Guru Dottle
If I Had a Hammer...
Greetings to all! Here we are in my favorite pipe smoking season with a chill in the air and a nice warm briar in hand. One question I am frequently asked this time of year is, " Why is this pipe $350 and this one is $85? They both are pipes, so what makes the difference?" You may have heard me say before that buying a quality pipe has to do with eliminating variables. By this I mean that decisions on these hand made beauties are made by an individual not a machine and things like weight and balance, draft hole drilling, bowl thickness, stem fitting and drilling and grain are all taken into consideration by the craftsman. When these variables are removed you are left with a little smoking machine which gives you a pure clean tobacco taste, feels great in the hand and the mouth and burns all the way down to the bottom of the bowl.
Now that we have some understanding of what more bucks gets you, how do we make it work- This is the hammer part. When you walk into most hardware stores there usually are bins that contain inexpensive tools like a hammer for $3. For a klutz like me this hammer will probably be just fine and when it breaks I'll just buy another one for $6 (inflation). But if I am serious about carpentry, home repair or if I am a craftsman who works with nails and such I will no doubt buy a quality hammer that might cost me $100. With this purchase I know this hammer will stand up to all my demands and will probably last forever because this hammer is a quality tool, a nailing machine.
Now, here is the best part. If I, the klutz, were to buy the $100 hammer, I had better know how to drive a nail or my new purchase will make no difference with me smashing my thumb or driving a nail through the wall. So, I practice my nail driving and life is good, the walls are secure and I have a quality tool that will serve me for a lifetime. And this people, is how your quality pipe will work once you have nailed your packing technique, which is the most important aspect of pipe smoking. With a little practice your tobacco is tasting great, the pipe stays lit and your little smoking machine will last a lifetime- Its as easy as driving a nail!
This time of year your local Tinder Boxes and local tobacconists are usually loaded with beautiful pipes to choose from along with many exciting new tobaccos to try out. This year a few Tinder Boxes had Roberto Ascorti design a Christmas pipe just for them and from the drawings I have seen these pipes are unique, very limited and look outstanding. Peterson also has come out with a Christmas pipe which incorporates the green/red Holiday colors and comes in classic shapes. Peterson has a Christmas Blend for 2011 as does McClelland with their Christmas Cheer 2011 and their 2011 Holiday Spirit. Another exciting tobacco for all you Latakia lovers and English Blend believers is the "new" Balkan Sobranie made by J.F Germain and Son who was selected by Arango Cigar Company to attempt to duplicate the original Germain blend of this mythic tobacco.
It is a great time of year for a pipe smoker with many tempting treats available and a perfect season in which to try them out. I wish all of you a very safe Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas.
