Re: What's the General Consensus on Peterson. I have $150 and was thinking of getting one.

Tim D wrote:
researched the archive about Peterson, I came upon quite a bit of
Peterson bashing. I was wondering how some of you felt about Peterson,

Some swear by Petersons and would have nothing else. A few would
not have one. Most find they have their own peculiarities, that
you must be prepared to cope with, but they are well worth the time
and effort (and money!). Of course, my favorite pipe maker is Mark
Tinsky, but I do have about 15 so I find them worth keeping around!

Particularly in the low-price range, Peterson has a nasty habit of
staining the pipe by submerging the whole thing in stain. This
imparts a foul taste. You can smoke it out, but it will take a
number of bowls. Scrubbing/leaching with grain alcohol is best.
The interior of the bowl can be sanded out slightly, but do not
overdo it.

As a general rule, Petersons may take a fairly lengthy time to
break in. Some seem to have a preference for a particular type
of tobacco. The extreme in my collection was a Large Calabash
that was a mediocre performer for 3 or 4 years. Then one winter
day I sliced up some Irish Black Twist, loaded that in the pipe,
and smoked that while shoveling snow from the driveway and
sidewalk. The pipe performed like a champ!

Ok, that's nice, it likes snow and Irish twist. But the thing
continued to perform like a champ from then on. It just needed
a nudge to get everything in order. Of course, I do smoke
Virginia/Perique and such in it, no Latakia to date.

The P-Lip is for many a love it or hate it thing. I personally
think this is an exaggerated reaction. The P-Lip is ok, but
I would prefer a fishtail or saddle mouthpiece.

If you "smoke wet," the Peterson system pipes can be wonderful.
The army mount on the best system pipes allows you to disassemble
the pipe, dump the liquids out, reassemble, and smoke on, with
no damage to the pipe. And wet smokers will find the P-Lip may
reduce the flow of saliva into mouthpiece.

On the negative side (from my perspective), Peterson does
fill minor sandpits, fissures, and such, and is very skillful
at it. Unless you look carefully, you may overlook one or
more when you buy the pipe, but as the pipe darkens with age
the fill will not darken but become increasingly conspicuous.
If this offends you, you must take in a good magnifying glass
and inspect carefully before buying a Pete.

Petersons do seem to do best with Virginias, and Perique,
with Burley ok but not great. Performance with Orientals
is variable, with some pipes doing fine and others not
so good.

If you favor traditional British tobaccos, and like Dunhills,
Upshalls, and similar "traditional" British pipes, you really
should try one or a few Petersons. You may find them a
(relatively) low-cost pipe that likewise plays very nicely
with traditional tobaccos from Gawith, Hoggarth & Co., Samuel
Gawith, and such.

Cheers!

jim b.

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