I go to Denmark on business once a year. That's what I'm there for; at least that's what I tell people in the office. I try to make it sound as onerous, exhausting and generally miserable as possible. I make it abundantly clear that it is only through tremendous personal sacrifice that I bring all of these great pipes home.

I mean, we can't have them thinking that their fearless leader (well, fearless except of the extremely large mosquitos that inhabit my backyard; those things scare the crapola out of me) is off galavanting across a beautiful country, looking at some of the world's best pipes, eating extremely well, hanging out with old friends, smoking great tobacco, and generally having a blast, can we?

While I was there, I spent a night at Peter Heeschen's house. I've done this every year for six years now. We were sitting in his workshop and he showed me a really pretty sandblasted (but as of yet unfinished) pipe. And then he showed me the hole in the bottom of the shank that opened up when he sandblasted it. Since it was obviously unsellable, he joked about it being really expensive firewood and the conversation meandered on. A few minutes later, I asked him if I could have it since he was just going to pitch it. I started smoking it. It's smoked very well (through either the stem or the bottom of the shank) until moisture started dripping out of the hole onto my shirt. Peter decided to add a screw (the general household variety) to plug the hole, so we did that and it worked rather well. Thereafter, I decided to finish the stem (it just needed some more sanding and polishing) and we stained it a hideous yellow color, much in keeping with the rest of it. It's sort of like rescuing a three-legged cat at the shelter; it ain't pretty, but it's all the more precious because I'm now the proud owner of a truly unique (though not in a good way) pipe.

I've been back a little over a week now, settling into my old routine. Pipes from the trip will start arriving soon. I can't wait to see them. For the most part, I've just seen the ones I picked out half-finished. They're a lot prettier when they're stained and have stems. And Heeschens much better than my new one will be here soon, so keep an eye out on the site for those.

In today's update, you'll find the second round of pipes for our big Dunhill Estate Sale. The first round was an amazing success; I hope there's something here that grabs your attention too! You'll also find new pipes from Dunhill, great deals on some Caminettos, plus pipes from Johs, Brigham, Savinelli, Vauen and Peterson. Enjoy!

 Sykes Wilford: Founder/President