April 2007

Club Info & Events

IMPORTANT NOTICE - The meeting location for the April meeting has been changed due to a scheduling conflict. We do have an alternate meeting place and directions have been emailed to all members. You are also welcome to meet up with us at X&Os between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. and follow us to the new location which is only a short drive from our current meeting place. If you have questions or would like to join us, feel free to send us an email.

Details of the March Meeting
Another great meeting with good attendance. We discussed our trip to the NY Pipe Show which was held on March 10th. See a complete report of our visit below. Dock also mentioned having our 2nd Annual SHPC Swap and Sell. Last year's event went well but we can do better. We'd love to see a big turn out with lots to swap or sell whether it be pipes, tobacco or accessories. Maybe it's time to thin the herd a bit and make way for some new briar. Or maybe you have a tin or two of baccy that you didn't like but its someone else's favorite, why not swap if for something that you like? We're looking at the June meeting to hold this event but more details will follow.
Dock brought some of McBaren's Stockton blend for all of us to sample. Stockton is a spun tobacco, cut in small bird’s eye. It was easy to pack and easy to light. Although no one turned in an official review of the blend it appeared to go over very well. I enjoyed the taste and look forward to giving it another try. See what other had to say about it at tobaccoreviews.com
We also discussed the possibility of making another trip to Brookline News & Tobacco. Last year Mike the owner opened the place up for us on a Sunday and it was a great time. This is one of those places you have to go at least once (but will want to return again). We hope to plan a trip there sometime this summer. Check out our report from last year.

Save the Calabash - By Thomas Martin
Calabash has come to represent a shape not a gourd.
Nobody would expect an apple shaped pipe to be made from an apple. Like “calabash” the name represents the shape not the material. The Calabash pipe used to actually be made from a gourd (Lageneria vulgaris). To my knowledge, there are no makers of real Calabash pipes in the United States and so I decided to make it my goal to give it a try. Having made a handful or two of briar pipes, I learned that finding good briar is the challenge that Rainer Barbi calls “the dance.” I can tell you, finding a Calabash gourd although not impossible, is far more difficult.

Current wisdom suggests that acceptable gourds can only be grown in the Ladismith region of South Africa. When Calabash proliferated they were cultivated for the specific purpose of becoming a pipe. Presently, if you can find a farmer that grows the gourd he doesn’t grow it or shape it to be a pipe. In North America they are grown mostly for crafters. In Africa the are grown for crafters and for more utilitarian use.
                                                          [Read the complete article]

The New York Pipe Show - The Spaghetti Western of Pipe Shows - By Nelson Pidgeon

I think I can say with a fair amount of certainty that most of you reading this article either enjoy going to pipe shows or if you've never been, would like to go to one. This past March I attended my fourth NY Pipe Show which is held in Newark NJ. The March show is the first of four New York shows each year and although I haven't attended any of the other yearly shows I'm told that the March show is the best of the bunch. This year's show however, was noticeably different from other years. For starters it was the first March show since the New Jersey smoking ban had gone into effect and smoking was no longer allowed during the show. This had an obvious effect on attendance and participation and to a point I can understand why. Personally, I was disappointed and on the way home was discussing with the others in the car my thoughts for writing my report about the show for this month's newsletter. I usually try to be as positive as I can when writing about the adventures of the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club but I was struggling with this one a little. I put it on the back burner and thought more about it when my mind wasn't cluttered with other things. About a week later, during my forty five minute drive home from work it all seemed to come together; different aspects of this year's show reminded me of that old spaghetti western "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly." You know the one I'm talking about starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, (no not Lee Von Erck) and Eli Wallach......

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Dock's Corner

My Pipes Community
As most of you know, I've been getting sicker and sicker with the "google groups" pipe smokers site alt.smokers.pipes otherwise known as "ASP" of which I've been a member for several years. Every day I log on there's more and more posts from nasty little anti smoking trolls. One in particular has five or so different handles and clogs up the site by responding to his/her own posts dozens of times each day! Being that it's Usenet it's an unmoderated site which truly means that it's a "free-for-all" for any screwball in the world! About a week or so ago there was a post about a new group being started as an alternative. It's called "My Pipes Community" and is a moderated group offering blog, personal profile and gallery space to post pics of your pipes, tobacco cellars and what-not. Of course there's alsoa forum and discussion space like ASP. Being that it's a brand new site, it's not quite as active as ASP but I'm sure in time that it'll get there. Have a look at my own page there if you wish: http://www.my-pipes.com/user/dock-j-perry. The site owners actually asked me to be a moderator there so it looks like I'll be spending much more time on MPC than on ASP from now on. If you're looking for an alternative to hate filled forums please give them a try.............. Best,  Dock J.Perry