East Coast Bias Pt. 1
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Kevin Godbee - May 18, 2012
- 15 min read
A Look at Classic Pieces by Rhode Island Pipecrafter Kurt Huhn
Tom Spithaler
I grew up in western Pennsylvania. As kids, my parents had taken us on several trips to the homes of friends of the family that lived in Kentucky. I remember much about those trips in spite of the fact that I was only about 7 or 8 years old, and thought the heat to be stifling. I remember swimming in TVA lakes where the water was so warm it felt like taking a bath.
What I remember most however, was my father stopping at several farms on the way home. He was fascinated by the long flowing fields of tobacco. It was a Sunday afternoon, and we stopped at farm after farm that day. Inevitably, someone was sitting on the porch, or resting under a shade tree in the front yard. My Dad would walk up to the gentleman of the house who would always rise to meet the man driving the car with Pennsylvania license plates coming their way (whether out of Southern grace or Yankee suspicion, to this day I do not know). They’d trade their greetings, exchange a few sentences, shake hands, and my Dad would just walk back to the car—empty handed. What was Dad doing? What did he want? Just one stalk of tobacco from the field?
Finally Dad found a couple sitting in the front yard under what I remember to be a weeping willow tree. The wife was snapping beans, the old farmer smoking his pipe. Dad called us all over, at which point Mom and we five kids started snapping beans to help the woman of the house. Dad and the farmer walked off towards the field, around a barn, and out of sight. We snapped beans, laughed, had some sweet tea and snapped a bushel or two of green beans before the two men came back, this time with Dad holding a prized possession. Two tobacco stalks.
Strange, but in my youth, Dad was not a smoker. I think it was on those trips however that I gained an (until recently) un-nurtured interest in tobacco. The other seed that was planted in my mind was the sheer pleasure, joy and relaxation that were on the faces of those old farmers as they sat on their steps, stoops and lawn chairs smoking their pipes. There was some majesty in that, wonderment that stirred in the heart of a boy.
What did I learn from that trip? Firstly, that there was something special about the tobacco industry, something uniquely American. Secondly that the Civil War was still being fought in the minds of more than a few tobacco farmers south of the Mason Dixon. Such was the bias of my youth. North vs. South. Yankee vs. Rebel. Now, we face a new bias, East coast vs. West Coast. Left Coast vs. Right Coast, Liberals, Conservatives. While this bias certainly plays a role in American politics, the news media and social norms, generally speaking, it does not seem to play a role in the style and character of pipe crafters. I however, am beginning to form one.
I have known Mr. Kurt Huhn for some time. We became acquainted when after starting a small pipe restoration business, I began to visit an on-line forum that Kurt so graciously hosts, and is frequented by some of the world’s greatest pipe makers. We struck up a friendship based on some shared hobbies both inside and outside the smoking pipe industry, and the next thing you know I was the owner of two of Kurt’s pipes. I was immediately struck by their quality, and have wanted to write a review of Kurt’s work for a while now. Time and other responsibilities have prevented me from getting to this review. Not to mention the fact that the first two pipes I acquired from Kurt have now been well used for a year and have become two of my favorites. I clearly needed something new to review, and what better reason (excuse) to get a couple of new pipes from Kurt! I penned Kurt an email, and the next thing you know, two new beauties showed up via US Postal service.
The pipes arrived well packaged in an ample box. I know it seems silly to review the packaging, but how many of us have received pipes through some sort of shipping process, only to have them arrive in small boxes that are hardly the right shape, too small, and with inadequate packing? I know I have, and some things have been damaged in shipping. Such was not the case here.
After unwrapping the pipes I found them both securely bundled in black hand-sewn socks with ‘man-like’ draw-strings. Again, the review is not about pipe socks, but still, I grow tired of the satin ribbons, and tiny braided cords that so many socks are bound with. These draw strings were made from black para-cord. In the Army we called Para-cord "550 cord". Why? Inside the ballistic nylon outer shell are five smaller braided nylon cords each capable of supporting a minimum of 50 pounds each, thereby giving you a finished length of string that can support more than 250 pounds of pressure. The ends of the cord are fused (presumably with a good quality pipe lighter) and knotted, and when pulling those socks closed, you know you have hold of a substantial cord. Kudos for the man-cord!
Both samples that were sent are textured. Each one blasted, not hand rusticated. Kurt has a discerning hand when it comes to blasting briar. In samples I have seen, his blasting technique ranges from a subtle, almost understated accent to the grain of the wood, to a form almost barbaric in its intensity. Each one however, artfully, and tastefully done. This is, in part, why I find Mr. Huhn’s work so exciting. Texturing is a pure art form that is only gained through experience and an intuitive understanding of the medium. Mr. Huhn has, in my opinion, mastered that art.
The first sample out of the sock is this beautiful Chubby Billiard. It is immediately identifiable as a billiard style pipe, but yet something is untraditional here. If the bowl is viewed independent of the shank, everything looks fine. But the bends into the shank from the bowl, and the shape and angle of the shank itself are reminiscent of a Salvador Dali painting. The angles appear untrue. But they are not meant to. The shank looks bent, but not bent in a traditional sense. Rather, it has an almost rolling ‘wave-like’ quality to it as it flows from the bowl, with some of it being an optical illusion. But it’s meant to. And I love it.
This quality of being a billiard, but not – and the features blending together and sort of rolling as they pass is the quality of the ‘chubby’ part of the name. Kurt describes it this way,
"Chubby billiards are an interesting breed of pipe. Given the nature of the wood, the mood of the maker at the time, bent vs. straight, you can end up a lot of different things calling themselves chubby billiards. This particular example is based on the very first chubby billiard I offered for sale, but is "supersized" – a term that is somehow apropos."
Trust me when I say that I mean no disrespect to the population that might be "waist-size challenged" (since I find myself in that very group). But by applying the same idea of ‘chubby’ to this billiard, you get the idea of parts sort of flowing together, traditional lines being blurred – sort of melting together and a little out of customary proportion. This pipe has slightly ’rounded features’ that have a wave-like action to them. This chubby billiard is a happy representation of an over-weight billiard. A few extra pounds on the waistline in this case look really good.
The texture on this pipe leans towards the aforementioned subtle side. It is not too deep, but has enough intensity to bring out the grain texture very nicely. This technique reminds me a great deal of the Danish genre, similar to some Hilson production models and some production Italians as well. Barring unpredictable flaws or character changes in the briar itself, the blasting on this Chubby is soft and smooth, somewhat sinuous in nature as if each ridge-lined crevice is actually a small lifelike tendon or ligament tying together the strength of this stout pipe’s briar soul. Spider-webbing their way out from the smokers left side of the heel of the bowl, around to the face, then backwards up and around the shank, the texture runs rampant over the surface of the pipe as if trying to regain control from some unknown force.
The color is stunning. Not distinctive in its raw palette, yet there is more there than initially meets the eye. Described by Kurt as a "deep mahogany" a closer inspection reveals lighter browns, deeper reds and a flush of yellow trying to hard to make its way to the surface and burnish itself against your eye. It puts me in the mind of a terra-cotta Tuscan rooftop. Beyond what I would call brilliant staining, the finish is ruggedly spectacular.
"For all pipes, shellac is employed in one fashion or another…shellac that is allowed to penetrate the grain slightly, then wiped off while it is still wet. This helps set the stain and bring out the natural beauty of the wood. For sandblasted pipes, shellac is used as a base finish prior to waxing with carnuba. Again, this sets the stain, preventing the dreaded "stain bleed" that can happen on heavily stained sandblasted or rusticated pipes."
Kurt went on to describe his techniques for staining and finishing in minute detail making certain I understood the finer points of the process and how much care really goes into it. Highlighting things like high quality shellac, not allowing it to set, using it to seal the stain and not the wood itself etc. This description went on in great length. In reading it I began to understand the criticism I get sometimes for being giving more details than may be necessary. At the same time, I also completely understood the process itself, and more importantly, how vital it was to Kurt that I knew how significant it was to him that this process is done right!
"Then, after the shellac is cured (about 5 minutes) the pipe can be buffed with compound and carnuba… every pipe gets a coat of wax. To keep the buildup of white particulate wax down I just make sure I’m focusing on details. You have to be aware of the direction of the deeper parts of the grain, and make sure you follow those along the rotational direction of the wheel…Like most things in pipe making, it’s heavily involved on attention to detail. The actual methodology is different for smooth or sandblasted, but the basics are the same."
The Chubby has a 7/8" diameter bowl with the depth at about 1.75", which is roughly equal to the diameter of the bowl itself at its widest point. The shank blends from the bowl at a hardy .95" and tapers ever so slightly to a .835" where the shank meets the stem. The overall length of the stummel is 3.25" make this Chubby while out of shape cardio-vascularly, well proportioned as a package just the same.
The stem, made from imported ebonite purchased exclusively from New-York-Hamburger, the US based entity of Gummi-Waaren Compagnie AG, from Lüneburg Germany is Mr. Huhn’s exclusive choice. This company has a 100 year old tradition of manufacturing and molding parts of ebonite.
"It’s not inexpensive, but the quality is worth it. I have tried other suppliers, and there are good ones out there, but they’re my favorite."
With the stem fully inserted into the mortise the overall length is just about 5.75". This leads us to my favorite part of the engineering of this pipe. The mortise and shank to stem fit.
The tenon fits excellently with a secure fit that it not too tight. But on this Chubby pipe, the end of the stem actually inserts inside the end of the shank, with the shank forming a thin lip of about .045" of blasted briar that wraps around the stem receiving it like a firm and loving handshake to a depth just shy of 1/4".
Some people will look at a pipe that has a stem fitted to a smaller size than the shank and see it as a cop-out, a poor man’s fit as if to say the crafter did not have the skills to match the sizes of the diameter of the shank and the stem to fit seamlessly. Granted, this is a difficult task as any crafter will tell you, but creating a recessed fit of the stem such as Mr. Huhn did on this Chubby is no inexperienced, poor-man’s way of fitting a stem. This design requires even more skilled craftsmanship than a standard seamless fit. The mortise must be right, and the inside of the shank recess must be precise. The outside diameter of the stem must still match perfectly to the inside of that shank. When looking at the end of the shank without the stem inserted, one can see that the walls of the recessed hood are thin, but perfectly cut. This is an utterly amazing feature, and it was done to perfection.
As part of the completion of each pipe made by M. Huhn, the bowl is finished with a home recipe bowl treatment. The purpose of the bowl coating is in Kurt’s own words, to …
"…aid in cake buildup in a new pipe. The rough surface gives the ash and resins something to cling to, and speeds up the formation of cake. It can protect the pipe during break-in, a period where it is most vulnerable to the hot burning tobacco inside it."
This particular recipe is made up of a thin mixture of activated charcoal, pumice and waterglass, and is spread very thinly on the inside of the bowl.
Another reason for the bowl coating as Kurt points out, is that "it also evens out the experience of the first smokes. Every time someone buys a pipe from me, I know it will taste exactly the same – a neutral flavor that lets the tobacco shine (note, this is also a function of using good wood as well)."
Finishing his comments on this issue, he includes the purpose is, in his mind, cosmetic as well.
"I like that a coated bowl looks more "finished" than an uncoated one – though this is purely subjective."
When I asked Kurt about the nay-sayers, those that do not appreciate, support or recommend bowl coatings, he assured me that this is his personal preference, and that he realizes there are those who will not want it on their pipes. For pipes that are commissioned, or for repeat customers, Kurt will be happy to make the pipe without a bowl coating, or remove the coating from any pipe he has available for sale.
While there is little argument in the practical concept that the bowl coating aids in building cake (which in turn protects the briar itself), as Mr. Huhn stated, the aesthetic is subjective. I happen to like the appearance of a naked bowl. Something about seeing the raw briar is stimulating – there is real beauty in that wood, and some people really appreciate that. I may not share Kurt’s view on the aesthetics, but agree with his practical assessment of the value of a quality bowl coating.
Simply put, this pipe feels good in my hands. It has ‘heft’, but is fairly lightweight and does not pull on my jaw. The lines are fantastic and am a big fan of Mr. Huhn’s blasting techniques.
This Chubby Billiard is a fantastic variation on a classic theme. Bit to bowl, this custom hand-made briar pipe is masterful in its simplicity setting it above a plethora of more expensive pipes from more well known crafters. Then again, ‘well known’, much like the aesthetics of bowl coating is subjective. This will make an excellent addition to my collection, and one just like it will make an excellent addition to yours. The Chubby Billiard is a regular model available for sale on Mr. Huhn’s web site for around $225.00.
Those two Kentucky tobacco stalks hung in our Pennsylvania garage for years. Nothing ever became of them because, well, we had no idea what to do with them. They’d dry, and then get damp. We’d nibble in it a little. Smell it, sometimes in passing, but eventually they got moldy and we threw them away. I only share this part of the story because I’m confident that old man has since passed on. Good thing too – or else I know he be spittin’ mad my Dad wasted that tobacco. More than anything I am grateful to my father for exposing me to such adventures such as that as a child. Now, 40 years later, I get to sit on the back porch and share these stories with my children. Thanks to fine crafters like Kurt Huhn, I can do it with some world class pipes in my hand too – just like that old farmer in Kentucky.
Tom Spithaler is an Award Winning PSEA writer and member of the American Press Association who has cut his professional teeth in the outdoor and firearms media. Tom currently operates Born Again Briar, a small pipe sale and restoration business, blogs at www.briarmeditations.blogspot.com, and operates Spithaler Media Services, a dba of Paraklete Consulting Services, LLC. A husband of 20 years and father of three, Tom currently resides in Bonney Lake, WA. Contact: tom@bornagainbriar.com. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
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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, […]
Great article and review. I have visited Kurt’s site many times and slobbered over his pipes.Hope to have one someday! He not only makes great pipes but also does a great job keeping things running smoothly on the pipe makers forum. As a hobbiest pipe maker I appreciate that.
Excellent article. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Superbly written. Very informative and brought back some memories.
Very nicely written article with great structure and imagery. Of course the essence of the review was first rate and thorough too. I’m not too sure I understand what you were trying to describe with the rolling wave transition from bowl to shank; and I’m even less clear on why your attraction to Mr. Huhn’s work constitutes a bias. But thanks for introducing him to us, and looking forward to more. Kudos on the great pix.
Great article! The story on your past is neat and the pipes are beautiful.
Great article, very informative on his techniques on making a pipe!