About this episode
This episode of Country Squire Radio is brought to you by Missouri Meerschaum and the Tin Society. We thank them for supporting this show, and we thank you for supporting them. Episode 237: Cold Weather Pipe Smoking Welcome & Housekeeping: It’s International Pipe Smoking Day (Week)! Of course, our beloved The Country Squire will be giving us the goods from 2/20 - 2/24. Everything in the shop (and online use code IPSD10) will be 10% off, and all pipes get an extra 10% off. Spend $50 or more and get a sample of the exclusive Country Squire IPSD Blend! $150 or more gets a free Squire t-shirt (maroon or blue). $200 or more gets a tin of name brand tobacco! Dealers choice there. Beau and Jon David touch on lunting (strolling whilst smoking your pipe) and the possibility of doing something in the near future with the International Lunting Society ( www.lunting.org ). Details to come, so stay tuned! For those that are interested, Jon David gushes a little on his IPSD blend, which will be a pecan aromatic, but fairly light! If it gets enough traction, there’s a possibility of it becoming a house blend, so go, buy you some IPSD goodies from the Squire, get your ounce, and try it! Then, give him some feedback! Also, 4 more members to announce for the International Country Squire Radio Pipe Club. All Squires! None of the pilgrim blasphemy! David Branch. Austin Horn. Steve Heyman. Satx Pipe. Welcome guys! If I misspelled your name, blame Beau. Someone’s gotta do it, and he failed miserably this time. Jon David and Beau couldn’t continue to do what they do without our support! You guys are the real MVPs! Topic: Beau and Jon David took Rob Bowden’s suggestion, and made an episode! This week they’re discussing pipes that are best for smoking in the cold weather, especially since we’re in the last throes of winter in the south, and the north still has plenty of it, as well as offering some tips and tricks. First thing discussed is those that insist on keeping pipes on the outside of their house, be it in the shed, car, or other means. Generally these are people that smoke a pipe to and from work, or perhaps a spouse that is pipe-smell sensitive. If that’s the case, and it’s terribly cold, you’re going to want to pre-heat that pipe before you load it. Get it up to room temperature, bring it inside at the very least, so you’re not giving it a temperature shock on first light. This can, and has, resulted in some cracked briar or other materials. If the weather is freezing, the moisture in the pipe can and will freeze and that moisture won’t evaporate as easily and readily, and could, in turn, cause the pipe to taste funky or sour eventually! A corn cob pipe might be a better option for you in the long run. Durable, cheap, and light! One of the best go-to pipes hands down. If it does get damaged by the cold, just get another! One material that is not suggested is meerschaum. They’re already fragile, but the stone itself is known to be even more brittle in cold conditions. However, a meerschaum-lined briar doesn’t suffer from this fragile effect. It helps protect the briar, and the briar gives the meerschaum the stability it needs to not crack. If briar is your material of choice, choose something that has a chunky bowl...my personal suggestion would be an author or tomato...maybe a pot. But the extra material helps with the sturdiness of the briar itself. For the lighters themselves, you’ll want to keep your butane soft-flame lighters inside if at all possible. The cold weather seems to really affect how easily they light. You may need to pre-warm it if you insist on keeping it outside or somewhere it’s going to get cold. Think about a windcap as well. This are also handy when you’re outside in any kind of weather, be it windy, rainy, or especially when its cold! And since we’ve touched on lunting...lunt! Bundle up properly and get that blood flowing! Also think about wearing gloves with mitten caps or something with accessible fingers. Helps you get to your tamper and lighter much more easily! Pipe Question of the Week: Frank in Mississippi writes asks “What is the worst/weirdest pipe-related question you’ve gotten from a customer at the Squire?” Mine Pipe Shop Pet Peeves episode? Jon David wonders where to start! He remarks that the worst he’s ever felt from a customer questions, was when they walked in the store, and asked Jon David about his Bing’s Favorite. Said person was interested in getting one and wanted to see his. Guy looks at it and tells Jon David about this website that’s running a sale on it and he was thinking about buying it, but wanted to see Jon David’s before he pulled the trigger. WHAT!??! YOU DON’T DO THAT! Luckily Butch Arthur, awesome friend of Jon David’s and the shop, was there at the time and literally said “No, you don’t do that.” Thankfully, it ended up as a sale, but it was still pretty cringeworthy and completely unacceptable. Quick Fire with the Squire: Sent in my Jim Friedman (sp?), theme is “Getting Healthy” #1 High protein diet (JD) or Low fat diet (Beau) #2 Aerobic exercise (Beau) or weight training (JD) #3 Vitamins or Veggies (JD and Beau) #4 Working out with others (JD) or working out by yourself (Beau) #5 Losing weight to fit into your pants (Beau has different pairs of pants for different weight levels) or Just buy new pants (JD because he gets his pants altered) Listener Feedback: Robin Co. writes in “Great podcast! Recently fell into this podcast as a new-ish pipe smoker. Love the laid back vibe and great info that the guys have. Now working my way through the archives.” Jim Nelson writes in “On a previous show, you two wondered out loud if Diebel’s (Smokeshop in Kansas City) is still around. It is indeed, but it is a good news / bad news story. They are now Diebel’s Sportsman Gallery and have two locations in KC. My son Chris who is also an avid listener and customer of yours said something along the lines of it ‘looking like a high class cracker barrel lobby’ when you first walk in. That nails the ambiance there. They still have a good selection of pipes and still appear to blend their own pipe tobacco. They have a limited selection of tinned tobacco. The cigar humidor is huge though. There is also a fair-sized private club type smoking lounge. But, it’s no longer a ‘pipe shop’. Pipes are clearly second in line and it makes me said every time I walk in. I suppose that given what’s happened to the pipe smoking culture since the 70’s, the move to overpriced duck decoys and pretentious leather travel bags was inevitable. The good news is if you need a barware sign, a pair of socks with bacon on them, or something crazy like that, I know a place on Country Club Plaza where you can get it.” @asechales “ten to twenty five degrees on a clear night without much wind and snow on the ground is hands down the perfect smoking conditions to me.” @hoctorthelovedr “that’s why you enjoy a nice corn cob pipe from Missouri Meerschaum. Leave it in the car, temperature change doesn’t harm it at all.” @Pappy_Joe “the real question is to watch these guys or some exciting Olympic Curling?” @OnMyOwnOpinion (Brian Levine) “socks may not be the best thing to sell in Mississippi! Just saying.” Ending & Wrap-up: Please check out the show sponsor websites to learn more about them, and please consider joining the Country Squire Radio Pipe Club. I’ve provided a link to Patreon below as well as show credits, twitter handles, websites, emails, and times. If you have not done so, please consider writing an iTunes review. Great way to support these fantastic gentlemen! For more fun, check out the live show on YouTube! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXfbQHcXaKg ) Also please pray Beau grows some more facial hair for next week...don’t hold your breath! Alright, let’s got have a night! Episode Credits: Host: Jon David Cole (@JonDavidCole) Host: Beau York (@TheRealBeauYork) Producer: Mike Woodard (@TheMikeWoodard) Executive Producer: Beau York (@Podastery) Show Notes: Mark Van Vrancken (@mgvsquared) Country Squire Radio Website: www.countrysquireradio.com Country Squire Radio email: show@countrysquireradio.com Country Squire Radio Twitter: @squireradio Country Squire Radio Patreon: www.patreon.com/countrysquireradio The Country Squire Twitter: @_countrysquire The Country Squire Website: www.thecountrysquireonline.com Show Times: Live Monday nights 8:30pm CST, 6:30 Pacific, 9:30 EST Episode Sponsors: Missouri Meerschaum (www.corncobpipe.com) The Tin Society (https://tinsociety.com) Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy