but I was amazed that the meerschaum also seemed to drink some of it in. Again, after just a few minutes, no more heat was needed, and I was just polishing the bowl, and it simply glistened like a freshly minted dime. I swear...it smiled at me...

Tonight I decided to work a bit on the stem. When I received it, it had clearly been cleaned, but the stem was entirely brown. I looked up all the recommendations on how to clean stems, and as I mentioned before, decided to do what I could with what I had on hand. I got myself some comet with bleach, a new scrubby sponge, and a little bowl of water. I poured some comet powder into a dish, and added just enough water to make a thick paste. I sat down at my table, and for 10-15 minutes just scrubbed the stem up and down it's length. The paste began turning yellow, and I knew I was getting somewhere. the occassional rinse off, and I just kept scrubbing.

Once I figured I was done, I rinsed it all off under running water, dried it with a towel, and ran a pipe cleaner through it several times to ensure it was thoroughly dry. Then I re-heated my can of beeswax (I see no end to the usefulness of this stuff) and applied it in exactly the same manner as I had done to the bowl, using a q-tip. After letting it sit until it was totally hardened, I used the hot air gun and did the same heat and rub method. It seems to have worked like a charm. The stem is now totally black and shiny. I also used a tip I got, and rubbed a bit of oil from the side of my nose (nose oil) onto the finished and buffed stem. It may sound gross, but ZOWIE that puppy just shines!

I have to say, I went into the process of prettying up this pipe ready for a serious battle, but I have to say, it really wasn't that hard. If you are at home, thinking about it, just go for it! If you have any questions about my tiny experience, please just ask, I'd be happy to help. I have to say, that little hot air gun has been a HUGE help, I am really glad my wife is crafty. If you haven't got one...I say...GET ONE!!! You won't regret it.