So tonight's the night I show off a new pipe, and another priceless possession of mine. Referencing the pic below: The pipe was a throw-in for some other purchases I was making on Amazon a while back. I finally picked up a Dagner Poker corncob pipe, and this thing popped up as a suggested item. A pipe is WAY easier to set down if you have something to do, and pick back up to finish off later, vs a cigar. It's one of the things I really like about smoking a pipe, but sometimes, I don't want to go through the effort of loading a full-sized pipe, knowing that I might be setting it down unfinished. I've always wanted to grab a small pipe to try out, but for some reason, they're not as easy to find, or if it's got a small enough bowl that I was looking for, it was expensive, for some reason. For reference, a typical meerschaum was slightly bigger than my target size.
This thing was $8, so even if it sucked, I wouldn't have felt bad throwing it away after the initial try. While it's not a high quality pipe, I was never expecting it to be, for that ridiculously low price. Some of the reviews of that version of the pipe make me wonder if I would recognize those people if they were walking down the street. I think the helmet and fistful of crayons they'd be eating would be a giveaway, but you just never know if someone like that is operating a vehicle next to you.... Anyway, I figured if it worked out, it would be a nice 15-minute smoker, and a nice add for traveling.
That little pipe is quite a gem. It's about the diameter of a quarter, and the height is 1 1/4", so it's really not going to hold much at all - just enough for a "cigarette break" smoke, so exactly what I was hoping for. There's absolutely nothing from a workmanship standpoint that's wrong with mine, but if I had problems like others in the reviews were whinging about, it's so small, and so cheap, I would be embarrassed to admit I didn't try to pull out my tools and fix it myself. Those reviewers don't seem to operate in such a fashion. If the stem doesn't stay seated, I have drill bits to ream out the hole a bit deeper, but I like the fact that it breaks down VERY easily, to stow away for traveling. The inside of mine showed clear machining marks, so I rolled up some 320 grit sandpaper and smoothed the bowl walls down (and maybe turned it into a 17 minute smoker LOL). The only drawback for me is that it's a straight stem instead of a bent, like I typically prefer, but it's so small/light that I can easily smoke it with the bowl higher than the stem, so gurgle was nonexistent. It's the perfect quick-smoking pipe. It seemed to feel a touch hotter than I'd like, so there's a concern that the bowl may crack, or burn through, but at $8, I'll buy 7 of those before I approach the cost of the "cheap" one I was looking at before finding this one.
As for that priceless possession I mentioned - my dad never smoked a day in his life. There are two memento's from his service time that I wanted after he passed, and those were the lighter below, and his service weapon. I never got his service weapon, for reasons I'll never understand, as he's not here to explain, but the more I've looked into it, and in doing some investigating, and finding/talking with some of the guys he served with, I've got a really good idea why he got rid of it. I still have his duty belt, all the magazines, holster, and everything BUT the gun, so I may someday get a replica to be able to complete the set, and make a nice display piece out of it.
The lighter is special to me for more reasons than I care to recount, but the biggest reason is that it gave me a starting point to try to track down his service, what he did, where he was, and what he might have gone through to change him into the man I knew as my dad. From all accounts, war definitely changed the man. He would never talk to me about why he had the lighter, and told me on more than one occasion that he couldn't give it to me, but that he would make sure it would pass to me on his death. Thankfully, that came to pass, and I had the honor of being the first person to ever fill it, as well as put it to use. After I inherited my wife's grandfather's pipe collection, and decided to take on the challenge of keeping them in use, I decided to swap out the insert of my dad's lighter with a pipe insert, and keep it as a dedicated pipe lighter so I have an inherited smoking collection. Each time I have a pipe, I get to enjoy some time and remember the man or men who passed a bit of themselves on to me, and it makes the experience that much more enjoyable to me.
From what I've learned, it appears I'm lucky my dad made it back, given his "job" there, and really puts the inscription on the back side into perspective for me. According to the info about my dad on that lighter, and the absolute gift of the internet and those who would share info from the past, I believe it's almost a certainty my dad was involved in some of the battles you've seen in at least one particular movie. I hadn't seen it in the past, and I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch it just yet. Some stuff, I've had to ease myself into learning about him, but the time is coming soon. I've learned enough to truly appreciate the sentiment engraved on the lighter, and it's one of only a few pieces I own that I won't share with others while we're smoking - I always have a shareable lighter for others, but that one is mine alone.
If you're interested, see if or when the traveling monument might be in your area. I got a chance to visit the original when my family traveled to D.C. to visit with a friend of my wife's who was back stateside. My dad was still alive then, but talking about it was the last thing he ever wanted to do. Now that he's gone, and I've gotten a chance to learn a little more history, I'll be visiting the traveling version when it comes to my area.
Here's the 2024 schedule 2024 The Wall That Heals Tour Schedule - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund If you know someone who may want to go, or if you have someone who hasn't been able to visit The Wall in D.C., maybe it's something to consider looking into this year.
If you've read this far, thanks. Every once in a while, there's a need to open up a bit, and I appreciate all of you guys, and especially the forum, for a place to do so. Hope you guys like the funny little pipe, and my pride and joy lighter. In case the upload gets boogered up and it's not readable, the inscription is "I'm sure to go to heaven, because I spent my time in hell". Enjoy.
www.cigarpage.com
