356 Revival

  Some fun this morning! First, a celebration of the awesome new small batch 356 Revival.  Then,  Ken Sigel has a Pete Geek Challenge for us, with an Ephemera Prize for the winner. . . so on with the show-- Cheyen Lloyd CPG added this beautiful smooth 356 Revival to his rotation. The 356 Revival dropped at SPC Thursday, 7/30 and at SPEu on Friday, 7/31. Andy Wike at SPC told me 150 pipes were sent to SPC, and Federica Bruno at SPEu said they received 50 for a total of 200 pipes.  It’s the latest release, incidentally, in the Charles Peterson Collection. My friend Josh Sherif, The Peterson Piper, sent out a great post on YouTube the day of the release, which is a great introduction to today’s celebration: https://youtu.be/n9qu0rZ6UrE?si=3zm22o2gh0Gr88nk Before we get going, remember PPN is an educational blog, not a commercial venue. PPN’s neither a business nor a brand and has no customers. I say this to remind you that there’s a commercial reason Peterson marketed this new pipe as the “356 Revival,” viz., there’s not too many people who want to know the long and fascinating backstory behind the new pipe. Most folks, I’m sure, are content to go with “hey, this is a reincarnation of an old Patent shape,” but it’s actually more fun and more complex than that, and if you love the System, I hope you got one or will think about getting one as there’s still some blasts and rusticated examples on offer. WHY “356”? Let’s begin at the end and go backward. The Premier 356 Revival uses the exact same stummel (the bowl + shank piece of briar) that was used on the POY 2025 02BB: This type of thing has been standard practice with K&P since 1890, but you’ve got to keep your eyes open to see it.The 356 Revival is is actually a new System shape. Not a new number but a System that’s never been made in this shape (with this stummel) before. So how can this be a “356 Revival” I hear you ask. Simple. It is through its pedigree, which can be traced as follows: Shape 356 is first seen in the 1937 K&P catalog and shortly afterwards in the 1939 Rogers Imports Catalog. Recall the “300” shape group has always been for Standard and Premier grades: Notice there’s a 306 (2nd grade / sterling mount) as well as a 356 (3rd grade / nickel mount). A 356 IFS   Time for another cup of coffee . . . Now, as you know if you’ve read the “Deep Dive” into the 02BB POY, the 356 in its first-grade iteration as a De-Luxe, goes back to the Patent System shape 02:   In the 1940s the 02 went on a diet or got into shape (whichever metaphor you like best) and the back of the shank was shaved off. Same bowl height, same chamber geometry. But now a svelte 02 and 02BB which would return in 2025…