The most successful series of pipes introduced by Peterson. First produced in 1987 to honour the most famous character in fiction, Sherlock Holmes. 7 day sets made from specially selected briarwood and meerschaum in shapes most favoured by Holmes.Also available in smooth, ebony, rustic and some sandblast. All extra large bowls. Sterling silver band. Peterson lip and fishtail mouthpiece.
The series comprises of three seven day sets, complete with dedicated 7 pipe racks.
The 'Original' collection which contains the following shapes,-Original,Baskerville,Baker Street,Deerstalker,Squire,Professor and Watson.
'The Return of Sherlock Holmes' collection which contains the following shapes,- Mycroft,Rathbone,Hudson,Hansom,Lestrade,Milverton and Strand.
The 'Sherlock Holmes Meerschaum 'collection which contains the following shapes,- Original,Baskerville,Squire,Baker Street,Deerstalker,Professor and Watson.
As to the pipes in the series,here is a breakdown of the pertinent criteria to form the review.Please bear in mind that this is a general appraisal of a whole series and is not about individual pipe shapes.It is also personal to me and is based on my owning all of the pipes in the Sherlock Holmes series, both briar and meerschaum.
Construction/engineering/workmanship: well carved , drilling and alignment variable. Silver work excellent, finish good, the briar can have several fills in evidence.The meerschaum quality(block) is outstanding.
Design: They are all x large pipes, with an excellent variety of classical shapes to suite all tastes.
Smoking quality : Excellent,dry and cool. Flavour and draw is consistently good.
Aesthetics and ergonomics : Classical lines remembering times past.I find some of the shapes more attractive than others.Favourites for me are the bents.As a clench-er most are very good to hang and for comfort,excellent.
Finish: They come in a variety of colours and finishes.With the usual high quality silverware.Recent modern pipes got a bad reputation for being heavily dip-stained with occasional fills,which was a poor second to those original pipes from the eighties.
Value/cost: Given the reasonable quality finish,popularity and large size these handsome pipes are competitively priced at around $160 to $300 depending on whether briar or meerschaum.
Availability: - Widely available in BM's and online from e-bay and e-tailers.
Conclusion: The most famous range that Peterson produce, it is instantly recognisable and excellent value.However they should not be considered a high grade Pete,they do have some quality issues,particularly dip staining of bowls. They're made by the hundreds using machines.If you accept that, then they can give many years of smoking pleasure. I like them,again bang for the buck the are reasonable pipes for this quality. I would give them 8.5 out of 10 for briar and 9.5 for meers.
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