From: Andy Wallace <??????????????>
Subject: Falcons!
Greetings, Mr. Masticola, and everyone else. I host a pipe
smoking message conference on the WWIVNet BBS network. If any of you are
on WWIV BBSes, please ask your SysOp to subscribe to THE BRIAR BOWL. The
subtype is BRIAR, and the host is @9201, and auto-requestable. (He/She
will know what that means!)
I thought that might be relevant, because I've been enjoying the
Pipe Digests as messages uploaded by one of our subscribers on The Briar
Bowl...so you see, I've been "lurking" without Internet access! This
person was kind enough to upload some of my replies to the Digest before
I recently received access, though the formatting came out strangely...
By the way, I think your separator:
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would look better as:
u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~ u/~
<grin>
By way of introduction...... I'm 30, and just started smoking a
pipe a year ago. I was in a local drug store, looking for some
last-minute supplies around Christmastime. I had passed the pipe tobacco
section for years and had always liked the smell. In fact, when I first
started driving I thought a bag of pipe tobacco would make a nice car
air freshener! Anyway, I said, "what the heck," and bought some Ultra
Lite (generic) tobacco, a Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipe, some
filters, and a Zippo pipe lighter.
[shimmering flashback effect]
When I was a kid, my uncle Gardner smoked a pipe. I would always
welcome his visits, not because he was especially nice to me, but
because of the smell of his pipe. My parents both smoked cigarettes, and
except for one trial at age 12 with Marlboros, I never had the urge to
get cigarette smoke in my lungs. But I always liked the way the place
smelled when Gardner was there.
[shimmering back-to-normal effect]
Well, I tried the corncob pipe out... I decided very quickly
that I liked it. I used that for a while, trying all kinds of different
tobaccos. Somehow, I got on the mailing list of Thompson Cigar in FL,
even before I started with the pipe. I dug the catalog out, and found
something intriguing: a Falcon pipe. From the description, it seems as
if the Falcon smokes cooler, and keeps much of the poisons out of your
mouth. So, I ordered one. When it arrived, I couldn't resist trying it
out right away... It is WONDERFUL. The detachable bowl makes cleaning
very easy -- just run the metal stem under very hot water and finish
with pipe cleaner fluid. This sort of thing has got to be healthier for
you. Here's the Thompson number; ask for a catalog:
Thompson Cigar (mail order tobacco stuff) 1-800-237-2559
I haven't ordered another Falcon from them, but I believe they still
carry four styles. They also have cigars and other pipes, of course. A
friend of mine wanted to get me a green Big Ben pipe we had admired all
year, but by this past Christmas it was no longer being carried.
I've tried many tobaccos in the Falcon, but one of the following
places really impressed me:
Pipeworks & Wilke, custom pipes, tobacco: 1-800-832-8309
I think I heard about it through one of the Digests. Unfortunately, I
don't know if they're at the same number or not -- didn't someone here
say they were shifting business again? I shall have to call them and
order some more of their GlenEagle whiskey tobacco.
I would say that my overall favorite has been a toasted
Cavendish style. I find that very mild. The whiskey reminds me more of
my Uncle's pipesmoke though. Unfortunately he passed away a while ago
and nobody seems to remember what brand he had smoked. I smoke less than
once a day, and occasionally skip a whole week. In the warm months, I
smoked in the back stairwell, though with Winter here I have been
puffing away in the living room. (After spending hours cleaning nicotine
off tube ham rigs [my other hobby] I'd rather not add my own layer to
things...)
I wrote to Falcon direct last Fall, trying to find some other
U.S. distributor besides Thompson. They forwarded my letter to The New
Gesty (their main distributor in the U.S.), who told me that Arnold's in
NYC carries the Falcon line. Here's the info I got:
----------------
ARNOLD'S TOBACCO SHOP in NYC. (212) 697-1477 and yes they do
mail order but no, they don't have a catalog. Gesty's forwarded a
mini-flyer and price list showing a dozen pipes and some bowls.
THE BLOCK MEERSCHAUM BOWLS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED. :'-(
I got a Falcon Hunter Bent (brown anodized) and a large Snifter
shaped bowl to go with it. Including the $4 shipping, this cost me about
$49! But it DOES seem to be the same price as the four-choice
selection through Thompson.
Here are some highlights:
Standard bent or straight: $28
" bowl only: 17
Standard STEM ONLY 12
Hunter straight or bent: 38 (black or brown)
" bowl only: 24
Classic bent: 36
(this appears to be a Standard bent silver with a large
Snifter or etc. bowl)
Classic (large) bowl only: 24
Meerschaum lined pipe 36
" bowl only 24
International filter pipe 38
Alco filter pipe 26
I've rounded prices off.
-----------------
That was a few months ago, so I would verify things before
sending your money along. The Hunter Falcon arrived (though it turns out
they couldn't get brown, so I got a black stem) and I have been enjoying
it ever since.
I did try Bengal Slices after reading about them in the Digests.
You people really get my curiosity going! [I'm the same way with world
beers.]
Well, I've gone on long enough for this first post, but I hope
to be joining you regularly. I've just been itching to get that Falcon
info off to you -- it sounded like they were hard to get. Feel free to
reply direct if you would rather, to "??????????????". I wonder if I'm
the only 30ish nonsmoker here who made a conscious decision to start on
a pipe?
--Andy
[ Sorry, Andy, I don't get it about the separator... but thanks for
the news! -S. ]
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