Some more Pete Porn!

Here are some more photos of my latest acquisition, a Sherlock Holmes XL15 Silver Cap 'Special'.
Please excuse the blatant showing off!!

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 4 Pipe Set.

The  Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 4 Pipe Set.

Having just celebrated my 65th Birthday I had decided that I needed a gift from myself .What to get?
After great deliberation I decided that I needed to crown my collection of the various Sherlock Holmes series with the latest 2011 four pipe 'Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' set.
I shopped around and eventually decided to purchase a smooth set from Cup O'Joes. Amazingly the set arrived four days after placing the order!!! how is that for service!Unbelievable.
I am pleased to share some early photos with you all.
I was initially apprehensive about purchasing them as they were very shiny!!!However it is the usual tale of seeing them up close and handling them.On arrival I was mightily impressed,in this Burgundy wine finish, they are simply stunning to look at.In the hand they are great and very tactile,especially the quirky sitter,the 'Hopkins' and the beautiful 'Gregson'(my personal favourite).
The 'Moran' is also a looker,of the four it is probably the most typical shape for inclusion to the esteemed Sherlock Holmes ranks.
The large billiard shaped 'Sylvius' is to my taste the least appealing as a lover of bent pipes.



Moran

Hopkins

Gregson

Sylvius

The Mysterious Peterson B-Shapes.

The Mysterious Peterson B-Shapes.

I have for some time been fascinated with the Peterson B designation on their shape charts. To my simple mind I found that they were confusing!!!Having said that I am a big fan of them,particularly the B42,B10 and the B11.

I set out to research the background and thought that some of you may be interested to read these brief notes.

The following are some Internet quotes that I gleaned from others on the subject.:-

“Ah, the Peterson "B" pipes, a series which serves as Peterson's super-secret testing grounds for new and unheard-of shapes.”

“Peterson's 'B' shapes are supposed to indicate a design idea more obtuse than we might see ordinarily in their roundup. Now, I've seen some 'B' shapes that certainly fit this bill and I've seen some that don't. This shape is most definitely the latter. That's probably why it's the most popular 'B' shape in Peterson's line; it's well balanced, nicely proportioned, and not really at odds with the general pipe shape aesthetic”.

“The "B5" shape is an interesting take on the classic bent Bulldog. Peterson has a few bent Bulldog shapes, most famous of which is the "80S". The "B5", however, sports decidedly different proportions, from the ratio of the area above the double beading to the area below it to, the size of the shank relative to the bowl”.

“The B10 is an interesting Calabash-Dublin hybrid, resulting in a fluid shape than the traditional Dublin, and a more solid aesthetic than the often whimsical Calabash”.

“Half bent Brandy, half Volcano sitter, the "B11" stands out even by Peterson's often eccentric shaping standards”.

“I have a Shamrock smooth B12, (like a Pete 150 with a brandy bowl). Smokes like a Peterson with slightly less attention to detail on the finish which I love the natural color of. Fairly nice grain and fit seems on par with his brothers.To state that Peterson "B" shape is unusual is something of a redundancy; in this family, the odd is the norm. Here we have a full-bodied, bent brandy matched to a wide, tapering diamond shank. It's composition is a marriage of hard edges and soft curves, and it is pulled off with excellence”.

“A newer Peterson B shape, the B26 is a tall poker sporting a low-slung shank and transition, making for a rather conspicuous profile. It also happens to make for a pretty nice sitter, a fit comfortable in hand, and a pipe with plenty of chamber.”

“A Peterson St. Patricks Day (2010) in shape B-30. It's a nice thick-walled dublin but surprisingly lightweight. The thick walls of the bowl make it an incredibly cool smoke, and it's a very comfortable shape. The only problem is that the shape B-30 seems unique to the 2010 St Patrick's day series .

There's a few subtle, interesting hints of Danish shaping going on in the new B30, a shape that seems to have made its début in the 2010 St. Patrick's Day pipes.”

I have seen only one example of a B40,which was recently on display on the Alpascia website. It is in the form of a Kapp Royal. Similar in shape to the Darwins(B42).However Alpascia list it as a medium size pipe??.

I wrote to Peterson's asking for clarification on the B designation in their shape numbers, here is their response, (June 2011).

1.Question - What does the B stand for?. – Answer “It is a reference only”.
2. Question - When (which year) did you first start using them?. – Answer “Circa 1998”
3. Question - How many are there in the series?.- Answer “We started with 7 pieces and this has now been reduced to just 3”.
4. Question - What are the numbers,e.g.B5,B10,B11,B42? etc. - Answer “Our B Series numbers were B1 – B2 - B5 - B7- B8 – B10 and B11, only B5 - B10 and B11 remain.”

Note: We use the letter “B” as a stock reference for all new shapes e.g. The Darwin series is a B42 but they are not classed as the “B” Series.

Clear? OK. Or still confused?

Just in.

Here are a couple of recent additions to my collection.

The first is a beautiful Sherlock Holmes 'Special' Silver Lid Spigot XL15.
I just could not resist this one when I saw it on the Brucciani web site.
It is just dripping with quality Peterson silverware!

Second item is copy of an old Peterson advert showing the Peterson "Thinking Man".
I have always wanted one of these,it is so much part of the Peterson story and heritage.

One Year on.

Today marks the first year of this blog coming to life.
I hope that all of the regular followers continue to log on and continue to read my musings and ramblings, detailing my obsession for the Peterson range of pipes.
The amazing interest in the blog's unique content, is reflected in the numbers of visitors to the site. which has now exceeded 25K over the last twelve months.
Recently I have been pretty busy, so posting has been lighter than usual.My time has been diverted to preparation and research for the new Peterson Chronicles book.

I hope to get back into my usual posting frequency in a few weeks time,so please accept my apologies if you are not getting your usual 'Pete fix'.
Have a good summer and keep puffing those Petes!
Jim

New Molly Mallone Sets.

 Molly Mallone Bronze Statue Dublin.

 Smooth version

 Sandblast version.

Courtesy of CupO'Joes,here are some good photos of this brand new Peterson issue.

Peterson Molly Malone 2-pipe sets. One Bent pipe and one straight briar pipe in a  special presentation box, both with fishtail acrylic stems and sterling silver bands.Available in Sandblast,Ebony,Smooth and Rustic finishes. Priced around $280.

The 2011 Sherlock Holmes Four Pipe Set.

The US e-tailer Cup 'O Joes has just posted the new Peterson Sherlock Holmes Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 4-pipe set. 

Tom Palmer, CEO of Peterson, will be at the IPCPR conference in Las Vegas next week, and will "unveil" them.

These four new, extra-large shapes have been added to the popular Sherlock Holmes collection - Gregson, Hopkins, Moran, and Sylvious. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series comes in a special limited edition presentation box, and pipes are not available individually.Price around $ 600.

I would expect that in time they will be sold individually.

They will also be high lighting their new Sherlock Holmes Meerschaum range.

Made from a beautifully hand-carved piece of block meerschaum with a coloured finish and nickel band. Fishtail mouthpiece. This pipe is hand carved and hand finished. There will be unstained areas, typically within some of the carved recesses. Carving will vary from what is shown as well. Over time, meerschaum will darken from the inside out, and any white areas will fade.Price around $160.

Below is an example of a Sherlock Holmes XL15 Squire Meer.