From: Charles Ziegler <??????????????????????>
Subject: Pipe Digest

          I saw the item "Pipe: Questions & Answers" on Smokin' Joe's home 
          page.  I would be very interested in subscribing, and would be 
          grateful if you could tell me how to go about it.
          
          I've been a pipe smoker for 30 years.  In the early 1970s I 
          purchased four GBD New Standard pipes, and I also purchased a 
          good second.  I've replaced the stems on three of them, but they 
          continue to smoke very well.  I also have a couple of Canadians 
          and an apple Comoy's Patina, all purchased in the early 1970s.
          
          It is worth noting that none of these pipes came with a filter, 
          and I haven't given the matter much thought, as I hadn't 
          purchased any pipes since then.  However, on a recent trip to 
          England, I purchased five pipes:  two from Inderwick's, one from 
          Shervington's, and two Dutch Big Bens.  All of them had filters 
          of one sort or another:  the Inderwick's have a disposable 
          filter, while the others have metal filters.  A couple of 
          knowledgeable pipe smokers told me that if I don't like filters 
          (and I don't!!), I should just remove them.  This is what I have 
          done, and they seem to smoke very well.  However (getting 
          philosophical, while pipe smokers seem to be pragmatic!) I wonder 
          if I am not, in a sense, compromising the design integrity of the 
          pipe by removing the filter, in that the interior of the pipe had 
          to be crafted to accommodate the filter.  Or are filters truly 
          optional, and not an essential element of the pipe?  What is in 
          the mind of the designers/craftsmen when they decide whether or 
          not to include a filter?  Sorry to have gone on a bit, but it's 
          hard to get information on a topic like this!! 
          
          If you have any views on filters, I would be grateful to hear 
          them.  Also, I would be grateful if you could share the views of 
          some of your subscribers on this matter, or any articles that 
          have appeared in Pipe Digest.
          
          Hoping to hear from you!  

[ Personally, I don't have any filter pipes, but might not be averse
to trying one of the balsa filters that are popular in Germany.  The
American tubular filters I'd think would gum up quickly. -S. ]


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