Shop smuge pots...ugly performers!

[Blackhorse]

So...browsing this morning. Looking up info re my latest favorite shop pipe, an Alpha made in Isreal. Found lots of data, lots of opinions, just what I wanted. Some guys love 'em, some hate 'em, most have never heard of 'em. The one I have is stellar and performs way over the top of any and all expectation. It also gets a point for being a sitter. She's close to ugly...but she SO wants to please...that she does everything well and with happy eagerness.  I don't take her out in public...but she visits my shop with me regularly, loaded up with stuff like Happy Bogey, Dark Flake Unscented, Rum Twist...you know, the bad boys. And she keeps 'em in line, behaving far better than nearly any of her stablemates.

So, what's the big deal, you might ask? Well, I've had this long time love affair with mid grade and lower pipes that think they're top shelf, and further confuse the issue by performing like it. The old joke where the kid new to the world of cars asks the seasoned pro what a Mercury is...and the guy answers that a Mercury is a Ford that THINKS it's a Lincoln. Well, it's somewhat germaine.

Anyway...here's the Alpha:

So...the rest of the story? While reading up on the Alphas I kept bumping into comments about Dr. Graybow Royalton's. Must be a search engine thing. Be that as it may I saw a bunch I thought were ugly...and one that I actually thought looked pretty good. Nicely shaped and colored acrylic stem, plain-ish briar, well shaped...thirty bucks. Use a filter or don't. Looked good enough to add to my small pilke of shop smuge pots...so I did. Thirty bucks...heck, why not?

 

[Briar Spirit]

Buddy, your Alpha is positively GORGEOUS next to my ugly old thing:

The Calabresi Freehand of mine performs rather like your Alpha, although this pipe is pig ugly, believe it not Old Joe Krantz actually tastes a little sweet in this pipe and I adore Bayou Morning in most pipes but in this baby it is absolutely sublime.

 

[d4klutz]

I have an alpha gremlin that I got off of Fleabay. It is a great little smoker.

 

[RDPipes]

My first store bought pipe was an Alpha Cobra and I've had several since including a nice little volcano I still have. Although I can't comment on the smoking abilities or shouldn't because I haven't smoked one since my first back in the 80's and I was smoking mixture 97, new to pipe smoking and having a hell of a time with bite. Maybe I oughta drag that volcano out and give it a try............Naw, just another pipe I'll have to clean. :fpalm: