About Oil Curing...
I’ve been asked why I decided to start oil curing my pipes; the answer to this question is rather involved but will attempt to condense my reasoning into a readable response.
First let me say that it has been my goal, from the very start of my pipe making career, to oil cure my pipes, however until recently I didn’t have it completely nailed down.
I had the great pleasure of visiting Lee Von Erck at his shop for a few days. Although he didn’t divulge his proprietary method for oil curing, he did share enough information that I was able to connect the dots, and close the gap, on what had been missing from my own methods and previous attempts.
Some of the people I have talked to, feel there is no great advantage to having a pipe that is oil cured. This is where I begin to question, and typically find that we are not comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. I generally find they have purchased mostly estate pipes, previously smoked and not "brand new" unsmoked pipes. Under these circumstances, I may agree, by the time a previously smoked pipe hits the estate market it has probably been broke-in sufficiently and will smoke just fine.
I feel there is a true advantage however, when shopping for a "new", unsmoked pipe, to purchase one that has been properly oil cured. Why you ask? Because the break-in period is significantly reduced, if not eliminated altogether. All of the nasty sap, resins and moisture that the tannin is comprised of, and that naturally occur in the briar have been extracted by the oil curing process, not by you.
Have you ever purchased a beautiful "new" pipe only to be disappointed by the terrible taste it imparted to your favorite tobacco? Well, that’s all the nasty stuff I'm talking about that was still trapped in the briar, now you get to extract it all with your mouth.
This is why I prefer to oil cure my pipes. It is more time consuming and labor intensive, however I feel getting a pipe that smokes sweet, from the very beginning, is well worth the extra effort.
One point worth mentioning, my oil cured pipes typically have a flavor all their own for the first few smokes, however this quickly diminishes and has never been described as unpleasant by anyone, just different. I hope this helps you to understand why I choose to oil cure my pipes.
First let me say that it has been my goal, from the very start of my pipe making career, to oil cure my pipes, however until recently I didn’t have it completely nailed down.
I had the great pleasure of visiting Lee Von Erck at his shop for a few days. Although he didn’t divulge his proprietary method for oil curing, he did share enough information that I was able to connect the dots, and close the gap, on what had been missing from my own methods and previous attempts.
Some of the people I have talked to, feel there is no great advantage to having a pipe that is oil cured. This is where I begin to question, and typically find that we are not comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. I generally find they have purchased mostly estate pipes, previously smoked and not "brand new" unsmoked pipes. Under these circumstances, I may agree, by the time a previously smoked pipe hits the estate market it has probably been broke-in sufficiently and will smoke just fine.
I feel there is a true advantage however, when shopping for a "new", unsmoked pipe, to purchase one that has been properly oil cured. Why you ask? Because the break-in period is significantly reduced, if not eliminated altogether. All of the nasty sap, resins and moisture that the tannin is comprised of, and that naturally occur in the briar have been extracted by the oil curing process, not by you.
Have you ever purchased a beautiful "new" pipe only to be disappointed by the terrible taste it imparted to your favorite tobacco? Well, that’s all the nasty stuff I'm talking about that was still trapped in the briar, now you get to extract it all with your mouth.
This is why I prefer to oil cure my pipes. It is more time consuming and labor intensive, however I feel getting a pipe that smokes sweet, from the very beginning, is well worth the extra effort.
One point worth mentioning, my oil cured pipes typically have a flavor all their own for the first few smokes, however this quickly diminishes and has never been described as unpleasant by anyone, just different. I hope this helps you to understand why I choose to oil cure my pipes.
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