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  1. stephendownie

    Freehands Are Passe?

    As one of the kings of niche market pipes, I can understand the retailer's point of view. When 99% of your customers want standard shapes, you stick with standard shapes. It can take a lot of time and web presence to get the ball rolling on different parts of the market. If it's what you love, I...
  2. stephendownie

    Stephen Downie Firedrop

    Hey Matt, Thank you for the kind words, glad you like it! I'm looking forward to hearing how it smokes for you.
  3. stephendownie

    Stephen Downie's "The Vampire's Wand"

    Thanks for the kind words, everyone, and especially Sparrowhawk for the commission! It was a really enjoyable build and I invented some new masking techniques along the way which is always a plus.
  4. stephendownie

    Metro Detroit's 1st meeting

    It's always great to see another club getting going. Congrats, guys!
  5. stephendownie

    Grow Your Own Tobacco?

    Going to seed involves just letting the flowers bloom and not pinching them off. Pinching your flowers off will let your plant put more energy into the leaves and they will be a fair bit bigger. The flowers will turn into little dry brown pods on top of the plant and can be picked off once they...
  6. stephendownie

    Grow Your Own Tobacco?

    Well I'm in Vancouver Canada and while it is warmer than a lot of other places in Canada there sure aren't any palm trees. Mine do just fine.
  7. stephendownie

    Questions for Veteran Smokers...

    Like has already been mentioned, take it easy and try not to puff too hard. It's an easy trap to get into when you start off because the pipe just won't stay lit. This way leads to a sore mouth and there is nothing more likely to sour you to the pipe than having a tongue that feels like it has...
  8. stephendownie

    Scary Pipe

    Thanks! I had fun making it.
  9. stephendownie

    Grow Your Own Tobacco?

    For what it's worth I've been growing my own Virginia strain tobacco for about five years. Every year I learn a bit more and I've actually tasted some of my own leaf that was like a cross between Best Brown and Blackwoods flake. I'll qualify that by saying that was a near-ideal growing season...
  10. stephendownie

    New Sea Creature by Michael Parks

    Richard, That is one stunning piece of briar! Congrats!
  11. stephendownie

    Calling All Coffee Junkies

    I like a Cappuccino made with Sweet Maria's Mocha Kadir roasted to Vienna. It gets me going in the morning...and in the afternoon...and at night too ;)
  12. stephendownie

    Hard vs.Soft Briar

    There can be a huge difference in briar hardness and I can tell what blocks are going to blast well, which ones are going to wear out my sanding pads ahead of time and which ones will never be brought within sight of a blasting cabinet. You can feel it by scraping a finger nail against the wood...
  13. stephendownie

    Brigham King Street (anniversary English Blend)

    Hi Jordan, I've got a tin of that open right now too and it's a great place to begin your English-style tobacco education. It isn't overpowering like some Latakia sledge Hammers out there.
  14. stephendownie

    Buffing "Speed"

    Some great info on that FAQ and some that seems to be a bit overkill for the purposes of pipe making. The one piece of advice that I've personally found to be absolutely true is to use a very light touch while buffing, it is amazing how much of a difference of only a few ounces of pressure can make.
  15. stephendownie

    A Question about "Natural" pipes

    I like natural pipes, they colour really nicely and they sort of remind me of how a Meer will change colour. Not as dramatic, but they certainly gain character over the years.
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