A Rather Curious Peterson...

This curious beast of an estate Peterson pipe arrived in the post this morning and while it certainly isn't a straight system pipe as I had previously suspected, I am not really sure just what it is.

The nickel band has the faux hallmarks suggesting a 1949-63 date, the stem isn't an army mount, though it looks superficially like one and the only markings on the shank are the letters RE next to the band. I suspect the letters JECT may be hidden by the band. There are 4 obvious fills so it could well be a reject fitted with the wrong band.


It had been reamed and cleaned so didn't need a lot of work before the first fill. It seems to be a good smoker so I'm happy with the purchase.

Two More Petersons

Earlier this week the postie brought me a rather nice Peterson Irish Whiskey 221. Second hand but in excellent nick and hardly needing cleaning let alone anything more drastic. It's the same shape as the System 314 and even has a short well, though not as long as in the System pipes. I am rather taken by the grain and staining on this one. Not a bad buy for £25 I reckon.

Next came a System Deluxe 1s black sandblast, hallmarked for 1979, from Bond's. Looks like they still have three left...

I was surprised to find that this one didn't have the usual condenser in brass or aluminium but instead had a push in vulcanite tube which serves the same function. As the box also included a pack of Medico 6mm filters it's clear that the intention is to give an option of making this a filter pipe, a filter replacing the vulcanite tube.

Another old Peterson...

Just arrived today, my latest Peterson system pipe, an old sandblasted System Premier 313. The hallmark on the silver band is very worn but appears to be the G for 1974.

The stem is rather chewed but it should clean up just fine and the bowl seems to be in excellent condition. The job for the bank holiday weekend will be to give this pipe a good spiffing. Once that is done I expect it will smoke as well as my smooth System Premier 313.

Update: I've replaced the stem with suitable system standard stem (and stored the original away in a labelled bag). The pipe sits much more comfortably in the mouth now.

This brings my set of 313s to four, a Standard smooth, a Standard rustic, a Premier smooth (my birth year pipe - 1956) and the new Premier sandblast. The two Standards are both "Early Replublic", dating from between 1949 and 1963 judging by the faux hallmarks on the nickel band.

I guess a System Deluxe 8s will complete the job. One like the one on the left will do nicely.

Wilson's of Sharrow's New Web Site

Founded in the early 18th century, Wilson's of Sharrow, the famous Sheffield snuff maker, has now firmly joined the 21st century with the launching of their new online shop.

I shall miss the phone calls to the mill to order snuff (the staff have always been so friendly and helpful) but I have to say that it will be a lot easier ordering my Wilson's snuff in future. The new site seems very easy to navigate and all the various options are there, though I have to admit to being a little baffled by their way of categorising their snuffs. I wouldn't have expected to find Irish High Toast (No. 22) under SP Snuffs for instance. Not that the quirks are a major problem of course, more of a minor niggle. I have noticed that not all the products listed in the paper catalogue are in the online shop (yet) but that catalogue is available on the site as a PDF download.

Now we just have to hope that Samuel Gawith and Gawith Hoggarth follow suit with equally useful online shops.

A Peterson Patent 181 B (Short)

This Peterson Patent 181 B (Short) is my latest Peterson acquisition and quite a gem it is. It dates from 1908, judging by the Dublin hallmark on the silver band and the screw in amber(oid) stem fits and lines up perfectly. The bowl looks like it has hardly been smoked. All that for just £45. Definitely my lucky day!

Having had a look through the various Peterson catalogues available online, I have concluded that the model is almost certainly a 181 B (Short), as shown on page 69 of the 1896 catalogue, though that only mentions vulcanite stems. I guess stem possibilities changed between 1896 and 1908. "B" refers to the style of the stem and "Short" also refers to the stem, which has a screw thread rather than a push fit. I'm not sure how to determine whether the stem is amber or ambroid. Maybe someone can suggest a way to tell the difference between them?

While the shape is similar to the Sherlock Holmes Milverton and the Kinsale XL24, the 181 is a much smaller pipe. Maximum length is 11.5cm (4.5"), bowl height is 48mm (1 7/8"), bowl diameter is 30mm (1 3/8"). Internally, chamber depth is 42mm (1 5/8") and the bore is 19mm (3/4"). Not quite a nose-warmer but definitely a pipe designed for use outside the home.

The rigid leather case isn't in bad condition for its age and it appears to have done a great job of protecting the pipe over the years.

Note: I have found a definition of amberoid. It is "a synthetic form of amber made by heating and compressing valueless small pieces of amber with other resins." Peterson's catalogues seem to use the variant spelling "ambroid".

A Rustic Peterson 313

My latest eBay acquisition arrived this morning, a rustic Peterson System Standard 313, dating from somewhere between 1949 and 1963, judging by the faux hallmarks on the nickel band. I tend to think of this period as "early republic" in terms of Peterson pipe dating, as opposed to the earlier pre-republic pipes, dating from around 1920 to 1949.

This 313 is the rusticated twin of my first ever Peterson, which I bought around 1979, and at the price I paid it is a good catch indeed. It is in remarkably good condition for its age with very little wear on either the bowl or the stem. It isn't going to need a lot of cleaning up before use. Isopropyl alcohol on bristle pipe cleaners through the stem and shank to sanitise it then a little polish on both the stem and the nickel band and the job is a good one.

Half and hour later and the new pipe is loaded with Hal o'the Wynd and smoking beautifully.

Rehydrating Snuff

I recently decided to revisit the various coarse, dark, moist snuffs produced by Samuel Gawith. I bought a selection of them in the new 10g plastic dispensers (tap boxes). The size seems useful as a sample with my aim being to choose one or two for buying in bulk, either 250g or 500g drums. Unfortunately those dispensers are far from airtight and the snuff in a number of them was already too dry for use. This did sometimes happen with the old tins, but not quite so often.

However, rather than throw them away I decided to use them for rehydration experiments. One method in particular has worked very well, though it should be noted that the snuffs weren't totally dry but just about getting to that stage. Some were close to that "shotgun pellet" condition which has been noted by others.

I transferred the snuff to an empty 25g Toque tin and then lightly sprayed a mist of water on top of the snuff
using an old glass hay fever nasal spray bottle. By removing the thin plastic tube that goes down to the bottom of the bottle, which normally enables it to be used upright, you can use it upside down. The tube just pulls out. The bottle is like the one shown below, but in glass.

With the lid of the tin back on I let it sit for a hour or so and then gave it a good shake. The snuff was pretty well back to what it should have been. Soft and fluffy and very tasty. I did this with London Brown, Black Rappee, Scotch Black, Scotch, Cob Dark and Princes Dark, all with excellent results. Much faster than any other method I have tried and it gives even results as the water goes onto the snuff as a mist.