PREMIUM PIPE AUCTION

The purpose of this private auction is to offer to a select few the opportunity to buy some outstanding pipes.

Here’s how it operates.

The auction runs for three days from the time of notification.

If you wish to enter the auction you send an email to info@darkdeedswales.com quoting the price you are willing to pay.

At the end of every day the highest bid will be listed on the blog.  If you wish to increase your bid you can do so.

At the end of the third day the highest bid wins.

All bids include despatch by registered and insured post.

Anyone wanting further photographs or details please ask.

ANOTHER NEW LINE - CALABASH PIPE STAND

CALABASH STAND

There are very few people who don’t instantly recognise the Calabash pipe as the one Sherlock Holmes smoked ( he didn’t actually, in the stories he smoked either a clay pipe or a Cutty – the calabash is pure Hollywood!)

Calabash pipes are a real joy to smoke, ideal for a long sit and read in the library, while puffing away contentedly.

The problem comes when you’ve finished smoking.  The Calabash has to be placed vertically otherwise all the moisture either runs into the mouthpiece which makes it taste like a putrid weasel, or pools in the bowl which eventually affects the colour.

Unfortunately because of its shape you cannot use a normal pipe stand, so up until now the answer was to prop it up between two stacks of books, which is all right until you knock it over.

I have over thirty Calabashes myself and have often been faced with the same problem – so I decided to do something about it – and here it is.

Each stand is handcrafted in carefully selected home grown wood, and finished to the highest standard.  It is designed to take the big calabashes and the small ones and just about everything in between.

They come flat pack and only need simple assembly, you can either glue the supports in or leave them free – it doesn’t affect the stand.

A lovely piece of furniture that would grace anyone’s home.

GIANT PETERSONS

I recently bought the biggest Peterson I've ever seen and at the same time the smallest

The oblong object is a normal credit card to give you some idea of scale

NEW PIPE TAMPERS

Bob’s Favourite Tamper.

This is a specially designed pipe tamper designed to work perfectly and last a lifetime.

Each tamper is individually crafted from a carefully selected piece of wood, carefully turned to give a comfortable grip.  The wood is then finished with a coating prepared to a secret recipe by the master carver.

The metal anvil is then fitted.  The metal used is the very highest grade of brass guaranteed by using cartridge cases.  Short throw tampers are finished with a 9mm case and the long throw with either a .357 Magnum or a .38 Special.  Please stipulate which you would prefer.

My choice of cartridge cases for the anvils goes back to my days in the forces when I used to use a dummy round as a tamper (sometimes they would get mixed up in my pocket and I would end up using live rounds).  I found the diameter was just right.

Each tamper is unique – no two are alike – you are buying a future collectible and a very useful one too!

Why tamp?

Tobacco is not a solid mass; it is made up of long thin shreds of plant matter so it does not have a flat surface.

When you fill your pipe you press the tobacco into the bowl with your thumb until the pipe is well filled – not too tight and not too loose.  However when you apply a flame to the tobacco the heat makes it expand and the mass rises.  This makes the surface very uneven with some shreds standing higher than others. These are the shreds that light first, the problem is that sometimes the ones underneath don’t light at all and so the pipe goes out.

This is why sometimes you can find yourself re-lighting your pipe several times.  Eventually the pipe goes out and when you knock out the ash you are surprised to find a sizable lump of tobacco at the bottom that hasn’t burnt.  This just gets thrown away.

However careful tamping ensures that the surface of the coal get’s very flat, this ensures regular burning across the whole surface and an even burn.  It also means you very rarely have to re-light your pipe.

On finishing you will be pleasantly surprised to find that the coal has burnt evenly all the way to the bottom – instead of a wad of unburnt tobacco all you throw away is ash.