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I like Solani Aged Burley Flake. It is a very high grade tobacco and also very potent, so make sure you are sitting down when you try it. Carter Hall is also good. It has a little bit of fruit flavored topping, but it's not overpowering. Eventually the topping will taint your pipe, but it takes a po...

Mike Messer wrote:

GbpBulgaria wrote:...presume same dealer...

For general info, Who Was This Dealer(s)?

I've ordered from Jaume Hom in Spain, one week to the U.S.A., no problem....
http://www.briarblocks.com/

That's a really nice website. They have some who takes great photographs.

You might want to look at the links on the right side of this page. http://www.longwood.edu/chemphys/7690.htm Each link is a PDF copy of a chapter from an old Army machine shop manual. Chapter 7 is all about the lathe including how to grind a tool bit. The assumption in the manual is that you are cu...

I lost a few things that were irreplaceable, like a wooden plane that was my grandfather's, but the new shop is very nice. I've been spending some time smoking cigars out there until I can get my tools set up and make some pipes. The insurance company was very easy to work with and paid up promptly,...

Early this year, a fire started in my shop about 5 feet to the left of the pipe in this picture and my shop burned to the ground. The fire was started by a generator, BTW, not the ashtray. I spent all summer rebuilding and retooling my new shop, but still don't have my lathe or workbench set up. I c...

Apple makes a very good pipe. I've tried soft maple, too, but that doesn't work as well. The moisture moves through the pores and stains the outside of the pipe, which looks ugly. Both have a neutral flavor and smoke just fine. Red oak would be just about the worst choice from the standpoint of poro...

My neighbor, who grew up on a tobacco farm, says that they also put a dash of mineral oil on the top of the plant to prevent it from regrowing the flower.

So when I went to look at it, among the things I checked was how the spindle felt, and it was scary-hard to turn. Well, the guy told me he had sent off for new bearings, and he cracked them open to show me. And I pretty much believe him. The surfaces on the bearings have what appears to be kindof a...

At some point this summer I'm going to be building a proper workshop in the back yard. I have plans for a 12x12 or 8x12 outbuilding with proper insulation and heating/cooling. Maybe in July or I worked out of an 8x12 shed for a year or so; it's really small! When we moved I got a 18x36 shop; even t...

II combine the air pocket method with the Frank method. That just means that I leave a little air pocket at the bottom of the bowl. The air pocket seems to help the tobacco burn with a "clean" taste and I don't have a goopy mess of dottle when I get to the bottom. The tobacco does end up ...

I'd put in another vote for Butternut Burley and Barbary Coast. They are my current favorites; both are burley blends, but they don't have much in common other than that. Butternut Burley is an inexpensive, low-brow tobacco that you can jam into any old pipe and light up for a good smoke. I like it ...

I have done a couple of stummels recently using a homemade spade bit in a pnumatic drill. It runs a good bit slower than an electric drill, has loads of torque, and has two good handles to hang on to. I clamp the block on the bench so that the tobacco chamber and draft hole will be parallel to the f...

Please review this pipe. I'm interested in what you think of the design. The shank cracked, was repaired, but is still off. The last picture is a detail of the roughest part: Thank you for your constructive criticism. --Michael That stain on the stummel is fantastic! You certainly don't want that t...

I have read the discussion on HSS vs Carbide lathe bits. It occurred to me that there is a 3rd alternative, Cobalt. Is there any advantage/disadvantage to Cobalt vs HSS, since the cost difference is only about 50 cents for a 1/4" square, 6" long, 10% tool bit? I mean, specifically for cut...

How do you guys sharpen spade bits? With files or maybe a sharpening stone? I've tried with files, but it doesn't seem to get as sharp as I would like it to be. Charl A file is faster if the bit steel is soft enough. Mine is hard enough to require a stone, though. Make sure it is ground correctly f...

Hi everyone, I'm a new member and a new pipecarver. Here is a picture of my fourth pipe, by way of introduction. It's my first rusticated pipe. http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/riderkb/Pipes/top.jpg http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/riderkb/Pipes/side.jpg I wish I still had my first pipe ...

This is pipe that I finished and started smoking recently. It is an experiment, so I didn't sand or finish it because I want to know how it smokes first. http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/riderkb/Pipes/vibstem.jpg The stummel is maple (3/4" x 1 1/4" tobacco chamber) and is shaped some...