DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Diablerie, v. 1, issue 3, March 1944

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Diablerie, v. 1, issue 3, March 1944

Page 10

10
The Greys Silk Cut Virginia. Incidentally, a smoker never smokes more than five cigarettes a day.
   Cigarettes are merely penny ante. The only careeer with a future in smoking is the cultivation of the pipe. It takes one solid year to learn to smoke a pipe and smoke it properly. Fortunately, I was taught by an Englishman to smoke. His name was Quigley, and I did not believe it took more than two days to smoke a pipe. At the end of a year I realized that I had at last caught on. Of all the arts, pipe-smoking is the most abused in the country. The average grade of American pipe tobacco is only a little better than good solid horse dung. The more advertising you see for a brand of tobacco, the worse you may be assured that it is. The only exception offhand is Revelation. It is a good tobacco, but dries too quickly.
   Good pipe tobacco does not contain Saltpeter. I hate Saltpeter, and while the average smoker cannot recognize this menace, I can taste Saltpeter in a tobacco no matter how scant the dilution. Pipe tobacco cut to be rolled for cigarettes also is a fraud. Pipe tobacco advertised as "easy flowing" from pouch to bowl is a fraud. Most disgusting of them all is Rum and Maple, which smells like heaven and tastes like hell.
   Aside from Revelation, the only other nationally distributed tobaccos that can be considered are Sutliff's 76 as a fuming agent, Christian Pepper's Pouch Mixture, Parliament Rough Cut, and Whitehall. But even these will lag behind those produced by professional tobacconists. Pipe tobaccos are like chemical compounds, and a good tobacconist can vary a formula to your needs. A good pipe tobacco contains a heavy cut burning base, bright or Virginia for tang, and perique for a faint aroma Other aromas (called fuming agents) are cider, rum, brandy, jasmine, various organic scents from plants, and perfumes, which I detest.
   A smoker will never try to light up in a wind. There is nothing more stupid than to try to enjoy a cigarette or pipe in even a breeze. Forced burning of this nature spoils even consumption of the tobacco, breaks the draft, and keeps the average heat so intense that the additional puff for inhalation carries the temperature so high as to spoil the quality of the product. Speaking of inhaling: a good smoker does not inhale. That is merely a bad habit. A tobacco should contain enough body to stimulate the palate and nostrils without having to poison the lungs. I have never inhaled a cigarette or pipe in five years of smoking.
   As for the culture of pipes, that is worth a book. My contention is that a ten cent corncob is better than any two dollar pipe on the market. I have several corncobs right now, and have thrown away dozens of them. Besides a corncob I have an Australiancal abach and a French Cherry Root pipe, and two good Algerian briars which are "seconds" of $5.00 brands. Pipes made of Brazil nuts also offer excellent smoking satisfaction. As for the big-name dollar pipes - - thumbs down. I've had a few good ones, but (next page)

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10 The Greys Silk Cut Virginia. Incidentally, a smoker never smokes more than five cigarettes a day. Cigarettes are merely penny ante. The only careeer with a future in smoking is the cultivation of the pipe. It takes one solid year to learn to smoke a pipe and smoke it properly. Fortunately, I was taught by an Englishman to smoke. His name was Quigley, and I did not believe it took more than two days to smoke a pipe. At the end of a year I realized that I had at last caught on. Of all the arts, pipe-smoking is the most abused in the country. The average grade of American pipe tobacco is only a little better than good solid horse dung. The more advertising you see for a brand of tobacco, the worse you may be assured that it is. The only exception offhand is Revelation. It is a good tobacco, but dries too quickly. Good pipe tobacco does not contain Saltpeter. I hate Saltpeter, and while the average smoker cannot recognize this menace, I can taste Saltpeter in a tobacco no matter how scant the dilution. Pipe tobacco cut to be rolled for cigarettes also is a fraud. Pipe tobacco advertised as "easy flowing" from pouch to bowl is a fraud. Most disgusting of them all is Rum and Maple, which smells like heaven and tastes like hell. Aside from Revelation, the only other nationally distributed tobaccos that can be considered are Sutliff's 76 as a fuming agent, Christian Pepper's Pouch Mixture, Parliament Rough Cut, and Whitehall. But even these will lag behind those produced by professional tobacconists. Pipe tobaccos are like chemical compounds, and a good tobacconist can vary a formula to your needs. A good pipe tobacco contains a heavy cut burning base, bright or Virginia for tang, and perique for a faint aroma Other aromas (called fuming agents) are cider, rum, brandy, jasmine, various organic scents from plants, and perfumes, which I detest. A smoker will never try to light up in a wind. There is nothing more stupid than to try to enjoy a cigarette or pipe in even a breeze. Forced burning of this nature spoils even consumption of the tobacco, breaks the draft, and keeps the average heat so intense that the additional puff for inhalation carries the temperature so high as to spoil the quality of the product. Speaking of inhaling: a good smoker does not inhale. That is merely a bad habit. A tobacco should contain enough body to stimulate the palate and nostrils without having to poison the lungs. I have never inhaled a cigarette or pipe in five years of smoking. As for the culture of pipes, that is worth a book. My contention is that a ten cent corncob is better than any two dollar pipe on the market. I have several corncobs right now, and have thrown away dozens of them. Besides a corncob I have an Australiancal abach and a French Cherry Root pipe, and two good Algerian briars which are "seconds" of $5.00 brands. Pipes made of Brazil nuts also offer excellent smoking satisfaction. As for the big-name dollar pipes - - thumbs down. I've had a few good ones, but (next page)