Peterson Cara. Decent Briar?

Hi all
I've got 7 very high quality briars at home (including a dunhill Amber Root and 2 Comoy Star Freehands) in storage, but brought my Comoy Star bulldog with travelling me and have been smoking that for the last few months. Have finally tracked down an actual tobacconist in suzhou ands they're doing Peterson Caras for 780 RMB, which is about 75 quid. I noticed on www.thepipeshop.co.uk they're 71, so that's a very reasonable mark-up for an exotic item. I had a peterson System bulldog a loong time ago (in the late 80s) and was wondering if they're still up to par. Any opinions on The Cara range?

Well it's a Peterson and should smoke very well for you. The fit and finish is not as good as in some of the other Peterson lines but it should work well for you. If the bowl is stained I would put in a little alcohol and remove it. You don't have to do this but it makes the first couple of bowls taste better.

Greyfox said:

Well it's a Peterson and should smoke very well for you. The fit and finish is not as good as in some of the other Peterson lines but it should work well for you. If the bowl is stained I would put in a little alcohol and remove it. You don't have to do this but it makes the first couple of bowls taste better.

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+1 The primary difference between Pete's high and lower grade pipes is the finish,grain, and presence of minor fills. Check to make sure the drilling and fit is good, (usually it is) and you'll have a nice pipe.

I have the bent Cara smooth. I love it. I only smoke their Summertime Blend 2010 with it. Nice pipe, nice tobacco.

Thanks for the replies. I bought it yesterday, perversely, before reading them! Its either a 10 or 01 shape, from the marking underneath, though it does look a lot like this

http://www.cupojoes.com/images/peterson/s_carb69.jpg

It didn't get any hotter than I'd expect from a relatively thin-walled briar and feels nice in the hand. The stem's not the best- a little bit "Falcony", but it's certainly not unpleasant. There was a decided bitterness to the last shreds of the first bowl, which I'll put down to a combination of the stain and completely unfired wood. I thought it was a pre-carbonised bowl, but now I know better. I'll rub it with a brandy-soaked cloth and let it dry for a few minutes before the second smoke. But it wasn't sloppy or goopy, the stem/shank join is tight and sound, the finish is nice, its quite light (so I assume well-seasoned) and apart from the last few minutes when I was deliberately smoking right down to the heel, to give the bowl a good fire, it did taste good. Being virgin of course, it was a nice change to try a new tobacco (Erinmore Flake) with no added flavourings from an established cake. I'm sure it'll develop nicely. It is strange how your tastes change with time. I love my Bjarne unfinished Dublins, yet a few years ago that style of pipe made me grimace in disgust. Ditto the rustic finish, which I thought you could only smoke if you were an 80 year old sailor! Now I love it. I am surprised that there aren't more of the Dutch styles sold. For me, thick walled pipes smoke much better than the elegant English shapes.

update:
Last night I wiped out the bowl with a cloth soaked in Brandy, let dry then Franks-ed a full bowl of Erinmore into it. I had 1.5 hrs of really enjoyable smoking, smooth and rich with not a trace of biterness until the last 20 seconds, when I realised I had nothing but fine ash in the pipe! Even better, when I passsed a pipe-cleaner through the stem, there was almost no perceptible tar or gunk in the pipe. This is really nice and I will be buying another Cara, without doubt.

I have a Cara, it's a decent briar but definitely not a top-of-the-line smoke. I'd give it a thumbs up smoke wise, if you can deal with some minor flaws. And they're good for the price.

One of my favourite briars is a Brebbia Calabash President. This was 85 GBP a few years ago and compared to my much more expensive pipes, it smokes just as well and is just as easxy to use, with just as much flavour. I'm more and more geting to the view that once you pass a certain line of competence and briar-age, you're assured a really good smoke. You don't need to spend a fortune to get all the flavours and enjoyment froom your tobacco.

scottish steve said:

One of my favourite briars is a Brebbia Calabash President. This was 85 GBP a few years ago and compared to my much more expensive pipes, it smokes just as well and is just as easxy to use, with just as much flavour. I'm more and more geting to the view that once you pass a certain line of competence and briar-age, you're assured a really good smoke. You don't need to spend a fortune to get all the flavours and enjoyment froom your tobacco.

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I agree, you can get properly engineered pipes that use well prepared briar without a huge investment. Beyond a certain price point your paying for the fine grain or figuring of the briar, careful hand work, and to some degree the the reputation or prestige of the marque.