233. Peterson’s “Bing”: A Look at the Long Pastime 445
Recently my friend Brian 500s and I got into a bidding war on eBay. We didn’t know we were bidding against each other, and when the smoke cleared, Brian had won. As we talk to each other frequently about Petes we’ve seen or acquired, it wasn’t long before the Long Pastime 445 came up. After laughing about bidding against each other (we usually tell the other guy if we’re bidding on something), Brian agreed to let me not only photograph his pipe, but trusted me enough to clean it up for a glamor shot in the future Peterson book. That’s a friend. Brian’s Kapruf 445 As for the Long Pastime, K&P’s history as the world’s longest continuously operating pipe maker means that when it comes to their shape catalog they can usually say (as far as classic English-derived shapes go), “been there, done that.” In fact, as all good Pete Geeks know, K&P’s bowl designs go back very near to the beginning of briar-pipe making itself. And if that’s not far enough for you, Charles Peterson, who was in Dublin by 1875 working for Frederick Kapp, was there at the beginning of briar pipe-making history, trained as a wood-turner and experiencing the transition from meers and clays to briar first-hand. The Long Pastime and its sibling the 448 in the 1937 catalog It should be no surprise, then, that when the pipe that is known today as a “Bing” came along in the 1930s, K&P was on the scene with their version—the 445 “Long Pastime,” which made its debut in the 1937 Black & Silver catalog. It derives its name—for you Millennials—from the great singer, actor and comedian Bing Crosby, who was seen and photographed smoking long, small billiards so frequently that about a decade or so ago his name has become permanently associated with the shape. Shank stamps on the Kapruf 445 The Long Pastime is seen in the 1937, 1947 and 1955 ephemera. The 400 group includes a number of “Long Billiards” alongside it, including the almost identical 445 in the 1937 catalog, the 440, 450, and 453 in the 1947 shape chart and the 450 and 455 in the 1955 Dublin & London catalog. What differentiates the Long Pastime from the “Longs” is that while they all stretch to 6 inches, the LS hits 7 (hope you’re reading this, Linwood). 445 Long Pastime in 1955 D&L Catalog So what makes it possible—in case you’re wondering—for Bing Crosby to clench his really long-shank billiard? Short answer: its extra-small bowl and pencil-thin shank. Here’s the data for Brian’s cleaned-up pipe prefaced with a photo comparison of a recent X105 from the Deluxe Classics release: 445 Measurements & Other Details Length: 180 mm / 7.1 in Weight: .85 oz / 24 gr Bowl Height: 1.57 in / 40 mm Chamber Depth: 1.34 in / 34 mm Chamber Diameter: .71 in / 18 mm Outside Diameter: 1.11 in / 28.2 mm Stem: Vulcanite P-Lip K&P Shape Name: Long Pastime K&P Bowl…