Chisel Rustic System

  PSA LAS VEGAS INTERNATIONAL PIPE SHOW This week! Pete Geek Meet See agenda at end of post.   TIM LOMPREY AND THE JOY OF COMPANIONING PETES What with one thing and another these past few weeks have been difficult for me, so that it is with considerable relief that I can sit down this morning and without hours of work on this post in the past few days, simply enjoy Peterson pipes with you, thanks to the good offices of Tim Lomprey CPG. Tim is fairly self-effacing as Pete Geeks go, preferring to share rather than talk about himself, but as I've emailed with him there's a joy in his companioning of Peterson pipes that shines through, undeniable and infectious, and I was so glad when several months ago he made the decision to share his passion with the rest of us. All of us--and I say this because you're reading this--are (for lack of a more elegant word) pretty geeky about Petes, whether we companion a few or collect hundreds. Yet Tim also has what makes for the best Pete Geeks: a good eye for what's unusual and the master sleuth's ability to know when he's found it. That he also has the heart and lack of ego to share what's been given to him in trust is something for which I'm grateful.  Tim--blessings!   Tim with a Chisel Rustic 02 (see below).   Shannon Airport 406 Sterling. Will we ever see grain like this 406 Sterling?  Once it was an everyday thing, even on Standard Systems.  It's hard to pinpoint just when it disappeared from the Peterson output, although I know it was well after the 2002 Great Explorers Collection.  I do wish Peterson, Laudisi, or anybody on the industry side who knows, would simply be brave enough to tell us: "here's the situation, guys--it's gone and it's never coming back." Or whatever the case might be.  I'm sure its complicated, but what, exactly, are the complications? Will it ever get better? I can't help but believe that individually hobbyists--Pete Geeks--are buying more Petes per person than ever before. It seems like something could be done.  In the meantime, we'll continue to rejoice and invest in estates like this one.   1922 First Quality.   Algerian Briar Sandblast. Not everybody's cup of coffee, the Algerian Sandblast Pete is certainly one of mine.  Look closely at the undulating waves of grain created by the blast medium hitting what is so obviously the softer Algerian briar often used when this wood was available many decades ago. Word on the street has always been that Algerian briar it was also sweeter in taste than that coming from other regions. I think this is the dublin shape, but Tim can doubtless tell us.   IFS 936 Grade 3 Straight Sided Billiard. This is one of those "I wish this was still in the catalog" shapes." It's actually much smaller when you see it in person than you might suppose. This one looks like it just came…