Artisan Pipemakers

I've had pipes made for me by EA James, Scottie Piersol, Rad Davis, John Barrett and David MCcarter all great experiences and one, while not strictly a commission was encouraging Luca Di Piazza of Neat Pipes to have one of his Chubby AeroBilliard Reverse Calabash pipes made for me in Morta, he now has that available in his lineup. There are infinitely others out there who are wonderful at their craft and I'm sure others will pipe in (pun very much intended) best of luck with your journey.

banjo

I would find a few makers that you allready like their style of pipes to narrow the field, then reach out to a few to see whom you think would best do justice to what your looking to do.
Good luck!

There are many great pipe makers around today. I have 4 pipes made by Dan Chlebove of Gabrieli Pipes. Dan is an absolute joy to work with and he includes the customer in every step of the process. Dan is in Bethlehem,Pa and he stamps each pipe with the customers initials and the Star of Bethlehem, the city's logo.

I have a Moretti poker, a Davorin Bent Blowfish and I'm eyeballing a Rhox pipe at me local shop..I enjoy my carver pipes very much

And you're fully aware that your request will cost a good deal of money right?

I would add Bruce Weaver and Rad Davis to your list for consideration.

+1 to the above.
Clark Layton, JT Cooke, Trevor Talbert, and Chris Askwith.
Depends on your price point, your materials, and your shape preferance. There are a good deal of great carvers, but we need more data to guide you.
=D

I second the Piersel recommendation. Just posted my commission here and can attest to the quality of her work. I have also happily commissioned several pipes from Tony Fillenwarth.

I'd also add Nate King into the mix. I haven't had a pipe made by him, but I've met him at the West Coast Pipe Show and have talked with him the past two years. Great guy with a wonderful eye for grain and very talented at the engineering of the pipe as well. I'm sure a commission from him would be am enjoyable experience and produce an amazing pipe.

There is a sticky that Bigvan started that has a list of American Pipe Makers. I would go through the list and find a pipe whose tendencies and style you really connect with. Then contact that maker with your ideas.
I found the list.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/north-american-pipe-makers

I am sure all of you guys who know me know who I will recommend, Rad Davis. I have had Rad make me 8 pipes so far and everyone has been a joy. Working with Rad is very easy, you tell him what you want and if he can make it he will. He does not require any type of deposit up front where as most artisans do.
I own in total 19 of Rad's pipes and in all my history of pipe smoking, I have never owned more than 7 of any other maker before. I have smoked pipes costing 3 times what Rad's pipes cost and not a one smoked as good as a Rad. He is well known for producing world class pipes for an affordable amount of money. Yes you can spend more, but I do not believe you will get a better smoking pipe than a Rad. I own numerous other artsian made pipes from the likes of Bruce Weaver(2) Brian Ruthenberg(4), Zack Hamric, Scott Thile, Mike Butera, Stephen Downie, Steve Morrissete, Trevor Talbert, Jody Davis, and Tonni Nielsen all one each. All the others I would buy more of for sure except Tonni Nielsen. The one pipe I have of his needed alteration to make the shank dimension bigger as he drills them a little too narrow for my tastes. It is a fine smoking pipe now that is opened up.
In terms of up and coming makers, our own Zack Hamric is really getting good. I believe for the money, he is also making some great pipes and he is getting better and better by the month. I believe within a year he will be making pipes on par with the best of them. He has come a long way in a short time and yes I am biased because he is a personal friend of mine and we do hang out on a regular basis. I am one of his toughest critics though and will tell him to his face if I think he could have done something better.

Papipeguy, that bulldog is screamin! :worship:

There are just a ton of guys who will do you a good job: Andy Peterson, Jesse Jones, Premal Chheda, Ryan Alden, Steve Liskey, Jerry Crawford, Scottie Piersel, Joe Hinkle, Colin Rigby, Lee von Erck, Joe Skoda, Adam Davidson, Brad Pohlmann, Nathan Armentrout etc. I could easily add another 30 names to this list and not leave the U.S.
Determine your price range. Eliminate the carvers that don't fit that range. Then go look at their pipes until you find the carver whose work "talks" to you. Ideally go to the Chicago Show as most of these guys will be there. You can look at their work. Or troll their websites until you see what you like.

One big part of getting a pipe custom made is choosing an artisan, as you can tell from the previous posts. But basically look at these artisans suggested and more, figure out who's style you like. Although it might be subtle, each artisan will interpret the pipe you want made differently.
Another part of pipe commissioning is in this article. It's at the bottom, below advice on the button ups. It might help you, it might not. Either way it's good to have a little insight. CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Don Warren and Victor Rimkus as well.

Joe Nelson of Old Nellie pipes should be considered as well.