About a week ago Steph (@liltoast on Instagram) posted a selfie with a 1820 hairstyle, which was later modified by Aaron (@briarboy on Instagram as well) as a Lil' Vamp! I thought it was a nice mod to add fangs and a dark eerie filter. I had been working on another drawing dedicated to Dia del Muertos or Day of the Dead, but have been a little lazy as of late...until Aaron's post! I brought out my new Strathmore pad of 14x17" paper and began sketching in pencil. I then switched to my Staedtler ink pens using the pointillism or stipple technique (lots of dots). Of course this is very time consuming and I worked on it as often as I could when I wasn't watching the St. Louis Cardinals prepare for the World Series! I decided to use colored pencils although my skills in that area are lacking. When it was close to completion, I went back to pointillism with the ink pens & colored pencils for the background bubbles. Finally, I had plenty of space under the portrait which I added Steph's Instagram name "Liltoast". I chose a gothic style lettering in calligraphy but used the staedtler pens again. So after about 6 days, she is complete! What's this have to do with pipe smoking you ask? Well, Steph is not only a IG-er but a true pipe smoker as well. She has an awesome collection of artisan pipes and often collaborates with the artist to commission pipes. Now I have to decide if I want to frame & display this piece with my pipe collection memorabilia :)
Olie Sylvester is an artisan pipe maker who created a line of pipes called Monstrosity Pipes. This line of pipes are not your ordinary tobacco pipes in that they are uniquely created to fit the zombie theme--disjointed, discolored, marred, scarred, asymetrical...you get the picture. I follow Olie (olieps3) on Instagram and when he started to post photos of new zombie pipes, I just had to jump on the bandwagon! Zombie #86 caught my attention so I immediately jumped over to www.oompaul.com and bought it. Here's how he described it on his website: "Zombie #86 is a lovely and bizarre piece. With a sloping black delrin tenon and charred white acrylic stem, this one piece unit is really something. Completely affixed, this pipe does not come apart and passes a churchwarden cleaner with no problem." The dimensions of this pipe is listed here: Length = 7", Height = 2", Bowl Depth = 1.5", Bowl Span = 0.75", and Weight = 1.3 oz. Zombie #86 is a significant number to me because it just happens to be the year that I graduated from Wagner High School, Clark Air Base, Philippines. It no longer exists thanks to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. To be "86'd" is to eliminate, kill or "off" someone. But in this case it's kind of related to zombies--the un-dead. I'm reaching here...I know. This buy worked out in my favor because oompaul.com is a "preferred" vendor and my TPC (Tobacco Pipe Collectors) membership provided me with a 20% discount. Jackpot!! When I opened the package, I immediately noticed the cream-colored canvas pipe bag. The bag has a zipper as well as a rope shoulder strap. His Monstrosity Pipes logo is printed on one side and the entire bag is dirty to give it a "distressed" appearance...perfect! This pipe is freakin' awesome! The rustication or "marred" carvings of the reddish dyed briar is spot on :) The bottom of the bowl is slightly flat so I consider this a "Sitting Zombie" pipe. On this flat part of the bottom is Olie's "M ZOMBIE 86" stamp. The pipes shank is broken (on purpose) then affixed to the slightly bent delrin tenon with epoxy (that's my guess) to give it an oozing out of the shank appearance. I didn't realize this at first, but the "ooze" is painted/dyed red (for blood...maybe) and I discovered this when some of it had rubbed off onto my moist fingers. The delrin meets the acrylic stem which looks to me like a charred gauss wrap :) Didn't I say it is an awesome pipe?! Anyhow, this pipe smoked well this morning with a bowl full of Davidoff's Flake Medallion. And by the way...this is a tasty tobacco & highly recommended!! This is a fantastic zombie pipe (I can't say it enough) and Olie Sylvester is one heck of a pipe maker! I would highly recommend you add one of his reasonably priced pipes to your collection if you want something that is out of the norm. Get on the zombie bandwagon like I did and make a purchase when it is available...they sell fast! A couple of days ago I tried a new tin of tobacco called Davidoff Flake Medallions which I smoked in a Vauen Ascot pipe. This blend is comprised of Virginias, Perique and Black Cavendish which is rolled up and cut into coin medallions. The tobacco is light to medium in color with the black core of Cavendish. The moistue level is medium, meaning that it wasn't too moist but would probably smoke better if dried out for a few. The tin note has a cigarette tobacco with maybe a hint of hay scent. Not very impressive but then again, it isn't an aromatic. The very first bowl I decided not to dry out the tobacco and since it is a flake, I used the fold & stuff into the bowl method. I used two medallions in one bowl, lit it with my IM Corona Old Boy, then tamped with my "Moray Eel" from BriarBoy :) The first light produced some nice full puffy smoke and the immediate coating of my tongue was nice. I get a nice silky smooth flavor of sweet cooked meat (very slight from the Virginias) but more woodsy and maybe a hint of licorice and spice (Perique) on my palate. It was what I call a "meal in a smoke"...it just made my mouth water which I thoroughly enjoyed! The room note was very faint with maybe a hint of hay in the air but someone may say it just smells like burning tobacco. The nicotine level was low. I had several re-lights during this session but I expected that. What I wasn't expecting was a lot of moisture or "gurgle". I needed to "flick" the pipe several times to remove the moisture. It took a long time to finish a bowl...over an hour and I don't think I got down to complete ash due to the moisture (I didn't stay on top of the "moisture removal" procedures as I should have). Overall, this tobacco was very smooth, very flavorful, long lasting, enjoyable, relaxing and highly recommended! I think I need to put in an order for a few tins soon because I think I'll be out before I know it! Yesterday a friend of mine gifted me some Peterson tobacco called Holiday Season 2013. He put most of it in a mason jar and left me plenty for a couple of bowls. I took a whiff from the tin and man did it smell good! I couldn't wait to bring it home, but I first had to wait until the end of the workday. This blend is made up of Virginias with Black Cavendish & nutty Burley with honey, plum and cinnamon. The tobacco has all variations of brown (light, medium, dark) to include black and in ribbon form. The moisture level was just perfect for an immediate smoke. The tin note smells of honey, fruit and nuts...I think I want to eat it! :D I loaded up my J.M.Boswell Churchwarden's chamber full of this aromatic baccy, lit it with my IM Corona Old Boy, and tamped it with my Moray Eel tamper. From the very first light I get a mouthful of acidic/salty flavor and within minutes I heard the gurgle of moisture building up in the bottom of the bowl. That's got to be due to the sugar toppings burning but I really concentrated on taking longer draws at a slower pace. It took about 1/2 of the bowl before I noticed the flavors on my palate starting to match the tin note...but lighter. It tasted like a Christmas fruitcake! I get some licorice and dried fruit. The smoke is full and puffy with the room note smelling just as good. Even the Mrs. liked the room note! When I reached 3/4 of the bowl, I noticed the flavors getting better & fuller with the sweetness of the Virginias coming through. Once I finished, I ended the night with a 2nd and even a 3rd bowl of this tobacco! After each bowl the saltiness disappeared and left me satisfied! I'm really not a huge fan of aromatics, but this is by far my favorite! I highly recommend this blend & give it two pipes up for sure!! Since I picked up my Medico Crest 32 from Thrift America, I knew I needed a tool to ream its chamber since there was quite a bit of carbon built up on the walls. I looked around eBay and found this little gem. It is called the Kleen Reem pipe cleaner from W.J. Young Machinery Co., Inc. I believe this tool was popular in the 50-60's, but I'm not quite sure. This tool came with a cardboard box lined with green felt, the ream tool, and some short pipe cleaners. What is missing is the instruction booklet and ring to hold the short wicks. This is probably an earlier version since it doesn't have a hard plastic case, plus the Kleen Reem font/label has that 50's appeal whereas the hardcased version is printed. The tool arrived but needed a little cleaning...no rust, just carbon and junk! The tool has 3 blades/prongs that spreads as you turn the knob at then end of the handle. Only one side of each prong is sharpened which means you need to reem the chamber clockwise...always clockwise! At the very end of the handle has a smaller knob which when removed reveals the drill bit. This is used to clean the stem/shank from tar & carbon buildup. There is a little hole at the end of the drill bit where you would slide the wick through and then run it through the stem/shank. I've already reemed my Medico Crest 32 pipe and this tool did a great job on the walls. I think I'll need another reemer to get to the bottom of the chamber, but for now...I'm extremely happy with this eBay find! It is Columbus Day and time for a new tin of tobacco! This cool rainy morning brings out a tin from Samuel Gawith called Balkan Flake and I'll be smoking a bowl of it in my Savinelli Oscar 127. This blend is made up of Virginia and Latakia tobaccos which are pressed and sliced. These dark brown slabs of baccy are moist and definitely need to be dried a bit. I set them aside for an hour then rubbed them out into small pieces to drop into the chamber of my bowl. But before I get into the smoke, let me mention the aroma that I get from this baccy. I can smell a little sweetness from the Virginia as well as a smokey beef jerky from the Latakia that's been warmed up over a campfire. What's also weird is that it reminds me of camping and more specifically the aftermath of a burned out campfire, early in the morning when it's damp and a little wet outside. When I lit the baccy, I get good puffy smoke. I get a very light sweetness on my palate which is much less impressive than the name implies. Although, the label does state it's a deliciously cool tobacco. After half way though the bowl, the sweetness improves a little and I get a crayon aroma for a room note. I normally don't pick up on the room note for non-aromatics, but a crayon or "waxy" aroma is definitly there. Overall, this is a very mellow and relaxing smoke but is just too light for my tastes. This is the second item I picked up at Thrift America this morning! It was sitting under a glass case next to some old lighters, a corn cob pipe, and some other smoking memoribilia. I asked the clerk to take it out of the case so I could have a better look at it. The price tag listed this little pipe at $4.99. Not too bad and it looked to be in decent shape...no cracks or chips in the stem--a nice little full bent billiard. The stamp on the pipe identified it as a Medico Crest Imported Briar with the number 32 printed on the other side of the shank. The bent stem has a faded crest shield and there is a metal ring separating the shank and stem. When I brought it home, I immediately started soaking the stem and washing/wiping down the bowl to remove the layers of tar/dirt. The stem had some chatter marks which I smoothed out with some 1000 grit sandpaper and buffed out with my buffing wheel. The briar grain can be seen now through dark stain after a good cleaning and buffing with some carnuba wax. I don't have a reamer yet but this little booger could use it. I took a little piece of 1000 grit sandpaper and smoothed out the cake on the inner chamber...it'll do for now. I forgot to mention that the tennon is made of metal that connects to the mortise of the stem. It accepts the 6mm filter that Medico produces (or others such as Dr. Grabow) and I just bought a few new boxes of the filters for one of my other pipes. I don't have any details on the year is was produced, but Ben (trashdigger123 on IG) says that Medico was a popular brand of the 70's. We'll see what I can dig up on the interwebs! This pipe cleaned up nicely and I'm currently smoking a bowl of Bell's Three Nuns...smokes juuuuuust fine! After church, I decided to hit the local Thrift America to see if I could find any pipe smoking memoribilia. As I walked down the aisles I found a pipe stand that was missing the glass container for tobacco and only held 4 pipes. As I looked further down the aisles, I found this little gem for $6.99. It is a walnut pipe stand with a very clean container/humidor. It even had the acrylic piece labeled "Old Faithful Moistener" which is fastened under the container's lid with a screw. This stand holds 6 pipes (3 on each side) and is in excellent shape. It still has the manufacturers label underneath the stand; Fairfax Mfg. Co., Fairfax, MO. The dimensions are: 6" heightl, 10.75" length, and 5.25" width. When I brought it home I took a rag and cleaned it up...viola! A new pipe stand!! This pipe tobacco memoribilia now replaces a box which I used to store my pipe. Not too shabby for a thrift shop find! All that runs through my mind is Macklemore's "Thrift Shop" song...what, what, what?! Another new tin of tobacco for this mornings' smoke in my "go to" Savinelli Oscar 127 is a McClelland brand called Royal Cajun Dark. But before we go any further I wanted to point out the new addition to my pipe tobacco hobby---the "Moray Eel" tamper! I gave it this name because that is what it reminds me of...a wicked, sinister, badass beast of the deep! Aaron Strange (@briarboy on IG) continues to express his talents through his works of art...highly recommended item to add to your collection if you don't already own one :) Besides the new tamper and the new baccy, my Savinelli got a buff job! I picked up a "block" of carnuba wax to bring back the shine of briar in my pipes. A little wax on the buffing wheel and viola! A shiny new-looking pipe :P Anyhow, back to the baccy. This tin has brown and almost black course Virginia tobacco + Perique which is ready for smoking--not moist and not too dry. Putting the sniffer to the test revealed a nice smokey sweetness with BBQ and woody aroma! Once lit in my pipe, a nice full smoke and similar flavors that touched the nose carried over to the palate. It is much lighter but I could taste the sweet smokey BBQ flavors. The pillow of sweet smoke rolled over my tongue which was also silky smooth---me likes! It is a relaxing and enjoyable tobacco that I would recommend for sure! Yesterday I received another unique pipe tamper that I purchased from Aaron Strange on Etsy. It is the second tamper that I have purchased from him and is by far the best I've seen! He says it was crafted from a 40+ year old piece of plateau briar. It has a dark stain and several aluminum tubular accents embedded into this piece of art! When he originally displayed the "work in progress" on Instagram, I knew that I had to have it. Weeks had passed but I didn't see it posted on Etsy so I inquired about it. He said that applying the dye was reason for the delay and before I knew it...it was up for sale! Needless to say I bought it immediately :) His eye in creating a unique and freaky shaped tamper is like no other. It is definitely a conversation piece and I'm proud to own one of his works! |
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