Friday at the Hut - 7/3/09

Since The Tobacco Hut is closed on Saturday for the holiday, and many of us were off work today, we met a day early. The roll call included Bryan J, Joe K, Paul V, Joe D, Steve B, and myself. Lou was there of course, but not nearly as keyed up as he was last week for the anniversary party. We also had a special guest as Lou's daughter Diane surprised us with a visit and a special delivery: a Blizzard from Dairy Queen for herself and Lou. The joy and cheer we all felt when Diane walked in was dampened a little however when it became apparent that she didn't bring Blizzards for all of us.

For my second pipe in two months' time, I turned once again to the Tinder Box Reserve 1928, this time in a Bjarne billiard. It made for a fine smoke and burnt down almost completely.

Joe K reported a milestone in his little side computer business - assisting someone in setting up a new Mac. Joe is the proud owner of a 24" iMac, of which I am insanely jealous, and he successfully helped somebody with a new MacBook Pro get it all set up. Kudos to Joe!

It was good to see Paul again as he always has some interesting historical facts and trivia to discuss. He was at the Hut's party last week, but it was difficult to have a meaningful conversation with so many people in the store.

Paul was very thoughtful today by bringing Lou a Diet Mountain Dew - oops, sorry Lou, Brand X. Well, I called it thoughtful; Joe K called it stupid as Lou gave Paul the Look of Death.

It was a good thing I kept the leftover bag of chips in the car and didn't bring them in. I've flirted with death enough these last few weeks - I didn't want to risk it again at the hands of Lou.

Not much else to report this week. I do have to get busy with a request from Lou - he wants a link to this blog and the addition of the Smoke Stik brand of e-cigarettes he carries on his website. Can't keep the boss waiting...

Cheers!
- Bob

The Canadian

As far as pipe shapes go, the Canadian has long been one of my favorites. Characterized by its long, straight shank and short stem, the Canadian provides a dry, cool smoke. Why? Well, the smoke passes through a lot more briar before it reaches the mouth compared to other pipes. Consequently, more of the heat and moisture is absorbed by the pipe offering, at least in my opinion, a very satisfying smoking experience.

Where does the name come from? Ah, now the mystery of it. I have no earthly idea why pipes of this particular shape are called Canadian. The names of many other shapes often describe loosely what the pipe looks like, e.g. apple, volcano, brandy glass, etc. But why Canadian? If any reader can supply an answer, I would be most grateful.

I have several Canadians in my collection, my favorite probably bein an Ascorti I picked up years ago when I worked at a Tinder Box. I also have a Ser Jacopo, a David Jones, and a Bjarne. I prefer straight pipes in general, so to me the Canadian is kind of the "ultimate" straight pipe. Beyond the quality of the smoke, maybe I like the image it projects. To me, it has a bit of a nostalgic look to it, a throwback to the 1940s.

I like the shape so much, I designed a t-shirt promoting it available at The Erudite Outlet (see photo above). I tried to attract Canadian pipe smokers as well as...Canadian pipe smokers. In other words, those of us who smoke Canadian pipes, and Canadians who smoke pipes. Time will tell if my little pun is a selling point!

Cheers!
- Bob