Pipe Spotlight: Peterson’s Donegal Rocky 80s
Many moons ago, when I first got into pipe smoking, I discovered Peterson Pipes.[1] As I’ve stated before, I was in a local pipe shop and saw the Peterson’s cut-away of their patented System Pipe. At the time, I couldn’t afford one but the image — and the lesson from the shop owner — was etched in my brain. So I saved up my money and bought my first Peterson System Pipe — a rusticated, system standard 312, with P-Lip.
Since then I’ve collected several Peterson pipes; some I’ve given away and some I’ve kept. Today I want to talk about one of the pipes I picked up several years ago — Peterson’s Donegal Rocky 80s.
The 80s can be found in several of the Peterson lines — Aran, Cara, Killarney, Racing Green, and different Spigot iterations, just to name a few. It also comes with either a tapered stem with a Fishtail bit or a saddle-bit stem with a P-Lip bit (Peterson Patent-Lip).[2] The 80s comes adorned without or with a metal band, generally Nickel or Sterling Silver but can be found with other accent bands, too.
While the 80s is similar to Peterson’s 999, there are some differences. Comparing the stats between the 80s and 999, one will see that the 999 is a little bigger all the way around. Another difference is that the 999 is cylindrical whereas the 80s has a diamond shank and stem. This difference has been something of a debate.
The bowl of these two pipes are extremely similar in shape — a classic bulldog shape that looks like two cones joined together at the widest part. There’s generally two small lines where the cones meet and then the lower cone transitions into the shank. For some, the bulldog has a diamond shank whereas those bulldog looking bowls with cylindrical shanks are rhodesians. I’ve even heard someone say once that true bulldogs are only straight pipes and any bulldog that’s a bent pipe is a rhodesian. For me? Well, I fall into the category of those who see diamond shanked bulldogs as bulldogs, whether they’re bent or not. All of that to say, the 80s is a bent bulldog.
When I bought my “Donegal” Rocky 80s, it was my first pipe to have a sterling silver band. According to Mark Irwin over at Peterson Pipe Notes, Peterson has gone back and forth with silver and nickel for the bands on their Donegal Rocky line.[3]
The hallmark on my Donegal Rocky 80s is a W.
According to the handy-dandy Peterson Hallmark guide, that puts my pipe in 2007.[4] I suppose I purchased it around that time but I really don’t know for certain. What I do know for certain, is that my 80s is a fantastic pipe. It’s one of my favorite non-system pipes. I liked it so much, in fact, I bought an 80s in Peterson’s Shannon line to be my primary pipe when I’m outside working, hiking, camping, etc.
So there you have it. A look at another one of the pipes I have in my collection. I’m hoping to update this series more regularly. Until next time —
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Keep it smokey, friends,
Br. Jack+, LC
Your #pipesmokingpriest
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[2] Since the 80s is not a System Pipe, a Fishtail bit works a treat. For a System Pipe to truly function as a System Pipe, it must have a P-Lip.
[3] If you’re wanting to know anything about Peterson Pipes, Mark is the guy to see. In fact, he and Gary Malberg have published The Peterson Pipe: The Story of Kapp & Peterson, the “go-to” book on all things Peterson Pipes.
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