Zenith Pipe query
Doc Elder
churchwarden in thoughts of maybe expanding that
part of the accumulation. No luck, but they did have
some Christmas Pipes-- look like Zeniths to me at least,
even though I can't the name anywhere on the pipes.
Anyway, the shape that appealed to me most was
the Christmas 1989 shape and, as it so happened,
I spent that particular Christmas in Amsterdam
so all self-control went out the window and I
adopted it.
Anyone have any essential knowledge about the
care/feeding and cleaning of my newest? Or would
I be best off not smoking anything in it? It only cost
me 40-odd bucks, so I won't throw a fit if its best
left as a conservation piece and reminder of a
particulary nice Christmas. But if it's a good smoker,
it would be a shame to keep it from fulfilling its
destiny as well..
Cheers,
Doc
--
"It's only the giving that makes you... what you are.
Skip Maslan
closely!!!) and they smoke wonderfully. They are very
cool smoking and easy to manage. I smoke two of
them regularly and have had them for quite a long time.
They color like Meerschaum but you don't have to be
as careful in handling them as they have the glazed clay
exterior. They are double bowl with the lower bowl
being the catch bowl for moisture and ash that drops
down. Usually just letting them rest like a briar will allow
them to dry out enough and like meerschaums they don't need
to have a cake built up to smoke well. I use Q-Tips to
clean out the bottom bowl through the stem hole every
few weeks or so depending on how often I use them to
clear out the ash and any moisture that isn't absorbed.
I'm sure you'll find it a very good smoke and it colors
faster than meerschaum so it will begin to darken and
take on a wonderful light chocolate coloring in a very
resonable time.
--
Skip Maslan
nit...@whispersfromthedark.com
"Doc Elder" <ael...@gowebway.com> wrote in message
news:9ubuqd$vrh$1...@slb6.atl.mindspring.net...
Heather Coleman
In article <9ubuqd$vrh$1...@slb6.atl.mindspring.net>, Doc Elder
<ael...@gowebway.com> writes
>I was in the shop where I purchased my one and only
>churchwarden in thoughts of maybe expanding that
>part of the accumulation. No luck, but they did have
>some Christmas Pipes-- look like Zeniths to me at least,
>even though I can't the name anywhere on the pipes.
>Anyway, the shape that appealed to me most was
>the Christmas 1989 shape and, as it so happened,
>I spent that particular Christmas in Amsterdam
>so all self-control went out the window and I
>adopted it.
Hi...
I make clay pipes in England and was just interested to know about
Zenith pipes... I thought Zenith clays had closed a number of years
ago... My knowledge of existing clay pipe makers in Europe is rather
rusty at this time...
Were you saying that the Christmas pipes are made of clay?
I would be interested to see the design as I plan to produce some
Christmas designs in the future in clay myself.
I do make long clay pipes, individually hand rolled but rarely go over
12 inch and my long pipes follow the thicker stemmed 1700-1750 period
"Alderman" pipe styles with flat heal on the base rather than the long
thin stemmed 1850 "churchwardens" which have the long stem with constant
narrow thickness and small pointed spur.
I just finished a couple for a customer in Finland.
If my long pipes broke off nearer the mouth end, the smoker would be
left with a thicker end each time which could be self-sharpened to a
narrower point. A number of the old Dutch long pipes found on old wrecks
were treated this way by sailors until they were left with a stump of a
pipe.
My clay pipe website is:
http://www.dawnmist.demon.co.uk/pot4.htm
regards
Heather in Devonshire, England
DAWNMIST STUDIO
Recent updates to my Clay Pipes for sale on my website include:
* One-Off clay pipes for sale
* English Civil War style Clays
* Small Batches of Clay Pipes
* Batches of 1975 period fancy clay pipes made by Pollocks of Manchester
* Occasional Antique Clay Pipe bowls for collectors
* Individual carved clay pipes made to order.
Stephen Disrud
news:KZlaGgAs...@dawnmist.demon.co.uk:
> rusty at this time...
> Were you saying that the Christmas pipes are made of clay?
> I would be interested to see the design as I plan to produce some
> Christmas designs in the future in clay myself.
>
Check out this link:
http://www.iwanries.com/irc/Zenith.htm
I think you might be right about them not being in production any longer
though. According to the Synjeco site, "the factory has closed it doors and
stopped production altogether."
-Steve D.
Doc Elder
You're right, they quit making Zenith pipes back in the
mid-90's...1994 if I recall correctly. If you use the search
box on the Pipes web page, it will hit you with a link to
the homepage for the folks who market Delft-ware and
such and they maintain some good info and some decent,
if not impressive, pictures of some of the pipes. I got
mine at a shop that is part of a small chain that often
buys up unused stock from estate sales and the stock of
shops that go (sigh) out of business.
The Christmas pipes look like delft-ware recreations
of Danish Freehands. The external dimensions are a little
deceptive, because the smoking chamber bottoms out
about halfway down the depth of the bowl portion leaving
a significant hollow chamber underneath. Sorry, I don't
have digital photo capabilities or I'd zag you a pic.
I thought you might appreciate knowing that I have been
looking at your web-page as recently as yesterday. I've been
on an "Age of Sail" nautical kick lately and clays were the pipe
of the day then. I've had some bad experiences with clay,
mostly from those ubiquitous, cheap mass-produced souvenir
pipes that they hawk to tourists for things like Royal Weddings,
but comments here from folks like Kevin and Greg have me
thinking there has to be a significant difference between
quality clays and the 2-quid knick-knacs. There's a good
chance I'll be ordering something from you after the Holidays.
Let me be the first yank (Texan, actually) to wish you....
Happy Christmas,
Doc
--
"It's only the giving that makes you... what you are.
Heather Coleman <hea...@dawnmist.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:KZlaGgAs...@dawnmist.demon.co.uk...
Heather Coleman
Hi again :)
Thanks again for the info on the Zenith stuff...
Funny you should mention very cheap clay pipes for souvenirs...
Myself and other members of my family had a go at making some pipes one
summer way back in the 1970's when we all first got into pottery as a
family hobby...
We all had a go at it and made a very small number of really cheap clays
(and I mean really cheap) and it's likely some of them might have found
their way into the US as they did sell in a local tourist shops over
here! I dearly hope you did not "encounter" one of them on your holiday!
They would have made awful smoking pieces and probably ended up in the
garbage... they did'nt even blow bubbles that well either :D
As for my own work... I have been able to produce some clays that have
been appreciated by folk that have had a "bad" clay experience and of
the orders I have done over the 2 years I have had no complaints so far
so I must be doing something right.
I have also been picking the brains of various expert pipe makers who I
have made friends with via the group here over the last year and I'm
really coming to grips with getting some clay pipes that smoke well now
thanks to their help and feedback from customers.
regards
Heather
English made Clay Tobacco Pipes and New England made Display Cabinets
http://www.dawnmist.demon.co.uk/artgal