Blasted Lovat

Review by Erwin Van Hove

Note: The following is a post from Erwin on the leading German pipesmokers' forum, reprinted here with his permission. — JH

Peter, the Howell arrived yesterday and it was love at first sight : "in
person" the pipe looks much better than on the pics. The shape is very well
cut and is both virile with its sturdy shank and elegant with its softly
rounded bowl between a billiard and an egg. The ivory shank decoration is a
very nice accent and I'm quite impressed with the quality of the blast :
though not deep and craggy, it is remarkably well defined and it shows a
very tight, fine ring grain that is a pleasure to look at and to touch. As
for the technical execution of the internals, I can be brief : it is beyond
reproach. If I had to make a critical remark, I'd say for my personal taste
the bit could be thinner (3.9mm) with a less prominent button. But that is
of course subjective.

So far I have smoked the pipe 4 times and I'm more than pleased with the
smoking properties : a wide open, easy draw that feels very natural, no
humidity at all, dry and cool smoke, a pleasant taste without harshness,
tobacco burns down without needing more than one relight to the bottom of
the bowl.

Excellent job. Highly recommended.