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 THE DROPS
Smokingpipes.com:  Monday, December 15 (6:00pm ET)
Smokingpipes Europe: Monday, December 15 (Dublin, 10am / GMT+0)
(Per Federica Bruno: “There will be a small selection of 9mm available on SPE.”)

 At long last, they’re here: the 160^th Anniversary Pat B (Bent) and Pat OB (Straight). This is a project that in a sense has been in the making since the Laudisi era of Kapp & Peterson’s history began in 2018.  I don’t know how long the start-to-finish of the actual work, but I suspect more than a year, as I received this R&D photo back in February, which had to be several months after planning:

R&D of the Cased Set

My purpose this morning is more celebratory than anything else, but I do want to document the finishes, talk about the name, and look at aspects of their smoking properties. But let’s begin with a look at finishes that are scheduled for release:

FINISHES

The 160^th  Peterson Anniversary pipes will be sold separately in a series of 2400 numbered pipes for each shapes and include the following finishes: For the 160th Anniversary pipes, per Andy Wike, Smokingpipes will have the following:

• Rusticated
• Heritage
• Dark Smooth
• Sandblast
• Terracotta
• Rua
• Natural
• Barley

Rusticated

Heritage

Dark Smooth

Sandblast

Terracotta

Rua – Natural – Barley. I’ve been told there will be separates of these three finishes as well, but don’t have any photos to show you.

The 25^th Smokingpipes Anniversary will be sold as a cased set with matching numbers in a series of 75. Per Glen Whelan & Andy Wike, the 75 numbered sets will feature the following configurations, available only at SPC:

• Natural
• Natural Cap
• Supreme Smooth
• Supreme Sandblast
• Rua
• Rua Cap
• PSB
• PSB Cap
• Terracotta Cap

I’m really pleased to be able to show you this rarity–actually 1/75, a Supreme set. I don’t normally see these, but thought it would be great to show them. This set is also pictured in the banner.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Reviewing the shape index in The Historic 1906 Catalog, I see there are only eight named shapes in the entire catalog, all of them found in the “Peterson’s Patent Lip Pipes” or section, which begins on page 58.  It doesn’t entirely satisfy me that the name of the bent and straight Pat is simply a clipping for “Patent.” Why this shape and not one of the other named or numbered shapes?  But if not patent, then what does it mean?

The word pat has enough meanings to make me slightly dizzy:

• There’s that lump of something that might be butter that’s ice cold and never melts on the room temperature roll you get at the restaurant.
• There’s the light taps on the forearm or shoulder you give a friend who’s just missed out on the 160^th Anniversary pipe while you say, “Tut, tut, old man! There’s always another pipe.”
• There’s the old informal and sometimes derogatory term for an Irishman, always used in Pat and Mike jokes, like this one:

Pat and Mike work at the Guinness Brewery, and one day there’s an accident. Pat calls Mike’s wife, Mary, and says, “Sure, and I hate to be tellin ya this, but there’s been an accident down at the Guinness.”
“Saints preserve us,” says she, “is Mike alright?”
Pat responds, “I’d like to tell ya that, but it’d be a lie!”
“Ya don’t mean that me Mike’s been hurt?” says Mary.
“Sure, an it’s worse than that,” says Pat, “he’s fallen inta the beer vat and drowned!”
“Oh, well” says Mary, “At least it was quick. Ya know he couldn’t swim a lick!”
“Oh, I wish I could be tellin ya that,” says Pat, “but it’s be a lie. He got out three times ta pee!”

• There’s one that may just be possible, when “pat” is used to indicate something that exactly right or apt, as in “Paddy Larrigan had it down pat—he could turn a P-Lip button with one arm and his eyes closed.” I can someone of Charles Peterson’s whimsy, someone who could name a button a “NAP,” calling a pipe shape a “Pat.”

In case you’re new to the blog or Peterson, this means that the 160^th Anniversary Pipes, like the originals, aren’t Systems.  They’re something else, something that should always be remembered about the marque: there’s always been a System range and there’s always been a non-System range (which I believe is still called the “Classic Range” (not “Classic Line,” since line indicates a specific group of similarly stained and finished pipes).

SMOKING PROPERTIES

Size Matters.  It’s always good to be thinking about whether a particular pipe will fit your routine in terms of its size, shape, and chamber geometry. Some pipemen need a pipe that’s at least six inches in front of their face. Some want a pipe that can be used as an EDC accessory.  Some won’t smoke anything with a chamber that’s wider than 21 mm. So, let’s begin with size.  I did these measurements myself with a micrometer after seeing some online that were really off.  Bear in mind there will be very small variations due to sanding.

Approximate Measurements & Other Details

PAT B (Bent)
Length: 5.0 in. | 127 mm
Weight: 2.2 oz. | 63 gr
Bowl Height: 1.9 in. | 48 mm
Chamber Depth: 1.4 in. | 36 mm
Chamber Diameter: 0.78 in | 20 mm
Outside Diameter: 1.6 in. | 40 mm
Stem: Glorious P-Lip Vulcanite
Filter 9mm available through SPE
Shape: 1906 Pat Bent B Homage (1906 catalog, p. 75)
Era: Laudisi (2018 – )

PAT OB (Straight)
Length: 5.5 in. | 130 mm
Weight: 2.0 oz. | 57 g
Bowl Height: 1.8 in. | 45 mm
Chamber Depth: 1.35 in. | 34 mm
Chamber Diameter: 0.8 in. | 20 mm
Outside Diameter: 1.6 in. | 40 mm
Stem: Glorious P-Lip Vulcanite
Filter: 9mm available through SPE
Shape: 1906 Pat OB Homage (1906 catalog, p. 75)
Era: Laudisi (2018 – )

I have a long-held theory that a pipe and a smoker become companions, true companions, only when they form a successful friendship through tobacco. That is, a specific pipe and a specific smoker bond closest when there’s a specific tobacco type or blend that brings out a satisfying partnership.  This isn’t something new. There’s ample anecdotal evidence to support the theory that certain tobaccos perform better in certain bowl geometries: many burley and english tobaccos, for example, perform best in wider chambers with shallower bowls. Virginias seem to thrive in narrower, taller chambers.

If you smoke more than one Peterson with the same shape you’ll know what I mean.  James Walsh’s favorite is the 01 / 301.  Mine is the 4 / 309 and the 9 / 307.  These always work well for me with my favorite tobaccos. But I’ll take it one step further: I’ll say that sometimes a specific pipe really excels with a specific blend.

I went all out for this post, totally sacrificed myself and acquired the Rustic 160^th sample that Laudisi sent me to photograph and examine—something in truth I rarely do—because this is a new shape for me. I decided to try the four main types of tobaccos: virginia (I used a McClelland’s), burley (Lane’s Edgeworth Slices), english (Seattle Pipe Club’s Plum Pudding) and a classic aromatic (Gawith’s Ennerdale Slices).  The first three were satisfactory.  I didn’t get the nuances of the McClelland’s  that I usually enjoy, and the Edgeworth was flat.  The Seattle was good. But the Ennerdale—Eureka. This is an Ennerdale pipe—for me. Of course, my experience isn’t yours, but the principle remains valid, I think, that just because one type of tobacco or one blend doesn’t work for you and a pipe, there may be another one that creates a life-long friendship.

DESIGN LANGUAGE

 1906 and 2025.  Let’s begin with the elephant in the room, viz., the “1906 and 2025” reality that deserves notice, if only to put a pin in the balloon of all the snarking one inevitably reads about any kind of Peterson historical commemorative. One appropriate response goes like this, and feel free to copy and paste it into any forum where the snark raises his head:

“You want to talk about the 160^th Anniversary Pipes from Peterson? Oh, sure.  They’re wonderful and they’re a classic example of ‘that, that is.’  ‘That, that is’ is a core insight among Pipe Smoakers and points to impermanence (Anicca) and dependent origination (Pratītyasamutpāda), viz., that things arise, exist (as they are), and pass away moment-to-moment as you smoak your pipe, thus revealing reality’s fluid, interconnected nature. Pipe smoaking is philosophically about reality as it presents itself in this moment. The creation of the 160^th Anniversary commemorative pipes can be understood as a concrete elaboration of this insight, celebrating the 1906 original shapes in the recreation of the 2025 commemoratives and then re-creating that understanding in every bowl subsequently smoked. Any questions?”

More concretely, the only way to smoke a Patent era Pat (one made between 1891 and 1911) is to add one to your rotation.  Lance Dahl CPG has done just that and looking at his examples helps us better appreciate and understand the new ones:

Pat O Bent B

Pat O Bent AB

Except that Lance’s Pat O Bent AB has the 1891 Patent button, it appears to be proportionally identical to the Pat B.  And this is perhaps the time to bring in that confusing “O.”  I had thought originally this might mean “O” for “Oval,” since there are several oval shaped bowls in the 1906 catalog.  But if you stare long and hard enough at the letterpress halftones, you begin to see that the “O” is for “Oversized” (as used at the beginning of the catalog for the House Pipes):

Cased Pats, 1906 Catalog

It’s confusing to me that the 160^th Anniversary pipes are called the Pat B (Bent) and Pat OB (Straight).  I can see the Oversize in the straight pipe. But to me the 160^th Pat-Be-Bent also looks much more like the 1906 Pat O Bent B than the 1906 Pat B Bent. Both the 160^th pipes look O-for-Oversized is what I’m trying to say.

Pat B

Pat OB

In the two photos above, the top one seems to me to be the Pat B and the bottom one the Pat OB. The viewing angle could be deceiving me, but the lower pipe (labeled OB) seems to have a shorter distance from the top of the shank to the top of the rim than the  top one (labeled B). The bottom one also seems closer in its proportions to the 2025 homage.

The design language of the 160^th Anniversary pipes—in my opinion—surpasses the originals. This isn’t an asspat (another “pat” word meaning “undeserved approval”).

Consider: The 2025 set is built quite recognizably on the 1906 pipes: length, bowl height, bowl cant, overall geometry, blending the considerable variety evident in the Pat O and Pat OBs seen in the 1906 catalog into two master shapes.

Consider: Looking at Lance’s pipes and the 1906 catalog images, you’ll also see that there’s a deeper, better understanding of the lines traveling from shank to button: a just-noticeable swell of the Pat OB, which begins to taper right at the juncture between sterling band and stem, and a whimsical Golden Spiral spinning from the widest part of the shank at the bottom of the Pat B as it tapers into that wisp at the button.

Consider: The 2025 set then takes into account the history of Kapp & Peterson since 1906, seen most iconically in the pumped-up muscle that has characterized house style since the late 1930s.

ENGINEERING

Button. This is an unusual button, created by the astounding stoutness of the Pat B and Pat OB stems. The Pat OB (the bent) in particular looks to offer some challenges for smoking.

First, of course, it’s extremely crisp with good upper and lower walls, as you can see in both the bent and straight pipes.

Second, there’s a slight variation in the width and the height of each button, measured side-to-side (width) and just in front of the clenching shelf (height):

Pat B (Bent): 6.9mm H x 17mm W;

Pat OB (Straight): 6.3mm H x 17.8mm W.

What does this mean for clenching (hands-free smoking) and cradling (holding the pipe in the palm of the hand)? I can only give you my own experience, of course. There is no gag reflex for me, like that I used to experience on the rounded vulcanite P-Lip 309 stems of the late 1990s, which necessitates a completely “cradled” smoke. This is because each button is both wide and plump, making them comfortable and even pleasant once you settle the clenching shelf behind the teeth.

While the buttons are plump, it’s still easy to engage in MuttnChop Piper’s Breath Method smoking, which requires that the lips be sealed around the button most of the time.

I didn’t have any trouble clenching either the bent or the straight.  The straight is actually a bit easier because there’s no bend and it’s just a bit shorter and wider, but both are pleasant.

The other thing that makes these pipes easy to clench is that while they’re about average in weight, they’re shorter than many pipes, creating less felt weight (you can calculate the moment arm for yourself and compare it to one of your longer-shanked Petes–the math review will do you good, and remember, children [as Gigi, the former math teacher always says,] “we use math every day”).

Airway and Airflow. There’s a generous chamfer on the stem’s tenon which accompanies the P-Lip button, and with Giacomo Penzo at the helm you can rest assured there is very little turbulence and no moisture or gurgle at all. I’ve only smoked these pipes about half a dozen times, but they have yet to accumulate any drops of moisture in the floor of the mortise.

 Draft hole drilling Pat B (left) and Pat OB (right)

For the Pat B (bent) seen above on the left, the draft was drilled top and center in all three pipes I examined.  For the Pat OB (straight) on all three, it was dead center. I have little understanding of pipe engineering beyond the facts I’ve gleaned regarding the System and some airflow turbulence basics. That being the case, I wondered why the Pat B’s draft hole was high and center, instead of dead center. I asked John Burgess about it, who reached out to Giacomo Penzo, Peterson’s Pipe Specialist, for an explanation.

Drilling angle on the Pat B (my approximation)

Giacomo: The reason is technical.  You doubtless realize that on a bent pipe drilling has to follow a different angle than the shank to arrive at the bottom of the chamber.

Mark:  Umm… right! Of course I do. Hehe.

Giacomo: Because the drilling has to follow a different angle than the shank to arrive at the bottom of the chamber, the initial draft hole starts much lower than center, allowing the right amount of material to be retained on the neck. This maintains structural integrity as well as avoids creating a small gap at the bottom of the tenon drilling.  [The tenon drilling will follow the draft hole drilling in a second operation].

The stem is very thick and bending it was a challenge, so to avoid deformation of the tenon during bending, we opted for the drilling angle you see [exiting the mortise into the chamber].

A little trick

I’ll give you a little trick, if you bend up the bit of the pipe cleaner before you fit it into the pipe , then you have a good chance it will go all the way through into the chamber.

Mark: Thanks.

Whether you decide to companion one of the 160^th Anniversary pipes or not, remember that the Thinking Man is a human being, not a human having.

CONGRATULATIONS
to everyone at Kapp & Peterson and Laudisi Enterprises
who had a part in the 160^th Anniversary Pipes

Many thanks to
to Sykes Wilford,
Josh Burgess,
Glen Whelan,
Andy Wike,
Giacomo Penzo,
Josh Burgess,
Kaz Walters,
Alan Britt,
& Lance Dahl
for their outstanding help
in putting together the 160th Annversary Triptych posts.

And to end, a beautiful Pete System from Tim Lomprey CPG.  I’ve seen a number of Huber Celebration pipes over the years, but never of this size. It’s from the Late Republic era with a 1987 hallmark and using the House Pipe bowl:

It always astonishes me that briar with grain this good was available in sufficient quantities to produce a small batch like this.