Totally Rad (Davis)

[dottlejockey]

Any Rad Davis fans out there?

I acquired a couple of his pipes years ago while he was still active in the pipe making world and have always admired the quality of his craftsmanship. Whenever one of these comes up for sale somewhere my trigger finger gets a wee bit itchy. Might just snag another one someday when the timing and design are right.

Anyhoo, here are the two I have been smoking for quite a while:





Always liked the chunky squashed tomato shape. I have one of these from Tim West, too, in a smooth finish. Both are excellent, cool smokers. The smaller pipe up top is so well balanced with the angle of the bottom cut that it will not stand without the cumberland bit in place. I love the thin shank against the shape of the bowl and always thought the thin wooden accent for the stem connection was a crafty touch. The tomato needs a good cleaning and rubbing with oil, but I figured showing it this way would be truer to form, being the smokehorse that it is.

 

[kcghost]

Are there are any Rad fans here?! You must be kidding. There are zillions of them here.

 

[AJL67]

Pretty sure there is a very large post of people posting his pipes they own.

 

[OzPiper]

They come up regularly on the WAYS thread

 

[dottlejockey]

I'll have to snoop around. Never get tired of appreciating his designs.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I love Rad Davis. Look great, smoke even better. Wish he were still carving.

 

[dottlejockey]

I love Rad Davis. Look great, smoke even better. Wish he were still carving.

Absolutely agree. Those are some stunning examples! The last one reminds me of a Nana Ivarsson design that I have from Stanwell. Thanks for sharing!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Absolutely agree. Those are some stunning examples! The last one reminds me of a Nana Ivarsson design that I have from Stanwell. Thanks for sharing!

I posted the last one for sale in the last pipe sale I had. Still available.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Lots of Rad Davis fans here. I admire his work, but unfortunately never bought one of his pipes. If the right one shows up on the estate market I’ll probably snag it.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I love his work.
Rad is living down in a little community of retired folks close to me. While he doesn't carve, he is still doing blasts for artisan pipemakers. I have had to collaborate with him when making bands and such for Mark Tinsky. He is a really nice guy.

 

[AroEnglish]

Love that sitter! Rad is so appropriately named given the pipes he's produced.

 

[Chasing Embers]

The late Harris (cigrmaster) was a big fan. Never had one catch my eye.

 

[ssjones]

I've owned a few, but they never worked well for me. I believe most were then bought by folks here, who seemed to love them.

 

[AroEnglish]

I've owned a few, but they never worked well for me. I believe most were then bought by folks here, who seemed to love them.

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I envy whomever got that sandblast.

 

[dottlejockey]

I've owned a few, but they never worked well for me.

In what sense did they "never work?" The ones i've smoked have all performed extraordinarily well, albeit style is certainly subjective to taste, of course. Assuming you wouldn't have bought something that you didn't find aesthetically pleasing, was this an issue with performance or just that you happened to never reach for them? I've certainly had good pipes that -- for whatever reason -- i don't smoke often enough to warrant keeping them in the stable, so to speak. Curious.

 

[ssjones]

Former member antbauer (Tony)

I envy whomever got that sandblast.

 

[ssjones]

In what sense did they "never work?" The ones i've smoked have all performed extraordinarily well, albeit style is certainly subjective to taste, of course. Assuming you wouldn't have bought something that you didn't find aesthetically pleasing, was this an issue with performance or just that you happened to never reach for them? I've certainly had good pipes that -- for whatever reason -- i don't smoke often enough to warrant keeping them in the stable, so to speak. Curious.

The tomato - I just didn't care for the conical bowl and shape, so that was aesthetics vs design/function.

On the sandblasted Rhodesian - selling that was one was hard, I loved the shape so much. That was made in 2014 - Rad had just returned to pipe making from a serious health issue. It never broke in, despite 50-couple bowls thru it. That one was screaming for a bowl coating. Was he buying unseasoned briar at that time? I always suspected the briar was the issue. I lost $100 on that one and really wanted it to work.

 

[keith929]

I guess you could say I'm a fan.
I am forever grateful to the late cigrmaster for recommending this excellent carver.
Rad's stem work is top notch.

 

[dottlejockey]

I guess you could say I'm a fan.
I am forever grateful to the late cigrmaster for recommending this excellent carver.
Rad's stem work is top notch.
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I'd say so! Amazing collection. So many fine looking specimens here. I really love the shank angle in the 3rd one from the top here. Thanks for sharing. A feast for the eyes!