IMPORTANT CORRECTION:
I misread Andy Wike’s information about
the POY2024 drop.
It is NOT Monday the 12th.
It IS
Tuesday, August 20th, 6pm EDT.
Sorry, everyone.
SPECIAL BULLETIN: The latest issue in the Charles Peterson Collection, the Sherlock Holmes Barley edition, will drop tomorrow only at Smokingpipes.com. From Andy Wike at SPC:
“It’ll be available only at Smokingpipes, but it’s essentially a selection of popular Sherlock shapes in the Barley finish and it is a Charles Peterson ‘CP’ collection release. They’re all natural sandblasts and feature sterling silver bands — really nice pieces overall.
These will hit Smokingpipes around 1:00pm EST on Friday, August 9th.”
Mark: As it turned out (1:17CST), all 14 shapes of the Original and Return SH collections were featured, which was amazing. If you’re unfamiliar with the Charles Peterson Collection, you can review the six releases that have been made so far–the last way back in June, 2023–at Post #315. To me, these represent, as the name “Charles Peterson Collection” suggests, some of the finest examples of K&P’s work.
As for numbers, Josh told me around 70-75, but whether that’s the total for SPC and SPEu, I can’t say. It looked like about 50-55 came up at SPC, and this morning several hours after the SPEu drop, there were enough there to make me think maybe 20-25 were over there.
This has turned out to be one of my favorite CP releases, for sure.
Joy to all those wanted and acquired a Barley SH!
WATSON
SQUIRE
RATHBONE
ORIGINAL
MYCROFT
HUDSON
BAKER STREET
BASKERVILLE
DEERSTALKER
MILVERTON
HANSOM
MILVERTON
LESTRADE
MORIARITY [aka PROFESSOR]
Thanks to Andy Wike at SPC, to SPC.Eu,
and to Eric Polkinghorne @ SPC, who went the extra mile!
The Electronic Strutcard
Hmmm…If I only knew when he POTY was going to drop. I’d hate to spend cash on one of these and then not have the funds for the new POTY.
Nate: POTY will drop Monday. More news on Sunday.
Have fun at the Pete Geek get-together at the NASPC Show this weekend, guys and gals! Will miss it for the first time in many years.
Excuse me if the question is beyond obvious but, these pipes come with ebonite stems as usual, don’t they? I’d like for once that the SH line would come in acrylic.
I second this motion
No, still in ebonite, I’m afraid.
Why do they do this? So close to the POY release. Need time for the wallet to recoup!
Same here. I’m now going with the barley SH but had originally planned to go for a POTY.
Someone anonymous asked me to post this: “This is what giving plasma to multiple donation centers in adjacent counties is all about. You may need a designated driver to find your way home, but the money really piles up when you’re homeless (like me) and need a POTY and a Barley.” [Name Withheld]
Very nice, but I have a question : why (with very rare exceptions) Peterson never make
SYSTEM Sherlock Holmes pipes?
Because they hate us?
:-))))
The Watson and Baskerville and possible a few others can be made into a system, no? I drilled out my original release Watson as per Mark’s instructions in a previous post.
Love the look of the pipes. Always wanted a squire. Hmmmm
So I have to pull over on the side of the highway on my way to the NASPC to get one of these?
And do we know how many there will be and if they’ll be numbered?
Not numbered. 71 I think is what I was told. And no, don’t pull over, at least until I’ve ordered. Maybe 5 or 6 pm? 😜
Why do Smokingpipes bring these out back to back with POTY? There is nothing for months, then they tend to release them close together. They are not taking into account those that do not have unlimited funds to purchase these pipes. Why can they not be spread evenly over time? This happens a lot with the Peterson brand, too much in my opinion.
Well there goes my money for the Columbus pipe show. 😫
It could be that Stephen Mowby from SPC will bring a few Barley SH pipes. Maybe. Then again …
It doesn’t matter… A natural finish bulldog… I couldn’t help myself. I snagged a Hudson!
I felt the exact same way regarding the natural finish bulldog and grabbed a Baker Street!
Beautiful pipes!! Unfortunately I have to hold off on favor of the POTY. It would be stellar if those drop Monday. My birthday!!
Robert: yes, the drop is Monday. More intel in Sunday’s post. And an early Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday.
👍🏼 a VERY happy birthday to you!
IMPORTANT CORRECTION:
IMPORTANT CORRECTION: I misread Andy Wike’s information about the POY2024 drop. It is NOT Monday the 12th. It IS Tuesday, August 20th, 6pm EDT. Sorry, everyone.
0100 EST, I presume?
SPE dropped some and I snagged a Rathbone and Original for a friend who passed on them. Let me know if you want them before the end of the day as I’ll cancel the order if no one wants them.
timebomb1251 at gmail
Oh man These Special Edition ist too tight together . POTY is coming soon Pipe Money is also tight.😢
SmokingPipes Europe has several of these on site now for anyone interested…
They dropped 05:30 8/9/24. Six left as of 12:45 EST.
Thank you for the heads up, Mark! I chose one of the 65 that appeared on the site at 10am PDT. Nice blast, natural finish, not inexpensive but not out of line for the quality.
As with all of the Barley releases, the blasts just aren’t so great. I get that it’s a super-limited release, but for $190 I need some grain.
I agree about the sandblast quality. These are offered at PSB prices with standard black sandblast grain quality. There can be some really good ones if you pick through them—similar to the standard black sandblast line.
Perhaps the black sandblasts (including PSB) have more dark colored defects hidden by the black color that we aren’t aware of that can’t be considered for the natural color finish, though.
I am probably a minority voice here, but comparing the blasts on all the Barley editions that have appeared, this seems to be the “designated grit” or whatever we want to call the style of it. Obviously not PSB, not Supreme. Very close to the POY blast, and maybe it’s the exact same, but disguised a bit by one being black and one tan. After so many years of wrestling with the internet and the slot machine to score a Natural or Supreme, and watching both of those finishes as they are smoked and develop their patinas, I’m getting to… Read more »
Good to know that the Barleys don’t darken with patina! I haven’t smoked one long enough and thought they would darken with time. I’m a big fan of the PSB, and I personally only like blasts that show clear ring grain (and Peterson also seems to regard this as the ideal blast since it’s all you see in their PSB). I am glad that others appreciate the blasts with birdseye so that there’s something for everyone! (On the flip side, birdseye grain is by far my favorite for smooths). I completely agree about there always being another pipe along the… Read more »
Hmm, I’m confused🤔. My first run barley spigot is definitely getting a patina, and I have not smoked it much. It’s not getting dirty from handling, but definitely a patina. I did polish the outside with my wax mixture before ever smoking it so it would repel grime.
Professor, I asked Sykes Wilford. He says, “On darkening, it’ll happen more slowly on Barley than on a Supreme because the Barleys are sealed (clear) and the Supremes are not. Barleys will definitely darken, but it won’t look the same as it does on a Supreme and will likely take longer. Different briar will darken differently though (both in terms of speed of coloring and how even it is), so maybe your specific Barley pipe is just coloring extra slowly?” Great question, John.
I live in an old wooden house, I have noticed how wood darkens with age. I own forest land and nurture trees that will someday be valued for their woodgrain (as well as their storage of carbon). I love the fancy-grain and contrast smooth finishes, when there is something to show off (so I buy mostly estate pipes). I am an optimist, too, so I just bought another of these “barley” finished pipes beause I like the way it looks today. I dislike obscuring interesting grain with black paint, so I generally skip over the PSB category when scanning Peterson’s… Read more »
My thoughts exactly👍🏻
Well…..until the black paint wears off.
I stared at each of the four Rathbones that were available when I started looking, then went back and forth until three were gone. The Milverton seemed to have the best blasts, but I decided to wait for the POTY. As you say, the Barley has a consistent look in its briar, so if you like it you can always look forward to the drops.
I was looking at the Rathbones (I don’t have a Pete in that shape), but the grain/blasts were uninspiring, so I moved to the next SH I don’t have, the Hansom shape…The Hansom pipes I saw (3 or 4?) were a bit better. I thought the Hansom shape added more interesting “lines” when combined with the diamond shank, bead lines, crown/rim. The Rathbones just looked plain. Rathbones need some nice grain that can be seen/complimented by the finish, either straight/flame/cross grained smooth or a ring grain contrast blast in the Rua or Iora finish. I did pop for a handsome… Read more »