Our last meeting had 27 members in attendance as well as 8 guests. We are now up to 69 paid members. Our newest member is Bill Larmer of Lenexa, KS.
Tobacco Blending Program
We had a real treat at the last meeting as Mike and Mary McNiel of McClelland Tobacco gave a presentation on how you create a tobacco blend.
They brought in eleven of their tobaccos that they use for blending. This included burleys, cavendish’s, virginias, latakias and a perique.
I think many of our newer members were surprised that Mike and Mary are team when it comes to tobacco blending. This may be a male dominated business but Mary is a player and has a phenomenal palate.
Mike discussed how they went about creating the blend Mike submitted at the Chicago Pipe Show for the Balkan Sobranie 759 Throwdown. This included the meticulous task of taking a tin of the original Balkan Sobranie blend and using tweezers to separate the tobacco into its constituent components and weighing them to get the ratios of the different tobaccos.
They both echoed the thought that to create successful tobacco blends you have to understand you going to have a lot failures and accept this and to just keep trying.
GKCPC PIPE TOBACCO
We have two different club tobaccos left over from the show that we are selling for $10 a tin. These tobaccos were blended, tinned, and donated to the Club by McClelland Tobacco. They are limited editions of only 50 tins each.
If you would like to have them shipped to you just add $5 if you live in the contiguous 48 states. If you buy four tins the shipping is free. Email me for a shipping quote if you live elsewhere.
Both tins have the classic “Smokin’ Joe” logo on the front.
The Virginia is very robust and satisfying. It is a blend that should cellar well.
The other tobacco is a rich Oriental tobacco with a mixture of Cyprian and Syrian Latakia blended with some Basma and mature Virginia. Very rich and satisfying.
You can pay by PayPal, check or cash. If you use PayPal just send it to admin@gkcpipeclub.com and list what you want. Be sure the shipping address is correct.
GKCPC PIPE SHOW VENUE
As you heard at the last meeting we will not be returning to the KCI Expo Center for our 2012 show as they sold our dates to someone else. Whether that’s fair or not isn’t really the issue. We have to take the show elsewhere.
After much effort and mountain moving the steering committee recommended to the club that we move the 2012 Show to the DoubleTree Hotel in Overland Park. The selection of the DoubleTree was driven by two factors. First, it is an outstanding venue and second, it answers the call to move the show to the southern part of KC.
I have always been shocked at the number of fellow pipe smokers who look upon a once year drive to the airport as a major inconvenience. Nonetheless we have heard this complaint for years.
Once again smoking will not he permitted in the exhibit hall. We will have a tent just out side the exhibit hall that should be just fabulous. Those of us familiar with the tent scenario at the KCI Expo Center are thrilled at this new location. The place for the tent is in a shaded area that has a large wooden patio.
We hope this new location will be attractive to out of town visitors. To them the airport location was a good thing. They didn’t have to get a rental car and could catch a shuttle that would have them to the Expo Center in five minutes.
What the new venue does offer the out-of-towners is something for them to do beside go to the show. This means they can bring their wives or companions and they can easily go do other things besides hang around a hotel in the middle of no place.
This being a new venue means we will all have to work harder to make the show a success.
2011 Club Pipe
We have received our final ten club pipes for 2011 from Scott Thile. These are wonderful little rusticated billiards.
We have 3 of these pipes still available at $235 (non-members add $25). If you would like one of these pipes but can’t afford to pay for it in one fell swoop we can do a layaway plan for you. If you would like one of these pipes email me at admin@gkcpipeclub.com.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be Thursday, September 15, 2011 at Cigar & Tabac. The time will be 8PM. We have a great program lined up for you. Mike Sull will be doing a presentation on calligraphy. As most of you know Mike is one of premier practitioners of cursive handwriting in the country.
His recent book on “American Cursive Handwriting” was the subject of a recent article in the KC Star. This is a program you will not want to miss.
Carvers 7-Day Set
As most of you know we cannot publish any pictures of the pipes that were submitted for the Carvers Contest at the 2011 GKCPC Pipe Show until they are published in Pipes & Tobacco magazine It looks like our wait is about over.
I have seen the final draft of the article featuring photos of all 40+ pipes as well as close ups of the winners. The magazine should be published by mid-September or so. Assuming that is done we will include a major write up in the next newsletter.
By the way, if you do not subscribe to P&T magazine you should consider doing so. If for no other reason than showing them respect for being such strong supporters of our show.
2012 Pipe of the Year
I know this is awfully early but an opportunity presented itself that couldn’t be passed up. Carl Staudenmyer was talking to Michael Parks about who we should approach to make our club pipe for next year. Michael told Carl that if he could swing it we should get Thomas James Richards to do the pipe. Tom sells his pipes under the name Thomas James to avoid confusion with another carver of similar name.
A recommendation from Michael Parks is pretty high praise. Michael’s pipes have been selected to the GKCPC Carver’s Contest 7-Day each of the last two years. He is the only carver to achieve that distinction.
Carl called Tom to discuss if he would be available next year to do such a thing. It turns out that it would be more suitable to contract Tom now rather than wait until next year. The problem with waiting until the year you want the pipe is that the carver usually has a consider portion of his time already blocked out to make pipes for upcoming shows (St. Louis, Chicago, GKCPC, Vegas, etc).
So we have contracted with Tom to do our Club Pipe for 2012. It will be his well-known Ace of Spades design. The cost to members will be $235.
The dimensions of the pipe are:
Length: 5 inches
Width: 2 inches at widest point
Height: 2.15 inches at point (highest point on the pipe)
Chamber .75 x 1.50
All measurements are approximate and will vary from pipe to pipe.
There are a number of you who would like a bigger pipe but that is very hard (real hard) to pull off in our price range from a well know carver.
This is a sensational pipe from a great young carver at an attractive price. If you are interested in one of these let me know. A $100 deposit would be appreciated.
If you would like to see more of Tom’s work you can go to his web site at www.thomasjamespipes.com.
A Theory on Pipe Buying
Not being a collector of high-end pipes I often give thought to how many pipes a club member should buy every year. To my mind if your aren’t buying an occasional pipe you aren’t supporting the hobby. And it doesn’t matter whether it is an estate pipe or a brand new one.
The biggest factor in my thinking is that we all have different amounts that we are willing to cough up for a pipe. I wondered if a guideline could be espoused that might meet all levels of pipe smokers.
After some thought I came to the obvious conclusion that the best guideline might be one that suggests the minimum number of pipes a hobbyist should buy and where he should get them.
I think that number is three pipes per year.
You should buy at least one pipe from a local brick-and-mortar. Why? These are the guys who are really the foundation of pipe smoking. Without the ability to have a place where you can congregate with other pipe smokers the hobby would soon be gone. And the nice thing is this guy will have pipes in virtually every range from $5 to $2,000 or more. Certainly something to fit every budget.
Secondly, I think everyone should buy a pipe at the club show. Without buyers these shows will go the way of the dinosaur. And again you will find pipes in virtually every price range. Personally I like to find a new American carver at our show and buy a pipe from him. The nice thing about a new carver is that the price is much more reasonable than an established one.
Third, I think a person should consider buying the annual club Pipe of the Year. The price of club pipes is not trivial and may be out of the price range of some members.
These are my thoughts on buying pipes to support the hobby. I would be interested in hearing yours.
Tobacco Blending Program
We had a real treat at the last meeting as Mike and Mary McNiel of McClelland Tobacco gave a presentation on how you create a tobacco blend.
They brought in eleven of their tobaccos that they use for blending. This included burleys, cavendish’s, virginias, latakias and a perique.
I think many of our newer members were surprised that Mike and Mary are team when it comes to tobacco blending. This may be a male dominated business but Mary is a player and has a phenomenal palate.
Mike discussed how they went about creating the blend Mike submitted at the Chicago Pipe Show for the Balkan Sobranie 759 Throwdown. This included the meticulous task of taking a tin of the original Balkan Sobranie blend and using tweezers to separate the tobacco into its constituent components and weighing them to get the ratios of the different tobaccos.
They both echoed the thought that to create successful tobacco blends you have to understand you going to have a lot failures and accept this and to just keep trying.
GKCPC PIPE TOBACCO
We have two different club tobaccos left over from the show that we are selling for $10 a tin. These tobaccos were blended, tinned, and donated to the Club by McClelland Tobacco. They are limited editions of only 50 tins each.
If you would like to have them shipped to you just add $5 if you live in the contiguous 48 states. If you buy four tins the shipping is free. Email me for a shipping quote if you live elsewhere.
Both tins have the classic “Smokin’ Joe” logo on the front.
The Virginia is very robust and satisfying. It is a blend that should cellar well.
The other tobacco is a rich Oriental tobacco with a mixture of Cyprian and Syrian Latakia blended with some Basma and mature Virginia. Very rich and satisfying.
You can pay by PayPal, check or cash. If you use PayPal just send it to admin@gkcpipeclub.com and list what you want. Be sure the shipping address is correct.
GKCPC PIPE SHOW VENUE
As you heard at the last meeting we will not be returning to the KCI Expo Center for our 2012 show as they sold our dates to someone else. Whether that’s fair or not isn’t really the issue. We have to take the show elsewhere.
After much effort and mountain moving the steering committee recommended to the club that we move the 2012 Show to the DoubleTree Hotel in Overland Park. The selection of the DoubleTree was driven by two factors. First, it is an outstanding venue and second, it answers the call to move the show to the southern part of KC.
I have always been shocked at the number of fellow pipe smokers who look upon a once year drive to the airport as a major inconvenience. Nonetheless we have heard this complaint for years.
Once again smoking will not he permitted in the exhibit hall. We will have a tent just out side the exhibit hall that should be just fabulous. Those of us familiar with the tent scenario at the KCI Expo Center are thrilled at this new location. The place for the tent is in a shaded area that has a large wooden patio.
We hope this new location will be attractive to out of town visitors. To them the airport location was a good thing. They didn’t have to get a rental car and could catch a shuttle that would have them to the Expo Center in five minutes.
What the new venue does offer the out-of-towners is something for them to do beside go to the show. This means they can bring their wives or companions and they can easily go do other things besides hang around a hotel in the middle of no place.
This being a new venue means we will all have to work harder to make the show a success.
2011 Club Pipe
We have received our final ten club pipes for 2011 from Scott Thile. These are wonderful little rusticated billiards.
We have 3 of these pipes still available at $235 (non-members add $25). If you would like one of these pipes but can’t afford to pay for it in one fell swoop we can do a layaway plan for you. If you would like one of these pipes email me at admin@gkcpipeclub.com.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be Thursday, September 15, 2011 at Cigar & Tabac. The time will be 8PM. We have a great program lined up for you. Mike Sull will be doing a presentation on calligraphy. As most of you know Mike is one of premier practitioners of cursive handwriting in the country.
His recent book on “American Cursive Handwriting” was the subject of a recent article in the KC Star. This is a program you will not want to miss.
Carvers 7-Day Set
As most of you know we cannot publish any pictures of the pipes that were submitted for the Carvers Contest at the 2011 GKCPC Pipe Show until they are published in Pipes & Tobacco magazine It looks like our wait is about over.
I have seen the final draft of the article featuring photos of all 40+ pipes as well as close ups of the winners. The magazine should be published by mid-September or so. Assuming that is done we will include a major write up in the next newsletter.
By the way, if you do not subscribe to P&T magazine you should consider doing so. If for no other reason than showing them respect for being such strong supporters of our show.
2012 Pipe of the Year
I know this is awfully early but an opportunity presented itself that couldn’t be passed up. Carl Staudenmyer was talking to Michael Parks about who we should approach to make our club pipe for next year. Michael told Carl that if he could swing it we should get Thomas James Richards to do the pipe. Tom sells his pipes under the name Thomas James to avoid confusion with another carver of similar name.
A recommendation from Michael Parks is pretty high praise. Michael’s pipes have been selected to the GKCPC Carver’s Contest 7-Day each of the last two years. He is the only carver to achieve that distinction.
Carl called Tom to discuss if he would be available next year to do such a thing. It turns out that it would be more suitable to contract Tom now rather than wait until next year. The problem with waiting until the year you want the pipe is that the carver usually has a consider portion of his time already blocked out to make pipes for upcoming shows (St. Louis, Chicago, GKCPC, Vegas, etc).
So we have contracted with Tom to do our Club Pipe for 2012. It will be his well-known Ace of Spades design. The cost to members will be $235.
The dimensions of the pipe are:
Length: 5 inches
Width: 2 inches at widest point
Height: 2.15 inches at point (highest point on the pipe)
Chamber .75 x 1.50
All measurements are approximate and will vary from pipe to pipe.
There are a number of you who would like a bigger pipe but that is very hard (real hard) to pull off in our price range from a well know carver.
This is a sensational pipe from a great young carver at an attractive price. If you are interested in one of these let me know. A $100 deposit would be appreciated.
If you would like to see more of Tom’s work you can go to his web site at www.thomasjamespipes.com.
A Theory on Pipe Buying
Not being a collector of high-end pipes I often give thought to how many pipes a club member should buy every year. To my mind if your aren’t buying an occasional pipe you aren’t supporting the hobby. And it doesn’t matter whether it is an estate pipe or a brand new one.
The biggest factor in my thinking is that we all have different amounts that we are willing to cough up for a pipe. I wondered if a guideline could be espoused that might meet all levels of pipe smokers.
After some thought I came to the obvious conclusion that the best guideline might be one that suggests the minimum number of pipes a hobbyist should buy and where he should get them.
I think that number is three pipes per year.
You should buy at least one pipe from a local brick-and-mortar. Why? These are the guys who are really the foundation of pipe smoking. Without the ability to have a place where you can congregate with other pipe smokers the hobby would soon be gone. And the nice thing is this guy will have pipes in virtually every range from $5 to $2,000 or more. Certainly something to fit every budget.
Secondly, I think everyone should buy a pipe at the club show. Without buyers these shows will go the way of the dinosaur. And again you will find pipes in virtually every price range. Personally I like to find a new American carver at our show and buy a pipe from him. The nice thing about a new carver is that the price is much more reasonable than an established one.
Third, I think a person should consider buying the annual club Pipe of the Year. The price of club pipes is not trivial and may be out of the price range of some members.
These are my thoughts on buying pipes to support the hobby. I would be interested in hearing yours.