Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 612. Our featured interview tonight is with Pipe Maker Brad Pohlmann. Brad has been crafting pipes for decades. His pipes are works of art and masterpieces in engineering. You’ll often find exotic woods, horn and bamboo as accents on Brad’s pipes. He now shares a workshop with fellow pipe maker Silver Gray. At the top of the show Brian will discuss the best way to sell pipes that you no longer want.
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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.
While I’m probably never gonna sell any of my pipes, your information about methods to make a good deal in selling one’s pipes was very enlightening.
I really enjoyed your visit with our friend Brad. Although we meet on a fairly regular basis, we rarely have a chance to get into his craft as deeply as you and he did in this revealing interview. Nicely done.
Mark Knopfler’s “Back to Tupelo” was a good suggestion from Jennings.
That was a very warm and sweet goodbye to your friend Walter. May his memory be eternal.
Thanks for another always entertaining show.
Dino
Hedy Brian
It has been quite awhile since I commented. I won’t bore you with the details of my hiatus, but I wanted to say that I really enjoyed this episode with Brad. His down to earth manner of speaking was really welcoming.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to make your listeners aware of a new TV series on Netflix called Hitler and the Rise of the Nazis: Evil on trial. Aside from being a gripping history of that terrible time, the program is :narrated” by the journalist/historian William Shirer, an inveterate pipe smoker and there are many great pipe smoking shots of him and others. I’ve posted info about this in the forums but I thought you might give it a mention. Full disclosure: My son was an Executive Producer on the show. Again, thanks for all that you do. I am catching up with some of the shows I missed recently.
Best,
Ira
Unloading your pipes that no longer covet is an exasperating task. The ideal way to sell them is at a show to people you know and who know you. That isn’t always practical for most of us. There is always the eBay route, which is good for getting rid of the pipes, but you stand to lose a good bit of your gain due to eBay fees, shipping, seller’s costs, etc. And the loss of revenue due to the recent devaluation of estates could be a real deal breaker.
I have always thought that Brad Pohlmann was one of the 5 best carvers in the U.S. I really like the sandblasts he does. They are wonderful to look at. I’ve always wanted to own one, but they are just out of my financial reach. I find it sad that more people don’t know of him. I greatly enjoyed your interview with him and really appreciate him opening up to you. As you know Brad can be kind of taciturn at times. I hate to see him lessen his production but he’s at that time of life.
Knopfler’s rendering of “Back to Tupelo” was enjoyable. Was the title some kind of oblique reference to Elvis??
Saying goodbye to someone is a very trying business. Sometimes the adage that “Life goes on” is rather a pain in the keister but it is how it is.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 669. Our featured interview tonight is with Kirk Keener aka “Kaptain_Kirk32”. Kirk is a member of the Indiana Pipe Club. We’ll be talking about their upcoming pipe show in Gas City, IN on September 20th. Kirk has worked as a machinist, and played guitar in bands in the past, and he has a YouTube Channel with 985 subscribers and 346 videos devoted to pipe smoking and tobacco reviews. At the top of the show, Brian will have a tobacco review of Cornell & Diehl’s Haunted Bookshop.
Just to cop a great line for the return of Pundit, here is one of my favorites from “The Shining,” when actor Jack Nicholson scares the life out of everyone with the spooky, “Here’s Johnny.” So, Here’s Pundit! It is so good to return to PipesMagazine. In the interim, I have moved to a smaller apartment. I found out the long-cared-for pipe herd and tobacco cellar were a monumental chore to move. Boxes upon boxes, tobacco jars by the ton. Seriously. The late Bill Unger of The North American Society of Pipe Collectors (NASPC) said if you have one pipe you are a pipe smoker. If you have two pipes, you are a pipe collector. I followed that path like a yellow brick road. Pundit advice No. 1: Trim the pipe herd often without replacing too many. Pundit advice No. 2: Smoke the tins, except for vintage blends, and store as few jars of bulk tobacco as possible. I know, this is easier said than done. It is difficult to part with pipes and a precious and babied tobacco cellar. In the interim, I have been cataloging pipes and tobacco to come to a better understanding of this collection. Yes, Unger’s theory swamped me like a tsunami. What we have here is a perfect storm, a boutique of pipes and tobacco. And my old friends, and many vintage tobacco blends no longer available, make life quite a bit more enjoyable and relaxing. Along with perplexing decisions: What to smoke up and what to continue the aging process. Like adolescents. They will mature at some age. Right. But one never knows. Here is to the future and to your collecting and cellaring. It is a wonderful hobby and enterprise. Before I launch into Pipe Smokers of the Past or in Quotable Pipe Quotes (a new Pundit feature), there is a solid ground rule that you, dear readers, can count on from Pundit. As long as I am writing Pundit for your entertainment and hopefully a bit of education on the art and love of pipe smoking, you will never have to be concerned that Pundit has resorted to letting AI handle the writing. Pundit does not believe in allowing some sort of artificial intelligence to write copy for me. In fact, Pundit is concerned that writing, creative non-fiction, and narratives of other genre in general, will succumb to this rage for AI in our lives. Can you imagine legendary pipe-smoking novelist William Faulkner’s prose style being AI’d? Or are Shelby Foote, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and any of the past great writers and pipe-smokers to be ripped off by AI? This is not for pipe smokers. Our writers were the contemplative authors, who penned magical works while puffing their pipes and special blends. AI is not a pipe smoker. It is a thief of words and styles that were honed by years of toil over pen and paper, typewriters, and eventually the computer. Sure, writing is easy. Just listen to the legendary New York Times sports columnist on how effortless writing can be: “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein.” This is not a rant. Pundit is worried that our wonderful pipe-smoking authors, and those of us who write about it today, will be haunted by the shadowy AI, ready to strike at the heart of what is so important to the pipe smoker: authenticity. Good writing doesn’t come at the push of a button in a remote office somewhere. It takes dedication and years of learning to devote time to detail and intense observation. That’s not exactly a talent everyone has, let alone a machine. Becoming immersed in writing about pipes and tobacco takes time, learning and listening to and reading the masters of pipe making and tobacco blending. And pipe writers and storytellers. It takes years to craft a readable style about the briar and leaf. The sermon is over, but this is just to let you know Pundit will never, ever resort to using AI to write this column monthly. It is a privilege and an honor and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the community of pipe smokers. A favorite pipe-smoking quote: One of the best pieces of advice comes from Albert Einstein, Mr. Relativity himself, who is reported to have said: “Before answering a question you should always light your pipe first.” And that first spark of fire, curling leaf in the bowl; that first sip and taste leads to a more contemplative endeavor as Mr. E=MC2 once explained. Now for a July birthday of note is Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and the father of analytical psychology. Jung was born July 26, 1875, and died June 6, 1961. For an in-depth read, check out Chuck Stanion’s Carl Gustav Jung: Pipe-Smoking Founder of Analytical Psychology in SmokingPipes.com, Feb. 11, 2022, Pipe Line. A Parting thought: Pipes new and old brim with mystery and art, heart and soul. It’s a natural wonder, from earth to hearth.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 668. Our featured interview tonight is with Paul Greenwood. Paul is the pipemaker behind Grunewald Pipes. He started smoking pipes in his late-20s and then stopped for almost 30 years. He started smoking pipes again in February 2022. Two months later he went to the Chicago pipe show and signed up for the pipe making seminar. He noticed that there weren’t any pipes at the show resembling the pipes from The Lord of the Rings and decided to do something about it. He launched his Instagram in April 2023 and produces handmade pipes inspired by LOTR pipes. At the top of the show we will continue the tour of Brian’s personal pipe collection with four Danish or Danish-inspired pipes.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 667. Our featured interview tonight is with pipe maker Yosef Zehnder. Yosef grew up in a family of artists and artisans. As a child he enjoyed painting, drawing, writing songs/poems, pottery, photography and more. In 2012, he decided to try pipe smoking and quite enjoyed it. In 2019, he started making pipes and has become quite the artisan creating high quality pipes in both standard and freehand shapes. At the top of the show in “Pipe Parts”, Brian will express his verbal essay titled, “How and Why I am a Pipe Smoker”.
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.
While I’m probably never gonna sell any of my pipes, your information about methods to make a good deal in selling one’s pipes was very enlightening.
I really enjoyed your visit with our friend Brad. Although we meet on a fairly regular basis, we rarely have a chance to get into his craft as deeply as you and he did in this revealing interview. Nicely done.
Mark Knopfler’s “Back to Tupelo” was a good suggestion from Jennings.
That was a very warm and sweet goodbye to your friend Walter. May his memory be eternal.
Thanks for another always entertaining show.
Dino
Hedy Brian
It has been quite awhile since I commented. I won’t bore you with the details of my hiatus, but I wanted to say that I really enjoyed this episode with Brad. His down to earth manner of speaking was really welcoming.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to make your listeners aware of a new TV series on Netflix called Hitler and the Rise of the Nazis: Evil on trial. Aside from being a gripping history of that terrible time, the program is :narrated” by the journalist/historian William Shirer, an inveterate pipe smoker and there are many great pipe smoking shots of him and others. I’ve posted info about this in the forums but I thought you might give it a mention. Full disclosure: My son was an Executive Producer on the show. Again, thanks for all that you do. I am catching up with some of the shows I missed recently.
Best,
Ira
Unloading your pipes that no longer covet is an exasperating task. The ideal way to sell them is at a show to people you know and who know you. That isn’t always practical for most of us. There is always the eBay route, which is good for getting rid of the pipes, but you stand to lose a good bit of your gain due to eBay fees, shipping, seller’s costs, etc. And the loss of revenue due to the recent devaluation of estates could be a real deal breaker.
I have always thought that Brad Pohlmann was one of the 5 best carvers in the U.S. I really like the sandblasts he does. They are wonderful to look at. I’ve always wanted to own one, but they are just out of my financial reach. I find it sad that more people don’t know of him. I greatly enjoyed your interview with him and really appreciate him opening up to you. As you know Brad can be kind of taciturn at times. I hate to see him lessen his production but he’s at that time of life.
Knopfler’s rendering of “Back to Tupelo” was enjoyable. Was the title some kind of oblique reference to Elvis??
Saying goodbye to someone is a very trying business. Sometimes the adage that “Life goes on” is rather a pain in the keister but it is how it is.