The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 238
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Kevin Godbee - Apr 4, 2017
- 1 min read
Kevin Godbee
Thank you for joining us for The Pipes Magazine Radio Show—the only radio talk show for pipe smokers and collectors. We broadcast weekly, every Tuesday at 8 pm eastern USA time and are available on nearly all podcast sites and apps. Listen on your computer, tablet, phone and even in the car! Our Featured Interview tonight is with Rob Cooper. Rob is a former financial advisor, and is best known in the pipe community as being one of the biggest sellers of estate pipes on eBay. His store is named Cooper’s Ark, and it has a huge pipe collector fan base. Rob has been in the estate pipe business for nearly 20-years, and has been a pipe smoker for several decades. Rob will be telling us about his experiment of smoking the same pipe without rotating for a year. In the Pipe Parts segment, Brian will tell us how he has updated his pipe smoking technique. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Tonight’s show is sponsored by SmokingPipes.com, Cornell & Diehl, and Savinelli Pipes and Tobaccos. Please give them some consideration when making your next pipe or tobacco purchase.
We hope you enjoy our 1-hour show produced just for you—the pipe smoker and collector. The following link will launch a pop-up player. Alternatively, you can download the show in iTunes and other podcast sites and apps after the initial broadcast is complete here.
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Rob Cooper
Cooper’s Ark eBay Store
Episode 130 with Rob from March 2015
Written by Kevin Godbee
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That pipe stimulated two new relationships more valuable than having the pipe would have been. (Yeah. I’m being philosophical here. Truth is, I’ve been fomenting plans to lay siege to this fellows pipe fortress, nick that pipe, and replace it with an accurate simulacrum produced on my friend’s son’s 3-d printer. In truth, who’s to say that hasn’t already happened?) The two new pipes I brought home are, first, a beautiful Peterson silver spigot 107, a classic stout billiard. Everything about it just called to me – the wood, the silver, the shape – and as I was already working out a trade deal with its vendor, the transaction was painless. Yes! The second is a delightful modern interpretation of a bent bulldog from Dustin Franc, a maker new to me, but one I’ll certainly be watching closely. Dustin’s work is inspired, playful, interesting, and exciting. If you haven’t seen his pipes, look him up. 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By sunrise, the first part of the ritual was complete. What is this foolishness, Pease? In less esoteric terms, the alcohol helps to dissolve and pull the goo from the wood; the salt serves as a new home in which the goo can take up residence. This method doesn’t reach the deeper layers, of course. Smoking a pipe is a dynamic process, and the temperature gradient that results from smoldering tobacco creates an environment in which the capillaries of the wood can transport oils and aromatic compounds more deeply into its core, and back out when you least expect, or want them. The rest? Theater or madness. You decide. It’s never a 100% cure, but it can really help, and in this case, the ghostly roar was reduced to a whimper that I hoped would dissipate over time as I broke the pipe in to begin its second life. Since I now have essentially three […]
A truly delightful show! Rob’s experiment, his pipe care insights, and his stories, were fascinating and informative. In the posted photo of Rob, I think you and he could pass for first cousins.
The music was very nice. And, as for the sermon, Amen.
Thanks,
Dino
Possibly I missed something but am still not quite sure “why” he did this experiment. Was it just to see how the pipe would react to being constantly smoked?
He also never talked about how often he smoked it. Every day? If so, how many bowls? If not, how often?
Thanks,
Nelson
Brian I agree, using the technique put forth by John Fordham has totally changed my smoking experience. I have only been in the hobby for about a year now, but I love that there is always something new to learn. Using Johns technique of spinning the tamper has led to better smokes with almost no relights. I also enjoyed learning of Rob’s methods of pipe upkeep. Keep up the great work.
I thoroughly enjoyed your guest segment this week. Especially the cleaning ritual he described on his “one year” pipe. However, It appeared to me that he spent more time cleaning than smoking. Five bowls a week is less than a bowl a day. One pipe for a year’s worth of smoking would not have bothered me as much as limiting myself to one tobacco. I’m constantly varying my tobacco and trying new things. Having said that, I admire people who can stick with one thing for so long. To each his own! See you in Chicago Brian!
Rob’s last interview was very enjoyable but I thought “does Rob have more to offer”. Short answer – YES!
That interview was chock full of great insights and a lifetime of learning from Rob.
I really identified with his methods of cleaning estates and maintaining his personal pipes. I follow pretty much the same regiment, including only soaking estates with alcohol/salt for a few hours. I’ve also come to rely on sandpaper for a more precise method of removing a previous owners cake.
The advice to try different styles and materials in pipes was also spot-in. Early on, I tried a lower end Peterson, with a p-lip arylic stem. I hated that one, but later learned that vulcanite p-lip stems are very much to my liking (and have almost become my favorite)
The one-pipe experiment was also very interesting. Just last week, my wife told me that “You don’t need to pack a lot of pipes for our trip next week, can’t you make do with one?”. Shouldn’t wives mind their own business? But, Rob’s comments about smoking 50-60 bowls through a pipe made me think. With my current count, getting 50 bowls on a particular pipe will take a while. I’ve recently purged some pipes to get more regular use in my favorites. In the interview, just that point alone gave me a lot to consider.
Hi Brian, I’m finally caught up and I have to say another excellent show as always.
Its interesting to find out how your technique has changed over time, while I like the idea of twisting the tamper instead of applying pressure I think I’ll have to find one with a larger head than my current model.
I really enjoyed Rob’s interview. Having attended his last two seminars at the Chicago show I enjoyed hearing about his one pipe experiment, Having tried only smoking one pipe for the month of march you couldn’t pay me to try it for a whole year. I also like his method for keeping a pipe clean. Unfortunately I have been known to neglect a pipe until the next time I want to smoke it, knocking out the dottle and giving it a once over before packing the bowl I want to smoke.
On last weeks rant, I help run a youth club and you would be surprised how many people’s parents don’t offer any support to the squadron or whom we’ve never even met. That said there are a lot of good parents out there who do a lot to help out so its not all bad.
For this weeks rant, I always have a pipe in my jacket pocket, Its still a little too cold to sit outside here but if Im out for a walk or in the smoking area outside my favourite drinking establishment then I almost always have my pipe lit. I even take it to work just incase I find an opportunity to escape, I get a lot of good comments too.
I forgot to reply to this even though I listened to the show Tuesday. I tried the Fordham technique of tamping but it didn’t work for me.
I was surprised at Rob Cooper being able to smoke one pipe for twelve months. Then he said he only smoked it five times a week and I realized he had made a very difficult task somewhat easier. His cleaning routine was very good and I’d recommend it to any one.
I think your on to something about encouraging us to smoke in public. I think that would help a lot to get the pipe more evident to people.