Two new releases from K&P to celebrate this week: the reappearance of the Emerald Rusticated P-Lip and a small release of the first-ever Silver Cap Deluxe Systems.
The Emerald Rusticated P-Lip is an exciting departure from the usual K&P lines of the past few years—a new Classic Range issue with a P-Lip mouthpiece that’s also vulcanite.
When I first looked at the samples I had one of those Deja vu moments, transporting me back to the late 1980s when the Emerald line first appeared. The reissue has taken the great elements of the original and brought them back for us: a masculine brownish black-over-burgundy rustication, vulcanite P-Lip, hot foil gold P (haven’t seen a hot foil P on any new Pete in a while) and the brass and emerald acrylic sandwich band. Even the Peterson’s over Emerald bowl stamp is the same!
106 (the long round stummel makes it almost a natural for a liverpool or lovat)
The rustication is the same we’ve seen recently but brought down a few “sizes,” helping to maintain the integrity of the shapes without sacrificing the tactility of the surfaces.
The gold hot foil P is great to see after so long an absence. It unites the design aesthetic, bringing together black stem and brass sandwich band and for me signals a certain pride: this is a PETERSON pipe, that stems without it lack.
No tearaway was visible in the bowl airway samples. Look at the chamfering of the mortise (which is like this on all the samples): I know this has been around for a while as I remember it on the SH Christmas 2021 pipes, but does anyone know how far back it goes? And what the purpose is? Each of the samples I looked at is chamfered this way. Nice.
Apart from not being sanded, take a look at the “reverse” chamfer on the tenon. Now I have seen this type of work on K&P tenons for decades. In fact, some of my finest F/T Petes have this type of tenon.
I am also really excited about the P-Lips on these pipes. If anyone at K&P reads this, perhaps they comment and let us know if they’re new. Whether they’ve trickled down from the Deluxe Classics shapes or are newly issued, they’re fantastic, giving me that weird sense of time-warping back to the 1980s. The stems on the 05 and X221 in the Laudisi photo near the top look like what we’ve been seeing for a long time now, lacking a flat clenching shelf and without defined upper and lower walls on the P-Lip. Not so with these samples. Above is the 03. Here’s the others:
The stamps are clustered just as we have come to expect them. I include this photo because I want you to notice the Peterson’s over Emerald is the same stamp used on the original issue (see photo further below).
150 (Note the wider jade center in the straight 150 and 106, which has some light brown in it. My bet is that these are from the original Emerald and Jade releases, as Pete Geeks complained at the time that the emerald “turned brown”! No, it was that way from the beginning. It’s also a lighter, more “jade” shade of green than the new, narrower acrylic sandwich middle.)
Long-time Pete Geeks know this isn’t the Emerald line was seen as recently as the 2010 Black catalog. It first appeared in the ephemera in 1988’s Hollco-Rohr catalog with some other fascinating lines:
An incredible page from the 1988 Hollco-Rohr catalog: look at the Galway with its briar sandwich stem, the never-seen Royal Irish with its briar and brass sandwich ring, and the original Pebble Grain Emerald.
The 1992 Handmade brochure shows the brief-lived appearance of the Emerald in a smooth finish as well:
The first Black catalog from 1997 reverts back to a rustic-only finish which it describes as a black-over-red:
The 450 (top right column)–a “Bing” in the 1997 catalog! And there’s the little 608 pot as well!
Notice that the first issue in 1988—at least as photographed—is definitely Pebble Grain rustication. The 1992 and 1997 illustrations are something later and look similar to each other, although the photos are so small in the ’97 that it’s hard to say, really.
XL02 Emerald (this rustication style is what I think we’re seeing in the Handmade Brochure and 1997 catalog)
While there is no ephemera documenting the appearance of the Jade line, it seems to have appeared slightly before the Emerald. The two lines share the stamp bands, rustication and stain, in fact. The Pebble Rustic treatment on the Jade also argues that it came before the Emerald.
The Emerald in a 9mm version is already available at one online eBay. I expect it will be out early this week. Fifteen shapes are available through Laudisi, although of course there may be more in the offing:
221, 68, X221 (not really shown to scale)
15, 104, 106
THE SILVER CAP DELUXE SYSTEM SANDBLAST
The first-ever silver cap System dropped this past Thursday in an SPC-exclusive of what looks to be around 45 or so pipes. The stain is described as a “rich walnut” and it is available in six of the thirteen current Deluxe System shapes: 2s, 3s, 9s, 12.5, 20s, and 20FB (excluding the 1s, 5s, XL5s, 8S, 11FB, 11S and B42). Having lived with these for so long, I’ve often wondered what they would look like with silver caps:
As you can see, the caps definitely alter the character of the shapes, some quite a bit and some not much at all. Looking at the photos, for my part I couldn’t decide whether I liked the stain color or not. I didn’t receive any samples to photograph for you in amateur lighting, which sometimes gives a little better indication than commercial photography. The blasts all look pretty decent as well. The only vulcanite space-fitting stem is the one found on the 9s.
Thanks as always to Laudisi’s Andy Wike!
ANDY OLCOTT, CPG
Back when we did our IPSD challenge for the CPG, Andy sent me his delightful bio. Like my dog Cozy’s tennis balls, it rolled into a vortex and was lost. Purely by happenstance, I was emailing with Andy and he asked about it. I went in search of it, and sure enough, back in the cobwebs next to three of Cozy’s tennis balls, there it was. I share it now!
I started my pipe smoking journey back in the spring of 2013. After smoking cigars for a bit, the idea of pipes crossed my mind after I plunked down over $100 for a box of cigars. “A pipe has to be cheaper,” I thought to myself. So I started looking for information online about how to smoke a pipe. All the articles said to start with a corn cob. So next time I was at my B&M, I got myself a cob and a pouch of Captain Black Chery, since my bride thought that would smell nice. So I got home, jambed that tobacco in the bowl and puffed like crazy, thinking “WTH, This blows. It won’t stay lit, not pleasant at all…” But a pouch was less than the cost of a stick of my favorite cigar at the time. And this would last me days instead of an hour.
Knowing that it couldn’t possibly be me and my packing technique, I immediately started looking online for briar pipes, since my research had determined these to be the Holy Grail of smoking instruments. I was in awe of all the shapes, colors, styles & sizes when suddenly, there it was–this beautiful pipe with a black bulbous bowl, shiny nickel band, blood red stem with black swirls. I found the smoking instrument that would solve all my neophyte problems. To top it off, it’s called Dracula! I showed my wife this work of art with the coolest of names. Then she asks, “How much is it?” If I recall, it was in the neighborhood of $95, which immediately garnered the required wife eye roll, but she could see I was obsessing and knew where this was headed. So after a short time of her trying to convince me I didn’t need something that extravagant, she finally gave in and said “How about the kids and I buy that for Father’s Day?” The pipe was ordered in minutes.
The hours and days clicked by as I sat with my little cob being abused as I tried to figure out the pipe smoking thing. Finally, the day arrived. It’s here! But it’s days before Father’s Day…sigh. Fortunately, as my wife is unable to keep “surprises,” she tells me to go ahead and open it. I open the box to reveal another box wrapped in bubble wrap like the store owns stock in the bubble wrap company. I tear thru the wrap to reveal the outer sleeve featuring a scene from Transylvania with Dracula on it. I slide off the sleeve to read the green box emblazoned with Peterson’s on it. I open the box to find–more bubble wrap! As I tear thru the bubble wrap and open the green velvet pipe bag, I slip the work of art from the pouch and admire it. I immediately reach for my trusty pouch of CB Cherry and proceed to pack that tobacco like I was plugging a hole in a roof. I immediately began sucking on it like I’m trying to draw concrete through a straw. Turns out maybe it wasn’t the cob that was causing my problem after all.
And so began my pipe smoking journey. Having no clue who Peterson was, its history, the Patent System, nothing about the rich history of the company. Safe to say I figured out packing, cadence, tamping, and such. So after many hundreds of pipes and pounds of tobacco later (if only my wife had realized what she was starting), I still have that first briar: my Peterson Dracula 68.
CPG Pipe UpdateI was told by K&P last week that it would be several more weeks before they could begin working with me on our Peterson Pipe Notes CPG pipe. They’ve got some major things in hand at present, and while I’m sure you’re as disappointed as I am, I still hope we may have the CPG System by Christmas. Patience, all!
“A Three Pipe Problem (Ode to Peterson)”
by Malcolm Guite
Jack Gillespie, CPG, sent a note to me at week’s end to check out a YouTube video by Anglican priest Malcolm Guite. Guite is a Peterson pipe smoker as well as poet and the video is a delight!
SLAVA UKRAINI!
Молись за Україну
Pray for Ukraine
Incredibly excited about the Emerald line, but I hate that there won’t be a 107 or an XLO2. Here’s to hoping that the line is expanded.
Yes, I’m keeping my eyes on the SPEu release. Sometimes they have a shape or two that SPC doesn’t carry. A 107 Emerald with a vulcanite P-Lip? Let’s hope there’s one for both of us!! Oooo, and an XL02?? Sounds good, too.
Yes. If I’m not smoking a 150, the 107 is my next preferred shape in the catalog.
You have my sympathies for the learning curve and a good chuckle too. I got my first real pipe in 1968 for my 23rd birthday and I’m still at it as a 76 year old. I had that first pipe, a Jost Canadian fully restored and out it away for safe keeping. I bought the pipe at Jost in downtown St. Louis from the store proprietor, Harvey Raspberry. He sat me down in a corner easy vhair and showed me how to load, light and enjoy smoking one of their proprietary blends…English as I recall for my first taste of… Read more »
I enjoyed hearing of your own story as well, Paul. Now I’m out looking for Jost canadians.
This pipes on the Hollco-Rohr page looking all amazing.
The grain is what kills me, Martin. All I ever hear from Peterson is “there’s no briar, there’s no briar.” I guess it all dried up in the late 1980s, if these pipe photos are to be believed. Just incredible.
Good morning. I have a Emerald rustic xl 264, a big one. From the 90ties I think.
I doubt that I ever come to smoke it. These days I am only able to smoke smaller
bowls, 338 & 8s.
I was at my local b&m last week and the ups man showed up with a couple of boxes while I was there. Knowing my affection for system pipes, the owner opened them and pulled out a silver cap deluxe in a 12.5 (my favorite shape is the 317). The stain color on this particular pipe was much lighter than the stock photos above. I didn’t buy it, but it’s been haunting me ever since, so there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be back for it soon. It really was a beautiful pipe. Happy Sunday to all.
“The Haunted Pipe.” Sounds like a good story, Brandon. Hope it turns out well for you!
I am very pleased to read about a new Emerald line. I do not have an Emerald pipe in my collection and have been wanting to add one for quite some time. More likely than not I’ll pick up an Emerald 150 if available.
As for the silver capped deluxes… I’ve got a birthday coming a few days after Father’s day. Maybe I’ll start dropping some hints.
Great article, as always, Mark! I had an emerald from way back (a buddy was moving and gave me all of his pipes with an Emerald (of maybe Jade) was among them) but I didn’t really get on with it so I gifted it to another friend who had never had a Peterson before. And now that’s all he wants to smoke! Another CPG in the making, friends. I’m not really into the silver caps. I mean, I want to like them but… I just think they’re “meh”. To each their own, I suppose. What a great story, Andy! Thanks… Read more »
Well, as is probably known by some, rusticated pipes excite me none. I’ve never been a fan of the Emerald Series either, even the smooth ones. I am a Sterling Silver type, it seems I am “ruled by the moon” as my Zodiac sign suggests, not that I put any stock in that stuff. The Silver Cap PSB’s are just “meh” to me, at least in these photos, the stain/finish is just not “doing it” for me. It looks like a Tootsie Roll, and guess what they look like. The sandblasts looked pretty good on the ones that hit the… Read more »
I too have been wanting to add an Emerald to my rotation. I believe the time has come. Thanks Mark