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- Aug 18, 2013
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This is the beginning of a review, but seemed appropriate to be added here
An e-Pipe worthy of being referred to as a Pipe!
As an Ex Pipe Smoker, there has always been an itch that needed scratching. I have always looked at the various e-Pipes that have come to the market, but have invariably been either disappointed, or just walked away from some of the offerings one sees on a reasonably regular basis.
One of the flaws in these offerings has been their visual appeal, or lack thereof. I suppose when one has been around Briar Pipes for the amount of time that I have, you become conditioned and that doesn’t help when some of the more outlandish designs get offered to the e-Pipe marketplace? It could of course also be that I have become increasingly conservative in my tastes and am naturally drawn to designs that bear more than a passing resemblance to a Real Briar Pipe.
One of the great joys of owning Pipes is not only the quirks in each one, but also how incredibly tactile a well constructed pipe is when in the hand. Finding these qualities in an e-Pipe is a very rare thing, they are out there, but invariably carrying an extremely high price tag, so when a British Mod Maker set his mind to producing limited runs of e-Pipes, my interest was peeked. I had seen his work on a regular basis and whilst appreciating his obvious skill, I had never actually committed my hard earned cash to one of his products. Time passed and then some photos began to surface on the web which certainly caught my attention, the fist offering was styled loosely upon a "Corn Cob”, but actually owed more to a Tankard, or Poker, it appealed, but not enough at that time, certainly a promising starting point. Shortly afterwards, he announced that he would be making a Pipe named “Adler”. Now as a self confessed fan of all things relating to Sherlock Holmes and particularly the Briar Range of Sherlock Holmes Pipes created by my favourite Briar Makes, "Peterson of Dublin”, I was really intrigued. Photos began to appear of the processes going on in his workshop and I became very excited, an e-Pipe that actually looked like a Pipe!!!
After an exchange of messages, “Adler” found her way to our house, the presentation was as one has come to expect from this Artisan, flawless!
There is much to like about this e-Pipe and there are far more highly regarded reviewers than I expressing their delight at the ones they have been sent. But for me, whilst enjoying their reviews, I have felt that “Vaping Like a Sir” and “Good for pointing at things” doesn’t quite cut the mustard when dealing with a Mod that has been Hand Crafted by a One Man Band here in the UK. I understand that these expressions will appeal to some and that’s as it should be, but there is so much more to a Good e-Pipe than that!
That word again “Tactile”, this is how an e-Pipe “should” feel in the hand, reassuringly weighted and supremely comfortable. The man hours involved in turning this Bowl are evident in the feel and appearance of this Gem. Yes there are idiosyncratic imperfections in the wood, but that my friends is what we refer to as “Character”. The whole experience of just holding the Pipe is so rewarding. “Adler” came with a Church Warden Stem (Long and slightly Curved). These stems were first produced when the early small bowled Briar Pipes first appeared as a successor to the old Clay Pipes of days gone by, the longer stem cools the smoke considerably prior to it being drawn into the mouth. Same rules apply here in today’s world, the longer the stem, the cooler the vape. I acquired a Shorter Stem so I could ring the changes both in appearance and in type of vape. The Short Stem has a wider Fish Tail Opening which increases vapour production as opposed to the necessarily smaller opening found in the Long Stem.
So in conclusion, finally an e-Pipe that I found aesthetically pleasing, the quality of construction and the way in which it is presented really makes such a difference!
I will admit that I have had a few “moments” with the Switch, Miss Firing shouldn’t really happen with an item of this quality, but some attention to the internals of the switch have cured any problems. Perhaps in an ideal world, a different switch would improve not only the User Experience, but also the overall appearance? Imagine something akin to a GP Paps switch?? THAT would be astonishing!!
I have purposely avoided mentioning RTAs or RDAs, these are YOUR choice, the Mod is what we are talking about here and to do so would have been an unnecessary distraction. An 18350 Powered Mechanical e-Pipe that looks as a Pipe should? What’s not to like?
For anyone whom is considering venturing into the world of e-Pipes, you could do far worse than investigating the products from vapesmarter.
An e-Pipe worthy of being referred to as a Pipe!
As an Ex Pipe Smoker, there has always been an itch that needed scratching. I have always looked at the various e-Pipes that have come to the market, but have invariably been either disappointed, or just walked away from some of the offerings one sees on a reasonably regular basis.
One of the flaws in these offerings has been their visual appeal, or lack thereof. I suppose when one has been around Briar Pipes for the amount of time that I have, you become conditioned and that doesn’t help when some of the more outlandish designs get offered to the e-Pipe marketplace? It could of course also be that I have become increasingly conservative in my tastes and am naturally drawn to designs that bear more than a passing resemblance to a Real Briar Pipe.
One of the great joys of owning Pipes is not only the quirks in each one, but also how incredibly tactile a well constructed pipe is when in the hand. Finding these qualities in an e-Pipe is a very rare thing, they are out there, but invariably carrying an extremely high price tag, so when a British Mod Maker set his mind to producing limited runs of e-Pipes, my interest was peeked. I had seen his work on a regular basis and whilst appreciating his obvious skill, I had never actually committed my hard earned cash to one of his products. Time passed and then some photos began to surface on the web which certainly caught my attention, the fist offering was styled loosely upon a "Corn Cob”, but actually owed more to a Tankard, or Poker, it appealed, but not enough at that time, certainly a promising starting point. Shortly afterwards, he announced that he would be making a Pipe named “Adler”. Now as a self confessed fan of all things relating to Sherlock Holmes and particularly the Briar Range of Sherlock Holmes Pipes created by my favourite Briar Makes, "Peterson of Dublin”, I was really intrigued. Photos began to appear of the processes going on in his workshop and I became very excited, an e-Pipe that actually looked like a Pipe!!!
After an exchange of messages, “Adler” found her way to our house, the presentation was as one has come to expect from this Artisan, flawless!
There is much to like about this e-Pipe and there are far more highly regarded reviewers than I expressing their delight at the ones they have been sent. But for me, whilst enjoying their reviews, I have felt that “Vaping Like a Sir” and “Good for pointing at things” doesn’t quite cut the mustard when dealing with a Mod that has been Hand Crafted by a One Man Band here in the UK. I understand that these expressions will appeal to some and that’s as it should be, but there is so much more to a Good e-Pipe than that!
That word again “Tactile”, this is how an e-Pipe “should” feel in the hand, reassuringly weighted and supremely comfortable. The man hours involved in turning this Bowl are evident in the feel and appearance of this Gem. Yes there are idiosyncratic imperfections in the wood, but that my friends is what we refer to as “Character”. The whole experience of just holding the Pipe is so rewarding. “Adler” came with a Church Warden Stem (Long and slightly Curved). These stems were first produced when the early small bowled Briar Pipes first appeared as a successor to the old Clay Pipes of days gone by, the longer stem cools the smoke considerably prior to it being drawn into the mouth. Same rules apply here in today’s world, the longer the stem, the cooler the vape. I acquired a Shorter Stem so I could ring the changes both in appearance and in type of vape. The Short Stem has a wider Fish Tail Opening which increases vapour production as opposed to the necessarily smaller opening found in the Long Stem.
So in conclusion, finally an e-Pipe that I found aesthetically pleasing, the quality of construction and the way in which it is presented really makes such a difference!
I will admit that I have had a few “moments” with the Switch, Miss Firing shouldn’t really happen with an item of this quality, but some attention to the internals of the switch have cured any problems. Perhaps in an ideal world, a different switch would improve not only the User Experience, but also the overall appearance? Imagine something akin to a GP Paps switch?? THAT would be astonishing!!
I have purposely avoided mentioning RTAs or RDAs, these are YOUR choice, the Mod is what we are talking about here and to do so would have been an unnecessary distraction. An 18350 Powered Mechanical e-Pipe that looks as a Pipe should? What’s not to like?
For anyone whom is considering venturing into the world of e-Pipes, you could do far worse than investigating the products from vapesmarter.