Today's Purchases (Non-classical)

Started by MN Dave, February 07, 2008, 10:06:24 AM

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Drasko

Quote from: Lethe on January 03, 2011, 08:02:04 PM


I've had my eye on this for several years, but its second-hand price infrequently drops below £30. However I found it for £3.50 two days ago and have just gotten shipping confirmation, yay!

That looks great. Wishlisted. Now only to wait for another cheap copy to come along.

Lethevich

The secondary/duplicate listings may offer a chance eventually, I found my one here (although the current prices for the remainders are silly).
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Drasko

Quote from: Lethe on January 04, 2011, 12:28:01 PM
The secondary/duplicate listings may offer a chance eventually, I found my one here (although the current prices for the remainders are silly).

I always check not only those but also amazon.com (shipping is actually cheaper from US than from UK when it comes to books, $8 vs £8) and abebooks as well.

Bogey

Quote from: Drasko on January 04, 2011, 01:40:59 PM
I always check not only those but also amazon.com (shipping is actually cheaper from US than from UK when it comes to books, $8 vs £8) and abebooks as well.

....and if someone from Amazon in the U.S. does not want to ship out of the country and you cannot find the item anywhere else, let me know and I would be happy to be a go-between. :)
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

KevinP

This is partly classical as it could be called third stream:




I didn't even know the CD reissue was out. Amazing what you come across at Jazz Record Mart.


KevinP

Quote from: Henk on January 04, 2011, 08:46:35 AM


Henk, I didn't know you were a pipe smoker. Guess I should spend some more time in this thread.

KevinP

This is an inexpensive Hardcastle I bought yesterday. My mother loved all things English, and she passed away two days ago. Sometimes when I think of her, I will smoke this, and whenever I smoke it, I will think of her.

Bogey

Quote from: KevinP on January 08, 2011, 10:13:25 AM
This is an inexpensive Hardcastle I bought yesterday. My mother loved all things English, and she passed away two days ago. Sometimes when I think of her, I will smoke this, and whenever I smoke it, I will think of her.

Sorry for your loss, Kevin.  Prayers and thoughts your way.
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

KevinP

Thank you, Bogey.

This is a really nice Jacono I bought a few days ago.

Leon

[asin]B002U031FO[/asin]

I treated myself yesterday to this box since I finally sold a Gretsch guitar I've been advertising for the last year. 

Henk

#1150
Quote from: KevinP on January 08, 2011, 10:11:19 AM
Henk, I didn't know you were a pipe smoker. Guess I should spend some more time in this thread.

Kevin, I can't call myself a serious smoker, I just smoke when I like to (I'm not addicted) and when there's a nice moment for it. I just started it a few months ago. I bought a cheap Falcon beginner's set. It was fun to learn to smoke it. Smoking was a new experience for me, I found it pleasurable and tasteful.

I bought this Savinelli some weeks ago. It's smokes more heavily, it can contain more tabacco also. It didn't smoke nice a few times. When I get too drugged by it, I don't like smoking. It also is a matter of tabacco maybe.

I just smoked it again, being triggered by your reply, it smoked already better. It's a matter for me of smoking it controlled, taking long, calm puffs, otherwise it's not pleasurable smoking it to the end.

Henk

KevinP

#1151
I've never done Falcons, but you do know that briars (like the Savenelli) need to be broken in, right?

And although Savinelli is a major pipemaker, they're far from my favourite. Hope you stick with it and try a few others. Both pipe and tobacco are like jazz--you have to find what works best for you. And when you find that perfect fit, it's just amazing.

Henk

Quote from: KevinP on January 15, 2011, 11:51:38 AM
I've never done Falcons, but you do know that briars (like the Savenelli) need to be broken in, right?

What do you mean with "broken in"?

Quote from: KevinP on January 15, 2011, 11:51:38 AM
And although Savinelli is a major pipemaker, they're far from my favourite. Hope you stick with it and try a few others. Both pipe and tobacco are like jazz--you have to find what works best for you. And when you find that perfect fit, it's just amazing.

What are your favourite pipe brands?

Henk

KevinP

As you smoke a briar pipe, a cake begins to form inside the bowl. You want this. First of all, it protects the pipe. Briar is one of the most (if not the most) fire-resistant woods, but it can still burn. The cake protects that from happening. Cakes can also add to the flavour  of each bowl of tobacco, making them smoother. When you first buy a pipe, there is generally no cake and in these circumstances, the pipe tends to burn hotter, resulting in a burning sensation on your tongue, so they need to be smoked several times first. (There are a few tricks, like coating the inside of the bowl with honey before the first smoke, which will carmalize and get the cake going.) However, you don't want a cake that is too thick or it might crack the pipe. That's what those pipe tools/reamers are for. It takes a lot of smokes before this happens though, and considerably longer if you have several (or more) pipes.

This is only true with briar. Meerschaum does not need any break-in, and, in fact, you want to make sure that a cake doesn't develop. Clay also needs no break in. Clay pipes give you the most neutral flavour (tobacco blenders use them to test new blends) but tend to smoke so hot that you can't touch them while smoking. They also break easily and aren't expected to last a lifetime. (Though the double-glazed ones circumvent these issues with a degree of success.)

My favourites? Well I really like the Jacono I bought (above), but as that was a bit over US$200 for their lowest grade pipe, I'm not going to steer you towards them. I prefer the so-called Italian renissance pipes such as Caminetto and Ascorti. (Do a Google image search on either name plus the word pipe).

To a large extent, the price difference in pipes is a matter of the craftsmanship and the quality of the briar and not a reflection on the smokabiliy of the pipe. By quality of the briar I mean the pattern of the grain. A perfect straight grain, and especially one by a name pipemaker, will be costly because such pipes are rare and aesthetically pleasing. I held one in my hand the other day, a Dunhill, that had a four-digit price tag. It was beautiful, but it would smoke as well as most any other pipe. The pattern of grain doesn't matter one bit in terms of how well it smokes; what does matter, however, is that the entire wooden part of the pipe has some grain. Any blank spots will, soner or later, burn right through. You needn't worry about this with a Savenlli. The other difference between a cheap pipe and a high- or mid-grade is that cheaper pipes might have pits (tiny holes, probably where the briar root hit a rock) or putty fills (some pipemakers leave the pits exposed, others fill with putty); neither is very appealing and either could also result in burn-out.

Any other questions, just ask. You also might find a bit of help in youtube: lots of people have posted how-to videos for newbies there, and I sincerely wish I had had this resource when I started. Pipes don't come with instruction manuals.

What kind of tobacco have you tried? (And perhaps we should start a new thread?)




Henk

Thanks, Kevin. Great information!

I have made a new thread. Let's talk further there.

Henk

mc ukrneal

Quote from: Lethe on January 03, 2011, 08:02:04 PM


I've had my eye on this for several years, but its second-hand price infrequently drops below £30. However I found it for £3.50 two days ago and have just gotten shipping confirmation, yay!
Did this book have a previous version? Something or other in Azure? I have that if it is. It's the only comprehensive book I have ever seen on Russian Architercture. I flip through it every so often (although I cannot think where it is just now off the top of my head to check).
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Lethevich

It does seem to have been reissued many times - I got an incarnation with a rather more garish cover.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Scarpia

Saxophone Colossus

[asin]B000EGDAI4[/asin]

and

[asin]0679601287[/asin]
(noticed a mention of it here)

Lethevich

[asin]0195305884[/asin]
[asin]0810981602[/asin]

They wouldn't display side-by-side. The latter is worth a punt at its low marketplace price: the reproductions are good (with close-up additional pictures for some), the documentation on them is better than expected, although it does contain quite a few minor works (crust-earning portraits, etc).
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Bogey

Quote from: Scarpia on February 03, 2011, 03:04:51 PM
Saxophone Colossus

[asin]B000EGDAI4[/asin]



I knew I saw this album somewhere posted here at GMG.  Just picked this one up myself, Scarpia.  See Jazz thread.

There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz