| Author | Message | ||
     Dave Mermelstein Member Username: Davem55 Post Number: 21 Registered: 08-2005 |
Gentlemen- I would love your opinions on the Peterson System pipes. I am considering bidding on an estate System 314 pipe. I know this pipe has been around for a LONG time. What do you think? - DM | ||
| Chuck Wright Member Username: Truckerchuck Post Number: 526 Registered: 05-2004 |
I am quite a fan of Peterson System pipes. I have had some hi-grade pipes that smoked as well but were quite a bit more costly. Currently there are 65 or 70 Peterson in my collection. PLease allow me to re-state tho. I AM A PETE FAN!! There are those who wouldn't have one if it were a gift. My advice: bid the pipe. If you win it, you can judge for yourself whether or not they are good. Luck to ya, Dave. | ||
| robert cane Member Username: Pipe_dreams Post Number: 279 Registered: 05-2005 |
I have a system #302, it is one of the best drawing pipes I own. I give very high marks to the system from Peterson. | ||
| Markus Wischermann Member Username: Markus1970 Post Number: 352 Registered: 03-2005 |
Dave, I have got a No 303 and a No 314 of the Peterson System pipes, both estates from ebay, and I love them both for the taste they give me from Virginia tobaccos. Actually, they got me started loving Virginia blends. Due to the reservoir that collects moisture the cleaning is a bit more messy then on my other non-filter pipes, but in my opinion they are worth the little extra work. To me, the P-lip bits isn't as comforable in the mouth than I had expected when I bought my first. I like my pipes to hang in the mouth, but avoid touching the bits with my teeth to avoid bite marks. The P-lips bits on those to bent pipes are difficult to balance between lower lip and palate, as I usually do. So I usually hold the Petersons in my hand most of the time while smoking. My 314 has dents in the bowl and in the metal band, but that only adds to the old-fashioned look that I like so much about the Peterson System pipes. So in the end they are definitely worth trying, and from what I see at least in the German e-bay auctions, you should not have difficulties getting rid of it when it turns out you don't like it. | ||
| bernie c Member Username: Bilbo Post Number: 194 Registered: 04-2005 |
I`m not a big fan of the P-Lip..but System pipes? They`re great!!! They really do work just like they`re supposed to. I have three Petes (well 2 officially, as one is a `second` marked Shamrock rather than Peterson) and one of these is a system pipe, shape number 309 I think. It is one of the driest smoking pipes I own. Never seems to gurgle. I push a small plug of cotton wool down into the system `resevoir` and this absorbs all the moisture nicely. Yep, I firmly endorse Peterson Systems! | ||
| Gary R. Thomason Member Username: Phantom55 Post Number: 133 Registered: 11-2004 |
I have not had good luck with them. I find they smoke hot and wet, and take forever to break in. I really dislike the little water producing wells they put in the shank. IMHO, it just causes condensation as the air passes over it, producing moisture where there would otherwise be none. I like the shapes of a lot of their bents, just don't like to smoke them. | ||
| Dave Mermelstein Member Username: Davem55 Post Number: 22 Registered: 08-2005 |
Well, that's great stuff, guys. I really appreciate the comments. I did bid on, and win, the pipe. I'll let you know all about it sometime soon. Thanks again. DM | ||
| Michael Schulz Member Username: Bond815 Post Number: 252 Registered: 01-2005 |
What pipe do you like Gary? Just curious. " Happy mortal he who knows the pleasure that a pipe bestows. " | ||
| Mark Allen Member Username: Mark Post Number: 167 Registered: 11-2004 |
Hi Dave, I have yet to determine if the ‘well’ in the shank of the Pete system pipes actually serves a purpose or if it just a sales/marketing gimmick. As Gary pointed out, system pipes are notorious ‘moisture producers’ and cleaning the well is necessary after EVERY smoke in my experience. One smoke and you’ll find massive amounts of ‘gunkola’ in the well. If you build a well, the ‘gunkola’ will come. Aside from that, I like my Pete systems. They are all good smokers. Regarding the P-lip, I have some P-Lip Petes that are not comfortable in my mouth and yet I have other P-Lip Petes that are comfortable in my mouth. Go for it. You won't know unless you have smoked a Pete. | ||
| Paul Lundblad Member Username: Paullundblad Post Number: 24 Registered: 05-2005 |
Does anyone know how well the straight Peterson system works? I've heard the bents are great, but one of my problems with straights is the moisture transfer in the stem. If the system keeps the straight dry too, that'd definitely be a pipe I'd look for. | ||
| Chuck Wright Member Username: Truckerchuck Post Number: 531 Registered: 05-2004 |
The well in a Peterson is not a "moisture producer." It is a moisture trap. It traps the moisture from your mouth and tobacco and keeps it away from your mouth. I have other makes ( Preben Holm, Dunhill, Ashton) that are properly engineered and don't let moisture get to my mouth but cost two to five times as much as a Peterson. I had a 1970 Caminetto Excellence Extra ($900) and you couldn't get the last 1/2" of tobacco to relight with a can of gas and a match because of the moisture. Mr Lunblad, I have a System Standard 31 ( Peterson,s only straight system pipe) that keeps the moisture out but I don't like it. Can't really say why tho. | ||
| Dave Crehore Member Username: Briarbrain Post Number: 329 Registered: 11-2004 |
I've had a number of Petersons over the years, ranging from plain system bents and Donegals up to a couple of Gold Spigots. My findings: 1. They were all good smokes, but: 2. The P-lip triggered my gag reflex whenever I tried to hold the pipe in my teeth, and: 3. The crud in the reservoir rapidly stank up the pipe no matter how scrupulously I cleaned it, to the point that it affected the taste of the tobacco. A non-system Peterson with a standard stem will probably smoke as well as any other briar in the same price range. The gimmicks, however, I can do without. | ||
| Chuck Wright Member Username: Truckerchuck Post Number: 537 Registered: 05-2004 |
Dave, some tome ago, a fella posed the question,"How do you clean a Peterson System pipe?" I went thru the rigamarole I use. Briefly, I seperate the stem from the bowl as soon as I finish the pipe then dump the collected fluids, then drop a Q-Tip in the well. I then dry the stem and, after swabbing the well, use the pipe cleaner from the stem to swab out the smoke hole. Then a clean, dry cleaner to dry the smoke hole. That keeps the interior of the pipe failry clean and aids drying. Every once in awhile, say six to eight weeks, I scrub the smoke hole with an alcohol soaked bristle cleaner. I know it sounds like alot of work but my pipes stay fresh and clean. | ||
| Rob Member Username: Romaso Post Number: 79 Registered: 10-2004 |
I've got a 313, 314 and two 309s. I love the system pipes. I'll take one with me on quick weekend trips as my only pipe. I clean the well with a rolled up tissue and find I can smoke again much sooner than a non-system pipe. I go back and forth on the P-lip, but overall I like the variety. I'll have to see a system straight pipe to understand how they work. Where is the well? | ||
| Michael Schulz Member Username: Bond815 Post Number: 254 Registered: 01-2005 |
Rob, I am curious about the system straight pipe as well. I saw them advertised as having the "system" but never asked the tobacconist to look at it. I believe that the well is angled along the length of the shank. Something to research. " Happy mortal he who knows the pleasure that a pipe bestows. " | ||
| Gary R. Thomason Member Username: Phantom55 Post Number: 134 Registered: 11-2004 |
Michael: I own and like a broad range of pipes from cobs to Castello/Dunhill at my top end price wise. I have good smokers in all ranges. I personally seem to have the best luck with SerJacs and Ashtons. Just don't like system pipes of any make. I have a Radice OomPaul I bought on the internet that has it, and it is just a messy thing to smoke. Same tobacco in same shape pipes without the well, and not all that moisture. | ||
| Michael Schulz Member Username: Bond815 Post Number: 258 Registered: 01-2005  |
Thanks Gary, just picking your brain. " Happy mortal he who knows the pleasure that a pipe bestows. " |