Recent content by denholrl

I like the classic style.

Lately, I've gone back to Fred Hanna's technique of wadding up some tobacco or, in the case of flakes, folding and stuffing . . . not pushing the wad to the bottom of the bowl but leaving it 1/2-way down. This creates a sort of reverse calabash in the bowl. I light the pipe as best I can with...

When I first got it, I cracked the shank improperly using the the salt treatment. Bummed, I sold it. Then, a few years later, bought it back.

Ed Burak never used the term "magnum." If you mean "magnum" as in the 10-inchers Rich Esserman collects, no, they're not nearly that big. They are just oversized versions of his "regular" pipes.

Ed Burak would sometimes design extra large pipes if he was able to get large ebuchons of exceptional briar. Here are a few I've been able to acquire during my 25 years of collecting Connoisseurs. I've included a bent Dublin panel of a more usual size, for comparison purposes.

Glad I went but didn't sell anything (just had a few pipes on a friend's table) and didn't find anything I wanted to buy. The Sutliff's tobaccos were fun to try. I especially liked Space Force Episode VI.

I collect Connoisseurs and always welcome an addition to that collection. I'm also looking for Peterson's 9BC (not the POY one) and Dunhill Hungarians, shape 591.

A significant determinant of the value of these old cheroot holders is the rarity of the subject matter. Dogs, deer, horses are common and so do not contribute to the value of the piece. This early baseball player is very unusual and the holder is nicely carved. I would guess that on eBay...

The "wings" stamp is actually Luigi Radice's mustache.

According to the late Dunhill authority John Loring, take Hacker with a grain of salt. John published an essay in which he pointed out a couple dozen points of misinformation in Hacker's first book.

I think I recognize the writing style . . . Unless I miss my mark, this was written not by Mel but by his son Michael.

Maybe try G.L.Pease Charring Cross

I have one pipe, a Joe Gregorio Danish freehand style, in which I smoke only Connoisseur Scottish Ribbon. I smoke flakes in my taller, slimmer bowls and the occasional aromatic in a Knute. In all my other pipes I smoke whatever. I've been a fanatic about cleaning my pipes after each smoke; I...

I would like to buy back this Ed Burak Connoisseur that I sold years ago! - Rob D