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Kevin Godbee - Apr 7, 2014
- 16 min read
Steve Morrisette
In my opinion, the garment that most immediately and dramatically upgrades one’s look is a sport coat, or blazer. Slip one on and you look more put together, more elegant and generally people see you as just a bit classier looking than the other guys in just their shirt sleeves. And that is even if you are wearing just a tee under it, though I would generally avoid that choice unless you can really pull it off. Don Johnson not withstanding, unless you are blessed with incredible Italianesque sartorial charisma, a collared shirt is a must under a coat for most men.
You may call it a blazer, jacket, sport coat, suit coat or just a coat. The point is that we all look better wearing one, if it fits. Fit is important with any garment, but it is especially critical with a jacket. And it is so common to see ill fitting jackets that most men ( and women ) don’t know what elements must combine to make a good fitting jacket. Note I did not say they didn’t know what a poor fit looks like. We all can tell a really poor fitting jacket. We can tell when a jacket fits well too. The difficulty is that by not knowing what elements must come together for a great fit, most men have clothes, especially blazers or jackets that sort of fit. They are a bit right here and a bit off there and the result is unbalanced and so common that unless the fit is truly wrong, folks generally accept it as normal. They think that is that way a sport coat is going to fit. Then you see the one guy in a correctly fitted jacket and, even if it is subconscious, he seems to look really good somehow.
A truly well fitted jacket can transform the look of a man and, conversely, a poor fit can too. Take two very differently built men, both cast as 007 during their careers: Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. Brosnan, long and lean, has a great body for clothes. Daniel Craig, though admirably muscled, does not have a great body for clothes. Both men, however, outfitted by expert movie costumers, looked equally superb and elegant as 007. That is what well fitting clothes can do for a man. Daniel Craig outfitted in fabulously designed suits by Tom Ford looks amazing. With his shirt off you see he is buff and a bit thick and blocky. In his Tom Ford suits Mr. Craig could hold his own with Fred Astaire or Cary Grant—style wise.
(L) Proper fit. (R) Ill-fitted jacket buckles
So what is involved and how is it done? First and most importantly, it does not require a custom fitted eight thousand dollar suit. In fact, it is conceivable, though unlikely, that one could get a great fit from a K-Mart blazer. Certainly it is possible with modestly priced clothes.
There are many elements involved, but getting a few basic areas fitting correctly can really do the trick. I shall describe them briefly and do my best to make them clear, though they are not hard to grasp. We do in fact notice them all the time but most of us don’t realize their causes and effect, or even that they aren’t correct in the first place.
Collar Gap
The first, and I believe the most common problem, is a poorly fitting jacket collar that causes what is commonly known as collar gap. This is when the jacket collar does not snug up against the shirt collar on either side or sometimes in the rear and the result is a gap that reveals some portion of the shirt body underneath. A proper fitting jacket collar will evenly hug the shirt collar all the way around without a gap or spacing. Not tight and constricting, it is just nicely draped and snugged up to the shirt collar. It will remain relatively in place as you move and not gape open. This gives a clean, neat and elegant look that does not jar the eye. Next time you see 007 in a fight wearing a suit, note how the suit moves with him and doesn’t bunch up or gape open. Properly fitted clothes made it possible for Sean Connery to judo flip Pussy Galore in Goldfinger’s Kentucky barn while wearing a three piece suit. That’s not special FX, it’s the magic of good tailoring.
I am embarrassed to admit that out of the eight or ten blazers and jackets I own, only a few of them actually reveal zero collar gap. As I said, it is very common, even on very expensive clothing. Have a look a Prince Charles here. I believe he could find and afford a good tailor.
Like most men, I compromised on fit either because I really loved the coat or it was purchased before I understood collar gap. The thing to remember here is to try on jackets, look for collar gap and keep shopping until you find a jacket that drapes correctly on your body. No matter how much you love the cut or fabric of a coat, if it doesn’t fit well, you will never look good and you will be disappointed in the end.
A related problem and often a cause of collar gap is improper fit in the shoulders. This can also result in a lumpy line from collar to sleeve head and indented dimples just below the sleeve head at the extreme upper arm. Usually this means that the shoulder dimension is too generous. Go down a size. It is very common for men to purchase a coat that is too large through the shoulders. Ill fitting shoulders on a jacket can lead to a whole series of problems affecting fit and therefore a proper fit in the shoulders becomes the foundation of a well fitting coat. In fact, a jacket will never fit correctly until the shoulders are right and it is the most difficult and expensive fix for a tailor, so get it right in the beginning. This goes for blazers, suits, overcoats, shirts and sweaters too. Nearly any garment that is to cover your upper body in a fitted manner has to have this as a foundation for the rest of the garment to fit well. Make this your creed and you are already on your way to looking better in your clothes than most of the of men out there. Today’s off the rack clothes (OTR) are of necessity designed to fit an "average" body. This can make it difficult to find a jacket that fits properly through the shoulders and the chest and waist as well. Get the shoulders fitting well and a tailor can usually take care of the rest, but the more you get right in the beginning, the better.
The X- crease
Another common fit problem is at the buttoning point of the jacket. When the jacket is too tight an "X" shaped set of creases is created with the button at the center. A slight, or very feint crease is not unusual on certain slim cut jackets these days, but a pronounced X-crease indicates a jacket that is just too tight.
(Click for a larger view)
The Back
Ah, now here is where truly great fit shows up most often. A properly fitting jacket should have smooth flat surfaces and clean, graceful edge lines. Baggy wrinkles behind the collar, below the shoulder blades, at the sides around the arm pits, or tight lateral pulling across the upper shoulders and bulges at the kidneys are all too common. The back of a coat should ideally drape smoothly from top to bottom and from side to side without noticeable wrinkling or pulling of the fabric.
Sleeve Pitch
This can be a real bugger. Basically, if the sleeves are inserted poorly into the body or if the jacket just doesn’t have a sleeve pitch angle that suits your natural stance you can often get rumpled sleeves. This is especially obvious when a good deal of fabric seems to rumple and gather along the triceps. We see this all the time and it is one of the elements that is most often overlooked because you can get the shoulders right, a good chest and mid section and even back fit and still get ugly wrinkles from a sleeve pitch that does not work for you. That is because the sleeves are separate from the body of the garment. They have to be attached and if the pitch angle is not right for you, you get fabric being pulled in directions that ruin the smooth drape needed for that great looking fit. Since this often shows up behind the upper arm, it is often overlooked or ignored. This is why it is so important to have a three sided mirror available when trying on clothes. Unless, of course, you will never have anyone standing behind you.
Vent flair
This sounds like it is a problem encountered by pilots or Formula One drivers, but I assure you it is quite common. Jacket vents, either side or single rear vents should remain closed without a noticeable gape. Today’s style of shorter hemmed jackets aggravate this problem and if you are well endowed in the posterior – be it by squats or donuts – tailoring may well be in your future.
Sleeve length
Man, you think bowl coatings or entitlement funding have been argued to death? Even Savile Row tailors disagree on the length of a jacket sleeve, or rather, how much shirt cuff to show. Generally you would be pretty safe having between ¼ to ½ an inch revealed.
Having much more than that tends to make a jacket appear too small, as though you have grown out of it. If you don’t know, check to see if your arms are of equal length. Most folks’ arms and legs do not exactly match in length, so be sure alteration measurements are taken on each limb.
Cutting Slack
This where we all get to be tailors. Remember HRH Prince Charles pictured above? I specifically used his collar gap, a faux pas that many a fashionista would find inexcusable, to help make the point that no one is perfectly turned out all the time. In American Psycho, Christian Bale’s character is often referenced as a sartorial paragon. It’s part of his character in the movie. Collar gap. Major collar gap in many scenes. If Hollywood professional wardrobe folks can make these errors, I think we should all tailor our expectations of others and ourselves in order to enjoy what is right and correct and attractive and not dwell on what is askew.
So, did I just contradict everything written so far? Certainly not. I absolutely affirm that you will look better if you avoid these issues. Just don’t obsess over them or ruin your evening because your jacket isn’t perfect. Life is too short for that. It’s also too short to look sloppy too.
PIPE BAGS
Since the 2014 Chicagoland Pipe and Tobacco Expo is coming up soon, it seems timely to write a bit about bags to transport and protect our precious pipes and tobacco and cigars. I have never liked carrying a bag. I just feel encumbered by a bag. I like having my hands free. Because of this I use a shoulder bag to carry my pipes and smoking gear. I still don’t like it, but it does allow me to keep my hands relatively free. A backpack would be ideal to completely free my hands, but I just don’t care for that look on me. I am admittedly vain in this regard. I last used a backpack, when they were called knapsacks, to haul my books as I walked to school in second grade. Once I ended that practice, I never looked back. I still can’t get used to seeing a guy in a business suit wearing a backpack. It just looks weird to me. I feel odd wearing a sport coat with a leather bag slung over my shoulder. But enough about my odd quirks. Pipe bags are useful, necessary and often very handsome.
Purpose built bags
Neil Flancbaum of Smokin’ Holsters makes some of the finest looking, practical and best crafted pipe bags in the world. I’ve never met an owner of one of Neil’s bags that wasn’t very happy with his bag. Some gentlemen have acquired more than one. They are not inexpensive, but they are very well made and remain attractive and intact even under hard use. I have one of Neil’s great designs, the Urban Pipe Bag, almost a decade and use it at least 300 days a year, rain or shine. It still looks great and my pipes stay well protected inside nestled in the deerskin pockets. Neil makes several different configurations of pipe bags from small to large, with and without clutch handgrips and some with shoulder straps. He uses top quality hide and skins and you can even get hand sewn lace bound edges of contrasting hide on some models. These are truly luxurious and yet quite durable. Not flashy, Neil’s bags exude an aura of hand crafted quality that demands attention by emanating a sense of quiet excellence that is meant to last for years.
The Claudio Albieri briefcase and pouch is an interesting creation dedicated to pipe smokers’ needs. It has internal detachable ( by snaps) leather pouches, or pipe socks, along the walls of the main pocket and a unique detachable "satellite" bag that hugs the front exterior rather like a remora below the mouth of a large shark. I’ve not put my hands on one, but in photos and video it appears to be well made of good leather and is stylishly Italian in look — never a bad thing. It has a nice handgrip on top and a detachable shoulder strap too. It can be found in the States at Smokingpipes.com
Martin Wess and Guy Janot also make good looking purpose built leather bags in Europe and can no doubt be ordered online. Several well known pipe brands also make smaller pipe bags; among them are Dunhill, Savinelli, Petersen and Jobey. Most are clutch type bags that will hold from one to six pipes, tobacco and a few accessories. Purpose built bags of leather and various other materials are also offered on ETSY.com
Non – purpose built bags
Though not a purpose built pipe bag per se, the thin front pocket briefcase by Saddleback seems an excellent bag for our use. Not only are Saddleback bags well made from good quality leather and hardware, several can be quickly and simply be converted from a shoulder bag to a backpack configuration by easy rearrangement of the strap. Saddleback makes several bags that would make good pipe bags and discounts can be found in the "Dave’s deals" section of their web site. Besides, one of the color options is "tobacco".
Other types of suitable bags
To be sure, there is a bag, pouch, slip case, box, road case, or sack for just about anything smaller than your brother-in-law’s bass boat. I’m sure somewhere there is a guy with cases for the cases he sells that hold boxes of pouches. You get the drift. The choices are endless. Practical, affordable, durable and stylish choices abound, though a discerning and creative eye is needed to sort the clunky, funky surplus ammo boxes from the really livable and stylish choices more amenable to a gentleman of good taste.
Please don’t misunderstand — a WWII .30 cal ammo box with a foam rubber lining would be very cool and stylish for camping, fishing or hunting with the guys. In fact, I’d love to have one. I would not, however, consider strolling through the lobby of a nice hotel , or visit my wife’s family with such an item containing my briars, tobacco and cigars.
Some suggested guidelines
Obviously one must consider what you want your bag to do and also the means by which the various needs and desires of service are to be addressed. Naturally you want the bag or case to safely and securely hold a certain number of pipes, some tobacco, a tamper, pipe cleaners, perhaps some cigars and other requisites. ( I always carry my lighter in my pocket because I smoke like a chimney).
So think about how many pipes and how much gear you want to carry. Be aware that eventually all bags or cases tend to get filled to maximum capacity, regardless of the sex of the owner, so keep this in mind when choosing the size of your bag or case.
Small bags fill up fast and then you are left with choosing between one more pipe or more vintage tobacco. Larger bags and cases also fill up quickly and can become a real ball and chain, especially at the Chicago show, where hiking is secondary only to smoking and drinking. (Who ever thought you’d have to be in shape to attend a pipe show?)
OK, so here are a few suggestions that appeal to me. YMMV, especially at Pheasant Run, but I tend to go again for something in the medium size range with a shoulder strap at least as an option. If not choosing leather, there are literally dozens of fine choices among laptop cases and messenger bags that range in price and quality from " it might survive one show" to designer bags that cost as much as two Bo Nordh smooths. I’m not kidding. Henk, a German company (of course) and maker of high end brief cases offers a bulletproof briefcase with a humidor option for about twenty grand. That’ll keep your Missouri Meerschaums safe.
My favorite non-dedicated, non-leather bags are camera bags. Many sizes, colors and styles are available and professional bags have configurable interiors and are built to look good and still stand up to war photographer abuses. Such bags aren’t cheap, but consider the investment you have in three or four good pipes and a nice lighter or vintage tobacco and cigars. Lowe Pro was my brand of choice when I was a photojournalist and I still have the bag I bought twenty years ago. Great bag, but one of the zippers let go after only eighteen years. It’s closed cell foam encased in tough nylon, double padded, lightweight, waterproof and good looking.
So take stock of what you want in size, function, style, convenience and affordability, look at other’s bags and cases, ask around and do some online research and price shopping. Then use your imagination and think outside the, er…. box, case, bag?
the Gentleman Smoker’s tip
When jacket shopping bring or wear your best fitting coat, blazer or sport coat and compare the fit against prospective purchases by using a smartphone to do two quick videos of yourself: one in your coat and one in the prospective garment.
Set the phone up at eye level ( ideally ) and turn 360′ slowly while making a few natural arm movements and perhaps a bend or two. Do the same choreography for both jackets and then review the video and compare the fit and movement of the two garments. If you can get a friend, wife or sales clerk to shoot it fine. If you are shy, do it in the dressing room. Just be consistent. You’d be surprised how much you can learn from this. At the very least you’ll know if you need a haircut.
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Steve Morrisette is an artisan pipe maker, relentlessly snappy dresser, and self-confessed Virginia gentleman. He makes artisan pipes for discerning collectors, and scours the internet and shops of all types seeking information and fine garments, hats, watches, shoes, and jewelry – anything related to the gentleman’s lifestyle. Steve also spent several decades as a working drummer and photographer/photojournalist. You can find his pipes at www.smpipes.com, and catch his style photos and latest pipes on Facebook and Instagram. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. 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.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. 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 what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Vegas Baby The show started out strong on the 14th floor hospitality suites hosted by the Vegas Pipe Show and Smoking Pipes as well as room hopping to carvers, estate sellers, and vendors to pre-game for the festivities. If you’re interested in what that looks like I’ll refer you to last years pipe show round up. I circled with Brian Levine to get the totals in comparison to last year: This year’s show numbers: 108 Exhibitor tables, 445 attendees, 3,250 Raffle Tickets, 100ish dinners, 172 Rooms in the Hotel. Last year, by comparison, 107 exhibitor tables, 425 attendees, 2,200 raffle tickets, 104 dinners, and 175 rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. We were at capacity, basically, when it came to vendor tables and the dinner, so there is no physical room for growth at this point except for attendees. That said, we filled that smoking lounge to the brim. New Carvers Spotlight Garret Woo (Pipes by Woo) How long have you been carving? Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. James: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at this show? Garret: The first thing that comes to mind is the table over there with C-Pipes with the shapes and the size and petiteness and the intricate details they did. You can check out what Garret is working on by going to his Instagram. Stefan Cashwell James: how long have you been carving? Stefan: about 3 years. James: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at the show? Stefan: The Adam Davidson pipe with the clear shape and the bamboo—I don’t know if it’s 3D printed or what, but it’s amazing. James: What’s your favorite shape to do? Stefan: That’s a tough question. I think they’re all the same shape, but what’s fascinating is that Dublin, volcano, and blowfish are all the same depending on how you turn them. Playing with that, with all its variations, is a lot of fun. My favorite accent to use is also horn; it’s finicky, but it’s a great accent on pipes. You can check out Stefan’s work on his Instagram. Science: Meet Pipes I chatted with Chris from the San Diego Pipe Club; he started off doing stem replacements for estate pipes but also improved the airflow. James: How are you doing 3d printing? What is the thought process? Chris: It’s a 3D-printed pipe with a briar insert. The design is a calabash meets a Peterson system meets a metal Falcon/Kirsten radiator style. It is a bottom draft smoking bowl like a radiator like those metal pipes. The inside chamber is a calabash. The stummel and accent rings in the stems are all 3d printed. The insert is briar, olive wood, or I have the potential to use meerschaum as well. This idea came about through the San Diego Pipe Club, wanting to see if we could 3D print a pipe and being curious about the technology; I have a printer and design ability, so here we are. James: What’s the type of plastic you’re using? Chris: It’s all PLA plastic, a renewable potato starch plastic that is food-safe. The stummels are printed with a plastic that has wood in it 40% wood fiber, bamboo, rosewood, ebony, redwood, and walnut are the woods I’m printing. For the accent rings I just got a new material that I’m printing that has 40% copper, so its real metal that you can sand, and polish the same as wood filament. The stems are 3d printed as well. The concept is renewable and cheap from a production standpoint, with the ability to make a very high quality smoking pipe based on the experience. By combining the calabash system pipe and bottom draft hole and using 3d simulations to see airflow, I can see where I’m having eddies and ripples in my current, and see where my moisture and all the particles are dropping back out from a vapor to a liquid. Most people who have tried these say the stems are clean, and they don’t even have to run a pipe cleaner afterward because everything collects at the bottom. Chris has also been experimenting with color-changing plastics so you can see the hotspots. Chris said he was able to use this to slow down his cadence, which, of course, could mean you could get a slow-smoke training pipe to teach yourself to perform better. If you’re interested in learning more or want to check one out, you can contact him on Instagram: Copper Beard Pipe Works The Negative Space The show was buzzing about one specific pipe, which had everyone guessing how it was made. I chatted with Adam Davidson briefly about it. James: How did this idea come to fruition? Adam Davidson: Smokingpipes.com had an expo back in August open to all of the makers they carry. The theme was to make a pipe utilizing bamboo. Given that the last time we had the expo I made a smooth Almond with three bamboo shanks, […]
Well said, sir. I bought my first tailored suit several years ago for a wedding, as I subscribe to the theory that everyone should have at least one properly fitting formal outfit. Now I just need to get back down to the weight I was when I bought it so that it fits properly again… It is amazing how much of a difference those little details can make.
Being somewhat of an ameturer photographer myself, I absolutely love my lowepro backpack, I would never give it up!
Wonderful article. I’ve recently gotten into blazers myself. They definitely make a man look more… gentlemanly.
I’m in suits at work or play, and Steve’s advice for fitting them is spot on.
I am fortunate that the tailor from whom I purchase suits and sports jackets has a lifetime alteration policy. I have suits purchased even 25 years ago that – as I gain and lose weight – I can bring in and have them re-fitted for free. As I have a wedding to attend soon, I recently tried on a 17-year old suit and it still fits fine, but after reading this article I may try it on again and use a more discerning eye. Perhaps a visit to the tailor is in order after all. Two-piece single-breasted suits work best for me.
I’ve never bought a tailor-made jacket or suit as there are and were no tailors in my area that could do so.
Fortunately I have or had a physique that didn’t require special treatment and most men in this area wore of the rack suits or sport-coats the same as I.
I’m retired and no longer wear a suit or sport-coat other than for Church or certain social functions.
As for a pipe bag I do have a very nice leather 7-pipe bag with extra features that I bought some years ago from a German e-tailor. It was pricey for me but has performed well. I also have a Peterson Pipe two-pipe carrier that works well.
I’m glad this information is available on yet another site.
It is one of these things that an adult simply needs to know.
Unfortunately, like so much in the modern world, nobody seems to give a damn.
What is the proportion of people highlighted in the trash media who actually know how to dress or what wine should taste like, or what good leather is and how to treat it or in fact anything about actual quality? Most of us have become supine victims of conscienceless marketting men whose very existence is based on a conjob. Jesus, even basic grammar seems to be beyond most people under thirty.