Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 528! On tonight’s show we have a new episode of an ongoing segment of what Brian likes to call “Inside Fred’s Head” with 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 is also author of the book, “The Perfect Smoke”. This is the 12th in the series with a long form discussion. Tonight, the guys will discuss the future of pipes. In Pipe Parts, 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. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Brian Levine
Episode 528. Fred Hanna Interview.
Brian LevineBrian Levine
Episode 528. Fred Hanna Interview.Episode 528. Fred Hanna Interview.
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Fred Hanna & Brian Levine
Jeremy Reeves, Head Tobacco Blender – Cornell & Diehl
The Pipes Magazine Radio Show features interviews with pipe makers, tobacco blenders, pipe and tobacco aficionados, collectors, and more. Episodes air every Tuesday.
Publisher & Founder of PipesMagazine.com
Certified Master Tobacconist (CMT) #1858 from TobacconistUniversity.org
My grandfather didn't smoke a pipe, but my uncle and some of my elementary school teachers did. In 1998, my neighbor Sam invited me out, and we ended up back at his place where there was a cigar humidor, and pipe rack on the coffee table. I had my first cigar, and then decided to try pipes too. I love the elegance and relaxation of smoking a pipe. In 2002, I started learning how to make websites, do SEO, and create content. I had a cigar content site and forums from 2005-2008 when it was bought out. In 2009, I launched PipesMagazine.com, which is now the largest, busiest community forums, and article content site for pipe and tobacco enthusiasts. We have one of the longest running pipe and tobacco focused podcasts since 2012 with lifetime industry veteran, Brian Levine.
Jeremy’s comments on the question from J. were quite revealing and informative. It’s fascinating to hear how a tobacco blender holds on to established blends and creates new ones.
Inside Fred’s Head (and yours) is jam-packed with amazing, geeky, Rube Goldberg ideas for the future of pipe design and smoking. Fun stuff. But pardon my codger response to all this, I’ll pass. I like all the futzing around with arcane implements, choosing the pipe and tobacco from among those “friends” in my racks and tins, many with warm and fuzzy back-stories that add to and inform my smoke. My walls are lined with books and LPs. I love holding a book as I read and placing an LP on my turntable. It makes real, for me, the process of enjoyment.
Jonathan Coulton (“JoCo”) is a very inventive talent. “Re: Your Brains” was hysterical, a great musical hook with outrageous lyrics. Loved it! His songwriting and music are often outré, but if you liked this tune, you’ll find his other stuff very entertaining.
Re: Your Rant, slow down Brian. How many different tobaccos have come out in the past two years, variations on basic flavors. Why? Because businesses need to make money, and the more tobaccos they can market using tweaks on an established product, the more chances of making a sale. It’s simple, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
I really enjoyed this episode. Thanks.
Dino
Really an enjoyable episode. Jeremy Reeves displayed a wealth of knowledge in Pipe Parts. It is simply amazing to me the amount of tobacco blends that blenders keep in their heads.
Fred’s head continues to amaze me. It must hold about everything on pipes and tobaccos. Have you ever asked Fred if he has ever done a self-analysis of himself? I’m like Dino I like futzing around with all tools of piping even if most folks consider it weird.
The music was okay, I guess.
The rant seemed like a bit of a stretch to me.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 666. Our featured interview tonight is with Bobby Eichorn. Bobby is the newly appointed leader of the International Charatan Collectors Society. He has been smoking and collecting Charatan pipes for decades and has one of the largest collections in the world. He has won awards for his collection at past Chicago pipe shows. His initial influence for pipe smoking was from is grandfather. He is a retired educator with a MEd in education and doctorate an EdD in Neuroscience. He resides in Virginia. At the top of the show in Pipe Parts, Brian will have a review of Cornell & Diehl’s Cap’s Blend Tobacco.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 665. Our featured interview tonight is with Jody Davis. Jody is a renowned pipe artisan, and the lead guitar player for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band, The Newsboys. His pipes are extremely high quality with Danish style designs, and they are not easy to come by. Jody will take on two “Ask the Pipemaker” questions from listeners as well as chat a bit with Brian. At the top of the show in our Pipe Parts segment, we will have a Pipe Smoker Gift Giving Guide for Father’s Day this weekend.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 664. Our featured guest tonight is Dan Butler of D. Butler Pipes. Dan is a part time pipe maker producing beautiful artisan pipes. He found his way to pipes after university didn’t work out, then working the night shift in a mental hospital put so much stress on him that he need to find relief. First, it was relaxing with a cigar, but when he found his way to pipes, he became much more intrigued. He started off slow as he was paying off student debt, but when that was cleared, he dove in. At the top of the show in the Pipe Parts segment, Brian will have his first installment in searching for replacement tobaccos for some of the Mac Baren and Sutliff discontinued items. He will have a review of Cornell & Diehl’s Virginia Gentleman, and tell you why it is a good replacement for Mac Baren’s Virginia No. 1.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 663. Our featured guest tonight is Austin Bourdo of Pathfinder Pipes. He is an Army Veteran having the highly specialized role of Pathfinder. (Find out what that is on the show. It’s super badass cool.) Austin is a father and husband living in his native Wisconsin. He does social work full time and makes pipes part time. It all started when he found his grandfather’s pipes, started smoking, and he already had a lathe for bowl turning, so making pipes was a natural progression. At the top of the show in the Pipe Parts segment, we will continue the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with two estate Comoy’s pipes that have a great background story.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 662. 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 their experiences and Jon David’s purchases at the Chicago pipe show. There is also news on the Country Squire’s bulk tobacco / custom blends program that was impacted by the closure of Sutliff Tobacco Co. In our opening Pipe Parts segment we will get caught up on a mailbag backlog with four great questions from listeners.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 661. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fernando Keops. Fernando is a renowned sleight-of-hand magician, particularly known for his work with cards and gambling effects. He is celebrated for his performances that blend magic, sleight of hand, and a poetic style. He is of course, also a pipe smoker and he attended the Las Vegas International Pipe Show in 2024. Already a full time magician, he started smoking a pipe when he was 22-years old. Another magician that he was working with that was a pipe smoker, and 82-years old at the time, bought him his first pipe. At the top of the show in our Pipe Parts segment, Brian will have a tobacco review of Cornell & Diehl’s Opening Night.
Jeremy’s comments on the question from J. were quite revealing and informative. It’s fascinating to hear how a tobacco blender holds on to established blends and creates new ones.
Inside Fred’s Head (and yours) is jam-packed with amazing, geeky, Rube Goldberg ideas for the future of pipe design and smoking. Fun stuff. But pardon my codger response to all this, I’ll pass. I like all the futzing around with arcane implements, choosing the pipe and tobacco from among those “friends” in my racks and tins, many with warm and fuzzy back-stories that add to and inform my smoke. My walls are lined with books and LPs. I love holding a book as I read and placing an LP on my turntable. It makes real, for me, the process of enjoyment.
Jonathan Coulton (“JoCo”) is a very inventive talent. “Re: Your Brains” was hysterical, a great musical hook with outrageous lyrics. Loved it! His songwriting and music are often outré, but if you liked this tune, you’ll find his other stuff very entertaining.
Re: Your Rant, slow down Brian. How many different tobaccos have come out in the past two years, variations on basic flavors. Why? Because businesses need to make money, and the more tobaccos they can market using tweaks on an established product, the more chances of making a sale. It’s simple, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
I really enjoyed this episode. Thanks.
Dino
Really an enjoyable episode. Jeremy Reeves displayed a wealth of knowledge in Pipe Parts. It is simply amazing to me the amount of tobacco blends that blenders keep in their heads.
Fred’s head continues to amaze me. It must hold about everything on pipes and tobaccos. Have you ever asked Fred if he has ever done a self-analysis of himself? I’m like Dino I like futzing around with all tools of piping even if most folks consider it weird.
The music was okay, I guess.
The rant seemed like a bit of a stretch to me.