Story of your pipe

[nutcracker]

I'm sure you guys all have stories about a particular pipe, and why it is special to you. The rather beaten up pipe below has been through the wars with me.

It is a lowly Medico bent apple, and has always smoked well. Granted as a youngster, I only owned two pipes. Anyway - this was my favorite. It went through military conscription with me, surviving basic training and deployment in Namibia and an unnamed neighbor to the North.

It was a neat tie to home. I would be sent packs of Borkum Riff Black Cavendish, which I would carefully ration. It fitted quite nicely in my thigh pocket of my browns.

It went on to be my companion through residency - helping me stay awake when on call or reading voluminous texts and journals. I stopped smoking in the mid nineties, but didn't have the heart to throw it out.

Anyway - for some reason I brought it (although not its companion) to Canada. I recently dug it out.

The pouch is dried out over the years in storage.

I gave the pipe a cursory clean and lit it up, and she smoked as smooth as ever. The briar smokes a little hot, but is quite comforting in the hand, and feel is so very familiar.

I'm considering restoring it, and wondered if I should just clean it and leave the battle scars, or fully restore it to something one can smoke in public!

I have several much prettier and more expensive pipes, but this will always be my favorite!