J.T. Cooke / LPI #2

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
Here's the second J.T. Cooke pipe I have that was made for Levin Pipes International (LPI). This one is exactly the same size as the other one, which suggests that these were part of a group of similar pipes Cooke made in a batch (maybe). But the rustication is different on this one -- more soft and rounded in texture, sort of like that on rusticated Italian pipes, but it still attempts to mimic the structure of the grain on a sandblasted pipe. I guess Cooke was always thinking in terms of the underlying grain.
This one has a rubber stem rather than acrylic. And both pipes are so carefully made that it's almost impossible to tell which way the stem goes -- stem and shank are almost perfectly symmetrical and perfectly centered.
lpi-cooke-black-001-600x400.jpg


lpi-cooke-black-003-600x400.jpg


lpi-cooke-black-002-600x400.jpg


 

pruss

Lifer
Feb 6, 2013
3,558
370
Mytown
Lovely pipe, Pitch!
You better hold onto the location of the honey-hole you found these in. Class A pipes, pal.
-- Pat

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
It's really fascinating how these earlier pipes chronicle J.T.'s journey in developing his carving techniques.
Absolutely, roth. I agree.
Lovely pipe, Pitch!
You better hold onto the location of the honey-hole you found these in. Class A pipes, pal.
LOL, thanks, Pat. I'm afraid that honey-hole has been fished out, already. :mrgreen:

 

dmcmtk

Lifer
Aug 23, 2013
3,672
1,685
null
Pitch,
Pipe looks great. One thing I have been always curios about, was if J.T. Cooke made the LPI pipes from start to finish, or just did the final finishing. I remember one a while back that had a very Charatan DC looking stem. As with other things about the period, which we have discussed, the information is a bit murky ( another great sub-topic for the book ). I at one point asked Mike about the pipe at BB and he told me the seller had told him Cooke had done the finish. The only person who could really say is Jim Cooke, good luck with that. I'm sure you have read this, but if not, a great article. When I first heard about Jim Cooke a few years back, I imagined an elderly gentleman with thinning grey hair, and wearing a bow tie! This article set me straight.
Dave

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
That's interesting, Dave. I don't know if it shows well in the pics, but the one posted here has a DC-like stem. And it's comfortable! As for whether Cooke made the pipes start to finish, who knows? I've heard other places that Barry Levin told people directly that Cooke "made" the pipes. Of course, that could mean just doing the final finishing. Just from the size of these pipes, though, I would guess Cooke cut the stummels as well. They're slightly over-sized and the long shanks are almost perfectly straight -- which doesn't ultimately rule out factory production. As with most things, somebody would know.
BTW, I have also read that Levin had a line of pipes called "Personal Reserve" that were made by Bill Taylor. Have never come across one, though.

 

dmcmtk

Lifer
Aug 23, 2013
3,672
1,685
I would kind of think being the perfectionist Mr. Cooke is, he probably would have wanted to make the pipes from start to finish.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
null is the link, I must not be doing it correctly.

Dave
Got it. I've read that before, but I'm going to go back and look at it, again. I remember some mention of Levin Pipes and Briar Workshop from the early days.
Oh, you can either paste the link itself directly into the text box, like so:

http://tobaccodays.com/interviews/j-t-cooke-in-a-class-all-his-own/
Or, you can highlight a word or phrase and click the URL button, which makes those words into a link.

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
Beautiful pipe. I have had numerous email exchanges with JT lately, including about the recent chubby billiard he made for me and about another commission he is working on. I just replied to his most recent e-mail and I sent him pictures of your two pipes and asked him if he would mind telling me what he knows about them, including the question above.

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
No problem. I have to say, my chubby billiard arrived today and completely blew me away. Almost cut my fingers on the blast edges. Looks way better in person than in the pics. Just a tactile sensation and a half. What I would like next from JT is a black blasted poker, but I want a red/black swirl stem - really a JT Cooke version of a dracula pipe.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
I have to say, my chubby billiard arrived today and completely blew me away. Almost cut my fingers on the blast edges.
It's funny, that's exactly how I imagined Cooke's blasted pipes would feel to the touch. That pipe looks incredible, by the way. I love the stem. And is that a purple undercoat on the black blast? Wild.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
Thanks, Harris. The stem is a bit more open on this one than the other, which I tend to like better.

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
JT told me he doesn't remember much - he says he probably did work on some aspect of the pipes but those were early days and there were other carvers involved.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
Thanks for asking, Peck. I heard an interview with Cooke somewhere, and he had some pretty colorful explanations for why he doesn't remember much at all about some of the "early years."
I wonder who the other carvers involved might have been. It's possible that Cooke's prominence has kept his name associated with the LPI pipes (i.e. repeated in conversations about them), while others have been forgotten.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.