(Pocket Jar PSA: See end of post)
UPDATE: 8/8 8:56pm CDT. Just a word of thanks to SPC for the incredible staggered roll-out of the POY and the great interface in loading and checking out. So many PGs are very happy tonight–hope you’ll pass our collective thanks to everyone at SPC and in Dublin! For those still looking, might be worthwhile, as Nevatitude says, to check back every so often in case the finish you’re looking for shows up!
Terracotta X160 under Patent illustration in 1906 catalog
Pete Geeks look forward to summer with great expectation, as it sees the debut of the new Pipe of the Year. This year we’re in for a real treat, the X160, an amazing shape and exacting reproduction of the original from the Patent era. Here’s what you need to know about the drop:
US DROP: Per Andy Wike at Laudisi, “Peterson’s highly anticipated Pipe of the Year 2023 retails at 6:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 8th.”
US Pete Geeks might remember there’s a drop in Dublin as well:
EUROPEAN DROP: Per Adam O’Neill at Smokingpipes.eu, “PotY 2023 for SPE will drop Tuesday the 8th of August 10:00 IST and will have Heritage, Terracotta, Ebony, Rusticated, Sandblasted plus Natural, Rusticated Silver Cap and PSB Rua.” US Rua and Rusticated Silver Cap devotees looking for the harder-to-get finishes, take note!
Finishes at SPC will certainly include Rusticated, Sandblasted, Heritage and Terracotta in good number. As in previous years, I’m guessing there won’t be a lot of Terracottas. There will be Ebony, Naturals and a few Rua PSBs as well, at least for those who are early to the party. I know that a very few Supreme Sandblasted and Supreme smooths have been made (and are seen in the new “All Pipes Considered” video) and some diligent souls will be adding those to their rotations as well (Bob? are you listening?).
Finishes at SPEu should be the same as in the US, although where the Supreme, Supreme Sandblast and Rusticated Silver Caps will land, I don’t know. If you’re after one of these more exotic rarities, see the “Tips & Tricks” below.
There is a great post already up at The Daily Reader at SPC from Chuck Stanion on the new release as well as an episode of “All Pipes Considered” with Sykes Wilford and Josh Burgess, so do check those out and leave them a word of thanks in the comments. These two work really hard for us.
Rusticated (Boy, I like this look)
Tips & Tricks: I’ve heard that good results can be obtained at the time of drop by being on the Peterson page before the drop time and refreshing the page until you see the “Pipe of the Year 2023” in the sidebar on the left of the page. It appears well before you’ll get an email announcing availability. Doing this will save you the frustration of going through 8 or 10 pages of new pages until you hit the POYs—if you ever get there due to the system crashing from the feeding frenzy!
I’ve also heard that checking out asap is also a good idea, as folks tell me that if someone checks out before you, you may not get the pipe in your basket. Those who patronize Pipestud’s Saturday tobacco offerings will know what I mean. It’s just one of those software things that can’t be avoided, apparently.
Finally, if you’re after a higher-tier finish, just plan on showing up to the Dublin drop party. Why worry about a bit of extra postage or early rising when what you really wanted was a Rua, Supreme, Silver Cap, Natural or whatever? If you miss it in Dublin, you always have the US drop to fall back on.
The Supreme Smooth: Perfection and how I love birdseye
IN A NUTSHELL
- There will be a total of 1100 pipes serially-numbered combining all finishes.
- The pipes come in a beautiful Donegal Tweed pipe sock with the “Pipe of the Year 2023” logo on the leather patch.
- The release is accompanied by a POY2023-specific “Chat With the Smoker” pipe box brochure as well as by the new “Chat” brochure and a token silver polishing cloth.
- Finding the finish you want should be slightly easier this year. In part this is due to the increased number made and in part, as Josh Burgess explains on the “All Pipes Considered” video, because K&P was fortunate with the quality of bowls sourced and able to produce 10 finishes, the most they’ve ever achieved on a POY release.
I’m still waiting for a sports coat, K&P. Or at least a flat cap!
Approximate measurements and other details:
Length: 5.82 in./147.83 mm.
Weight: 1.90 oz./53.86 g.
Bowl Height: 2.03 in./51.56 mm.
Chamber Depth: 1.62 in./41.15 mm.
Chamber Diameter: 0.74 in./18.80 mm.
Outside Diameter: 1.56 in./39.62 mm.
Stem: Chamfered P-Lip Vulcanite
Filter: None and 9mm
Shape: Patent Era X160
Finishes: Rusticated, Sandblast, Heritage, Ebony, Terracotta, Rua, Natural, Rusticated Silver cap, Supreme Sandblast, Supreme smooth
The Supreme Sandblast Tanshell
THE STORY OF THE X160 REPRODUCTION
For their fifth POY, Kapp & Peterson has released an accurate reproduction of the beautiful swan neck X160 Peterson Lip Pipe from the 1906 catalog, furthering the “New Traditional” emphasis of Laudisi-era Peterson. As Director of Sales Glen Whelan explained to me:
“The Pipe of the Year is the pinnacle of Peterson every year. In the Laudisi era we’ve followed a very specific theme by bringing back old classic shapes. Every year around the same time we get to thinking about what we want next year, although for me I confess that it’s pretty much on my mind most of the time, along with the SPD, Christmas and other new releases!
“For the POY I usually start by looking through old catalogues, older web images, photos and of course the Peterson book and Peterson Pipe Notes. I’m looking for something to jump out at me, and the X160 stopped me dead in my tracks. I popped it on the screen in our conference room, and Josh, Sykes and I all agreed that this was going to be it—so long as we could execute the shape!. We consulted with Jonathan Fields (production manager), Jason Hinch (silversmith) and Giacomo Penzo (our pipe specialist) and they they agreed—this was the shape.
I had help from a good friend in the pipe community who actually had this exact shape, in meerschaum no less, and he was able to share precise measurements that Giacomo used to create a replica. Seeing the bowl before our eyes we knew we had something special.
(Note: “Ambroid” is not Bakelite but amber shards and pieces that have been glued together. Many say it is quite beautiful, and of course it was much less expensive than genuine amber. I wonder if it was more shatter resistant?)
When you resurrect a new shape, you start wondering how it ever fell off the shape chart, but I guess that shows how consumer taste can evolve over time and come back full circle. I guess the pipe world is no different than, say, music world, where we went from vinyl, cassette, CD and minidisc to MP3/streaming and now around full circle where vinyl is the ‘in’ thing again. Classics will always be classics.
The Rustic Silver Cap
A Closer Look
Unbelieveable! Notice the X160 passes a pipe cleaner.
The first thing I want to celebrate in the X160 is that, while it’s an army mount, every one of the four samples I handled passes a pipe cleaner. For a bent pipe, and a bent army mount, that’s wildly amazing. I’d call it over-engineering, at least in the sense that, with an army mount, you can always break the pipe down if you need to while smoking it. But this would be to miss the point: the point is that with the briar airway’s hole and the tenon hole matched up like this, there’s less turbulence, which means a cooler smoke.
If you picked up one of the recent Short Army pipes, you already know some of this story first-hand. The chamfer on the vulcanite tenon—seen above—is the same style employed on the Short Army. This and the accurate drilling compensate for the wider tenon-mortise gap, and at least in my experience with the Short Army and my own chamfering modifications on other Petes, overcomes any turbulence leading to hot smokes.
Stem
The vulcanite stem is discussed in the “All Pipes Considerered” video, where Josh discusses the difficulties involved and Jonathan Field’s problem-solving in making it happen. Whether or not this is a brand-new stem or something modified, I don’t know. I do know the Short Army and recent Terracotta Spigot stems are new, and this stem’s graceful bulge toward the tenon (to accommodate the graduated bore) and the crisp lines of its P-Lip shelves make me believe it may be new as well.
Stamps
The shank stamps on the Terracotta, Rusticated, Heritage and Ebony are all placed together on the shank bottom, as is the usual Laudisi-era practice. I’m wondering if there’s a story on why 1100 was settled on for the total number of pipes or if it was simply a matter of expediency. Maybe someone from K&P can tell us in the comments (hint)?
The band stamps continue Laudisi-Peterson’s practice of placing the hallmark below PETERSON on the bottom of the sterling band and the Peterson script above DUBLIN on the front.
Shank face and Ferrule
The shank face and ferrule aren’t something we talk about as Pete Geeks very much, although they have a long and interesting history. I asked Josh Burgess to explain a bit about the shank face is determined:
“We would call the briar underneath the mount the shank face when thinking about the very end of the shank. Shaping of the shank is done by our craftsmen, and determining how to shape a new pipe shape’s shank is usually a collaborative process between Jason Hinch in mounting and Giacomo Penzo in BTA. Deciding whether that should be flat, rounded, or bullet-like is usually a part of the design process. Then Giacomo and Jason work together to ensure that our tooling was set up properly to achieve the desired shape. The basic shape of the mount on different styles of army mounts is a result of turning/shaping that we do in our BTA station. So a System Standard will have a very rounded shank, a Deluxe System a flatter shank face, and something like the POY a kind of bullet shape.”
The shank face has to match up, of course, with the diameter of the stem tenon. For the new POY, like every other mounted Pete, the shank face briar has to work from the diameter of the stem. For my money, K&P has achieved a really close approximation of the shank face/ferrule seen in the 1906 original.
Shape Lines
For me, the lines of a shape are extremely important, giving visual as well as potential tactile information in hand. For a bent P-Lip Peterson it is especially helpful to see a flank profile of the pipe from both the horizon line of the bowl rim and the horizon line of the button. The first gives us a true idea of what kind of bend to expect on the pipe, while the second gives us the drop angle of the bowl. Historically and Peterson P-Lip bents have always had a bowl drop so I’m prejudiced, as you might say, to this tradition. The composition of the X160 is elegance in a pipe, a true swan neck:
A good flank photo can be shot either from slightly above, like this one of the Heritage, or straight from the side. Both give valuable information not typically seen in advertising shots on the internet. This one illustrates the bend with a horizontal rim line.
This is a nearly-true obverse flank shot giving priority to the horizon line of the clenching shelf. This lets us see how the pipe will “dip” and the way in which it adheres to Peterson tradition. This one, I sure you’ll be glad to know, passes the test with flying colors! The Sandblast in black gives a gnarly, tactile feel to the design.
While there’s no way to really explore a three-dimensional object except by long, close attention in person, I wanted to share a few more photos that show the wonderful full cheeking (curvy sides of the bowl) and tapered shank that make this such an appealing, unforgettable shape.
The dark polished lines of the Heritage here let us see the amazing transition and curves of the shank and bowl.
The Ebony finish is also a first choice when evaluating a pipe by its shape. These two photos from SPC, seen in this fashion, also allow us to understand the sinuous geometry of the X160 a bit better.
The Rua PSB: there is simply no competition from other makers for this great, deep blast and contrast stain effect.
The X160 in Historical Context
There’s a lot of pedigree behind the new POY and I thought it would be fun to set out some of the highlights.
The X61 / P-Lip Celebration (1998)
The most important link between the new POY and the original Patent shape is the X61 / P-Lip Celebration 1898-1998 commemorative released in 1998, the centenary of the P-Lip patent. In The Peterson Pipe we read,
“The P-Lip Celebration may be the great, unheralded Peterson commemorative. Infrequently seen on the estate market (especially as a complete set with rack), it was produced to celebrate the centenary of Charles Peterson’s final System patent in 1898, #18827, for the P-Lip.
The X61 was offered with a two pipe rack and both smooth and Pebble Rustic
“Tom Palmer told Pipesmoke magazine in 1998 that Peterson chose ‘two traditional Peterson bents, replicas of 1898 designs—one with a smooth finish, one rusticated—along with a special rack to hold them. Each pipe and rack is stamped with a commemorative legend’ (Winter 1998/1999, p. 13). The bowl matches the X160 Patent Lip found in the 1906 catalog, although it has been upgraded with a space-fitting saddle stem rather than the flush-fit ‘Navy’ stem it was originally fitted with. Its significance for the collector derives from the fact that Peterson chose to reproduce not a Patent System pipe, but a shape originally cut only for the Patent Lip line. The reproduction is a little larger than the original. In addition, none of the Patent Lip pipes in the 1906 catalog utilized space-fitting [Deluxe style] mounts.”
From long companionship, I can tell you the P-Lip Celebration is an excellent smoking pipe. It’s also unique in the catalog in that the wear-gap mount features a cross-drilled aluminum tenon extension and accommodating mortise like those found in Deluxe Classic Range pipes until the 1950s or ’60s.
The bowl of the X61, as you can see in the side-by-side photo above, is larger and more elongated than the X160, while still bearing a family resemblance. The shank is of a similar proportion, but straight rather than possessing the gorgeous tapered swan-neck curve. It’s was a great way to celebrate the final Patent from 1898 as well as honor the Patent Lip Pipes.
Going back to the 1906 catalog we find there are quite a few “160” shapes, including the 160, 161, 163, 164 and X160, ranging from smallest to largest:
For convenience sake I’ve placed the two pages of the 160 group together.
Each of these, as was the practice in the Patent era, could be ordered in a number of mounting styles: the AB (army taper), B (navy taper), B Long (taper long) and B Short (taper short) as well as spigot and long sterling screw, seen here:
The “160” group, or handful of shapes, are still with us after almost 120 years. While the “1” prefix (which I believe was used to designate what we think of as Classic Range shapes) has been dropped on most of the shapes, surprisingly enough the 160 is still with us. Here it is in a recent 160 Silver Mounted Army, with acrylic P-Lip:
The 160 Silver Army P-Lip
It is still quite close to 160 bowl in the 1906 catalog. There are three other contemporary shapes that are part of this same little family, the 65, 69 and 68:
Aran 65, 69 and 68
The 68 is the chubby version, of course, and didn’t enter the catalog until c. 1979, but is still a card-carrying member. The 65 and 69, like the 160, seem to have been around forever.
What did the Thinking Man Smoke? Could it be . . . ? Nah. Or wait,is it . . . ?
By now, I hope every Pete Geek knows that the Thinking Man smokes a 4s:
This is the illustration used in the 1906 catalog, advertisements and B&W ephemera, which is why—in my opinion—it’s such an iconic shape and needs to be in regular production. Well, that and the fact that it’s one of the best and most versatile smoking pipes in the world.
This is the sepia-tone poster of the Thinking Man painting distributed by K&P back in the day.
Notice he’s smoking a 9S.
Now a few Pete Geeks—ephemera hounds like Chris Lauer, CPG and a few others—will know that the Thinking Man also has in his rotation another great System, one seen in the famous oil painting reproduced during the Patent era (with the word ‘Patent’ in it and facing the title page of the Peterson book) and later on tobacco tins and pouch packages (without the word ‘Patent’).
But wait, there’s more!
X160B Long
Study the X160 B Long carefully, because this is the 3rd pipe in the Thinking Man’s rotation. It is seen hanging in all its extensive glory in the large flatback sculpture of the Thinking Man that hung for many decades over the Grafton Street shop.
You can see it quite clearly in the flatback seen above before it was repainted. If you’ve read the Peterson book, you know the story. In brief, it hung over the Grafton Street shop for years and years and was taken down when the shop moved to its new Nassau St. digs. It was severely damaged by the greenhouse effect of being under a plexiglass cover for several years, so it was taken to the factory for restoration. In the meantime, word came down that the Dublin city council wouldn’t allow it to be rehung as it was an endorsement of tobacco smoking. In any event, it was eventually restored to its present glory and hung in the hallway of the factory:
It goes without saying—but I’m saying it—that the Pete Geek who strives to be a student of the Thinking Man can do no better than make sure these three essential pipes are in his rotation: the 4S (or 4 shape equivalent like the 309, XL339, 79, 4AB), the 9S (or equivalents like the 307, XL307 and XL90) and now the X160.
The Natural in Flame Grain. Unbelievable.
MANY THANKS TO
Josh Burgess, Glen Whelan, Steve Mawby & Shimshon Cook for all their help;
to Laudisi Enterprises for permission to reproduce stock photos.
Last Day to Order Pocket Jars
Today is the last day to order the Pete Geek Pocket Jar. Marie will send in your requests tomorrow. When we receive the jars she will send you a PayPal invoice. All the details of size and color and cost are in her link here, which you must fill out and submit: PETE GEEK LEAF POCKET JAR.
More Leaves from the Pete Geeks
Gaz Hansen, CPG
Shimshon Cook, CPG
Abba Mark Hunt, CPG
Hats off to Jon Umpherville, CPG
The new Reader’s Merit Badge
Jon hails from northern Canada and in the course of recent correspondence told me he was reading straight through every single post of PPN. I recall warning him this might be a dangerous thing to do for a number of reasons, but he persisted to the bitter end. I promised to create a special CPG merit badge as he’s the first person I know to have actually been this . . . well, devoted.
As you can see from his “crazy eyes,” he has been undergoing remedial treatment. I’m sure the NOS 312 Pete Meer System he’s smoking is part of the cure. He also has a passion for shape 4, like someone else I know:
Great article Mark,
I am sure we have discussed these before, I will send you some photos of my 161 & x160 patent era Meerschaum’s.
Thanks, Lance! You’re the unsung hero behind the POY this year, my friend!
I love the Smooth Natural, Supreme Sandblast and Rua PSB pictured here, but the 65,69,68 shape line has never really “tripped my trigger”. I’m just not a fan of the “swan neck” on a Pete. A Pete should be “stout and beefy”?. I do have two of the x61’s, but the space fitting stem and silver collar make it look more “stout”. I’d still be interested in a Smooth Natural, Supreme Sandblast or a Rua PSB just to keep adding to my POY collection, but I’m tired of “fighting” to get one, not to mention, I’m sure, the prices these… Read more »
I still can’t believe it is that time of year already!! Mark, thanks once again for a wonderful overview of this year’s POY and the history lesson of the X160 shape. I do believe Jon has just issued a challenge to all CPG’s and I think all of us will have a similar look on our face come drop time.
Yikes, Chris. I’m not sure but that Jon didn’t do himself harm by reading all those posts. He reported today that his 312 meer, however, is helping him recover. 🙂
Thanks for another great post Mark! So the time has come! I’m also looking forward to the European drop. I think my choice for this year will be a Heritage as it is what fits my finances best at the moment. I also think I wasn’t fair with this finish and I only have a Bard so far. So I’ll take my chance for another one! See you the day after tomorrow!
Yes, the Heritage finish has grown and grown on me and it looks spectacular as the POY, doesn’t it?
Wow, talk about some really fantastic looking pipes! Well done Peterson! I’m so pleased to see yet another resurrection of the venerable AB stem, more please! Mark, as always, thanks for bringing us the story of the ’23 POY.
My pleasure, Mr. Hamilton!
Wow, the 106 is a shape I must have. So, the Dublin pipes go on sale, East Cost time at 1 PM? (did I read that correctly) I’ve always like the shape 69, but it isn’t quite muscular enough. The 106 is perfect and with the right stem work. Nice work Laudisi!
Well, that’s 160….
Hi Al! 10am Irish Standard Time = 4am CST. They’re 6 hours ahead of us (Central Time), 5 hours (Eastern). Put the coffee on, mate!
You know me Mark, very well! Supreme for me just means it has to get broken in sooner 🙂 Love Peterson bringing back historical shapes like this and thankfully we have Lance for his extensive collection to provide a true sample. I will be on the road, but refreshing on my phone. I will post some pics of what I get for the Geeks 🙂
Lookin’ forward to what your magic can do.
Another great article, Mark. And a truly fantastic shape. I have a 160 Silver Army P-Lip that I purchased in 2020. It’s a great little smoker and has become one of my go-to pipes. I always seem to miss out on the PotY so I’m thankful that I have one of the family members already!
Thanks, Jack!!
This will be on the want list for sure! As for reading every post. When I found this site a year or so ago (no concept of time) I indeed read every single post. I assumed every Pete geek would do the same lol Nevertheless, Congrats Jon Umpherville! Cheers! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
Look for your Merit Badge in the mail, Alex!
Great article, naturally. Given that each time there’s a drop that includes terracotta sells out at Mach 10, I hope they’re beefing up production. I still have yet to score one, and while I’m perfectly happy with the 3 heritage stains I have, terracotta is beginning to take on white whale aspects.
With 1100 pipes, Joe, I think you may get your Terracotta this year.
Nice looking pipes. Excited to add one to my collection of Pete’s.
Thanks Mark for the heads-up and great read.
Thumbs up ? to Jon Umpherville.
Nicely done!
FINALLY!!! I REALLY like this shape! and Size! (tho’ I’d love to see a proportionally larger rendition also)! I like my (and some other peoples’) Peterson Pipes. Some few shapes work for me – many just don’t.work for me. Most are just too small in capacity for my typical smoking session. Gosh knows I’ve tried so many over the years, and being an old guy, now have preferences. But, I think this shape will be a good one! and the capacity is good – maybe could be just a little larger in diameter (did I mention the proportionally larger…). And,… Read more »
Steady now, Sensei!! Don’t want to go overboard here. LOL. But yeah, this one’s a real looker, isn’t it?
Really looking forward to this one, and curious how close the shape and size will be to my X69.
Yesterday:
I defiantly state in the face of PAD, “I will NOT purchase another pipe!”
Today: entering calendar on phone,
“ok, so 2AM Pacific time Tuesday”
sigh…the battle continues…
I thought I could resist the POY PPAD “pull” too, especially since the shape “isn’t all that” for me. Alas, a new sandblast with pretty good ring-grain popped up on my SPC PPAD radar today (8/25) and I went for it. I have no resistance?
Wow – already that time of the year! Looking forward to Tuesday. Great article, Mark, as always. Just sent you a picture of my 1907 French Brevet 160. Imagining this pipe a little bigger is very exciting.
Great Article Lovely Pipes
Mark, this is simply not fair…first the Short Army then pocket jars and now the X160 in so many wonderful configurations. As it happens I’ll be in Florida meeting my new grandson. I’ll also be getting a first look at my 2 Short Army’s and the pocket tins I ordered and had sent to my son’s address. Like others, I maybe already past my limited Peterson budget considering the PPN pipe yet to come. We fly in Tuesday and I wonder, if I can’t resist temptation on the 2023 POY and order one at the drop if it will arrive… Read more »
Marlowe, there is a time to fast and a time to feast… need I tell you which this is?
Great article Mark: For my store, which has a strong “retro” feel the POY is always a joy to receive the few that Laudisi has reserved for me. This year they have promised me one of the extremely rare Rua finishes as well as a smattering of the others. I usually have to hold back from snatching up at least one of the POY for my personal rack but this year will be a challenge to put a price sticker on the Rua before it goes home with me.
Thanks for the great write-up Mark!
I’ll be trying the tips, but think I’ll be pretty happy with whatever I can lay my hands on.
Cheers to all, and happy hunting!
Lee, let us know what you go home with, won’t you?
Keep up the good work, there, Me and Pad. I feel like I’m watching an old Warner Bros. cartoon with the Good Angel (Don’t Buy it) on one shoulder and the Bad Angel (Buy It) on the other… or is that the other way around? Hmmm… BTW, not to influence you at all, but I smoked my X160 tonight and WOW, I couldn’t tell the difference between it and a System.
sigh…
thanks…
I guess…
Dang… Sometimes it’s not fun being dirt poor, but I’m so thankful for being able to read and see pictures of these beautiful pipes. Enjoy ??
Well I attended the EU drop and it was very nerve racking. I had to refresh many many times and the pipes didn’t show up until about 17 minutes after the intended drop time. I was able to order 2 Terracotta and one Sandblast. Let’s see if I get the dreaded emails in the morning for the Terracotta pipes. I really didn’t want three pipes but after three years in a row of being denied I was taking no chances. I saw no Rua’s, Naturals or Supremes. I only saw a couple Ebony, several Heritage, rusticated and Sandblast and only… Read more »
When SPE opened up (around 10.12 a.m IST) the cherries was already picked except two rusticated silver caps (gone in a minute or two). I grabbed a nice terracotta but it seems like my Moby Rua never shows up when I’m in for a hunt… oh well the SPC is bound to open theirs in 8.5 hours.
‘Terracotta’ seems like a cherry to me!
Yeah it’s sweet for sure… I just keep hunting my Moby Rua or Natural and are happy with all berries on the way.
Yeah, DON’t give up. Read my story below. I think they are spacing them out to address complaints from precious drops.
Some will only have a few , I think the Peterson shop store indicates there was one Rua without filter & one with a 9mm ,so only 2 total? Perhaps they be more for SPC ?
Good luck Ahabbjs62, wish you happy hunting that Rua Moby!
Yes for sure they add some more in time, reload… reload… LOL one day.
32 RUA’s at the drop…
go man go !
@2 minutes in there were:
14 Naturals
44 Terracotta
32 Rua
@4 minutes in:
2 Silver Cap
3 Ebony
@10 minutes after drop:
52 Heritage
@12 minutes in:
96 Rusticated
@14 minutes in
46 SandBlasted
@ 27 minutes in they just dropped more Terracotta’s
Awesome!
Just open a couple of browser windows on SPC & type in
peterson pipe of the year 2023 rua (or type you want)
refresh those windows-
good luck
@32 minutes after drop:
177 Pipes left.
Reminder- I got a Rua today 83 minutes AFTER the Dublin drop began, It wasn’t there, then it was, So don’t give up. They spaced things out in Dublin & may do so here, They want all a chance to get ‘their’ pipe.
Peterson Pipe of Year 2023 ~ remaining 52 @SPeu Pipes Dublin~ & 144 @SPC Pipes. As of 8:45 PM Eastern US time Smoking Pipes Europe in DUBLIN has 52 online in these finishes: 4 Heritage (3~9mm) 28 Rusticated (12~9mm) 21 Sandblasted (8~9mm) If you want one of these PPOY’23 you should know that SPeu is also sending a free Sherlock Holmes Tamper with every new Peterson purchased this week if you click on the pop-up at checkout. In the United States @SPC online there are 144 Peterson POY 2023~ @SPC- in SC USA- there remain 144 online in these finishes: 10 Terracotta… Read more »
I also attended the EU drop and I must say it was a bit nerve racking. I kept refreshing the page but I was not able to see the POY tag until 10:17 (1:17am Alaska Time) I saw no Rua’s, Supremes, or Naturals or Silver caps. I saw a handful of Terracotta’s, 2- Ebony, and several Heritage, Rusticated and Sandblast. I ordered 2 Terracotta’s (one in 9mm) and 1 Sandblast (ring blast) and to my surprise I did not awaken this morning to the dreaded “no pipe for you” email for any of the orders. I also received a free… Read more »
Understood, I awoke at 2:09 Pacific for restroom. I used it & then looked at iPad. It showed a certain number of 9mm including FOUR terracotta finishes. Stunned, I refreshed page & only saw one left. I clicked on it and it was sold. Alas, This was now 10:15 DUBLIN & I shrugged as I have bought too many pipes lately. Couldn’t fall back to sleep so I read the news, baseball stories, etc… A little more than an hour later, 3:23 local or 11:23 Dublin, I looked to see how many PPOY’23 had been thus sold & saw they… Read more »
That is absolutely awesome Nevadatude!!!! You must be living right for sure. I can’t believe I was able to get 2 Terracotta’s and one being a 9mm. I really like the Rua. I may see if I can snag one this afternoon. I am also a happy CPG this year.
Thank you! That is wonderful news, the terracottas are beautiful. I have a Watson I really enjoy! Yes, counting our blessings is an important thing. I am a blessed man in many ways and grateful for each of them. Living right? umm, for me more a process getting correctly ‘aligned’ or ‘in tune’ with ‘the way’. I could have learned better years ago, yet am thankful to see today & perhaps tomorrow. Happy Hunting @SPC
be well…
I also scored a Rua on the SPC drop. What a huge difference this year from the previous years. SPC has been listening and I believe have come trough for the customers.
Congratulations! I wish you joy!
Agreed, Laudisi cares about this community &I appreciate it.
I nearly gave up as well. I had two different Terracottas in my basket during my attempts to check out, but the American Express fraud protection kicked in both times. By the time I got the validation code and entered it, the pipes were gone both times. I’ll try again this evening. With this shape, I really only want the natural or terracotta because the smooth walls really show off the gentle curves. Not to say the various sandblasted and rusticated finishes aren’t also handsome. I’m prepared to pass on this one of I can’t get the finish I want.
Craig, if you are unsuccessful this evening reach out to me. I really don’t need two Terracotta’s and I wasn’t expecting to get either let alone both. Mark has my email address.
Craig, there were still ten terracottas on the SPC site when I checked just now, two-and-a-half hours after the drop, so if you missed out earlier there is still time to try again.
I went through the EU drop frustrations two years ago for the [4AB]. It was a frustrating waste of time. Last night I made a mental note to get up at 2AM for the drop, but then slept through it. There were still several Heritage available four hours later, but I passed.
I plan to attack the US drop with a vengeance! 🙂
Open a couple of pages with each pipe you want ie. Peterson Pipe of the Year 2023 natural (or whatever)If you click on those pages when refreshing perhaps luck may follow.
It seems those who hit the home page often get caught up in traffic at that front door, rather than using the side entrance on the Black Friday mall sale- to paint a word picture-. good luck to all!
I talked to my local shop last week and they said they were getting a couple of them. I went in this morning and they had a sandblast and a terracotta. The sandblast went home with me. If anyone missed out on a terracotta I know where one is. They’re asking retail, as they always do, but they have a reward point system. I buy most of my tins there, so I had enough points saved my sb was only a few dollars more than what it would be from sp.
Well, that was interesting – plenty of Ruas, Naturals and Terraacotta. Still 33 Terracotta left as of 30 seconds ago.
We all should be happy, right? 🙂
Scott, What did you get? Yes,I agree- we SHOULD be, but that is an individual choice. I remember last year I had a Ulysses pipe in my cart, hit check out and it was gone, Oh well, BUT I grumbled for about 30 minutes till I realized there were only like 15 total of them for the entire world.I was lucky to even see it in my cart,LOL I am blessed and need to remind myself that on occasion. be well…
Oh man – that’s sad about the Ulysses! I slept through that drop. I was a pig – remembering the last two years, I snagged the first Natural and Rua that I saw and paid immediately. It was about a 10 second process. Then I ‘ran’ back and snagged the first Terracotta I saw and paid immediately. Only then did I slowly meander through the listings and notice that there were tons of Terracottas and Ruas (mine is actually a very poor blast!) and plenty of Naturals as well. My Natural is luckily a beautiful grain with straight on one… Read more »
Congratulations Scott!! This year was a much more pleasant experience on SPC. I was a pig also snagging 2 Terracotta’s, Sandblast (EU drop), and a Rua from SPC. I am full!!
The Sandblast Mark showed above is beautiful – congratulations!
Congrats on the Natural the Rua &Terracotta! I am happy I got a Rua 9mm at all. Happy they made any for us filter folks. I know those in Germany are very filter oriented & other places in Europe, so I get all my pipes from over there. Mostly SPeu, but other places as well. Like I said, happy to have a Rua!
The hunt is over, managed to snag a Rua at the SPC release.
Thank You Laudisi & SPC for a decent number of premium cherries.
Another one going back over the Atlantic.
Congratulations, I wish you joy!
Agreed, Laudisi has been working hard to please it’s customers.
Well I attended the SPC drop and all I can say is WOW!!! What an improvement from the past years. The website was completely responsive, no lagging, no waiting etc. Items in the cart were immediately marked not available if they sold allowing buyers to continue the search for another. They had several offerings of the Natural, Rua and Terracotta pipes this year. I really could have had whatever I wanted (I did have to pick up a Rua that called my name.) The amounts of the hard to get pipes were available for at least 15 minutes. A huge… Read more »
Well said! Agree fully.
Yes, vast improvement! It looks like they fixed the software issues of 2021 and 2022, and added pipes (1100 vs 500 from 2021). All-in-all it was a great shopping experience.
I agree, the website experience at SPC was smooth and quick. I was able to look over several before settling on a favorite, and this time I chose a Rua.
great article. the SPE release was the same time I get up for work so I checked it out. seemed to populate at 0510 or so. was originally wanting a Rua but didn’t see one there as it opened. landed a rusticated silver cap though and am happy for it.
the SPC launch was surprisingly smooth and I watched the naturals, silver caps and Ruas go to their new owners. congrats to those who got what they wanted.
Well done, not many of them at all. that is great! I think the Silver Cap looks amazing!
Thanks, this release was fun to watch. Having never participated in a POTY drop before I’m wondering why SPC’s were up right at 6 but SPE’s didn’t show till a bit after. who knows but it looks like the only true hen’s teeth were the Supremes that were on SPC.
Great article as always Mark, I really appreciate the heads up for these special drops!
I was able to pick up a terracotta POY (to match my 4AB from 2021) from SPC EU there was only about 6 or 8 in the terracotta and thought I may have missed out but got confirmation that it has shipped!
It seems most of the Terracotta pipes landed in the US as there is still a good selection available as of a few minutes ago.
Now the wait…
Well, I ended up getting two. I found a sandblast that I liked on the Irish site when I got up this morning, and originally planned to avoid the chaos of the American drop. But I couldn’t help looking this afternoon when they hit the site. I had a Natural in my cart but it took me too long to get to the payment page. I ended up getting a Terracotta (my first of that finish). I hope my finances have a little time to recover before the PPN Pipe gets released. Especially since I have a commissioned pipe currently… Read more »
oh yes, I get that,… PLUS the dreaded onset of PAD doing battle in ever increasing assaults on our minds and wallets. Congrats on some great scores.
After missing the 2021 drop, I searched the internet for a couple of weeks and eventually found a rusticated 9mm on eBay, in Germany. Later, I picked up a really nice PSB version at the Smoking Pipes table at the ‘22 Chicago pipe show. Last year, I got a sandblast and dark smooth of the ‘22 POY. So yeah… I have a history! Also, when the Natural Rusticated Deluxes went up in November (I think it was), I ordered one from the SPE site and thought I was satisfied. I ended up getting another from the American site the next… Read more »
PAD is real!!!!
I’m too particular, I want what I want. I saw the smooth naturals but they were way out of my price range. Next were the Rua’s, I needed more time to pick one I liked and they just kept disappearing, I didn’t need a pipe with just any ol’ blast, especially at the price they were wanting. I didn’t even get to see a “nekid” blast. There were a few black sandblasts I saw that weren’t terrible, but still none I would pay that amount of money for. The shape was just not one I like, the only reason I… Read more »
The only two finishes I did not see on either drop was the Supreme and the nekid blast. I was able to get what looks to be a very nice Sandblast that looks more like PSB ring blast from the EU drop. I ended up with 4 pipes and really don’t need all 4. If you are interested I can send you the link to the Sandblast to see if you may like it.
Wasn’t the ‘Supreme’ and ‘Natural’ the same thing?
Scott, a Supreme is an absolutely flawless bowl. Something like 1 in 2000, Sykes told me. Naturals, on the other hand, will have tiny flaws. The Natural Flame seen in the post, for example, has two root marks, one on the shank and one on the rim. They’re tiny little black things, but they are organic imperfections which disqualify the bowl from being graded Supreme. Having said this, let me add that the Supreme grading system in place now is much more severe and rigorous than that during the Dublin era. I have a Supreme from 2011 that doesn’t approach… Read more »
Duh-old age…I was looking at the Supreme example you showed, and the Naturals sold yesterday – the similar light golden color confused me. I have two pre-1970 Supremes sitting right next to me and a couple of old Killarney Naturals, but all have very dark stain. Also confusing, as it goes against Peterson’s old thinking about dark stain only used for covering briar with poor grain. Now they are back to that standard. Perhaps I SHOULD be confused!
Christopher,
Thank you very much for your kind offer, but I will pass….this time?. As I mentioned, the shape doesn’t really “do it” for me. Unless?…..you want to smoke it carefully a few times and then sell it to me for half price as an estate?
I spent some of my pipe allowance on the estate “Sterling Silver” 53?
I need to hold my PPAD in check for the PPN. It’s tough, real tough.
Oh understand only too well John. Not only did I go crazy and buy 4 POY’s, 2 days before the drop a 1988 Dublin Millennium was offered to me at a price I could not refuse. Now the PPN is in the near future as well as the Halloween and Christmas right on its heels. It is a good time to be a CPG for sure.
Chris, it wasn’t easy letting go of that Millennium, but I was trying to get prepared for yesterday’s drop. I also went crazy and bought four.
Oh no, the sacrifices we make for these POY’s At least you can take comfort that it went to another CPG. Thanks again for a great deal!
Snagged a Rua from the SPC drop. It was easier than the St. Pat’s pipe but I still had to settle for 3rd choice, #90 of 1100. This will be my first Rua so I’m excited. I hope they wait a bit for the PPN release, gotta let the pipe $$$ build back up!
Great article explaining the history behind this year’s POY. Thank you so much for the heads up related to the drop. It is always fun to stop by the blog after a big release and hear about everyone’s new toys. Last year I snagged a Rua and it has been my favorite pipe so far, although the 9B with its larger bowl is giving my 2022 POY a run for its money. This time I was also able to get a Rua, and with much less stress. Congratulations to whomever were able to get their hands on the supremes. I… Read more »
I don’t know what Mark say about links in the comments but here’s the 9 supremes I see sold on SPC, three smooth and six blasted. Enjoy pictures and videos.
Just increase the product id in the url with one to see next and so on…
Smooth:
https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=564151
Sandblasted supreme:
https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=564232
Thanks for the pics. Those are some pretty pipes. Congrats to their new owners.
If anyone wanted an Ebony and missed out, there is one at SmokingPipes EU – oddly (to me), it’s about the same price as the Terracottas were.
That one has been calling my name all day. I just don’t need five POY’s….. do I?
When the other four arrive you’ll be thinking: “Man that would look good in an ebony finish!” … but it will be gone 🙂
I forgot to mention, I really love the taper of the stem. The slightly larger swell looks……..swell?
The great debate is on: one of these and a Halloween or two Halloween pipes? ? That is, assuming that the Halloween pipe is coming back for another year?
These just arrived. HOLY COW!!!!!!
I was expecting a great pipe, but this Natural is the nicest pipe I’ve ever owned.
Also, there is no fill – it’s a perfect stummel.
My Rua just showed up today also. AMAZING pipe. Really looking forward to seeing the other three coming from Dublin
https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=564201
The Rua was a great idea, although the finish on this one is very different from my Professor Spigot – not nearly as dark. I like them both.
I love that Rua. In my experience, they look even better in person.
Peterson has so many shapes and styles to suit a variety of interests. For me, the shape of this years POY just didn’t speak to me and for that I personally hold the 9B in the the rank of the illustrious POY. While not numbered I would still like to know just how many of these were made as it seemed quite limited.
But to those who acquired the POY, may you enjoy it in good health!
I kind of felt that way about the 2020 POTY – the original 9BC was so perfect IMO that I couldn’t get into the POTY attempt; however, that was the first (right?) of the historical POTY designs, so I’m grateful for it. So, for the 2020 POTY, mine is the ‘Pipe Smokers of Ireland’ POTY – a XL13 (Baker Street) shape. But, this year’s POTY is incredible – much nicer in hand than in photos, so you owe it to yourself to buy one just to see :). They hold their value, so you can always get rid of it… Read more »