Protecting Your Investment With an Investment
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James Foster - Oct 24, 2014
- 7 min read
James Foster
When I was at a recent pipe show I noticed a guy walking around with a messenger bag that looked really nice. I asked him if it carried pipes, and he opened it. The front pocket had room for a tablet and the back pocket had 8 pipes tucked away in individual pouches and all his accessories. I was so impressed that I asked where he got it and he gladly gave me the information and website.
I feel as many of you may feel, when you spend a lot of money on a pipe you worry about how you can protect your pipe when you take it out and about. And when you take it out you may want to bring its friends along for the ride as well. This is where Smokin’ Holsters comes in.
I reached out to Neil at http://www.smokinholsters.com/ and had him make me a custom bag which he delivered quickly and I’ve enjoyed greatly. Now that I’ve done product testing so to speak, I’d like to share with everyone a little about him and his process for making the bags so I’ve interviewed him to shed some light on his custom work.
What got you into making pipe bags?
In 2002 I started looking to get a nice leather pipe bag. I had a great toiletries bag I used but it didn’t seem to suit my aesthetic. I have been working with leather since college but at the time I wasn’t set up nor did I have the time to make a pipe bag. Though I hadn’t seen anything at the local shows or on-line I figured there would be someone at Chicago that had a hand made pipe
bag to sell. Well there wasn’t. I spoke with a bunch of retailers I knew at the show and they all basically said that what I was looking for wasn’t available. Keith Toney who is now with Cornell and Diehl worked for Knoxville Cigar at the time said “Neil, you’re going to have to make your own”. The first bag I made was sound and actually quite nice but when I was done I didn’t like it and couldn’t see myself using it so I posted to ASP (alt.smokers.pipes) that it was for sale and posted a few pics. It actually sold in 2 minutes. Short answer, I saw a niche and filled it.
This of course isn’t your day job, what do you do when you’re not making bags?
Actually nowadays it is.
What are the various leathers you use?
Well for exteriors bison and cowhide. The interiors are almost always deerskin.
Could you elaborate on why you use different leather for inside vs outside?
Well the exterior requires water and weather resistance as well as being strong enough to provide some impact protection. In order to do this I mostly use chrome-tanned cowhide and bison in a specific range of thickness that provides for these factors. Also, these leathers, by virtue of their natural tendencies and the tanning process have less malleability and stretch that provides for the structure of the bag. The interior of bags requires a more malleable and soft skin with stretch. Water resistance in the bags interior is paramount. Deerskin is perfect for this purpose in both feel and physical characteristics.
About how long does it take you to do a bag?
In actual working time, it takes anywhere from about 4 hours to as many as 18 hours depending on the bag.
Could you describe your process on how you make a bag and the type of tools you use?
Well, I start with a side or a full hide (a side is usually about 18 – 24 sq ft, full is double) and a list of bags I’m making and I measure and cut the skin.I then trim the edges to for each specific bag. Then the individual pieces are edge dyed. Zippers are then made and the hardware is made ready. I then cut the deerskin to make all the interior pockets and the lining. The entire liner is made and glued to the inside of the bag. For hand laced or stitched bags I then punch the leather for lace or thread and when all the parts are ready I sew the bag together. For machine-sewn bags, once the parts are ready I use the machine to sew the bags together. The interior bag stiffeners are then glued in, the bag is signed and numbered and done. The one exception to the above is when I use English Bridle leather. When I use this, the skin I get is natural and I finish and oil the skin myself.
As to tools, for cutting my primary tool is a rotary cutter followed by a scissor and a straight edge. I use assorted leather tools like punches, skivers, gougers and a bunch that would make no sense if I named them. I have a triple feed commercial leather sewing machine and a commercial edge skiver. For sharpening I have a paper wheel-sharpening set-up, a buffer
and assorted sharpening stones and files. I have a branding machine for debossing logos and several bench machines that set snaps, rivets and stuff like that. I have lots of rulers in different shapes. Glues, dyes, oils and that kind of stuff.
What’s the most unique custom bag you’ve done?
For a pipe bag I’d say the most unique design was a bag with a Moose hide exterior fitted with an exterior pocket that had a clip so that the customer could snap his .38 in the pocket and have access to it if needed.
Do you see yourself making anything else besides bags?
I assume you mean pipe bags and I do. Besides accessories like pipe stands and racks, I have made tamper stands and racks, accessory pipe and accessory carriers for a bunch of different purposes from hanging off a briefcase to in a car or for use in a tree stand. The name of my company, Smokin’ Holsters is in itself the name of a product I make, a Smokin’ Holster slides on your belt and typically holds a lighter and tamper providing easy access. I have also always made non pipe related items like briefcases, portfolios and sack and carriers for everything from knives to flutes to music stands and tents.
What pipe shows do you usually attend?
When I started out I went to a lot of pipe shows like NY, Chicago, Richmond, DC and Columbus. I’ve also been to a Vegas show. These days it seems that I only go to Chicago regularly but that could change. The problem I have is that getting bags to a show is a lot harder than say getting pipes to a show. To fly to a show requires shipping bags packed in boxes and then having arrangements set up to return the bags home if they don’t sell. Too, getting enough bags together for a pipe show is actually not the easiest thing as my demand for orders gets in the way. My bags are usually represented at most shows through intermediaries. Recently I had a dozen or so bags displayed for sale by a friend at the Tokyo Pipe Show.
Do you smoke when making your bags?
Nope, one mistake and the leather is ruined. I’ll smoke if I’m drawing or at the desk for a bit but not when I’m actually working on leather.
How long have you been a pipe smoker?
I smoked a pipe for a bit in college but cigars were more my thing. I think I started up the pipe again in about 2000.
What’s your favorite tobacco?
All time I have two: Balkan Sobranie Virginia #10 and Three Nuns.
You can find out more about Neil’s bags by going to http://www.smokinholsters.com/.
And that wraps up the interview. So I’ll leave you with this question. How many of you already have a bag and what do you think about it?
 James Foster goes by the online handle of Pylorns in the forums, and he is the creator of an app for keeping track of your tobacco cellar inventory called The Pipe Tool. |
Written by James Foster
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. 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.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Vegas Baby The show started out strong on the 14th floor hospitality suites hosted by the Vegas Pipe Show and Smoking Pipes as well as room hopping to carvers, estate sellers, and vendors to pre-game for the festivities. If you’re interested in what that looks like I’ll refer you to last years pipe show round up. I circled with Brian Levine to get the totals in comparison to last year: This year’s show numbers: 108 Exhibitor tables, 445 attendees, 3,250 Raffle Tickets, 100ish dinners, 172 Rooms in the Hotel. Last year, by comparison, 107 exhibitor tables, 425 attendees, 2,200 raffle tickets, 104 dinners, and 175 rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. We were at capacity, basically, when it came to vendor tables and the dinner, so there is no physical room for growth at this point except for attendees. That said, we filled that smoking lounge to the brim. New Carvers Spotlight Garret Woo (Pipes by Woo) How long have you been carving? Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. James: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at this show? Garret: The first thing that comes to mind is the table over there with C-Pipes with the shapes and the size and petiteness and the intricate details they did. You can check out what Garret is working on by going to his Instagram. Stefan Cashwell James: how long have you been carving? Stefan: about 3 years. James: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at the show? Stefan: The Adam Davidson pipe with the clear shape and the bamboo—I don’t know if it’s 3D printed or what, but it’s amazing. James: What’s your favorite shape to do? Stefan: That’s a tough question. I think they’re all the same shape, but what’s fascinating is that Dublin, volcano, and blowfish are all the same depending on how you turn them. Playing with that, with all its variations, is a lot of fun. My favorite accent to use is also horn; it’s finicky, but it’s a great accent on pipes. You can check out Stefan’s work on his Instagram. Science: Meet Pipes I chatted with Chris from the San Diego Pipe Club; he started off doing stem replacements for estate pipes but also improved the airflow. James: How are you doing 3d printing? What is the thought process? Chris: It’s a 3D-printed pipe with a briar insert. The design is a calabash meets a Peterson system meets a metal Falcon/Kirsten radiator style. It is a bottom draft smoking bowl like a radiator like those metal pipes. The inside chamber is a calabash. The stummel and accent rings in the stems are all 3d printed. The insert is briar, olive wood, or I have the potential to use meerschaum as well. This idea came about through the San Diego Pipe Club, wanting to see if we could 3D print a pipe and being curious about the technology; I have a printer and design ability, so here we are. James: What’s the type of plastic you’re using? Chris: It’s all PLA plastic, a renewable potato starch plastic that is food-safe. The stummels are printed with a plastic that has wood in it 40% wood fiber, bamboo, rosewood, ebony, redwood, and walnut are the woods I’m printing. For the accent rings I just got a new material that I’m printing that has 40% copper, so its real metal that you can sand, and polish the same as wood filament. The stems are 3d printed as well. The concept is renewable and cheap from a production standpoint, with the ability to make a very high quality smoking pipe based on the experience. By combining the calabash system pipe and bottom draft hole and using 3d simulations to see airflow, I can see where I’m having eddies and ripples in my current, and see where my moisture and all the particles are dropping back out from a vapor to a liquid. Most people who have tried these say the stems are clean, and they don’t even have to run a pipe cleaner afterward because everything collects at the bottom. Chris has also been experimenting with color-changing plastics so you can see the hotspots. Chris said he was able to use this to slow down his cadence, which, of course, could mean you could get a slow-smoke training pipe to teach yourself to perform better. If you’re interested in learning more or want to check one out, you can contact him on Instagram: Copper Beard Pipe Works The Negative Space The show was buzzing about one specific pipe, which had everyone guessing how it was made. I chatted with Adam Davidson briefly about it. James: How did this idea come to fruition? Adam Davidson: Smokingpipes.com had an expo back in August open to all of the makers they carry. The theme was to make a pipe utilizing bamboo. Given that the last time we had the expo I made a smooth Almond with three bamboo shanks, […]
Beautiful work. For the right life situation, these are ideal, moving from one home
to another (for folks with more than one). I’d be a little hesitant to attract attention
with such a luxury case, rather than disguise the pipes in a Walmart nylon toilet kit,
but that’s always a matter for strategizing. The leatherwork here is exquisite.
I have the Urban bag, it easily holds up to 12 pipes and gear. It is my show/club bag. Access is a bit limited, but nothing is going to fall out.
I also have the Necessities bag. This one has some design flaws I had a local shoe repair shop fix. There was no catch for the bag flap and the straps were sewn a few inches down from the top of the bag. It pitched forward and the flap hung open, which was scary. I picked it up used and I suspect it was sold for those issues. A Mennonite shoe shop added a magnetic catch on the flap (I called it a man-clasp) and they sewed the straps to the top of the bag. Now it hangs straight down and the flap is secure. I think that on new bags, an inner strap has been added to add security.
These bags looked beautiful. I don’t have a big enough collection yet to warrant such a purchase, but I love the idea of being able to carry everything in one bag.
Nice article James.
Great article. I have dealt with Neil a few times and have nothing but good things to report about my experience. He cuts a fine piece of leather.
Very nice looking bags, I especially like the tall triangular one in the photo. Thanks for the interview.
Great interview…love those bags…gonna have to look into one as a Christmas gift to myself
After searching out pipe carry bags for nearly a year, I fnally came across Neil’s work in an article, if memory serves, by Neil archer Rohan describing this bag as the finest bag there is.
I called Neil and we discussed my needs and the type of bag I would like. I really appreciated the fact that he did not try to ‘sell’ me; rather he made suggestions and took my order
I chose the English saddle leather, the best bag he makes, and the hardest one to manufacture.
Because I frequently travel from one place to another I can’t imagine a finer and easier bag to trust my pipes safety
I can heartedly recommend his fine work
Smokin’ Holsters bags are the best I’ve seen anytime, anywhere.
Terrific article. I just ordered my first two items from Mr. Flancbaum of Smokin’ Holsters.com. I purchased two leather pipe socks one in black the other in tan. I read a bunch of older threads here talking about the socks he manufactures and I am now eagerly awaiting delivery. I haven’t see any of his work in person yet but the feedback this gentleman’s work gets is phenomenal.