Would you be so kind as to provide an overview of how frequently she travels to Europe to hand select briar, how see stores it and how see treats it, proprietarily, after shaping? She is a new carver, after all!
Scottie's being modest. She grows her own briar, mills it, and cuts it.
But there are some other things that she does that I respect. Scottie's stem and button work is top notch. One of the things that I noticed before I bought my first pipe from her is the way she carves the bit, button and the airway opening. The slot is very like the patented Barling design, a wide, low rectangle with smoothly curving ends, not easy to reproduce. That indicated to me right at the start that Scottie has chops. I'd read favorable reports of her pipes from others. But none of this was enough to encourage me to take a chance on her.
What got me off the fence was something different. Scottie shows the attitude and approach to her craft that I respect and that I look for in craftspeople. I've been a successful artist/craftsman for over 50 years, 38 of them (so far) in the film and TV business. In that time I've seen all manner of posers, artistes, enfant terribles, geniuses, and other forms of blowhard. In that time I've also seen a great many who approach their craft with an attitude of humility, straightforwardness, concentration, and a desire to do their best and to grow. Scottie's contributions in the pipemaker's forum showed me that she had the right approach and attitude toward her work, and THAT"S what impelled me to try out her pipes. Scottie cares about doing the best work that she can, is constantly looking to improve, and is genuinely concerned with providing her clientele her best efforts. And she does this at a
very affordable price. Scottie stated that she believes it's important to give her customers a good value.
Back to the Canadian. Scottie also used a conical chamber drill, which has the benefit of concentrating flavors in the virginias, which I favor. This also has the benefit of providing more robust structure at the area of the shank transition into the bowl where it is most needed and where a lot of pipes fail over time. BTW, Von Erck does the same thing.
Scottie also employs a steel insert in the shank to further increase structural strength and which has the added benefit of providing a smooth flow for the smoke and a very easy surface to keep clean. It eliminates the whole mortise swamp. The steel tube becomes a reverse tenon over which the stem is attached. The airway is properly funneled to spread out the smoke. The surfaces are polished out
I want to thank Mr Pond, the sort of quiet erudite fellow who doesn't laugh at his own bon mots and who wouldn't ever consider dropping his diapers and taking a dump on another's breakfast, for for encouraging me to offer my reasons for commissioning this pipe from Scottie. I'm sure that the erudite Pond will be more than happy to share his encyclopedic knowledge and explain chamber geometry and its effect of combustion and flavor.
BTW, I also have another pipe coming from Scottie, this one a gourd calabash fitted with both meerschaum and briar bowls. It won an award at the Kansas City Pipe Show for best non briar pipe.
Oh, and before you ask, Mr. Pond, Scottie did grow the gourds in order to make the calabash.
Most importantly, Scottie, thanks for the beautiful pipe!
