@Russell I order tobacco on-line as they tend to be a whole lot cheaper that most B&M stores (if you're lucky enough to have one around you) and drug or grocery stores that carry some OTC blends like Captain Black. The problem is with the drug stores near me is the additional State tobacco tax can sometimes increase the cost of a 1.5 ounce pouch an additional $5.00 depending upon where you live. Once again using Captain Black as an example the retail price of a 1.5 ounce pouch is $9.00. Buy the same pouch at Pipes And Cigars and the price is $6.49. But the best deal is buying Captain Black in bulk at P&C where you can pay as little as $1.50 an ounce. So in essence for the amount you would pay for a 1.5 ounce pouch in a drug store you could get 6 ounces in bulk. The packaging is pretty - but not that pretty. Another thing about ordering on-line is the special weekly and daily offers many of these shops provide, bringing your cost down even less. If you play your cards right you can get an additional 20% off tobacco products which are already cheaper than you'd ever hope to find at a brick and mortar shop. The hobby need not be expensive if you shop around and take advantage of the discounts when they come around. That's the time to stock up.
PC apologized for the error in their catalog. Only ONE, not three, pouches of tobacco are offered. I guess it's still a good deal especially if you want to add another pipe to your rotation. Anyway, I found out when I went on PCs website to make an order...
I walked in on my wife as she was in the process of taking advantage of this P&C offer. She rushed me out ... but I know I have another pipe coming in the mail for Christmas. Won't be as nice as the other two coming my way but any new pipe is a welcome addition to my collection. There was a point in my life when no one knew what to get me for Christmas. The kids said I was hard to buy for because what-ever movies or CDs I wanted I probably already bought. And as for movie memorabilia or other collectible items I've pretty much run out of places to properly display them. But now that I've transitioned from a casual pipe smoker to a pipe enthusiast - and include restoring old second hand pipes as part of the hobby - I've suddenly become easier to buy for. My wife told the boys the types of tobacco I smoke - and you can always find Dad some kind of a pipe, even if it's at a second hand store.
I don't need another pipe I have all my late uncles pipes and have added a couple myself since this picture was taken but am getting into the tobacco and pipe feel more and more
@Russell Time to check out a few YouTube Pipe Presenters explaining the ins and outs of Estate Pipe Restoration. With a little work you can have a nice pipe collection on your hands. Several Dr. Grabows in there that I recognize as part of my collection.
@Russell — I also like Captain Black original and think it smokes great. It’s one of my “out around other people” blends because it’s room note is so nice and because it stays lit so well, I don’t have to mess with it much. I also agree with @Hawkeyeted that the Cherokee is an excellent aromatic. I will say that my favorite mild aromatic is Sutliff’s Molto Dolce. Very mild, zero tongue bite and relatively inexpensive. I know I’m not alone in loving this blend. Several on this forum (@motie2, @ghostsofpompeii) also love the stuff. Might need to dry it out some straight out of the tin but it’s a nice easy smoke.
@Russell This may seem like a stupid question but I'll ask anyway because stupidity is what I do best. But when you said the Dr. Grabows still maintain his smell is that a nostalgic reference meaning you wish to keep that particular aroma to remember him ... or are you suggesting the pipes are ghosted with the odor of the blend he smoked and think it can't be eliminated? Because if you're afraid you can't get rid of the ghosting in a pipe then I'm here to tell you there are several methods available to you to remove them.
One method is the salt treatment whereas you pour coarse Kosher salt into the bowl and shank, then add alcohol to the salt and let the pipe sit for a day or two. By the second day that beautiful white salt will be a sickening looking brownish hue. Pour out the salt and alcohol mixture from the pipe, use a paper towel or Qtip to dry it. Then let it dry out for another day. If the smell remains give it another treatment. That should do the trick. @PappyJoe or @Woodsman or @xDutchx (don't remember which one ... but any one of them know more than I do) also recommended another treatment which consists of loading the bowl with spent wet coffee grounds. And like the salt treatment, simply let it set a day or two before dumping it out and giving it a good cleaning as normal. And it's another method of exorcising the ghosts of an old tobacco blend baked into the briar. I've used them both and they work magic. I had one pipe I bought from an antique store that was ghosted with Sutliff Mixture 79 and it took two salt treatments and a coffee treatment before it finally worked. But now it's perfect. Worked better than a Catholic priest or Shaman at exorcising the demon floral taste and scent of Mixture 79 from the pipe. And the pipe smokes like a dream.
If you look on YouTube you'll find several Pipe Presenters giving more detailed description as to how to properly do each procedure.
@ghostsofpompeii yes I wish them to remain the way they are it is how he always smelled but it is good to know I can get the nasty flavor out of pipes I have passed on many used ones of the years cuz the smell they had I wanted no where near my mouth or face
@Russell I completely understand. I'm a sentimental fool and the older I get the more nostalgic I become. And as the years go by re-capturing those nostalgic moments is like trying to grab onto a fistful of smoke without it slipping through your fingers.
@ghostsofpompeii if it had been anyone else's it wouldn't bother me to change it but he was like a father to me he raised me and my sister when dad wasn't around no even when he was around most of the time dad was piss drunk and was a mean drunk he kept my sister safe
@Russell I wish I had acquired my grandfathers pipes. He died when I was only 13 and his pipes, at that time, were of no concern to me. To my knowledge, no one even has a picture of him with one of his pipes. My only consolation is to carry on his tradition. One of many reasons I enjoy pipe smoking so much...
@Russell Sorry to hear that. But glad to know someone like your Uncle was around as a substitute father figure. Some poor kids grow up with no one to nurture them.
Comments
PC apologized for the error in their catalog. Only ONE, not three, pouches of tobacco are offered. I guess it's still a good deal especially if you want to add another pipe to your rotation. Anyway, I found out when I went on PCs website to make an order...
@Russell This may seem like a stupid question but I'll ask anyway because stupidity is what I do best. But when you said the Dr. Grabows still maintain his smell is that a nostalgic reference meaning you wish to keep that particular aroma to remember him ... or are you suggesting the pipes are ghosted with the odor of the blend he smoked and think it can't be eliminated? Because if you're afraid you can't get rid of the ghosting in a pipe then I'm here to tell you there are several methods available to you to remove them.
One method is the salt treatment whereas you pour coarse Kosher salt into the bowl and shank, then add alcohol to the salt and let the pipe sit for a day or two. By the second day that beautiful white salt will be a sickening looking brownish hue. Pour out the salt and alcohol mixture from the pipe, use a paper towel or Qtip to dry it. Then let it dry out for another day. If the smell remains give it another treatment. That should do the trick. @PappyJoe or @Woodsman or @xDutchx (don't remember which one ... but any one of them know more than I do) also recommended another treatment which consists of loading the bowl with spent wet coffee grounds. And like the salt treatment, simply let it set a day or two before dumping it out and giving it a good cleaning as normal. And it's another method of exorcising the ghosts of an old tobacco blend baked into the briar. I've used them both and they work magic. I had one pipe I bought from an antique store that was ghosted with Sutliff Mixture 79 and it took two salt treatments and a coffee treatment before it finally worked. But now it's perfect. Worked better than a Catholic priest or Shaman at exorcising the demon floral taste and scent of Mixture 79 from the pipe. And the pipe smokes like a dream.
If you look on YouTube you'll find several Pipe Presenters giving more detailed description as to how to properly do each procedure.
@KA9FFJ it's good to carry on the memories and traditions