Sunday Afternoon pipe work

I did a long-overdue pipe cleaning today. I didn't clean every pipe that needed it, but I did clean up four pipes that were badly in need of a cleaning and reaming: the Wellington, the Kaywoodie author, the Velani Dublin and the Velani octagon. These four pipes have been getting most of the work lately, and the Wellington especially needed a good cleaning because the reservoir gets gunked up pretty bad. I use a q-tip soaked in Everclear to clean it out.

I did this cleaning today because yesterday my tobacco order came in: one pound each of Bayou Night and Gray Ghost, both from Cornell & Diehl. These two blends have been my favorite smokes for a long time, although they are very different. Bayou Night is a Perique blend that has a lot of Perique; Gray Ghost is a blend of Virginia and maduro cigar leaf. One thing they have in common is that they are both quite robust. I have really been missing the little "sting" in my nose from the Gray Ghost. I have just finished a bowl in the author and am about to load it up again. Yes, I sometimes smoke the same pipe twice in a row without cooling it. Some pipes are up to such use, and some are not. I have done this with several of my pipes and so far I have not caused the downfall of civilization, so I don't worry about it too much. Since the author has a screw-in stem, I just unscrew it, give it a cursory clean, and keep going.

The Wellington and the Velani Dublin have been my truck pipes for a good while now, in fact I consider the Wellington to be on permanent station in my truck since it has become sort of my "signature" pipe. I carry pipe cleaners and a little Everclear in an old pipe sweetener container in my truck so I can give them light cleanings between smokes. I brought them inside today because they both needed a good reaming. The cake was getting a little too thick; somewhere on the heavy side of a nickel's thickness, I'd say.

I also made a long-overdue update to my online tobacco cellar, and finally put a permanent link to it in the sidebar, if you care to see what I have on hand. I will try to keep it more current during the coming year, and update it at least once per month.