The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 3
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Kevin Godbee - Oct 4, 2012
- 1 min read
Welcome to the third Pipes Magazine Radio Show. After the first two shows our listeners were debating which episode they liked better. We think everyone will agree that Episode Number 3 sets the bar to a new level. We worked very hard to make this show exemplary. Mary McNiel from McClelland Tobacco Co. will be tonight’s interview. If you’ve had the chance to meet Mary at a pipe show, then you already know that she is a sweetheart. She is immensely knowledgeable about tobacco, and a pleasure to talk to. McClelland makes many popular pipe tobaccos including the Frog Morton series. We will talk about the origins of Frog Morton and unveil some other interesting background information on McClelland tobaccos. Brian will also be talking about estate pipes, he will give you the answer to last week’s trivia question and you get a new tobacco trivia to think about.
We 100% guarantee that no matter what your taste in music is that you will love the featured song we have for this show.
We’d like to welcome 4noggins.com as our first direct radio show sponsor. Please listen for their ad at the beginning of the show. Finally, Brian exposes another anti-tobacco effort gone amuck in this week’s rant.
We hope you enjoy our 45-minute 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 after the initial broadcast is complete here.
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 641. Our featured interview tonight is with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl and is featured in our recurring series, “Ask the Tobacco Blender”. However, tonight he will be the interviewee as we learn about how he became a pipe smoker and collector, when he got his first pipe and how he progressed from there. At the top of the show, Brian will have a review of the rare German tobacco blend, Tumblin’ Dice.
I remember the first time I heard someone else say it. “How many pipes do I need? Just one more.” It’s glib, sure, a bit of a joke, but it also rings a bell of truth, at least to me. I certainly have “enough” pipes, but pipes are seductive little things. Just when we think we’re all set, we have enough, another will come along that tempts us beyond any sense of reason. I suppose it’s the same way with any sort of collecting. There’s always another white whale we’re in pursuit of. When we finally track that one down, though, another will almost inevitably breach the surface, taking its place as the new object of our desire, enticing us to change course and set sail once again. But, there’s a potential problem with having a lot of pipes. Maybe. The more pipes we may have, the harder it can be to keep them in rotation. It makes sense. We tend to gravitate towards our current faves, the ones that most appeal to us for whatever reason, and sometimes, maybe they stay in rotation longer than they really should. The side-effect of this, of course, is that another favored pipe might end up too-long forgotten. That’s exactly what happened recently. Exhibit A: The Castello pictured is one that has been long overlooked. It’s a Trademark shape #55. It’s a really nice example of the shape. The red pearlized stem is beautifully done. The wood isn’t really anything special to look at, but it’s evenly covered, without any bald spots. When I look at it, I wonder why it wasn’t done in the more typical dark ruby-red finish that adorns most Trademarks. I’ve seen a great deal of variation amongst the grade over the years, including one really nice bent-bulldog that left the factory with a brown sandblasted finish. (For those who don’t know, Trademark has long been the lowest Castello smooth grade, usually finished in a dark red.) Was this a stamping/grading error, or is there just more leeway in the grade than we’ve come to expect? I might never know. This example is from the early 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, identified by the upper case Ks in the grade designation. (On Sea Rock and Old Antiquari pipes, the Ks reflect the size, while with the smooth finishes, Trademark, Castello and Collection, the Ks represent the relative grade.) It has been living in a different rack than the one housing the majority of my #55s. I don’t recall why I put it there, but as many of us can relate to, rack space is often at a premium. I stumbled upon it while looking for something completely different. “Oh, you? Why are you there? I remember you smoke pretty well.” Yeah, I sometimes talk to my pipes – one of many quirks, I suppose. I won’t begin to worry until they start talking back. I grabbed it from the rack, dusted it off, and decided to give it a fill with a bowl of a slightly aged VA/perique blend, Telegraph Hill, from 2018. What a delightful smoke! At five years, the tobacco is expressing a lot of the complexities of aged Virginias and the perique adds a delightful fruitiness. When young, the composition is a bit brighter, maybe a little spicier, but time has polished any edges, and amplified the sweeter notes. Like the pipe, I’d forgotten about this blend for quite a while, but one evening in March, after chatting with my good friend Nate, who is quite a fan of it, I decided it might be time to revisit it. I got a couple of fresh ones, and excavated a couple older tins from the library. I normally reach for Fillmore when I want a VA/perique thing because of its boldness and depth, but in revisiting this one, I’m finding something soothing and comfortable about it that I’ve really been enjoying, both young and aged. Sticking with the theme of the forgotten, and as a perhaps interesting tidbit to the photographically inclined, I shot the pictures for this month’s column with my old Nikkor-O 35mm/2.0 mounted on my trusty Nikon Df. The last time I used this lens, it was adapted to one of my Fujifilm bodies, and I didn’t care much for the results, so I put it away and pretty much forgot about it. But, I’ve recently been exploring some of my old kit, deciding what to keep, what to pass along, and this one once again came to my attention, kind of like that old Castello. On the Df, there’s something about its vintage rendering that I find truly appealing. Another forgotten treasure, and just like with that old pipe, it seems that, at least today, everything old is new again. If your collection is on the large side, are there pipes or tobaccos that you’ve all but forgotten, only to come back to them one day to find yourself wondering why? Maybe it’s just another fun dimension to this endlessly fascinating journey.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. 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.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Good show. I thought you might want to know that Marshalls and Tjmax are owned by the same company.
Brian,
I and your friend Bill Kotyk listened to the show tonight. He said the show must be easy for you to do because it is just an extension of your personality. Bill is smoking an estate Roush with some 55 year old Friebourg & Treyer while listening to you. Damn, guess Bill will now be over every week to hear your show since he is computer illiterate.
Best wishes
John
Glad you liked the show Photoman. I thought it was great myself. Brian is really in the groove now. Marshalls and Tjmax – ok they are on the list too.
LOL John!
I think the show will only get better with time. He will become more comfortable than he already is and I’m sure there will be more great interviews. It is strange that he talked about algerian briar as I just received my first one yesterday. I got it really cheap and turned out to be an Edwards. Very exciting!
I have an Edward’s Algerian briar pipe too!
That was the best show yet!
The interview was great
The Pipe song was awesome. Cool.
that was great interview.. Each interview is cooler than the previous one..
all were great but that was the best among them..
Brian: Mary told me that your radio show would be on tonight. I then proceeded to stand in front of the radio, and I asked, “AM or FM?” She then informed me that the show was on a computer. I said, “they have radios in computers?” Brian, you know I am behind in all this techno stuff. I’m still getting over the fax machine. God, how does that thing work? Do you really want to know what I think of your show? I loved it, and you know I’m a critical person. I yell at myself at least 10 times a day. The sound effects are great and well placed. I think you’re a great interviewer. In all these years, I never realized you had a wonderful talent. The show was so good, I almost thought, “Mike, you need to learn about computers.” I am really looking forward to the next show. Well, I have to go now. I’m about to try something called “popped corn”.
Fun show, Brian. Enjoyed hearing Mary McNeill. Loved the pipe song!
Great show! Your rant was right on target, unless of course, the Target was at a mall in upstate NY. 🙂
What a great show this week! The interview with my “cousin” Mary was outstanding. (Her dad’s village and my mom’s were less than ten miles apart, in the Peloponnesian mountains around Tripoli. I’ve joked with her that we could be distantly related.) She is such a terrific example of why ours is such a warm and friendly community. Her contributions to the hobby are legion and legendary. I found the “Frog Morton Story” fascinating. I also enjoyed the “drop-ins” and the pipe song. Again, congratulations Brian!
Another fine show. Mary McNiel is just as nice a person as you can ever meet and is super knowledgeable. Mike and her are just a wonderful team.
China is the #1 producer of tobacco.
I just listened to the 3rd show in my office this Friday. Great show; loved the mood of the show today! The interview was fantastic. I’m looking forward to future interviews.
Brian: Wow! After our interview, I thought: “Oh, good grief, I don’t know. Brian’s put his whole show in jeopardy because of this….but then you added special effects, songs, rants. Heck, that’s entertainment! If our political candidates had you, their appearances would be smokin’ instead of smellin’! Thanks for my introduction to social media. That’s what it is. Right? I know you’ll have great success in the future with your show. You’ve got the touch!
I just listened to the first and second show. The second was better than first and I suspect they will continue to get better with time.
Being fairly new to pipe smoking I really like any type of educational and historical information.
I would like to say Thank You to Kevin for taking the time which must be considerable to put together the show.
Kevin maybe a sponsor would offer a special of some sort only to listeners (use a “code” you broadcast). Great way to increase sales and listeners.
Another suggestion is have question and answer section, you maybe working on this already.
Ps I agree with you about the cigarette only section on the cruise…..stupid rule!
Another great show, Brian, including your terrific discussion with Mary. You can’t believe how much faster you make my commute go on the 405 Freeway on Friday afternoon in traffic-clogged Los Angeles. I agreed with almost everything you said about estate pipes being a great value and of the difference between restoration and re-engineering. However, don’t forget the levels of alteration that daily use over a period of decades does to a pipe.
You cited used Sixten Ivarsson pipes as possible bargains if you can find them. Let’s say someone bought a new Sixten pipe when it was first made in 1962, and you buy it in 2012, after the original owner has smoked it thousands of times for half a century. It would not be surprising to find a serious cake in the bowl. You said you would want that reamed down to a thin layer of existing coating, with no artificial coating added over it. I agree. But just like the diameter of the tobacco chamber, which closed as the cake built, there is a similar cake inside the shank. Sixten drilled his air holes at 4 mm, but the used Sixten pipe might be 3 mm because of the cake inside the shank. The only way to bring the pipe back to its original dimensions that I know of would be to re-drill it at 4 mm. I would call that restoration and not re-engineering.
In a sense, you could say that the pipe was “re-engineered” by the daily smoking over a period of decades. I love it that you got me to think about these things!
I forgot to thank Kevin as well for this fantastic new contribution to the hobby!
The opening about estate pipes was so right on. I buy a lot of estates and mostly from either artisans or higher line factories. The deals out there are incredible if you take the time to research and to learn the market both on Ebay and from the online estate dealers. For example, on Ebay Upshall prices are in the toilet, you can buy any P grade for less than 125.00 where as the online dealers are still trying to get 180-350.00 for the same pipes.
I liked the interview with Mary, she sounds like a real sweet lady and someone with tons of knowledge. The rant is a great one, I wouldn’t give my money to a mall like that either, screw em. All in all it was a great show, thanks Brian and Kevin for providing some great entertainment.
@Rick – That’s ok. When you said Brian, I thought you were talking to me. 😉
When I wrote the note thanking you, Kevin, I actually had the same thought. For those of you who don’t know what we’re talking about, in the latest edition of “In Search of Pipe Dreams,” there is a photo of Kevin and Brian, and I mistakenly called both of them Brian in the caption. Maybe in the next edition, I’ll call both of you Kevin. That might even things out.
Ha ha ha Rick!
Thanks for a great show. They have all been great and they keep getting better.
The interview with Mary was great. I only had wished it were longer!
Hi Brian… Your show has great potential, keep up the great interviews and product reviews! As a copywriter if I could make one observation, I would urge you to consider renaming the show. The current name (I feel) is a little antiseptic, boring if you will. By doing so you will establish the show as an independent “brand”, which would (with a snappy name) attract more attention and of course more listeners.You may even want to announce a contest, for your listeners to enter potential names.
columbialion – Thanks for your input.
It was a well thought-out decision to name the show The Pipes Magazine Radio Show. Pipes Magazine IS the brand which the radio show falls under. It is part of the same business with the same audience and same advertiser base.
I am thoroughly enjoying the show, thank you. Here in Australia where anything to do with smoking is treated as devil spawn (note our well over 300% taxes and plain packaging laws) it’s so refreshing to be able to listen to free thinking rational people who understand that our hobby is, above all, good fun. The more positive views on Pipes and Cigars being presented the better. Keep up the excellent work. As an aside, on the anti-smoking Australia lobby, Tasmania, one of our states is looking to bring in a law that would effectively ban all smoking for anyone who turns 18 after 2014… barbarians! Oh and one other thing, if I may be so bold, as a non user of iTunes a link to a downloadable mp3 would be great. Thanks!!!