Peterson PSB

Last week SPC unleashed two dozen pipes in the Sherlock Holmes and House Pipe ranges with a new bowl stamp: PSB. Both the outstanding blasts and the stamp are worthy of celebration by all true PFs (Pete Freeks). Bowl stamps are important indicators in determining a Peterson pipe’s date and, if the world survives a few more years, there will come a day when someone will pick up an estate Pete and say, “I wonder when this Awesome Blast was made?” The PSB stamp will tell him it couldn’t have been made any earlier than 2020. As you can see, the stamp is being placed to the right of the Peterson’s over Dublin stamp. Josh Burgess sent the following, which gives us a lot of information about the new grade, where it came from, and what pipes we might expect to see it on: After consulting with several reputable pipe makers and industry figures, we recently revamped our sandblasting process here at Peterson to follow a more artisan-like approach, enabling us to better reveal the natural patterns of each individual block of briar while maintaining a continuous flow of production.  After refining such variables as media, pressure, blasting duration, and nozzle size, we were so astonished by the results that we also began exploring a way of designating exceptional sandblasts beyond our current grading paradigm. We wanted a designation we could actually stamp on the pipes themselves to mark their status. With this in mind, we developed the new Peterson Special Blast, or PSB grade. Each sandblasted Peterson pipe is sorted in two stages. The initial grading designates a bowl for sandblasting. Once it's been sandblasted, it’s sorted again and placed with its appropriate grade. Bowls designated PSB receive their grade in this second phase. Since its inception in March, fewer than 1% of our regular production pipes have earned the designation. They are truly special pieces. While Supreme is still the highest designation for our sandblasted pipes, our PSB stamp denotes sandblasted bowls of exceptional quality and character. They tend to be craggy and deep, evocative of old-school English or modern artisan sandblasts, and are most often paired to sterling silver bands or mounts, hand-applied by our talented smiths. Given their rarity and specialness, PSB-graded sandblasts are currently exclusive to a few existing lines. While we may expand other lines to accommodate the designation, collectors and retailers will already find these exceptional sandblasts in our House Pipe, Sherlock Holmes, and Pipe of the Year series, each pipe made even more impressive by our new premium sandblasting. The PSB stamp is yet another signal to pipe collectors in general and PFs in particular that Peterson is taking stamps more seriously as part of the reason hobbyists love their pipes.  Having it appear on the best blasts in Peterson's long, long history is like getting two tins of Awesome for the price of one.  (Now if they could only find the 80 and even 80B stamp and quit putting 80S on…