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I lack a Peterson and will correct that at some point.
The system is sort of "the" Peterson in my mind.
Assuming fishtail not PLip does anyone have experience or thoughts as to how they smoke?
I’m in the same boat. I’ve come very close to getting one - more than once - but haven’t yet. They seem to me to be designed for “clenchers” because they hang well and the P-lip keeps a clenched pipe (which is always sitting on the tongue at the same spot) from burning that spot.
I’m a sipper. Never will be a clencher, so having a Peterson System pipe is not a high priority for me.
Still interested, though, what others’ experiences are.
Thanks! Yeah, I've come across that before. I do my research. 😀 Got to the point where I know exactly which one I would get - Peterson Deluxe System PSB (11FB) P-Lip in smooth natural finish. That's the only one I would get, and they don't currently make it in that finish, so I'd have to get it as an estate pipe on eB@y ...but I digress. I'm really not in the market at the moment. Still curious about others' experiences with system pipes in general, though.
Looking forward to see what gonna pop up here... i'm really curious about the PLip system.
I had a PLip tankard and didn't like it. But it was my first "real" pipe and I probably didn't give it a chance. PlI got obsessed with unobstructed airways and convinced myself it had a tight draw. I sold it. I wish I hadn't.
I have a Peterson P lip Canadian sitting on the table next to me right now. As @Joseph mentioned, I could see a great advantage for a clencher, but I don’t clench, so I find it a bit odd to smoke. I have a patent era System pipe and one from Irish Free State era, about 1936 I believe. They smoke fine, although both have non P lip stems. The biggest advantage is moisture handling though, although they have the benefit of cooling the smoke as well in my experience. Not game changing in my view though.
I’m thinking I’d rather have a lower-end production calabash for the money - and better moisture control and cooling. It’s higher on my list of possibilities anyway.
A quick eB@y search brought up this Viking for under $200 (admittedly it’s got a suspicious hairline on the bowl, but that’s the general idea)
Absolutely, the Peterson System pipes I’ve smoked offered 10% of the benefit of a calabash.
I've never considered a calabash. No good reason. They seem so... I dunno... much
I know it's not true but in my head, IPicture evrey calabash like the size of an electric blender. And although I have no problem whatsoever leaning nto my inner hillbilly with corn gob pipes, I've always felt I'd feel ridiculous smoking a calabash.
I'm a flawed and complicated man. 😂
They aren’t for everyone and they are best for when one is doing nothing but smoking. Not great clenchers for sure, but I can hook many of mine on a tooth if I need my hands for something else. Their real magic is in the way they smoke, super cool and dry. Flavors open up with them in a way that few, if any other pipes can match.
Makes total sense.
Are any briar calabashes decent? Or is the gourd and meerschaum part of the magic. I've never considered a meerschaum either.
As long as the bowl is removable, not just a calabash shape pipe, they have the same benefits of the gourd versions, although the gourds do a somewhat better job at handling moisture. The biggest part of the benefit comes from the bowl being suspended in an airspace, creating a smoke reservoir of sorts and cooling the bowl as one smokes.
I have a double walled Goede Waggen porcelain calabash shape. I think the double wall helps give a similar effect to a traditional Calabash? Can anyone verify this? I do look forward to owning a proper Calabash one day. Very cool! (Pun intended)
This raises a question. Is it the gourd or the design? Is a gourd used because of its convenient shape or its physical properties?
Calabash is the name/variety of the gourd. They became “the” gourd because of the shape. The gourd used is actually only the neck of the whole gourd, which are usually about two feet long. They appear to have originated in South Africa. There is a popularly reposted article that says they appeared during the Boer War and became popular after that, but I believe that is incorrect as I have a number that predate that by decades.
I have a number of those, they smoke great. The extra airspace in not just the calabash shape ones, but all of the hollow cast pipes really makes for a nice smoke A bit warmer than gourd calabash pipes, but not an issue in my opinion.
I had Two Peterson System pipes a 312 and a 302. I purchased them many years ago, and I realized they were not for me in spite of they were excellent smokers because of their S lip which I found very uncomfortable for clenching and they were difficult and time consuming to clean. I kept with me the 312 because it was the first really good pipe I could afford and I have it as a memory.
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