I'm posting about the pipes I bought at the Chicago show separately as my big purchase should get it's own spotlight. A month or so back I was having a conversation with Tbradsim1 aka the Old Cajun about his pipes. He has quite the collection with pipes from just about every well known maker, S. Bangs among them. I asked him, if he could pick one pipe out of his horde that smoked the best who would it be and he said his best smoker hands down was made by Ryan Alden aka Lonestar from this forum. So going to the show and knowing Ryan was going to be there, the potential to buy one of his pipes was high. I didn't have a huge budget, really only enough to buy one nice pipe. I actually saw Ryan and his pipes Thursday night and this pipe caught my eye, but it was only Thursday and the immensity of what the show would be kept me from pulling the trigger. Then Fri rolled around and I went to the Swap Meet in the smoking tent. It was still but a tithe of the number of pipes that were in the show, but up until that point, it was the most pipes I had ever seen in one place. I again talked to Ryan, looked at the pipe in the full light of day and it began to chip away at my resolve to wait until the show itself. Finally to tip the scale to buy, I sold a Dunhill which gave me a little extra green and knowing that the pipe probably wouldn't sit upon his table much longer I went in for the kill and made this baby mine. This pipe was actually a collaboration between Ryan and his Friend Bill Walther. Ryan did the engineering, drilling, stem work, and blast, where Bill did the shaping. Technically it is a blowfish because of the ridge, but falls more solidly into the Danish bent egg shape which is one of my favorites. The blast is amazing and each little birdseye stands out which I am told is hard to do. It has a River Birch Accent. And finally and most importantly the advice of the Old Cajun is sound as it is a wonderful smoker. I am extremely excited to have it, it feels great in the hand and the button is cut just the way I like it. A big thanks to Ryan for what is truly a work of art and craftsmanship and Bradley for the recommendation. Now the pics.
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