System Rustic Spigot

INTERNATIONAL PETERSON  [PIPE] SMOKING DAY IS ALMOST HERE IPSD is Sunday, February 20th. The theme this year is "Every Pete Has A Story." Now's the time to get your CPG (Certified Pete Geek) certificate. See the end of post # 268 for details on entering. Already got your CPG? Time to man up for your 2022 Merit Badge! Enter by Saturday, February 19th. For more details, see the end of last week’s post.   The second K&P release of 2022 happens Friday when the System Spigot Rusticated debuts. If you’ve been following Peterson for a few years, you’ll remember the System Spigot line debuted at the end of July in 2018, featuring a tapered vulcanite P-Lip and warm mahogany stain. The new Rustic Spigot features the same vulcanite P-Lip and the rustication technique of K&P craftsmen Wojciech and Jaroslaw Blaszczak that we looked at in the last post and many have been enjoying on a number of lines, including the 2021 Sherlock Holmes Christmas pipes. While the spigot pipe goes back to K&P’s 1906 catalog, those were in the “PPP” (Peterson’s Patent Pipes) line of non-Systems which would, over the next century and more, become what we call the Classic Range. Since 1979, the tapered F mount and domed beaded spigots. Left, a Classic Range XL02 Spigot. Right, a System Spigot XL02. The Classic Range spigots debuted in around 1979 in two versions which I think of as “vintage” (the beaded spigot with the domed ferrule) and the “modern” with the tapered spigot and “F” or flat ferrule). A System version, however, didn’t come along for almost another forty years. It's fascinating to see the infinite patterns of rustication. Left: SH Christmas Rathbone 2021; Middle: 305 System Rustic Spigot; Right: 314 Standard Rustic. At first I thought the new Rustic Spigot has a higher gloss than the SH Christmas, but I no longer think so. In a comparison of those with a new 314 Standard Rusticated System all three are identical in stain and finishing. The finish doesn't photograph very well in the stock photos, at least to me. In person, the pipes are darker and I think more handsome, perhaps because of the way the divots catch natural and low lighting. The divots are rugged and seem to reflect white light shone directly onto the pipe. Compare the photos here and in the banner to those in the gallery at the end of the blog for some idea of how they'll look under varying conditions. The 307 As I don’t companion one of the 2018 smooth Spigot Systems, I can’t give you an opinion on how a Spigot System compares with the standard range of Systems. As far as engineering goes, since the tenon / mortise juncture is sterling-on-sterling, I think there will be better heat transfer, making for a tighter fit than on the non-spigot System. A tight juncture is important for the System's army mount, as loss of air flow makes puffing more difficult and elevates the…