By Bob Tate
The 2010 Richmond Pipe Show, as always, had quite a few artisan pipe makers in attendance and one of them was Bob Hayes. Bob Hayes attends most of the pipes shows and he is also the son-in-law of Craig and Patty Tarler of Cornell & Diehl. His table is normally set up right next to the Cornell & Diehl tables, so when you are at a show, just look for the Cornell & Diehl tables and you will find Bob Hayes and his pipes. Bob has received the Triangle Area Pipe Smokers (TAPS) Professional Pipe Carver of the Year Award at the Raleigh Pipe Show for three consecutive years; 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Bob Hayes has been hand crafting pipes for almost ten years. His designs are focused mainly on classical shapes and while he does some slight modifications and variations on them, you can see that the pipe still holds the classic shape on whichever design that he is doing for that particular pipe. His pipes are very attractive and appealing and while he gives a lot of thought and attention to the aesthetics, he gives even more thought and attention to the engineering of his pipes. The end results are moderately priced, beautiful classical shaped pipes that have excellent smoking qualities.
You don’t have to wait for a pipe show to look at and purchase one of Bob’s pipes. He has a website where you can see photos of pipes that are available for sale and you can purchase directly from his website at BobHayesPipes.com
While we were at the show, Bob took some time out of his busy day to have an interview with us. So without further ado, here is our Interview with Artisan Pipe Maker – Bob Hayes:
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We hope that you enjoyed our interview with Bob Hayes and be sure to go to BobHayesPipes.com to see more of his gorgeous pipes and possibly pick one up for yourself.