Decisions, Decisions … Which Pipe To Buy?
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 647. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is Sykes Wilford. Sykes is the Founder and CEO of SmokingPipes.com, and Laudisi Enterprises. Brian and Sykes will discuss the Japanese pipe maker Hiroyuki Tokutomi. Unfortunately, Tokutomi passed a week ago on January 28, 2025 at the age of 76 after being hospitalized with pneumonia. Sykes knew him well from a friendship and business relationship that spanned over 20 years. He was considered by many to be one of the best pipe makers in the world with his innovative designs. At the top of the show, Brian will have a tobacco review of Low Country Waccamaw, which is a Virginia-Perique blend with some Izmir Orientals.
Yes, some things are just too hard. Take, for example, trying not to bust the budget on a new, long-sought pipe from one of the master creators. I faced this issue many years ago when I saw one of the gods of pipe creations resting coyly in a bricks-and-mortar glass display case. The creation was so alluring I could hardly keep myself from throwing my money down on the barrel head, and to hell with debt. Everybody carries some, so why not for a longed-for pipe from this emperor of the ebauchon? More on that dilemma in a moment, but first let’s relax with thoughts of a new year, new adventures, new pipes, and new tobacco blends. Joy reigns. Uh, yes, Pundit is a bit ga-ga over the possibility of new pipe toys. Just read about new pipes from BriarWorks at SmokingPipes.com. Oh, joy to behold! As we flutter into new days, this missive can be thought of as views of the heart (ahem, of the briar) and the joys of our wonderful hobby. The masterminds at Briar Works have birthed a beautiful calabash. Amazing and with a finish so fine it makes you want to dance. I wrote a story long ago on Briar Works in Columbia, Tenn., south of Nashville. The shop was in its early beginnings. Now Pete Provost and his crew have a smoking lounge to enhance the fun. This is the foundational meaning of a new year. Pipes and tobacco, especially from the masters, make our days go better from sunup to sundown. But I don’t want you to think Pundit has forgotten his old friends. I was reminiscing not long ago about the senescent drugstore, drugstore soda fountain counters, and drugstore pipes and tobacco. Of course, those days are well behind us, but I still have one or two of those old pipes and tobacco tins as well as dear thoughts of fountain-made milkshakes and those squat and colorful music boxes sitting right on the counter in which you shoved nickles and dimes to hear the latest rock-n-roll hit. And as I reminisced, I was struck by another reverie of an Elysian pipe I once absolutely drooled to own. Back those long years ago, I used to search many a brick and mortar pipe and tobacco shop, and even online. Nothing presented my pipe dream, until one day, there it was: A Former Lovat-billiard shape. Having no idea who or what a Former was, you can only guess my surprise when I discovered Former’s given name is Hans “Former” Nielsen, a premiere Danish carver, from the land of legendary pipe carvers. The “Former” nickname is from his younger days. Now 84-years-old, the famed Danish carver, who was trained by fabled Danish carvers and once worked for W.O. Larsen, continues to produce immaculate pipes of wondrous design. https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/legendary-hans-former-nielsen Instant labor of Lovat love. I had to have it, no matter the price. But it was well above my pay grade. And if I had to purchase that pipe today, I would have to sell my house. Needless to say, I struggled to find a way to purchase the Lovat. I just could not in right mind figure a way to acquire the beauty and keep peace in the household. I passed on the purchase, walking downtrodden from the shop. But as they say, just ’cause he ain’t talking don’t mean he ain’t still figuring. And ponder on it I did. Several days later I figured maybe I could work out a plan with the shop owner, whom I knew. Why, yes, the shop owner said. With a hefty down payment, he could work out a plan over a few weeks. The deal was cut and I walked out the shop doors with my beautiful new goddess. Some days later, the lady of the household found my unsmoked pipe where I had stored it in a socks drawer, not wanting to attract attention. I was greeted with an evening conversation that began, “And, so, what did that pipe cost? Too much, like all the rest I see stored away?” I explained it was not bad, and that I had figured a payment plan over the next months that was affordable. “Oh,” said the lady of the house, “so it’s as much as a car payment!” It did not get better after that first round. After much interrogation, I caved. I returned the Former Lovat to the bricks and mortar, got a refund, and again slunk downtrodden from the shop — heartbroken. I think of that beautiful Former Lovat today, my Lovat’s Labor’s Lost. Now for Pipe Smokers of the Past. John Steinbeck, the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, was born Feb. 27, 1902, in Salinas, Calif., and died Dec. 20, 1968, in New York. “You know how advice is. You only want it if it agrees with what you wanted to do anyway.”—John Steinbeck For a wonderful biographical and character study of Steinbeck, check out Zachary Podl’s Sept. 15, 2023 Pipe Line piece. https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/john-steinbeck-writer-and-pipe-smoker
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 646. Our featured interview tonight is with Canadian pipe smoker and book author Fraser Moss. His first book, “The Unknown Canadian Pipe Smoker” discusses five companies that have shaped the Canadian pipe-smoking landscape. The book also guides readers new to the hobby on what to look for when buying their first pipe, and much more. It will soon be in stock at SmokingPipes.com. Fraser has been smoking a pipe for 25-years. He lives in rural Manitoba with his wife and their Samoyed, Luna. You can check out his YouTube channel at Prairie Piper. At the top of the show, Brian will chat about three special pipes that are a permanent part of his collection.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 645. 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 about their upcoming Muletown Pipe Show. At the top of the show, we will get caught up on a backlog of listener comments and correspondence. We will still have the regular mailbag segment near the end of the show as well.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 644. Our featured interview tonight is with Jay Furman. Jay is the co-host of the Pipe and Tamper podcast. He is a long-time member of the pipe community. He started smoking pipes in the 1980s, and owns hundreds of pipes and hundreds of pounds of pipe tobacco. His first pipe shopping experience was at Wally Frank, a famous New York chain of shops, also nationally known for their large mail order catalog business. Jay loves artisan pipes as well as health and fitness. Brian and Jay will have an extended conversation that will preempt the Pipe Parts segment. We will still have music, mailbag, and rant.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 643. Our featured guest tonight is Dr. Fred Hanna. Fred is a well-known pipe collector, author, and speaker at pipe shows. He has a PhD. in psychology and teaches the same at the Chicago Campus at Adler University. He has also done extensive research on nicotine, and that will be the focus of the discussion tonight. Nicotine has often been cast as a villain, but it is not really harmful. It naturally occurs in the nightshade family of plants, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. At the top of the show, Brian will talk more about the Sutliff/McBaren/STG situation that has the serious pipe smoker segment of the market furious.
