Marty Pulvers Interview from the West Coast Pipe Show
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Kevin Godbee - Nov 24, 2010
- 0 min read
On the last day of the West Coast Pipe Show, as things were starting to wind down, we were finally able to corner Marty Pulvers, one of the show’s organizers. Marty has a long history in the pipe business. For nearly 20 years, he owned and operated the retail shop Sherlock’s Haven, in San Francisco’s financial district. His store was given the honor of being named one of the ’10 Best Tobacco Shops In The World’ by Forbes Magazine online. He closed his store in June of 2006 and now operates an online store selling both new & estate pipes. Here is Cynthia Sargent’s 7-minute interview with Marty talking about what the West Coast Pipe Show offers to the world of pipe smokers and collectors.
Marty’s online store is Pulvers’ Briar
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Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 641. Our featured interview tonight is with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl and is featured in our recurring series, “Ask the Tobacco Blender”. However, tonight he will be the interviewee as we learn about how he became a pipe smoker and collector, when he got his first pipe and how he progressed from there. At the top of the show, Brian will have a review of the rare German tobacco blend, Tumblin’ Dice.
I remember the first time I heard someone else say it. “How many pipes do I need? Just one more.” It’s glib, sure, a bit of a joke, but it also rings a bell of truth, at least to me. I certainly have “enough” pipes, but pipes are seductive little things. Just when we think we’re all set, we have enough, another will come along that tempts us beyond any sense of reason. I suppose it’s the same way with any sort of collecting. There’s always another white whale we’re in pursuit of. When we finally track that one down, though, another will almost inevitably breach the surface, taking its place as the new object of our desire, enticing us to change course and set sail once again. But, there’s a potential problem with having a lot of pipes. Maybe. The more pipes we may have, the harder it can be to keep them in rotation. It makes sense. We tend to gravitate towards our current faves, the ones that most appeal to us for whatever reason, and sometimes, maybe they stay in rotation longer than they really should. The side-effect of this, of course, is that another favored pipe might end up too-long forgotten. That’s exactly what happened recently. Exhibit A: The Castello pictured is one that has been long overlooked. It’s a Trademark shape #55. It’s a really nice example of the shape. The red pearlized stem is beautifully done. The wood isn’t really anything special to look at, but it’s evenly covered, without any bald spots. When I look at it, I wonder why it wasn’t done in the more typical dark ruby-red finish that adorns most Trademarks. I’ve seen a great deal of variation amongst the grade over the years, including one really nice bent-bulldog that left the factory with a brown sandblasted finish. (For those who don’t know, Trademark has long been the lowest Castello smooth grade, usually finished in a dark red.) Was this a stamping/grading error, or is there just more leeway in the grade than we’ve come to expect? I might never know. This example is from the early 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, identified by the upper case Ks in the grade designation. (On Sea Rock and Old Antiquari pipes, the Ks reflect the size, while with the smooth finishes, Trademark, Castello and Collection, the Ks represent the relative grade.) It has been living in a different rack than the one housing the majority of my #55s. I don’t recall why I put it there, but as many of us can relate to, rack space is often at a premium. I stumbled upon it while looking for something completely different. “Oh, you? Why are you there? I remember you smoke pretty well.” Yeah, I sometimes talk to my pipes – one of many quirks, I suppose. I won’t begin to worry until they start talking back. I grabbed it from the rack, dusted it off, and decided to give it a fill with a bowl of a slightly aged VA/perique blend, Telegraph Hill, from 2018. What a delightful smoke! At five years, the tobacco is expressing a lot of the complexities of aged Virginias and the perique adds a delightful fruitiness. When young, the composition is a bit brighter, maybe a little spicier, but time has polished any edges, and amplified the sweeter notes. Like the pipe, I’d forgotten about this blend for quite a while, but one evening in March, after chatting with my good friend Nate, who is quite a fan of it, I decided it might be time to revisit it. I got a couple of fresh ones, and excavated a couple older tins from the library. I normally reach for Fillmore when I want a VA/perique thing because of its boldness and depth, but in revisiting this one, I’m finding something soothing and comfortable about it that I’ve really been enjoying, both young and aged. Sticking with the theme of the forgotten, and as a perhaps interesting tidbit to the photographically inclined, I shot the pictures for this month’s column with my old Nikkor-O 35mm/2.0 mounted on my trusty Nikon Df. The last time I used this lens, it was adapted to one of my Fujifilm bodies, and I didn’t care much for the results, so I put it away and pretty much forgot about it. But, I’ve recently been exploring some of my old kit, deciding what to keep, what to pass along, and this one once again came to my attention, kind of like that old Castello. On the Df, there’s something about its vintage rendering that I find truly appealing. Another forgotten treasure, and just like with that old pipe, it seems that, at least today, everything old is new again. If your collection is on the large side, are there pipes or tobaccos that you’ve all but forgotten, only to come back to them one day to find yourself wondering why? Maybe it’s just another fun dimension to this endlessly fascinating journey.
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I think Marty has a nice sense of perspective in that he sees the pipe show as more than a venue for selling and trading pipes. He emphasizes the camaraderie and learning one experiences by such get togethers; and I think his dedication to the hobby is laudable. Thanks for giving us a chance to meet him.
Marty was a pleasure to meet and be around for the entire show! He is a very energetic man who has a passion for our hobby!
I first met Marty years ago when I bought pipe tobacco from him in his San Francisco store Sherlock’s Haven. I came in with an idea about trying Virginia, but I was rather confused as to what would be a good choice. He gently steered me away from some junk I was planning on buying and put a tin of Dunhill’s Light Flake into my hand. I have been a confirmed Virginia smoker every since! I still miss his store very much. He is a very nice man and very knowledgable.
I hope to be able to make the next West Coast pipe show to belatedly thank him, and enjoy the camraderie and fun!
I think I was one one of Marty’s first customers back in the day when he first took over Sherlock’s Haven. He was a great mentor and heck of a nice guy. I remember he told me he used to go open markets – sit on a mat and put his refurbished pipes to sell. Man, he has come a long way since then. It just goes to show that when you follow your passion or bliss – amazing things can happen. Couldn’t happen to a nicer man. Now the scary thig – while I have gotten older and fatter – Marty still looks and sounds the same – maybe a little whiter in the beard. Marty keep on truckin amigo.