The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 3
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- The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 3
- Kevin Godbee
- Oct 4, 2012
- 1 min read
Welcome to the third Pipes Magazine Radio Show. After the first two shows our listeners were debating which episode they liked better. We think everyone will agree that Episode Number 3 sets the bar to a new level. We worked very hard to make this show exemplary. Mary McNiel from McClelland Tobacco Co. will be tonight’s interview. If you’ve had the chance to meet Mary at a pipe show, then you already know that she is a sweetheart. She is immensely knowledgeable about tobacco, and a pleasure to talk to. McClelland makes many popular pipe tobaccos including the Frog Morton series. We will talk about the origins of Frog Morton and unveil some other interesting background information on McClelland tobaccos. Brian will also be talking about estate pipes, he will give you the answer to last week’s trivia question and you get a new tobacco trivia to think about.
We 100% guarantee that no matter what your taste in music is that you will love the featured song we have for this show.
We’d like to welcome 4noggins.com as our first direct radio show sponsor. Please listen for their ad at the beginning of the show. Finally, Brian exposes another anti-tobacco effort gone amuck in this week’s rant.
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. Alternatively, you can download the show in iTunes after the initial broadcast is complete here.
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Written by Kevin Godbee
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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 […]
Good show. I thought you might want to know that Marshalls and Tjmax are owned by the same company.
Brian,
I and your friend Bill Kotyk listened to the show tonight. He said the show must be easy for you to do because it is just an extension of your personality. Bill is smoking an estate Roush with some 55 year old Friebourg & Treyer while listening to you. Damn, guess Bill will now be over every week to hear your show since he is computer illiterate.
Best wishes
John
Glad you liked the show Photoman. I thought it was great myself. Brian is really in the groove now. Marshalls and Tjmax – ok they are on the list too.
LOL John!
I think the show will only get better with time. He will become more comfortable than he already is and I’m sure there will be more great interviews. It is strange that he talked about algerian briar as I just received my first one yesterday. I got it really cheap and turned out to be an Edwards. Very exciting!
I have an Edward’s Algerian briar pipe too!
That was the best show yet!
The interview was great
The Pipe song was awesome. Cool.
that was great interview.. Each interview is cooler than the previous one..
all were great but that was the best among them..
Brian: Mary told me that your radio show would be on tonight. I then proceeded to stand in front of the radio, and I asked, “AM or FM?” She then informed me that the show was on a computer. I said, “they have radios in computers?” Brian, you know I am behind in all this techno stuff. I’m still getting over the fax machine. God, how does that thing work? Do you really want to know what I think of your show? I loved it, and you know I’m a critical person. I yell at myself at least 10 times a day. The sound effects are great and well placed. I think you’re a great interviewer. In all these years, I never realized you had a wonderful talent. The show was so good, I almost thought, “Mike, you need to learn about computers.” I am really looking forward to the next show. Well, I have to go now. I’m about to try something called “popped corn”.
Fun show, Brian. Enjoyed hearing Mary McNeill. Loved the pipe song!
Great show! Your rant was right on target, unless of course, the Target was at a mall in upstate NY. 🙂
What a great show this week! The interview with my “cousin” Mary was outstanding. (Her dad’s village and my mom’s were less than ten miles apart, in the Peloponnesian mountains around Tripoli. I’ve joked with her that we could be distantly related.) She is such a terrific example of why ours is such a warm and friendly community. Her contributions to the hobby are legion and legendary. I found the “Frog Morton Story” fascinating. I also enjoyed the “drop-ins” and the pipe song. Again, congratulations Brian!
Another fine show. Mary McNiel is just as nice a person as you can ever meet and is super knowledgeable. Mike and her are just a wonderful team.
China is the #1 producer of tobacco.
I just listened to the 3rd show in my office this Friday. Great show; loved the mood of the show today! The interview was fantastic. I’m looking forward to future interviews.
Brian: Wow! After our interview, I thought: “Oh, good grief, I don’t know. Brian’s put his whole show in jeopardy because of this….but then you added special effects, songs, rants. Heck, that’s entertainment! If our political candidates had you, their appearances would be smokin’ instead of smellin’! Thanks for my introduction to social media. That’s what it is. Right? I know you’ll have great success in the future with your show. You’ve got the touch!
I just listened to the first and second show. The second was better than first and I suspect they will continue to get better with time.
Being fairly new to pipe smoking I really like any type of educational and historical information.
I would like to say Thank You to Kevin for taking the time which must be considerable to put together the show.
Kevin maybe a sponsor would offer a special of some sort only to listeners (use a “code” you broadcast). Great way to increase sales and listeners.
Another suggestion is have question and answer section, you maybe working on this already.
Ps I agree with you about the cigarette only section on the cruise…..stupid rule!
Another great show, Brian, including your terrific discussion with Mary. You can’t believe how much faster you make my commute go on the 405 Freeway on Friday afternoon in traffic-clogged Los Angeles. I agreed with almost everything you said about estate pipes being a great value and of the difference between restoration and re-engineering. However, don’t forget the levels of alteration that daily use over a period of decades does to a pipe.
You cited used Sixten Ivarsson pipes as possible bargains if you can find them. Let’s say someone bought a new Sixten pipe when it was first made in 1962, and you buy it in 2012, after the original owner has smoked it thousands of times for half a century. It would not be surprising to find a serious cake in the bowl. You said you would want that reamed down to a thin layer of existing coating, with no artificial coating added over it. I agree. But just like the diameter of the tobacco chamber, which closed as the cake built, there is a similar cake inside the shank. Sixten drilled his air holes at 4 mm, but the used Sixten pipe might be 3 mm because of the cake inside the shank. The only way to bring the pipe back to its original dimensions that I know of would be to re-drill it at 4 mm. I would call that restoration and not re-engineering.
In a sense, you could say that the pipe was “re-engineered” by the daily smoking over a period of decades. I love it that you got me to think about these things!
I forgot to thank Kevin as well for this fantastic new contribution to the hobby!
The opening about estate pipes was so right on. I buy a lot of estates and mostly from either artisans or higher line factories. The deals out there are incredible if you take the time to research and to learn the market both on Ebay and from the online estate dealers. For example, on Ebay Upshall prices are in the toilet, you can buy any P grade for less than 125.00 where as the online dealers are still trying to get 180-350.00 for the same pipes.
I liked the interview with Mary, she sounds like a real sweet lady and someone with tons of knowledge. The rant is a great one, I wouldn’t give my money to a mall like that either, screw em. All in all it was a great show, thanks Brian and Kevin for providing some great entertainment.
@Rick – That’s ok. When you said Brian, I thought you were talking to me. 😉
When I wrote the note thanking you, Kevin, I actually had the same thought. For those of you who don’t know what we’re talking about, in the latest edition of “In Search of Pipe Dreams,” there is a photo of Kevin and Brian, and I mistakenly called both of them Brian in the caption. Maybe in the next edition, I’ll call both of you Kevin. That might even things out.
Ha ha ha Rick!
Thanks for a great show. They have all been great and they keep getting better.
The interview with Mary was great. I only had wished it were longer!
Hi Brian… Your show has great potential, keep up the great interviews and product reviews! As a copywriter if I could make one observation, I would urge you to consider renaming the show. The current name (I feel) is a little antiseptic, boring if you will. By doing so you will establish the show as an independent “brand”, which would (with a snappy name) attract more attention and of course more listeners.You may even want to announce a contest, for your listeners to enter potential names.
columbialion – Thanks for your input.
It was a well thought-out decision to name the show The Pipes Magazine Radio Show. Pipes Magazine IS the brand which the radio show falls under. It is part of the same business with the same audience and same advertiser base.
I am thoroughly enjoying the show, thank you. Here in Australia where anything to do with smoking is treated as devil spawn (note our well over 300% taxes and plain packaging laws) it’s so refreshing to be able to listen to free thinking rational people who understand that our hobby is, above all, good fun. The more positive views on Pipes and Cigars being presented the better. Keep up the excellent work. As an aside, on the anti-smoking Australia lobby, Tasmania, one of our states is looking to bring in a law that would effectively ban all smoking for anyone who turns 18 after 2014… barbarians! Oh and one other thing, if I may be so bold, as a non user of iTunes a link to a downloadable mp3 would be great. Thanks!!!