New Stanwell Bitter

[Milan]

I purchased a new Stanwell featherweight pipe this week. The first half bowl of burley that I smoked in it was bitter from beginning to end. It was nearly unbearable. Is this normal? I've never had a new pipe do this. Will it subside after breaking it in?
Thanks,
Milan

 

[itsKot]

It should definitely not be bitter, my stanwell has never been at least. Some guys aren't too keen on the carbonized bowls, maybe you fall into this category yourself? Was the tobacco blend one that is in good standing with your tastes? I cannot think of anything else that may have caused it other than perhaps lighter fluid if you were using a bic or something to light. Either way that's something that shouldn't be appearing in a flavor profile at all, after broken in I'd expect it to be a thing of the past.

 

[Sasquatch]

Sand out the pre-carb and try again.

 

[Milan]

Sand out the pre-carb and try again.

Thanks Sasquatch. Will do.
Milan

 

[shootist51]

I'm going to make some assuptions here. Judging from your age and your length of membership, I get the feeling that you are new to the pipe, if I'm wrong, No offense intended.

I have never had a pipe, new or estate, that did not improve with use, ie.;Break in. Because of that I would recommend that before you make any physical alterations to your pipe, smoke about 20 bowls worth of tobacco in it. Make sure you use a tobacco that you like and are familiar with and smoke it slowly. SIP the smoke, relight as necessary and smoke each bowl to the bottom. This will accomplish several things in any pipe. First, it will begin a good base of cake, particularly in the heel of the bowl. Second, it will imbue the pipe with the characteristics of the tobacco smoked. Third, by using a tobacco that you are fully comfortable with, you will eliminate some of the variables cause by using tobacco that you are a stranger to.

It has been my experience that when trying a new blend, it takes a while to learn the intricacies of the blend. Different blends burn at different rates and temps. the method of loading can influence this as well, and different cuts burn differently as well.

The pipes we own are ours to do with as we please, however; the manufacturers, in most cases, and certainly in the case of established companies, deliver a product that is the result of years of experience and engineering. You may find over the years that there are features you like or dislike and as your experience grows you may decide that you require certain features, but disdain others.

You have acquired an excellent pipe, learn it's character and enjoy it. It may take a while, as many good things do, but overall it's worth it.

 

[Milan]

Thanks for the advice shootist51. You're probably right. I just have a lot of respect for Sasquatch and sanding out the bowl chamber makes sense. I'll give it a chance before I sand down the pre-carbon inside the bowl chamber. You're correct in your assumption. I'm more of a novice pipe smoker than an expert. I have never purchased a pipe with a pre-carboned bowl chamber, so the breaking in is new to me. I will smoke a few more bowls of burley and then transition to my blend of choice. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks,
Milan

 

[Richard Burley]

I recently bought a new Stanwell and ended up throwing it away in disgust. The stem became incredibly loose. You couldn't tighten it by normal methods due to some sort of filter accommodation. If they want to do this they should at least copy Savinelli. The grain was wide open with a bullseye configuration on one side, something that I associate with really cheap wood. I've had better basket pipes. I suspect the quality control went to hell when they moved to Italy, but what do I know? I won't be buying another Stanwell unless it's an old estate.

 

[Milan]

I won't be buying another Stanwell unless it's an old estate.

I doubt I'll ever buy another one period. I'm no expert, but I've never had a pipe taste so bad. Pretty unbearable. I hope this one comes around or I can get it to come around with a little alteration. My money will be best spent on artisan handmade pipes from reliable sources in the future. I won't be buying a mass manufactured pipe anytime soon.
Milan

 

[Milan]

The more I read about pre-carbonizing bowl chambers the more I don't want to smoke this Stanwell anymore without sanding it out. I thought this was my first pre-carbonized pipe, but the more I have thought about it... I think the Peterson's I have were pre-carbonized? I had no issues with those pipes. I'll be sanding it out tomorrow. I just can't get beyond that bitter taste and from reading other posts on other boards, this seems to be the way to go. Aye ya yaye.
Milan

 

[Richard Burley]

You may have just got some bad wood. I've had pipes like that. They will NEVER get better, no matter what you do. I've seen them described as "nicotinic." Really horrible tasting junk, almost poisonous. Torture to smoke, as you imply. I am smoking a mass-produced pipe right now, a Savinelli Punto Oro, with Frogmorton. Sheer ecstasy. Tastes like a nut, and that's because of good wood. You can sort of taste it resonating with the tobacco. Good luck with the artisan pipes, but I'll bet one in twenty-five is a turkey too. Briar is a plant, and subject to wide variations in quality caused by nature. Paying more probably raises your odds of getting a good one. Maybe.

 

[Milan]

Well... I just sanded the pre-carbon out of the bowl chamber. I used 220 and it's as smooth as a baby's bottom. I think using 220 helped preserve the finish on the rim of the pipe. I read posts on other boards where people were using really low numbered paper, which seemed a little aggressive. I did hit the rim in one spot creating a small surface scratch, but it didn't harm the finish. I will give it a smoke tomorrow as the pipe has been put through a lot today and really it should rest until Monday or Tuesday, but I can't wait that long. I hope the sanding treatment does the trick.

Good luck with the artisan pipes, but I'll bet one in twenty-five is a turkey too. Briar is a plant, and subject to wide variations in quality caused by nature. Paying more probably raises your odds of getting a good one. Maybe.

I think it's chance. Spending more money hasn't always worked out for me, but I'm finding that building trust with either a brand or maker is the best way to go. Those makers who have a good reputation have them for a reason, artisan or mass manufactured. I've come to realize that there are going to be good ones and bad ones no matter who or where you buy from. I've just made a personal decision to stick with pipe makers that express an interest in me as a pipe smoker. The only artisan handmade pipes that I've ever had problems with have been from makers that only sell through other sources. Artisan pipe makers who sell directly to their clients have always come through for me and then some.

Thanks to everyone for all their input. It's great to hear others opinions. It's hard to analyze things without being able to consider the options.

Thanks,

Milan

 

[Vercer]

Hmm, could be also that certain blends do better with the pre-carb than others? I've been exclusively so far smoking St. James Woods by McClelland in my new Stanwell with the pre-carb and not a any problems at all. I just rub it out pretty fine and load up like I normally would.

Anyway, good luck with it!

 

[Milan]

It was straight up burley and it tasted like straight up butt. No mystery about it. Burley is not my 'go to' blend, but I know exactly what it tastes like and have always enjoyed it when breaking in a pipe. This time around was different. In fact, it was the one of the worst things I've ever tasted (worse than than time I thought Sea Breeze was mouthwash). I made myself smoke it for the benefit of breaking in the pipe. There's nothing worse than having to smoke something slow and easy that tastes so bad. I've never done it, but I imagine it's similar to eating a turd with a knife and fork?
Milan

 

[Sasquatch]

Burley tastes like butt in all my pipes too... I wonder.... :twisted:


Hey... you ain't be smokin no buttburley in that pipe I sent you, Milan? Have some class, dude! :tongue:

 

[Milan]

BUTTBURLEY!

Hey... you ain't be smokin no buttburley in that pipe I sent you, Milan? Have some class, dude!

You can safely know that I dedicated the tobacco I collect from cigarette butts I find in front of my house to the pipe you sent me. It's amazing what your pipe does for a blend of Marlboro and Newport butts. :lol!:

 

[nogbert]

BUTTBURLEY!

Hey... you ain't be smokin no buttburley in that pipe I sent you, Milan? Have some class, dude!

You can safely know that I dedicated the tobacco I collect from cigarette butts I find in front of my house to the pipe you sent me. It's amazing what your pipe does for a blend of Marlboro and Newport butts. :lol!:

i lol'd so hard.

:lol!: :lol!: :lol!: :lol!:

 

[Sasquatch]

Wow for a guy who just commissioned a pipe this is a pretty.... ballsy move.


Get it? Ballsy? It's a pun because there's a picture of.. ahh... never mind.

 

[Anonymous]

One interesting aside that's gotten lost in the shuffle :

I've come to realize that there are going to be good ones and bad ones no matter who or where you buy from.

Covering what's been perceptively written on this could take a long time and a lot of words. Some briar just does taste good. I recall one respected maker having said that when it smells like bread when he's making it, it's going to be one of somebody's favorites. When it doesn't smell good, there's a treatment to at least bring it back to "neutral" (unobjectionable), but it won't be stellar.

What's funny though is that, as GLP has written, it happens that a traded-away "yuk" pipe becomes one of its new owner's favorites often enough to indicate that personal body chemistry must be a variable in the equation as well.

Fond as I am of looking through used pipe sites for that once-in-a-blue-moon knockout that living without would be sad, I'm doing so in the awareness that every pipe I'm looking at is a pipe somebody else wanted rid of.

(Side Note : You don't find that many well-proportioned billiards, princes or [bent] bulldogs going begging out there -- do you ?)

Coniunctio oppositorum : Pipes, like tobaccos, are female. Ergo, somebody else's antipathy to one (see above) has no bearing on the liklihood of my potential delight in it.

Life is not really all that complicated
It just only works the way it works

:face:

 

[Milan]

Wow for a guy who just commissioned a pipe this is a pretty.... ballsy move.

Yeah... I thought about that. Hmmm? Let me clarify what I was trying to say... a Sasquatch pipe will turn even the worst tobacco into something special. :clown:

 

[Milan]

I smoked it today after sanding out the pre-carbonized bowl chamber and it was nice. Thanks for the advice Sasquatch.
Milan