Pipe Forums

Recently one of the most popular pipe forums announced it was about to close due to aggravation and death threats behind the scenes. Yes, death threats. Pipes can be serious things and you don’t mess with a pissed off pipe smoker. Following the announcement there was a sort of panic amongst the membership. People talked [...]

McClelland's Dark Star

This is my first review, never having had the confidence to do so before, so it’ll likely be a short one. To start with I’m predominantly an English and Balkan smoker, so that’s where I’m coming from. That said, I knew I needed to overcome my fear of being bitten by VA’s, and to be [...]

Customer Service – Alive and Well

I recently placed an order with Rich at 4Noggins and paid for it. A day or so later my son remembered that he’d wanted some Virginia Flake so I emailed Rich and asked if he could add it to the order and back-charge me. On top of that I’d asked him if he could compile [...]

Baccyflap

I bought myself a Wunup Baccyflap. Who he? A baccyflap is a piece of Bakelite, brought out during the Art Deco period in the 1930′s, used exclusively for carrying around tobacco. Pipesmokers can load up a days worth of baccy in this airtight container, and it fits neatly in a trouser pocket. You can purchase [...]

Dreaming

SATIRICAL LOGO REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF RON BLACKNER (Out of respect for Ron, to whom I wish no ill) Recently I had a little set to with a couple of the moderators on Smokers Forum. The background is that recently the owner of the site decided to fold it due to the intense aggravation [...]

Thinking Again

I’m re-evaluating the whole pipe collecting thing. I’ve recently had a bit of a cull, giving some pipes to my noob pipe-smoking son, and thinning the herd considerably. Apart from my 1879 Peterson and a hand made Ronny Thuner, I have little that could be described as worth a great deal, and that’s the way [...]

Filthy Pipes

For many years I used to have to attend various functions at directorial level, and rubbed shoulders with a number of businessmen, some of whom smoked. On one occasion in particular, two whom I regularly encountered revealed that they smoked pipes. And they both kept the pipes in the right hand pocket of their suit [...]

Why Pipes?

Over the years I’ve been asked the question “Why Pipes?”. It would seem that we are men and women who subscribe to a bygone age, born out of time, jaded with modern society. We miss the times when someone can ask a question at work and we can pull out a pipe to ponder before [...]

Back to the Briar

I have been remiss over recent months, about the use and application of the briar, and it’s meditative qualities. Accordingly, I have devoted my whole attention, in what little spare time I have, to the wonders of the pipe, or to be more accurate, pipes. I feel this laxity in my recent behaviour is what [...]

Airbrushing History

I have bruises from banging my head against my office wall.         Here in the UK we’ve had old photos of Winston Churchill with his cigar airbrushed out for publication in school history books – a clear case of rewriting history. We’ve also had a British Legion club (old soldiers from both [...]