An appreciation for the pipe makers of St. Claude

[andya27]

All my pipes are my favorite pipe. When I'm smoking it.
And it's on the weekend that I smoke my Butz-Choquin. I could smoke it more often, but there's something about reserving one pipe for those times when I can sit in my recliner chair on the deck and do...nothing. And when I have those fine moments, I prefer my BC and a bowl of Briar Fox, a tobacco I prefer to smoke slowly, and then do nothing for a while as I let the nicotine do its work and then fade to gray.
It's a wonderful early autumn day here in the Cleveland area, and I like to think that I've done my work for the week, and that in some way I deserve this small pleasure.
The workers of St. Claude make a fine pipe. This bulldog smokes beautifully, looks good, and is wonderful in the hand and as a clencher. And though the pipe makers of St. Claude may never know it, their pipe is the one that may bring me the most pleasure: not because it's the best pipe I own (though it may be), but because it's the one I smoke when I have that rare commodity: peace, quiet, and an opportunity to reflect on...life.
I think this is why I smoke a pipe.

 

[maxpeters]

That's what it's all about Andy.

 

[northernneil]

I hear ya Andy. St Claude has some amazing pipe manufactures and a tremendous history.

 

[elpfeife]

@neil - Didn't you obtain one of those vintage Ropps from SPC? What is your opinion of it?

 

[andya27]

I too have one of the vintage Ropps with the horn stem. Great little smoker for well under $100.

 

[mso489]

St. Claude, as I understand it, is the birthplace of the briar pipe as we know it, and the origins of many of the classic shapes

latter picked up by the English and Italians, and to some degree the Danish. I am struck by the exceptional value of French

pipes -- Chocum, BC, Chapuis-Comoy and some of the lower volume brands like Vuillard and Genod. I think having the

tobacco pipe industry centered in one place has engendered pride and knowhow in French products. Viva la France.

 

[papipeguy]

The history of St. Claude's contribution to pipe making is too long to go into here. It is a storied place and worthy of a pilgrimage. My BC's are great pipes and so many B&M's had their house pipes made there.

 

[northernneil]

@neil - Didn't you obtain one of those vintage Ropps from SPC? What is your opinion of it?

I have a couple of them and I love them. Great smokers and the horn stems are very comfortable. I also really like the size of the pipes as they are classic french shapes that are somewhat small. Only complaint I might have is that the pipes are not very good for clenching. The horn stems are rather delicate.

 

[andya27]

I have a couple of them and I love them. Great smokers and the horn stems are very comfortable. I also really like the size of the pipes as they are classic french shapes that are somewhat small. Only complaint I might have is that the pipes are not very good for clenching. The horn stems are rather delicate.

My experience exactly. Not only is the horn stem delicate, but on the bulldog that I own it tapers to very small. I suspect this is intentionally done to encourage the smoker not to clench. As the pipe is so light weight, it's not at all a bother to hold in the hand.
There are many pipes that we might say "for the money..." And these Ropp vintage pipes are among them.

 

[keith929]

All my pipes are my favorite pipe. When I'm smoking it.

I feel ya Andya77.

 

[natenice1]

Great post Andy. Just the beginning of Autumn looks great in the Cleveland area, I hear ya, I have a Vuillard Apple with a Cumberland stem I feel the same way about!

 

[johnnyreb]

Great post Andy and I know exactly how you feel. I call mine communing with nature. I own some property where I like to go out to the edge of the woods where they are joined by a meadow, fix dinner over a camp fire and camp out overnight just watching the stars in the sky! Just me & my dog. No greater way to contemplate life.