The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 2
- Homepage
- Radio Talk Show
- The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 2
- Kevin Godbee
- Sep 27, 2012
- 0 min read
It’s a pleasure to bring you the 2nd episode of the Pipes Magazine Radio Show starring Brian Levine. This second show will have our first interview. We’ve already had requests for pipe maker interviews, so we decided to fulfill those requests by making the first interview with Canadian pipe maker Michael Parks. Brian also discusses the differences in factory pipes, artisan pipes, and high grades. Just what is the difference between an artisan pipe and a high grade? Listen to the show to find out.
In this episode, you’ll also find out how a Britney Spears song can be transformed into something that is actually cool and not too bad to listen to.
Finally, Brian ranks on Ikea, but also discovers a fun new place to smoke a pipe and be entertained.
We hope you enjoy our 45-minute show produced just for you—the pipe smoker and collector. The following link will launch a pop-up player (it works in Internet Explorer now). Alternatively, you can download the show in iTunes after the initial broadcast is complete here.
- Brian Levine Podcast, Difference between Artisan Pipe and High Grade Pipe, Free audio books and podcasts pipes and tobacco, Free radio pipe podcast, Free radio tobacco podcast, Michael Parks Interview, Pipe podcasts and downloads, Pipe tobacco podcasts, Pipes & Tobacco podcast, Pipes & Tobacco Radio Talk Show, Pipes free audio podcast, Pipes Magazine Podcast, Pipes Magazine podcast feeds, Pipes Magazine Radio Station, Pipes podcasts, Pipes Radio Talk Show, Podcasts from Pipes Magazine, Tobacco free audio podcast, Tobacco podcasts and downloads
Written by Kevin Godbee
View all posts by: Kevin Godbee
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
28 Responses
Smokingpipes.com Updates
New Accessories |
18 Fresh Rossi Pipes |
18 Fresh IMP Meerschaum Pipes |
60 Fresh Savinelli Pipes |
12 Fresh Ser Jacopo Pipes |
Site Sponsors
Recent Posts
Pundit is a pipe smoker who never sleeps. No, that’s not right. Pundit is a pipe smoker who is always thinking about pipes and tobacco. Even in his sleep. Well, that’s close enough. It’s May. Blooming flowers, weeds, trees, and grass, have taken over the yard, and pollen scatters and sprays like rain. We asked for spring, and we got it in barrels. But this is also a time when thoughts turn to new pipes and new tobacco blends. It’s like that runaway elephant when it freed itself recently from a circus show in Butte, Mont. The Pundit herd rules, but it is too large, despite thoughts and urges for more pipes and more tobacco. What to do? If you are like Pundit, you eat, sleep(less), and think pipes and tobacco blends. Right now, everywhere, all pipes, all the time. Call it pollen-crazed mind. And just so you know, Pundit has already set aside a stash for new pipes. We’ll just let the herd run amok. It’s the Butte syndrome. Now that we’ve settled the weather and runaway elephants issue, it’s time for a couple of Pipe Lessons from the Past: Do take your pipe when you go fishing, say. Your pipe pal tends to calm the nerves when the big one takes the bait, doncha know. I once hooked a large brown trout while fly fishing a pristine Missouri trout stream. Its waters glimmered in the early morning dawn and trout were rising to a variety of emerging bugs. Mouth open, pipe drops to the bottom of said stream and heads out toward somewhere in Missouri with the rest of the brown trout. Leaning over to quickly grab the disappearing pipe, my brand new German-produced Puma trout knife drops from the leather sheath dangling from a leather strap around my neck. Don’t become wildly flailing with excitement when you hook the big one and lose a pipe and knife worth more than said fish, hand-tied trout fly, line, and rod and reel! Patience, as in pipe smoking, pays off. Do keep your precious pipes clean with regular pipe cleaners and solutions. I used soft and bristly cleaners with alcohol (50 percent isopropyl). In some cases, it took stronger stuff, grain alcohol, or even special pipe sweetener found at pipe and tobacco brick and mortar shops and online. Uh, I hope it doesn’t need to be said that you don’t drink grain alcohol. A dab on a bristly pipe cleaner will do. Do not ream out the inside of the bowl with that hard-won cake buildup with a pocket knife. Pundit ruined a beautiful Peterson with a pocketknife, ala Jack the Ripper. You can find great tools for that job. In fact, for newbies and veterans alike, check out the Smokingpipes.com “How to Clean a Pipe.” It is a Master Class on the proper way to clean a pipe, inside and out. Do store your treasures in pipe racks. It keeps them safe and out of harm’s way. Refrain from tossing pipes into an old shoe box or drawer. That’s the heartless approach. Do not try to move your pipe racks if fully loaded with pipes. Invariably you will come down with a case of the jitters, like yours truly. Pipes will rock and roll like Elvis and invariably one or two will hit the floor. I broke the stem of a one-of-a-kind Pete, and the tenon out of a wonderfully carved Danish. Mind you, this was in one big rattle-and-roll. And one more final painful lesson learned from the past: If you drop a beloved meerschaum on the floor, it being composed of ancient sea critters and sea shells, will shatter into a thousand and one shards. One of my treasured meers hit the floor and scattered like so much white dust across the floor. Pipes are my BFFs. I have learned over time they deserve attention and TLC. Ok, time for a note or two from Pipe Smokers of the Past : One fellow who was rarely seen without his pipe is Harold Wilson, two-time former United Kingdom Prime Minister. He ran the political show from Oct. 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. Wilson was born March 11, 1916, in Huddersfield, West Riding, Yorkshire, and died May 24, 1955, in London. He was looked upon, politically speaking, as the people’s Prime Minister who smoked a pipe and was down-to-earth, just a regular guy. I’m an optimist, but an optimist who carries a raincoat—Harold Wilson And one from America’s tinsel town, Glenn Ford, a longtime actor not only famous for his roles but also for his pipe smoking. He loved Dunhill pipes, naturally. Glenn Ford, Gwyllyn Samuel Newton “Glenn” Ford, was born May 1, 1916, in Sainte-Christine-d’Auvergne, Quebec, and died Aug. 30, 2006, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Ford’s movie and television career began in 1937 and lasted until 1991. He won a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor for his performance in Pocketful of Miracles in 1961. If they try to rush me, I always say, I’ve only got one other speed and it’s slower—Glenn Ford And a Pundit parting thought: Pipes and books are two good friends to have.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 607. Our featured interview tonight is with pipe maker Brian Laurent. Brian has worked with his hands since he was 14-years old. He’s been a woodworker for over 20 years. After he became a pipe smoker, he started making pipe racks, and then graduated to making pipes. He also enjoys painting, working on hot rods, cooking and baking. For his regular job he is a dental technician, implant specialist, and full mouth reconstruction specialist. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 606. Our featured interview tonight is with Per George Jensen. Most pipe enthusiasts know Per as the longtime Mac Baren Tobacco Company spokesman. Last year he made some changes in his life. He got married, moved to Germany and parted ways with Mac Baren, but not with the tobacco business. He is consulting with Sutliff Tobacco Co., and he created the popular and unique signature tobacco series, “Pipe Force”. Tonight’s discussion will include details on Per’s line of blending tobacco, which has something for everyone. You can smoke them straight, but if you want to blend tobaccos, we will have some good advice on this episode. At the top of the show, since it’s springtime, Brian will discuss seasonal tobaccos and answer two questions that come up often.
His grandfather came to the US with a $50 gold coin in his shoe, opened up a cigar shop, and his most famous customer was Babe Ruth. He holds the record for the longest slow smoke in the world at over 24 hours, and he is the only man who stopped Chuck Norris from round-house kicking the Nording Pipe Statue. The most interesting man in the world, Jonathan Goldsmith, stopped by the Chicago Pipe Show this year to get kissed on the cheek by Neal Osborn. Wait, what? OK, I kid. Jonathan came to honor his friend and fishing buddy Steve Norse of Vermont Freehand at the annual Doctors and Masters of Pipes award dinner. Steve was one of the two recipients of the Masters of Pipes award and asked Johnathan to show up and add some color to his acceptance speech. Slightly overshadowed but no less important! Jay Furman was also honored as this year’s hobbyist Master of Pipes, joining me and a pipe-star-studded list of great contributors to the hobby and profession of pipes. Jay is a character in his own right. While I don’t know him as well as I would like, I’ve learned that he’s a kind-hearted collector who started the Artisan Pipe Makers Club, a place where new artisans learn, grow, and are challenged. There are around 60 artisans who participate, collaborate, and learn. Jay and Mike Bishop also started the Long Island Pipe Club, which has around 50 members and meets twice a month on different sides of the island. What is not featured here are pictures of the Doctors of Pipes. Both recipients were unable to attend: Marco Parascenzo – Doctor of Pipes, Trade/Industry Regis MacCafferty – Doctor of Pipes, Hobby Please join us in congratulating these newly inducted Doctors and Masters of Pipes. It is a great honor, and each of these men embodies what our hobby and industry strive to do: grow, educate, and cultivate its future. I encourage everyone to attend the dinner next year as it’s always illuminating. And now, on with the show. Sort of. You may be wondering what the most interesting pipe smoker in the world smokes…. I didn’t miss the opportunity to chat with this incredibly nice man, whom Brian Levine and I also remembered from one of our favorite TV shows, the A-Team. He was also in many other shows from the 80s, such as Magnum PI, Murder She Wrote, Dallas, and MacGyver, just to name a few. Jonathan: I actually enjoy simple and readily available tobacco like Captain Black or some black cavendish from my local cigar and pipe shop in Vermont. What about your first pipe? Jonathan: I picked up my first pipe; I think it was a billiard when I was in London many years ago at a place called James Fox. How often do you smoke? Jonathan: Almost every day. I enjoy a pipe in the morning and a cigar in the afternoon. I want to thank Jonathan Goldsmith for taking a few minutes to sit down with me and being gracious enough to snap pictures with many of us at the show; it was a ton of fun and made this year’s show even more memorable! This year, the Chicago Pipe Show kicked it up a notch with a new location, new signage, new pre-registration and payment system, new show executive staff, and lots of new surprises. Now, Tim Garrity, President of the Chicagoland Pipe Club, tells me that over 400 attendees were at the show, but they are still tabulating the numbers too, so this is subject to getting updated and expanded. We do have our dates for next year at this same location – the first weekend of May at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago O’Hare. Of course, like any good Chicago show, there was plenty of room hopping and the announcement board. The signage this year was super helpful in knowing where to go when to go, and what tables our favorite vendors were at. While the show was jam-packed, the spacing of the tables allowed everyone to move around freely and didn’t feel over-crowded as the tables and isles were spaced out to allow room for vendors and collectors to stretch out. The smoking tent was hopping all the time, but luckily, air flow and some great air purifiers by Lake Air kept it fresh. As usual, there was a great sample table with tons of things to try in the tent, and on your way to the tent, there was a conveniently placed cash bar. This year the tent was 25% bigger than last year, although you wouldn’t notice because there were more people at the show! Kaywoodie is under new Management. At the show, I chatted with Nathan “Greywoodie” Davis about how he came to take over the 173-year-old company. Tell me how this happened. Nathan: This month is my 5th anniversary of Greywoodie opening. I was friends with Bill and had a huge collection of Kaywoodies – I approached him about having them available outside of brick and mortar. He had no online presence and didn’t sell direct. He said if I wanted them to be more available, the best thing I could do was quit my job and sell them myself. He was mostly kidding because I had a really good job in the legal profession, but I wasn’t happy so one day I did give him a call and said “hey whats your minimum order,” and he said “You didn’t just quit your job because I was joking?” I did and I started out that way as an online retailer. So, in working with him, we did exclusives, and I learned about pipe making from him, both production and hand-made. We brought back some historical lines as well, and soon enough, I was helping to make the pipes I was buying from him. It was great for him to get my labor […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 605. Our featured interview tonight is with Pete Prevost. Pete is a pipe maker and the President of the BriarWorks pipe factory in Columbia Tennessee. BriarWorks is a a pipe maker co-op with several other pipe makers, including Todd Johnson, who co-founded it with Pete. Brian and Pete will be talking about what’s new at BriarWorks, and how they are getting ready to attend the Chicago pipe show. (This was recorded before the show that took place last weekend.) At the top of the show, Brian will give his report of his travels and what happened at the Chicago show.
When I first started with the pipe as a quirky and precocious teen, the only tutelage I had at my disposal were scenes from old movies in which a well dressed chap would stick his pipe into a pouch, scoop tobacco into the bowl and press it down unceremoniously with his thumb. Then, with great flourish, he’d strike a match and light the thing with all manner of cinematic excess, puffing up vast clouds of smoke falling just short of completely obscuring his visage. While it may look good on film, it’s a terrible approach to actually enjoying the thing. Somehow, though, this “technique” seems to have survived in the contemporary vernacular, at least to some extent, even with bit-loads of information handily at our fingertips that should dissuade us from the practice. But, at the time, this misguided approach was all I had; it’s no wonder my early days of puffing were fraught with difficult lighting, harsh, bitter smokes and tongue bite, all culminating in a fireproof mass of ye old soggy dottle in the bottom of the bowl. Ultimately, the resulting frustration made me give up the pipe, at least for a while. While the idea of it was still very appealing, the practice of it was not. It wasn’t until a few years later when, still full of curiosity and romantic notions of pipe smoking, I wandered into a real tobacconist’s shop, and learned my “method” was a long way from the techniques that would bring me to any sort of pipe smoking bliss. So, after my poor start, and under the guidance of someone who actually seemed to know how to do it right, I was given the opportunity to approach the process anew, this time with much greater success. It was only because I was both perseverent, and fortunate to have a local shop staffed with knowledgeable people, that I’ve been able to enjoy the experience ever since. At least mostly… How many fledgeling pipe smokers have simply given up on an enjoyable pastime because of similar early mis-starts? Fortunately, today, it’s not hard to find helpful guidance at the press of a key or ten. But, at the same time, not all roads lead to Valhalla, and sometimes the advice offered might well be labeled with, “Here be dragons.” The other day, I came across a short video on-line in which a well-meaning tobacconist suggested packing a bowl of an “English” mixture “nice and tight.” Perhaps somewhat ironically, I was smoking, or trying to smoke a bowl that I’d filled on auto-pilot, packed too tightly, and not only was having the devil of a time trying to keep it lit, I really wasn’t enjoying the acrid smoke the tobacco issued during the brief periods in which it was actually burning. “No, no, NO!” I found myself muttering at my pipe, and at the figure on the screen, my protests joined by the guttural growling noises that sometimes accompany my discontent. Defiantly, I grabbed a pipe nail, shoveled out the dense, asbestos-like clog from the bowl, swabbed out the shank with a pipe cleaner, more out of habit than need since I hadn’t actually smoked enough of the mass to foul the shank, and started over, this time paying proper attention to what I was doing. (For as long as I’ve been doing this, I still screw it all up sometimes.) Much better. This got me thinking about a couple things that are so important to the maximal enjoyment of our pipes, yet not often enough discussed, namely how different tobaccos respond to variations in filling density, and moisture content; two separate but related parameters. Once I’d been shown the proper way to fill the bowl, or at least a proper way, everything had changed for me. I also began drying my tobacco down as a matter of course. Suddenly, there was greater cooperation between leaf and flame, the smoke was rich and flavorful, and it burned mostly to the bottom of the bowl with few relights. Given that, at the time, I smoked latakia mixtures almost exclusively, there didn’t seem to be a reason to explore beyond my “new” approach. It wasn’t until my attention turned in the direction of Virginia blends that I had to look a bit deeper. The same technique that worked so well for me with latakia mixtures resulted in bland, and often harsh smokes with Virginias. I attributed this to the tobaccos, convincing myself that I just didn’t like the stuff. At one of our pipe club meetings, I was talking with a friend who smoked Three Nuns exclusively. When he offered me a bowl. I thanked him, and told him that I just didn’t seem to get along well with Virginias, that they weren’t for me. “Maybe it’s the way you pack them. Here, let me fill your pipe for you.” I watched as he rubbed out a few coins to fine ribbons, moister than I was then accustomed to, and filled the bowl carefully in stages, pressing it tighter than I would have. Prepared for a nightmare, I was instead treated to a pipe dream. The tobacco smoldered slowly and almost continuously, delivering a rich, cool, sweet and delicious smoke. After that, I spent some time exploring the impact of these two variables, moisture content and packing density, on different mixtures and blends, always with similar results. Latakia mixtures, and to a lesser extent, those with a high percentage of oriental leaf, taste and smoke better when they’re on the dry side and the bowl is filled loosely, while Virginia blends tend to work best with a little more moisture and a denser fill. Burleys seem to work best somewhere in between, except for cube-cuts, which don’t like to be packed with much pressure at all. (Gravity fill, tap the bowl to settle the cubes. Repeat until full.) For such a simple act, pipe smoking is filled with undefined complexities! The point behind all this? Often […]
If you can’t afford it, it’s a High Grade Pipe! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
Artisan or high grade,doesn’t matter I can’t afford either.
I like factory pipes – Dunhill, Stanwell, & Comoys.
My ranking scheme would be a bit different:
low end: basket pipes, lesser factory pipes
mid end: some mid-range factory pipes, lesser artisan pipe makers
high end: high end factory pipes and higher end artisans
Ultra High end: The creme-de-la-creme
I have or had pipes in all the categories. However, you can have a great smoking pipe in any of the categories and a real stinker in any of the categories. The probability of a great pipe goes up with the category and the probably of a stinker goes up as you go down in category. The great thing about pipes is that you never know how a pipe will turn out.
I love the show. The interview with Michael Parks was great. I commissioned his first hawkbill pipe from him many years ago and still have it in my collection.
Keep up the good work Brian.
John, I didn’t know you liked Hawkbill pipes!? 😉
Great job again, Brian, and Michael Parks is the very definition of “high grade.”
I thought it was a good show. It would be cool to hear from a meerschaum pipe maker but it might be hard as they are all in turkey. The cowboy ice cream commercial didn’t offend me. I am a firm believer in free speech and against censorship.
Thanks Kevin, Brian, and Michael Parks.
Entertaining! It was interesting to hear a pipemaker’s thoughts about the craft. I think I would enjoy hearing more of those sort of things. The ranking of pipes was an interesting subject as well, though that may be a subjective matter. I would have thought that the briar quality used would have some degree of influence on whether the pipe were a high grade or not. Maybe I slept through that part? No doubt about what makes an artisan grade pipe, however. Thanks for the show!
Great, innovative show, and nice music!
Waiting for the rest….
JW
Great Show! I was busy last night and it was good to catch the show this morning in the office. Boy that 45 minutes went quick! I wouldn’t be opposed to a Howard Stern-esque 4 hour format.
More pipe maker interviews for sure, That was very interesting.
Much better show than the first. The interview with Parks was really good. The rant on IKEA was amusing.
I think to the answer to the trivia question is Tsarina Catherine the Great, but in all likelihood it is an apocryphal answer.
Last nights show was OK but I think the 1st show was better, sorry that’s just my take on it. I for sure will keep tuning in you have a good thing going.
Love the first two shows. Keep ’em coming!
Subscribed. ‘Nuff said.
Simon
Great show and very entertaining. Thanks Brian and Kevin for providing us with some great content. No other pipe site on the net compares to this one for content, activity and just plain fun.
I like the program. Keep it up.
Cigar band: Queen Victoria. Great show, thanks!
I was definitely taken aback with the “number one rated…with the last name ‘Levine’.” I wondered: How the heck do you program the audio clip to call me by name. A couple seconds later, I found out that I’m not the only Levine around here.
To rich for my blood, although i buy Castellos and Ashtons, but slightly used, save a lot of money that way, but great show..
Artisan or high grade, price and/or classification are never indicative of how well a pipe smokes. As seilerjp pointed out “you can have a great smoking pipe in any of the categories and a real stinker in any of the categories”.
Allow me to share an advice that Alex Florov gave my friend once: “You can make a pipe that will look like [and probable sell for] a million bucks. However, if it is not “engineered” properly, it is worth S%#T (you guys can figure the word out)!” The pipe will not smoke properly. It will be useless. It may very well, to use Brian’s own phrase, serve as bookends, or as Michael pointed out, serve as a projectile.
However, I will agree with Rick that Michael Parks does turn out some of the very best high end pipes.
Brian, this is a great show, great format. Would love to hear more from pipe makers, tobacco manufacturers, different pipe clubs – their activities, etc.
Great show guys. Michael Parks is a class act. Commended by JT Cooke no less. I listened to the interview smoking my commissioned Michael Parks blast billiard. Star of the East. Keep up the great work, guys.
sf1
Finally! A podcast for the pipe smoker! GREAT show! Keep it up Brian!!!
Can’t be Queen Victoria as she was a staunch non-smoker.
Great Show-I’ve been a pipe-smoker for over 50 yrs-enjoy hearing about pipemakers.I’m lucky to belong to The Capitol District Pipe Club -we meet monthly and are fortunate to have as our leader Russ Oulette (Master Blender). I’m most interested in hearing about Estate pipes-(Most popular- best buys-most collectible.)I favor English and Italian pipes but have started interest in American artists as well. Keep up the good shows!!!
I am looking forward to Radio Live Show #3. I have my pipe and Merlot wine glass ready 2 go! Oh….now I just need a bottle of Merlot. Happy Thursday listening Radio & Pipe friends. Best regards, Your Pipe Pal Patty
Enjoyed the show. The reason I listened was that you were going to explain the difference between artisan and high grade. When the time came, you said you didn’t know. How about defining it better, maybe by giving the names of the high grade makers. By the way, I am listening to this interview as I write this. I want to know details. How do you select briar? How do you cure it? What stains do you use? Are they tasteless (the stains)? Must the draft hole have to be at the exact bottom of the chamber? Do you use a flexible shaft rasp to shape between the shank and bowl? Stuff like that. Thanks.
Amazing! Your questions to your guest were pertinent and probing! I look forward to your future shows.
“Patronize that lonely, last facility.”