The New Dominion

The two tobacco pipes of The New Dominion were commissioned by a friend of mine (upon whose name dominion is a bit of a play) for himself and his brother. This has been the first set of pipes I have made. The two pipes are similar but with significant differences. I had given them three options to choose between and both brothers asked for the same thing but one wanted a churchwarden stem. I am thrilled  with the outcome. The shields with the initials in them came out particularly well. 

The Trying Triad

I continue to read up on pipes and have noticed two major controversies. The effects of finish on the pipe and the effects of the size of the airway. It is these two hotly debated topics that the Trying Triad tobacco pipes are comparing. All three pipes are within a half inch in length with each other, with similar bowl sizes and exterior thicknesses. All three are Italian Briar with german Vulcanite stems. 

This first pipe has the airway that I normally use and a carnauba wax finish which is also my most typical finish.

The next pipe has an enlarged airway but than has a Buffed Oil finish which I have heard causes the pipe to stop breathing. 

This last pipe also has the enlarged airway but the finish is a Spray Lacquer. 

So this is by no means a scientific test but I am smoking the same tobacco out of these there pipes to see if I can detect a difference in the way they perform. I will keep you up to date on the results. 

The Wizard's Horn

The Wizard's Horn tobacco pipe is a very different pipe. I am not entirely sure how well I like it. Visually it is beautiful. The straight grain of the plateaux briar is stunning and I have been improving on the way I use the dyes which have given this pipe an amazing finish and the rough outside of the root burl is always fascinating. What I am not happy about is the curve, and how that has effected the way it sits in the mouth. This is not a lazy pipe, all the weight is out at the end and the stem doesn't displace any of the weight from out to down. Still it is smokable and looks amazing, you just might want to build up your biceps before smoking this one.

I want to give a return shout out to Catholic Stuff Podcast created by the willing minds of Fr. John, Fr. Peter, Fr. Mike, Joe Doman, and, last but certainly not least, the esteemed Nathan Goebel. Joe recently lead a podcast on our own St. John Kemble and encouraged the listeners to check out this site, so thank you gents over at Catholic Stuff. Listen to this podcast, they have some amazing topics and deal with them thoughtfully and enjoyably.