Pipes Magazine » Pipe Tobacconists - B&M's and Internet Retailers

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   pdmus
   

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   A while ago I posted some pics of the original Tinderbox, est. 1928 in Santa Monica. There were some requests for the inside, so here goes. The first pic is the sign outside, there was so much grafitti before that I didn't post it. Now it is once again resplendent. The guys in the pic are L - Mr. B, answers any and all questions about tobacco, pipes, etc. and R Gene, who has been doing the in store blending for about 15 years. The photo on the shelf is Ed Kolpin, who started the shop in '28. A lifelong pipe and cigar smoker, he passed at age 97. This place exudes charm. There are major layers of dust (c. 1928) and unbelievable pipe displays...

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   Posted 9 months ago #
2. 

   pdmus
   

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   I mean pic heavy....

   Posted 9 months ago #
3. 

   ace57
   

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   Wow, very nice pics. thank You for posting, I enjoyed looking at them.

   U.S.M.C. (SEMPER FI)

   Posted 9 months ago #
4. 

   unclearthur
   

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   AMAZING!! OMG the humidors!! I could spend hours just looking them over!

   If at first you don't succeed you are running about average.

   Posted 9 months ago #
5. 

   pdmus
   

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   Bring a pipe, they'll fill it with any tobacco you want to give a try and stand around talking - there are some really old, really wonderful pipes and all kinds of stuff there.

   Posted 9 months ago #
6. 

   Tommy
   

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   Oh my gosh! That place is beautiful!!

   Thanks for the trouble to post the photos!

   Posted 9 months ago #
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   Anonymous
   

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   Wow! thanks for sharing the pictures..that place looks amazing.

   Posted 9 months ago #
8. 

   Bubba
   

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   Wow thanks for posting! I would love to go there some day!

   Mason jars and bale top jars, mason jars and bale top jars.... that is all!
   
   "There’s truth in the statement that pipe tobacco will never be any less expensive than it is today, so think of your cellar as a cost averaged investment" - G.L. Pease

   Posted 9 months ago #
9. 

   goodkat
   

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   Can somebody pass me a tissue?

   Posted 9 months ago #
10. 

    seanz
    

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    Once again i regret being born in New Zealand, (just a little bit) and it will pass

    New Zealand
    Peter Piper.
    Give me the weed, the fragrant weed, My wearied brain to calm; In a wreath of smoke, while I crack my joke, I'll find a healing balm.

    Posted 9 months ago #
11. 

    Lawrence
    

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    They should call that the "Toy" Box... for us pipe smokers.
    That looks like a place you could spend a lot of time in...
    I love the "ships in bottles".

    Thanks for those great pictures Pdmus.
    
    That was cool!

    
    My Pipe Slide Show
    

    Posted 9 months ago #
12. 

    Kevin
    

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    Wow. That's an amazing shop, and even more amazing being in business since 1928. Because of their location, they get a lot of celebrity traffic too.

    Check Out Our Sister Site - Cigar Chronicles
    
    Certified Master Tobacconist (CMT) #1858

    Posted 9 months ago #
13. 

    Al
    

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    Looks like a great place to hang out. Charm is an understatement. Thanks for sharing.

    Al
    My Pipes:
    

    Posted 9 months ago #
14. 

    maduroman
    

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    + 1,000

    places like that are getting more rare every year...

    Posted 9 months ago #
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    schmitzbitz
    

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    Hmm, looks like a good place to stop for an afternoon when the family and I head down to San Diego for Christmas this year.

    Posted 9 months ago #
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    William
    

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    Those are some great looking pics and a cool pipe shop. Thanks for sharing.

    Pics of my pipes & stuff: http://photobucket.com/menckenite

    Posted 9 months ago #
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    hobie1dog
    

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    That's one of the "Heaven on Earth" places....thanks for the pics.

    Marry the right person, this one decision will determine 90% of your happiness.
    
    Does a culture based on seperation and competition, of scientific sophistication and mideval religion, offer happiness even as it ravishes the Earth that sustains it?

    Posted 9 months ago #
18. 

    markw4mms
    

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    Thanks for posting! Having worked in several TB's, and managing one for a while many years ago, these pics bring back fond memories for me. I sure miss the good old days when you could find a TB in just about every mall.

    "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
    - Benjamin Franklin
    

    Posted 9 months ago #
19. 

    unclearthur
    

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    I don't even know where the nearest one is any more. Used to be all over.

    Posted 9 months ago #
20. 

    flipflopsandshades
    

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    Absolutely awesome!!! I wish I had a store with a half of Tinder Box's wares relatively close to me.

    Posted 9 months ago #
21. 

    pdmus
    

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    My father used to buy his tobacco there, I guess I have been going there since I was a kid. It's amazing how it just sort of stays the same - I hope it continues that way.

    Posted 9 months ago #
22. 

    tslex
    

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    Neat.

    thanks for posting.

    Posted 9 months ago #
23. 

    zunismoke
    

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    Before I moved to NC I would go with a friend to this shop almost every Sat. for about 5 years. We would hang out for around 3-4 hours and then go on home. They always have coffee and donuts for anyone that wants to partake.

    May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift. May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift.
    May your heart always be joyful, and may your song always be sung, May you stay forever young! Bob Dylan

    Posted 9 months ago #
24. 

    fred
    

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    Thank you!

    Posted 9 months ago #
25. 

    ejames
    

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    Neat place!! I have been in only one Tinderbox store. It was in the Cherryvale Mall in Rockford,Illinois.

    Posted 9 months ago #
26. 

    mp31guitar
    

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    Nice pics. The ceramic heads are cool. Are they humidors??

    Posted 9 months ago #
27. 

    Bob
    

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    That place looks awesome!

    Thanks for taking and sharing all of those photos!

    "When the Government Fears the People, There is Liberty;
    When the People Fear the Government, There is Tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson

    Posted 9 months ago #
28. 

    wallbright
    

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    Cool looking place! I wish I lived closer!

    Posted 9 months ago #
29. 

    pdmus
    

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    mp31guitar

    - I don't know, maybe they are for tobacco or cigar storing.
    

    
    Bob

    It was really enjoyable taking the pics. I brought a pipe, they filled it with Ed's Ebony Gold and a wondered around, puffin, taking pics and wishing I could buy this pipe, that pipe, etc., etc......I have found that if you dry the rabbit for at least a year, it provides a nice, long smoke.

    We are moving to our house in the mountains soon and I won't be back there for a while, so I spent a few hours there. I'm used to a drive of 5 minutes to get there, so it will be a change, having smoked a lot of free tobacco there - as well as spending a lot of $$$

    Posted 9 months ago #
30. 

    schmitzbitz
    

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    I have found that if you dry the rabbit for at least a year, it provides a nice, long smoke.

    Am I the only one who is slightly confused, and very disturbed by this line?

    Posted 9 months ago #
31. 

    pdmus
    

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    schmitzbitz

    IT WAS A JOKE! Note Bob's words on his profile with the posting - he started it!

    Posted 9 months ago #
32. 

    schmitzbitz
    

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    IT WAS A JOKE! Note Bob's words on his profile with the posting - he started it!

    Ah! It all makes sense now! Sorry, I'm a little slow this morning; coffee isn't providing its normal kick...lol, just the way you had randomly dropped that line in the middle of the paragraph had me wondering (and about to request a review...would be interesting to see if the blend bites due to chemistry, or due to being pissed off about being stuffed in a pipe and lit on fire).

    Posted 9 months ago #
33. 

    pdmus
    

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    schmitzbitz

    Just to make sure, I do not smoke mammals, marsupials, reptiles, insects, crustaceans or rodents; they cause all sorts of problems especially to brier. As well as meerschaum. I only smoke a sort of leaf we call tobacco. Let me know when the rabbit review is posted, I can't wait to read it!

    Posted 9 months ago #
34. 

    docwatson
    

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    This is the finest pipe shop on the west coast in my opinion. Some years ago I visited there and sold Ed Kolpin a Kaywoodie carved head. Ed was a collector of Kaywoodies and even had a collection of the miniatures in the front of the store. I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the warehouse which is located behind the store where MANY high grade collectibles were on display also. It was a very pleasant afternoon that I spent there and shall never forget it. If you get a chance to visit, don't pass up the opportunity.

    It's good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling---Mark Twain

    Posted 9 months ago #

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