New Falcon Owner

[Tortuga]

I bought two estate Falcons at a show today. I've been wanting one for awhile but I'd never seen one in person until today. One bowl I got is tiny and the other dog ugly but the stems cleaned up real slick. It's very handy that you can just scrub them in the sink with hot water.

Where do y'all prefer to buy new bowls?

Has anyone tried to put a little custom bend in the shank of one of these? I'm tempted to put one in the vise and take a torch to it.

 

[WalkinStick]

I’ve got a handful of Falcons and have never cleaned one, other than running a pipe cleaner down the stem.

As far as bending goes, yes, you can do it. @snake gave me a bent years ago that just seemed to have a weird angle to it. I heated it up in a vice and bent the stem a touch. Let it cool and it’s stayed that way for years.

 

[WrightwoodJohn]

Tobaccopipestore & 4noggins have the bowls, they have ebay stores as well.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Welcome to the world of Falconers!

 

[Tortuga]

I’ve got a handful of Falcons and have never cleaned one, other than running a pipe cleaner down the stem.

As far as bending goes, yes, you can do it. @snake gave me a bent years ago that just seemed to have a weird angle to it. I heated it up in a vice and bent the stem a touch. Let it cool and it’s stayed that way for years.

I'm not a stickler for clean pipes, but these two were atrocious. The humidomes were about to overflow with crud.

I'm happy they'll take a bend, I've grown fond of where my hawkbill bowl sits in my line of sight

 

[snake]

Would like to see pics,
If you dont mind.

 

[JRobert]

Has anyone tried to put a little custom bend in the shank of one of these?

I heated it up in a vice and bent the stem a touch.

I am confused. @Tortuga, do you want to bend the shank (the metal part between the bowl and the stem) or the stem (the plastic bit)? And @WalkinStick, which part did you bend?

 

[WalkinStick]

I am confused. @Tortuga, do you want to bend the shank (the metal part between the bowl and the stem) or the stem (the plastic bit)? And @WalkinStick, which part did you bend?

I realize that was a little vague. I meant the actual stem itself, not the bit. I clamped the bowl in a vise, heated the aluminum up gently, and took some of the curve out.

 

[leacha]

Would like to see pics,
If you dont mind.

Oh, sorry. Nevermind. 😉

 

[Ray Mackessy]

Here's a read for first time Falcon smokers.
http://www.pipesmokerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?806-Some-Notes-on-Falcon-Pipes

 

[Tortuga]

I realize that was a little vague. I meant the actual stem itself, not the bit. I clamped the bowl in a vise, heated the aluminum up gently, and took some of the curve out.

My plan as well, though I'd like to put some curve in.

 

[snake]

Oh, sorry. Nevermind. 😉

Completely off topic, but a
lovely early Bantam nonetheless.

 

[Sir Saartan]

https://www.dgehandmadepipes.com/catalog/replacement-falconviking-bowls

 

[Tortuga]

My sinuses have been screwy since the day I bought these. I smoked the smaller one once and really enjoyed it. They're going to be awesome work pipes.

 

[Terminus]

Nice @Tortuga , I really need to bring mine out more. I have a spare meer bowl sitting in my drawer that hasn't even been smoked yet. Totally forgot about it.

 

[craig]

excellent purchase @Tortuga I have found buying estate falcons they come in most one of two ways.....either brand new or very lightly smoked and well looked after....or the other is smoked to death with not a pipe cleaner been near it for its whole working life.
but the stems do clean up really well in most cases.
if I clean one up I use a normal sized pipe cleaner for the stem soaked in alcohol hand sanitizer and wad the humidome with cotton and soak it with saod hand sanitizer gel and leave over night, I do check it now and then to make sure it hasn't dried out.

The pipe cleaner in the stem I change roughly every hour and then when the crud has gone a quick polish and it looks almost as good as new.

however if you can get hold of the falcon pipe cleaner spray that works just as well but if you get a really dirty stem it is not uncommon to go through the entire aerosol.

 

[WalkinStick]

Nice @Tortuga , I really need to bring mine out more. I have a spare meer bowl sitting in my drawer that hasn't even been smoked yet. Totally forgot about it.

Better hang on to it. Ozgur is apparently out of business. I ordered another bowl in April and ended up having to get my money back from PayPal. There website and even the eBay store was gone when I looked. Now I have a white stem Falcon with no meer bowl.

 

[Jhelms]

I have three or four Falcons and am interested in how your bending works out. Keep us posted.

 

[Oouder]

Id love to see a picture of that white falcon stem!

 

[WalkinStick]

Id love to see a picture of that white falcon stem!

Bought it off of eBay from a seller in Estonia.