My brother-in-law sent me home with some deer antlers after I told him that they would make good tampers. It didn't take long for me to pull out the hack saw and cut off one of the smaller tines. I used the grinder to shape the base and then attached a .410 Remmington shotgun shell casing. I dipped it in some Oak Leather Dye and then buffed it out. And that's how you make a quick down-and-dirty deer antler tamper :)
I completed this ink drawing (# 6 thus far) of Ben a few days ago which was a bit of a challenge due to his beard. I feared the beard!! I think it turned out quite nicely and feel that I'm continuing to brush off the cobwebs when it comes to drawing. As you know, I haven't been drawing in such a long time as I mentioned before, and the IG piping community has inspired me to pick up the pencil & pens :) It was Nicky (@nicky_the_terrible) and her pipe & piper art that started it all for me. It's been fun and sometimes tiresome creating these drawings, but I enjoy 'em so far. I keep searching on IG for interesting selfies (future prospects), especially when they're posing with their pipes, and you never know who will be next. It also is nice when someone offers me with some baccy to do them next :) I can't guarantee it'll happen, but in Grant's case...it worked out for the best because I found a perfect selfie! So far all of my art has been framed and is hanging in the basement on my "Wall of IG Pipers! One of these days I'll post a photo of my collection :) When I was in my father-in-laws garage smoking one of my pipes a few weeks ago, I noticed this old/unused golf ball stand that was gathering dust. The gears in my head were turning...I thought to myself...I could turn this thing into a pipe rack! So, I asked Buzz if he would sell it to me, which he replied, "You can have it. Take what you want from the garage." So I gladly took it home :) I had to remove a couple of vertical slats to make room for the pipes to sit horizontally. This allows for three columns of 8, or a total of 24 pipes. Next was to create a slot in each "cell" to provide a sitting place for the pipes. There were already divots for golf balls, but I needed to extend it out over three divots. I used my dremel tool with a sanding wheel attachment and went to work. Kinda rough but it's good enough! Now that the slots were created, I sanded it down a little and prepped it for some black semi-gloss paint. The backboard is a green colored faux felt piece which I cleaned up and painted red. It is now a burgundy color which is fine. After some drying time I put it back together and viola! Now that I have an upcycled pipe rack, it was time to mount it on the wall and showcase my pipes! It now rests above the fireplace in the basement with the rest of my piping stash! I'm very happy to have this functional rack on display, but now that I had a look at what Kraig Seder (@kraigseder on IG) has in mind for a new woodworking project (Black Forest pipe rack), I'm jealous! The sketch looks fantastic and I can't wait to see the final product! That is all!!! This is the second of three Drew Estate tobacco tins that I ordered from Pipes and Cigars called Meat Pie. It is also the only non-aromatic of the three so I expected good things with this blend. "...A pungent, smokey, medium-bodied smoke that is the epitome of the word classic!" This blend is comprised of light, medium, and dark ribbon cut tobaccos of Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, and Virginias. The tin note is your typical campfire aromas which is why I like these English blends :) The moisture level is more on the dryer side but not too dry. Once I filled the Zombie-86 bowl of this baccy, I get full puffy smoke as expected. There is a little bitterness as well as a little saltiness that coats the tongue at first light. It's not a bad taste but I would prefer to have a little sweetness of the Virginias over anything else. So it was a little lacking in that department...for me. The nicotine level is medium so it won't knock you down. At the end of the bowl I thought that it wasn't a bad baccy...not my favorite but I wouldn't turn it down if offered. So I rate this as a recommended but not a highly recommended..."get into your mama's purse and steal her lotto ticket money to buy more Meat Pie!"...experience. So there you have it. The past few weeks I've been reading positive comments on IG regarding Drew Estate tobaccos. When I heard about Pipes and Cigars having a buy-2 get-1 free promotion for Drew Estate tobacco, I had to give it a try. Meat Pie was a popular blend so that was my first choice. The second was 7th Avenue Blonde. And for the freebie, I chose Central Park Stroll. Now everyone knows my feelings about aromatics...not a big fan, but I thought I'd give it another try since 2 of the 3 tins were aromatics. So here we are with 7th Avenue Blonde... "Pack a bowl and head down to 7th Avenue in Park Slope and you'll end up like the pied piper of Brooklyn. The super pleasing aromas captivate in the air, but the exotic blend of tobaccos is what has you coming back for more and more." Sounds interesting :) As soon as I cracked the tin a took a whiff, I could smell a delicious baccy that is good enough to eat. I get the vanilla and also the aromas of fruits and nuts. It immediately brought me back to the day I tried Peterson's Holiday Season 2013 that was gifted to me by my co-worker Ryan. Now that blend is fantastic and I had high hopes for this one. The blend is made up of light and dark tobaccos consisting of Burley, Cavendish, Oriental/Turkish, and Virginias. It is ribbon cut with a perfect moisture level--ready to smoke! I packed my Peronelli bowl and immediately after first light, I get light puffy smoke and a wonderful room note of vanilla flavor. The tin note and room note are very similar but the only thing I would complain about is the goop in the bowl from the burning sugars. But, that's expected. The overall impression of this tobacco is that I like it very much. It's great from beginning to end! So we have yet another two pipes up for a good aromatic named 7th Avenue Blonde! I first heard the mention of a pipe maker named Freddy Prieto, as well as many others from one of the Dagner's YouTube videos and when they drop names, I try to remember them so that I can see what they are all about. Well, since I started this new hobby back in August and began to get on Instagram a little more, that is when I started to see more photos of Freddy Prieto's pipes who lives in Visalia, California. Mr. Prieto has an Etsy site (http://www.etsy.com/shop/freddyprietopipes) which showcases pipes he has sold in the past, but good luck finding anything new there because he's been posting his new pipes for sale on IG. Once it's posted, it's practically gone in minutes. It's a fantastic way of selling your merchandise because your customers are usually on IG where the pipe community is strong. I'm sure they're on Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook as well, but IG is my favorite social media site. Well, the bad part would be if you, as a potential customer, is at work, asleep, or just not on IG when the post is made by Freddy. This has happened to me a few times where I see one of his pipes and it's already sold...but not this time! When I saw this Short Stubby Cutty, I sent my email as a potential buyer. About a half hour had passed and I hadn't received a response. I checked IG and someone had posted a comment about its availability and Freddy responded that it hasn't sold yet. I was like, "what!?". I know I sent an email but it must have been lost in the ether. I posted my comment indicating that I too had sent an email and before you know it, the email from him rolled in and I was the lucky buyer! I was stoked! Not only was it going to by my 1st Freddy Prieto pipe, but it would be my very 1st cutty! PayPal payment was sent and the pipe was on its way to me within days! Now that the package arrived, I decided to make a YABO video on Vimeo. This would be my very first YABO and only my second video related to pipes. Freddy included a box note on the box flap thanking me for the purchase and to enjoy the pipe! The pipe came with a pipe sock made of thin canvas material with his unique "FP" initials in the lower right-hand corner. Now this pipe is such a neat little booger...a nose warmer for sure! It measures 1-5/8" tall, 3-3/4" long, and has a 7/8" bowl. His signature rustication is just awesome and reminds me of a pinecone. It has a cumberland stem that is just beautiful. The button slot is perfect and the mortise & tenon fit is also perfect. His initials are etched at the bottom of the shank with the lucky number 13 as well. Now that is just fitting...I guess this number is lucky for sure! I chose to crack a new tin of Escudo to break in this little fella and although it isn't my favorite baccy, it smoked quite well--smokes better in the end. Freddy has created a wonderful pipe that smokes like a dream! I know, that saying is used quite often but describes the experience perfectly :) I would highly recommend a Freddy Prieto pipe to all. Get one when the opportunity arises--you won't be disappointed! Take care and keep on keepin' on!! Sweet smokes my friends...sweet smokes :D I completed my 5th ink drawing of a fellow Instagram pipe smoker. His name is Grant Powers and one day he made an offer of a tin of Penzance if I drew him next. I said I'd think about it and if he is going to be my next subject, I'd post my progress on IG. I looked though his feed of photos and found one that I thought would be the one, plus I've heard good things about Penzance so I couldn't pass up the offer! I started the drawing the day I got back from travelling from Illinois over the weekend, and continued to work on it in my free time. I spent about 6 days on this portrait from the sketch to the final dot (using pointillism). I'm very happy with the results and have also received positive feedback from folks on IG. My correspondence with Grant has been positive and he's been very appreciative for, as he put it, dedicating my time for a stranger. All I can say is that at the moment, this is what I like to do while I'm smoking my pipes. I haven't drawn this much in soooooo long---it keeps me busy and out of trouble. Not that I do much of anything to get into any trouble...I'm just saying :) Now I need to pick up some frames for this portrait and my last one so that I can put them up (temporarily) in my smoking corner of my garage. Until the next drawing...keep on keepin' on! "On a misty, moonless night, along twisted cobblestone lanes illuminated only by the glow of ancient iron lanters, you follow a scent as dark as the night itself, the exotic fragrance hauntingly familiar, compelling, irresistable. Open the tin. Discover the mystery." This description adorns the tin of a new baccy that has risen to the top of my "faves" list! There has been a lot of chatter on YouTube, Instagram, and other social media sites regarding this blend of baccy that has really piqued my interest. It didn't take long for me to jump on the bandwagon because it's that good! When I say it's that good, I mean it's that good!! I smoked through my first tin and have already received another batch of 5 recently :) Call me greedy, but I love it! The baccy is comprised of rough cuts of Red Virginia, Latakia, and spiced Oriental which is moist dark brown and black and pressed into two 1oz. bricks/plugs per tin. The bricks are easy to crumble and you should probably let it dry out for a few before packing your bowl. The tin note has your typical campfire and sweetness of the Virginia and Latakia. At first light, you get nice puffy smoke and nice combination of sweet and salty flavors on the palate. I've been puffing it like a freight train! It must be laced with crack because I can't put it down! It's fantastic from beginning to end and I highly recommend this blend to all pipe smokers :) So get out to your local or online tobacconist and build up your stash because if you're like me and love your VA/per baccy, you'll never want to run out. Sweet smokes my friends...sweet smokes! BTW...the Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch isn't bad at all. I'm no scotch connisseur, but I prefer mine with a little splash of water...'tis tasty! Well today I finished an ink drawing that I started just yesterday. It is of Jan Szymon Golowacz, or better known as JSG on IG (@jsgpipes). He is an indie pipe maker from Poland and I purchased his Stubby Poker with a Waist through TobaccoPipeCollectors.com. Although his isn't the very 1st indie pipe I purchased, it is the very first indie pipe that I smoked. It's a great little poker and hopefully not the last pipe I buy from him. I do have my eye on one of his Old Style Cutty pipes, but I need to save up more pennies! I drew his portrait in pencil on a 9" x 12" sheet of Strathmore Sketch drawing paper using Staedtler pens. Pointillism & cross-hatching is what I used to create the shadows and background. This is the 4th portrait I created from tobacco piper smokers/makers on IG. I hope to continue drawing portraits of the many pipers, but choosing the right one, at the right time is the number 1 question. I just don't know which piper it will be. Be on the lookout! A few days ago, Joshua (@083joshua on IG) made a comment my Lil' Vampire drawing on IG..."Lol where the hell is my scooterpose drawing ha ha", and I just happened to be in the drawing mood. So here it is! Joshua created the "scooterpose" which is freakin' hilarious and I chose one of his IG posts with a pipe to draw. I stuck with using my Staedtler pens and used pointillism & cross-hatching...and here we are! I think he liked it and I'm getting a few double-taps on IG. I'm diggin' it! |
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