Danish Pipe Maker Mike Sebastian Bay on Radio Show of October 1, 2024

[admin]

Our featured interview on tonight’s Pipes Magazine Radio Show is with Danish Pipe Maker Mike Sebastian Bay. Mike got his start in pipe making when looking for someone to repair his father’s pipes in the Copenhagen area. He inadvertently found renowned pipe artisan Tom Eltang, and apprenticed under him for several years. He learned Tom’s signature rustication technique, and then made it his own. His pipe designs are also known for the poker shapes with “the bend” – after the forward tilt, there is another angle bent forward. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss everything about aging tobacco you will ever need to know.

The show airs every Tuesday at 8:00pm eastern US time, and can be found at PipesMagazine.com and all podcast apps.

 

[jbfrady]

This guest oughtta excite @kcghost

 

[MattRVA]

I’ve had my eye on his work.

 

[kcghost]

He certainly had a good mentor.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

At first I was frustrated by aging tobacco, because you have to be patient and us Millennials aren’t really known for being patient. After I had my first bowl of 10yr old Virginia though, I learned that patience is a virtue.

I’ve seen Mike’s work a lot on SmokingPipes and I must say he makes some really incredible pipes. You can see Tom’s influence in Mike’s work, but Mike does a really good job of making it his own. I hope one day he can make it to the Vegas show.

 

[Mike N]

I like Bay’s style and own a couple through Tabaccheria Corti. I figured that anyone who trained in Tom Eltang’s shop had to make good pipes. Last week Luca at Corti emailed me about Bay’s new “C” series pencil pipes that he said are a bit more affordable (in the $315US range with no tax.) I look forward to listening to the interview.

 

[jmsmitty6]

Great show Brian as always.

I really enjoyed the conversation with Mike and couldn't believe that you hadn't interviewed him previously. I own several of Mike's pipes and can attest to his preference in smaller lightweight pipes. I prefer those also and his pipes smoke fantastic.

He made an comment towards the end of the interview about him not being as busy and I get the sense that over the last couple of years, people aren't picking up as many pipes as they used to. Smokingpipes inventory of newer pipes seems (simply observational) to be larger in regards to higher end makers. It's obvious that money isn't as cheap as it was 4-5 years ago, and of course, inflation. My concern is that some of these makers, like Mike, are able to stick around long term because the value to price ratio are incredible, in my opinion of course.

Thanks again as always,

Jason

 

[Egg Shen]

Idk anything about the guy, but I have one of his pipes, so I’ll give this a listen

 

[Mike N]

***

He made an comment towards the end of the interview about him not being as busy and I get the sense that over the last couple of years, people aren't picking up as many pipes as they used to. Smokingpipes inventory of newer pipes seems (simply observational) to be larger in regards to higher end makers. It's obvious that money isn't as cheap as it was 4-5 years ago, and of course, inflation. My concern is that some of these makers, like Mike, are able to stick around long term because the value to price ratio are incredible, in my opinion of course.

Thanks again as always,

Jason

Yes, I also worry about a shakeout in the artisan pipe offerings. On the Scandinavian Pipes website alone (Pipe Makers - https://www.scandpipes.com/pipes/26-pipe-makers/) there are over 125 makers listed. We are definitely in a golden age of great hand made pipes; let's hope that the demand continues to increase.

I always listen to Brian's podcasts on Tuesday in my car and really look forward to this one. Bay is an incredible talent.