Smokingpipes.com Blog

The Pipe-Scented Air Freshener (TM) ~sutherland~

2013-05-16T16:00:00-04:00

Earlier this morning I heard Adam Davidson leading our marketing bullpen in a chorus of "Schoooool's out for Summer... Schoooool's out forevaaah!" Well, he was trying to, at least. I guess this marks the unofficial start of Summer, which here in Myrtle Beach means Bike Week, beach days, and the associated influx of tourists. More generally, in the Northern hemisphere at least, this means plenty of BBQ's and parties with an outdoor component, which of course also means plenty of time for social pipe and cigar smoking.

I was at a party just this last weekend, and a Star Wars-themed one at that. Unfortunately I neglected to bring a pipe, but pipe tobacco did come up in conversation (surprisingly quite organically with no prompting from yours truly). A buddy, dressed as Boba Fett in a business suit, mentioned that he had no interest in pipe smoking, but if he could he would "fill his whole house pipe tobacco just for the smell." This statement immediately took me back to the first time I walked into our Low Country Pipe and Cigar B&M, and how immediately transfixed I was by the fragrance of the place, and how since then I've often had the same sentiment as my friend, the sharply-dressed bounty hunter from a galaxy far, far away.

This has got me thinking, as I'm sitting here staring at my Red Velvet Cake-scented air freshener (no need to turn in my man-card; I bought it because I thought it would better blend with the smell of old smoke than other more fruity offerings, because it is black, and because I like cake)... Why has no one bottled pipe-smoke up and tried to market it? This is a fairly common sentiment among non-pipe smokers. In the realm of often musky or woodsy scents marketed towards men, I'd find the generic smell of aromatic pipe tobacco, as loosely defined as we all know this to be, much preferable. One of the more enterprising among you readers should take this idea and run with it.

Enough of my olfactory musings, you folks are here for the pipes. Today we've got a pretty stellar batch of artisanal pieces from G. Batson, Peter Matzhold, and Pete Prevost. We're also refreshing our Ashton supply with a full dozen count, along with pipes from L'Anatra, Randy Wiley, Claudio Cavicchi, Rossi Pipes, Brigham, Nording, Savinelli, and Peterson. Being that it's Thursday, we've also an eighty-four pipe batch of estates for your perusal.

John Sutherland: Marketing Mngr and Sr. Photographer

"And Here's Your Kisser!" ~eric~

2013-05-13T16:01:00-04:00

This past weekend was Adam's birthday. Some of you may be wondering, "What do you give a man who can make his own pipes?" The answer is: You let him feed. That may not make much sense if you don't know Adam, and perfect sense if you do. Adam loves hosting, preparing meals for others, and getting people to try new things. And so that was, pretty much, what a bunch of us let him have free reign to do this weekend - yes, both Saturday and Sunday. If what Adam enjoys most is indulging his guests, that was precisely what we were going to indulge him in. Bear in mind, we aren't talking a plate of hors' d'oeuvres and some white wine here. I was with Adam on Thursday when he picked up the main courses: two steaks measuring about four inches thick and a foot across, and half a pig -- plus its head, which the butcher kindly tossed in for free. Literally. His exact words, in a New York accent I'd thought they'd stop issuing generations ago, as he lobbed it onto the pile of animal protein already filling up much of Adam's trunk: "And here's your kisser!" It's hard to find service like that these days.

Along with massive grilled steaks and even more massive amounts of grilled pork, there was of course also some great cheeses and IPAs, and he gave several of us our first chance to try beef-marrow and parsley on crisp toasted bread, which may be one of the most fantastic foodstuffs ever devised by man. In essence, it's as if some wonderfully mad alchemist distilled an excellent steak down to a concentrated, butter-textured essence. Along the way he also taught me how a sprig of parsley served with steak isn't just there for decoration: eating a little piece between bites cleanses the palette, keeping well-prepared beef's flavor as prominent and savory as the very first taste. It's a useful tip that I figure is worth passing on, especially if any of you happen to find yourselves, in the near future, facing such massively generous proportions as we did over the past two days.

And of course, given that this was a Smokingpipes family shindig, pretty much every minute we didn't spend eating, we spent sitting out on Adam's back patio, enjoying our pipes, good conversation, and fine weather. Hopefully you'll all get plenty of opportunities to do much the same this summer.

We'll do what we can to help make that possible, of course, in the way of offering plenty of the necessary materiel: pipes, tobacco, pipes, pipe accessories, and more pipes, of course. And so with that, we come to the meat of today's update. This Monday we roll out, appropriately first and foremost, new pipes from Adam Davidson himself, joined by briars from fellow American artisan Bruce Weaver as well. Following up you'll find loads and loads of other offerings, including fresh Dunhills, Petersons, Savinelli, Stanwells, Tsuges, Chacoms, Vauens, and Lucianos, plus of course plenty of estates. For cigar guys, we're introducing both several different sizes of Quesada's "Tributo", and QueAmerica's latest Oscuro. Finally, if you'd like a bit of summer reading, there's a new edition of Rick Newcombe's Still Searching for Pipe Dreams, which now includes two bonus chapters.

Eric Squires: Copywriter

Dunhill Bulk Special Starts Today! ~ted~

2013-05-09T16:00:00-04:00

And so we're back. With boxes. Twenty-five boxes, to be exact. All of them filled with pipes, tablecloths, pipes, buttons, t-shirts, pipe stands, more pipes, tins of tobacco, notepads, pens, lamps, power cords, pipe bags, and tons and tons of pipes. It all needs to be unpacked. Soon. For now, however, I'm up here writing this intro. Because it needs to get written. Unraveling the aftermath of the great Chicago show can wait a spell -- serving our customers cannot.

Of course, I'm smoking my pipe as I write. A lovely aromatic from our friends at Mac Baren, in a Rhodesian design by a Russian fellow you may have heard of: Vladimir Grechukhin. As is true with so many things, time spent at a keyboard is best done with warm briar, under fragrant plumes of smoldering tobacco leaf. After a week of heavy smoking in a tiny hotel room, usually in the company of anywhere between three-to-fifteen other fellow pipe smokers, I made a promise to myself on the flight out of Chicago that I'd "take a break" from smoke for a few days. Just to reintroduce my lungs to some fresh air. Foolish? Absolutely. It didn't take.

Which is a good thing, because I'm just in time for our Dunhill tobacco special. From now until the end of the month we're pleased to announce that we're offering 10% off Early Morning Pipe and My Mixture 965 in loose leaf. You can find these timeless favorites under the Bulk Tobacco section of the site. Just like many of you, I'll be taking this opportunity and stocking up.

Coinciding with that, in today's update you'll also find new pipes from Kent Rasmussen and Werner Mummert, alongside fresh works from Ardor, Mastro de Paja, Savinelli, Neerup, Nording, and, last but not least, Peterson. And you can add to that seventy-eight estate pipes too, rounding out this afternoon's selection. Tons of briar, tons of fun -- and more on the way soon, with all that we picked up in Chicago! In concluding, now I suppose I'm off to help unpack!

Ted Swearingen: Vice President, General Manager

Back in the Office ~adam~

2013-05-06T16:00:00-04:00

The Chicago Pipe Show was held this past weekend, but it's much more than a two-day event for nearly everyone who attends. Pipe makers work until the last minute, not necessarily to try to finish all of their wares at the same time (though it happens to many), but more of them (guilty) in trying to finish just one more, often applying the final polish only hours before our flights. Retailers also always have a lot to do in preparation for the show, both in the office and on-location, and Sykes was the first to arrive in Chicago last Monday, later followed by many others on Tuesday or Wednesday. It's a great time to meet up with collectors, friends, and other carvers we may only see once a year.

The CPCC did a fantastic job organizing the show (as always!) and we want to express our deepest appreciation to all of the members for their annual hard work! If you've never attended the Chicago show before, we encourage you to try to attend next year. Many of the carvers we showcase on our site were in attendance and you can be sure we've purchased plenty of beautiful pipes for future updates, so stay tuned in the coming weeks. As I am writing this, some of the crew is currently arriving back at the office looking as though they attended a party that lasted four days (which, in part, is true).

Today you can find a wonderful assortment of briars from Maigurs Knets, J&J, Rinaldo, Castello, Radice, and dozens of other pipes from various popular brands, and remember we're running a 40% discount on all new Ser Jacopo pipes through the month of May. Even though a good chunk of our team was out of town for most of last week, the staff that stayed behind wanted to make sure there wasn't a dull moment in preparation for your enjoyment of this update. Enjoy!

Adam Davidson: Pipe Specialist

Show Time ~sutherland~

2013-05-02T16:00:00-04:00

It's that time again; the Chicagoland International Pipe and Tobacciana Show now is upon us. For the uninitiated, this is the pipe event of the year. Nowhere else and at no other time is there such a large gathering of pipe smokers, makers, distributors, retailers, tobacconists... pretty much anyone with any relation to our great hobby.

Of course, Smokingpipes.com is in attendance. How could we not be? We're in room 1401 should you be around, and we'll have a few tables set up on the floor once the show opens Saturday. Make sure to stop by and say hello; really it's always great fun for us to chat with our customers. Plus we've got pipes -- lots of 'em! We're also posting updates and photos to our Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter feeds should you not be able to make it and want to see what all the fuss is about.

Unfortunately not all of us are able to attend. We've our own bi-weekly show to run. In fact, we have a pretty spectacular promotion beginning today: From the time that you receive this very newsletter through the end of the month all Ser Jacopo pipes are 40% off. Did we wait 'til upper management had left town to sneak this one in? I'll plead the fifth.

As far as today's site update goes we're introducing Rossi Pipes, a brand of affordable yet fantastic pipes manufactured in Italy's first pipe factory. We also have for you pipes from Rolando Negoita, Paolo Becker, Ser Jacopo (of course), L'Anatra, Randy Wiley, Claudio Cavicchi, Brigham, Nording, Brebbia, Savinelli, and Peterson, along with a bevy of estate pipes and a new bulk pipe tobacco, "Black Raspberry", from Lane Limited.

John Sutherland: Marketing Mngr and Sr. Photographer

The Joy of Labor ~eric~

2013-04-29T16:02:00-04:00

Many a time one or another of us here at Smokingpipes has started off a newsletter speaking of just how busy we've been during the preceding days. Sure enough, I could properly double-down on that theme this Monday, as between the Castello event (special offer still ongoing, for the record -- though tomorrow's your last chance at it), preparations for the Chicago show, unexpected visitors, and various projects, and so forth, we have, indeed, been very, very busy. And yet, blessedly, there have been a few opportunities to relax, as well.

This past Wednesday, for example, Brandon generously agreed to help me out with doing a little work on my old Lincoln. The plan was simple: We'd head over to his place after work, knock out the old, worn-out pins and bushings from my driver's side door, install new ones, and then I could return here to finish up my work on a project for his department. Fifteen minutes, tops, we figured. As luck would have it, however, either Ford spent the 1980s installing hinge pins made out of an alloy of truly phenomenal resilience, or just as likely, those on my car became magically fused in place at some point during the past twenty-plus years. Either way, fifteen minutes turned into three hours -- but an enjoyable three hours, I must say, as we variously hammered, chiseled, and filed in vain. Yes, in the end we counted ourselves lucky just to get the door back on straight on the first attempt, old pin and worn bushings still in place, but along the way there was plenty of camaraderie to be had. And since by that time it was too late to go back to the office anyway, we settled instead for sitting in his garage, smoking and shooting the breeze -- though not before enjoying a good home-cooked meal, courtesy of his wife. (She happens to be the sort of woman who will make guests eat, and, as fortune would have it, also the kind of cook whose offerings will make those same guests enjoy being made to eat.)

The next day, that of our Castello event, saw everyone from Sykes, to our IT department, to the guys in our brick & mortar abuzz with related activity. Those of us in marketing had by and large tied up everything we'd needed done on that project, but that of course meant immediately turning around to catch up on other work (such as that I had planned on having finished off the evening before, until Brandon and I had our chance meeting with the aforementioned, amazingly tenacious hinge pin). Once again, however, when all the effort and toil was complete, we found ourselves able to appreciate the onset of a bit of calm all the more sweetly. All loose ends in their place, I clocked out and headed up to the shop, spending the rest of the evening in the company of Sykes, Marco, Ted, Brandon, Bill, Dave, Vinnie, and all the customers both old and new who came in, relaxing, conversing, enjoying a bit of good food, and , of course, plenty of good smoke as well.

I recall a certain song from my teenage years, from which the key theme and verse was, pretty simply, "joy of labor set you free". Indeed it does, and these past couple weeks, I've seen plenty of very motivated labor indeed, something which of course comes only from people who are very motivated about what they're doing. But it also makes those times when the labor is done feel that much better as well; relaxation is always at its best when one has done all they can to earn it.

Fortunately, today as we all arose and began making our ways towards the office and the final preparations for this update, South Carolina's typically bright, sapphire skies decided to hammer down with a double-dose of rainfall. In other words, perfect pipe-smoking weather. This, naturally, is just what I'll be getting down to as soon as I've signed off on this newsletter. (No doubt many of you will have already beaten me to it -- to that, I say, good for you.) And after that? Well, there is this Thursday's update next on the calendar -- and it's certainly not going to get itself done.

And now that I've rambled sufficiently for one day, let's see what we can offer you today. This Monday brings us excellent artisanal briars by both Michael Parks and Gregor Lobnik, joined by English classics from the esteemed Dunhill. Following up comes a broad selection indeed, covering pipes by Peterson, Savinelli, Johs, Chacom, Stanwell, Tsuge, and Vauen -- plus three-dozen freshly restored estate pipes. Then on top of that, there are three new bulk tobacco offerings by C&D, sticks from Perdomo and San Cristobal, and a whole pile of Zippos to introduce, most notably those designed just for lighting up a good pipe.

Eric Squires: Copywriter

Castello Pipes Live Event ~christopher~

2013-04-25T16:00:00-04:00

At Smokingpipes.com we always do our best to bring you the best pipes, cigars and tobaccos, but today, we are also bringing some extra-special pipe-related goodness.

This afternoon at Low Country Pipe and Cigar, our brick & mortar location, Smokingpipes is hosting a Castello pipe event. From 4:00 PM (EST) through 7:00, special guest Marco Parascenzo will be on hand from Castello. (Aside from his services to Castello, Marco also runs the widely renowned Novelli Pen & Pipe store in Rome.) The evening will be full of food, drink and conversation (about pipes, naturally).

Of course, not every one of our customers can make it here to sunny South Carolina for the event, and we don't want to leave anyone out. So, we are extending the event to the cyber-world via GotoMeeting.com and their virtual meeting software. All you need to do is go to GoToMeeting.com and download their free software. Instructions on installing the software and joining the meeting can be found at the top of our website -- just click on the "Castello Live Event" image at the top of our website after 4:00 o'clock and a snazzy pop-up window will offer you a step-by-step walkthrough. We're featuring an interview with Marco at 5:00, hosted by Sykes. You definitely won't want to miss that, and Phillip, one of our distinguished customer service reps, will be available for chat.

To help celebrate the event, we are also running a special with Castello pipes. With the purchase of any new Castello pipe, customers will also receive a Castello tobacco pouch, usually retailing at $70 value. That's not just one per order, mind you, but one free with each and every new Castello pipe. And that special is running right now, so you can beat the rush.

Meanwhile, let's get back to this update and today's pipes. We have pipes from Tokutomi Pipe Company and Rad Davis, as well as from Ardor, Mastro de Paja, and meerschaums from the new AKB brand. There are also Neerups, Nordings, Savinellis and Petersons aplenty. Joining them all are a variety of estates from Danish, English, Italian, American and other pipemakers.

Christopher Huff: Copywriter

Special Castello Update ~eric~

2013-04-25T11:27:00-04:00

As previously indicated, today we're bringing you a special promotion. It's quite simple, really: We've acquired a whole, extra-large bunch of fresh Castellos for a live event to be held tomorrow at our brick & mortar, Low Country Pipe & Cigar, and an even larger number of Castello tobacco pouches (normally retailing at $70 a pop) to be given away with each Castello pipe purchased. Why more pouches than pipes? Because we aren't limiting the deal, nor the pipes themselves, to just those of you who happen to be able to stop by in Little River, SC -- that's why. Nope. Instead we're offering the same deal to all of our customers, wherever you may happen to be, and with the purchase of any new Castello pipe at that, not just those from the forty-eight specially acquired for said event. We're even extending the timeframe of the online offer as well, which will begin today and continue through the 30th of this month, while supplies last.

Eric Squires: Copywriter

Earth Day and Appreciation of Briar ~adam~

2013-04-22T16:00:00-04:00

Today is Earth Day, which was first introduced in 1970 to be the first day of spring (March 21st), but later changed to April 22nd, went international, and is recognized in more than 140 nations around the world. Where would we be without our beloved planet, and everything in our lives that mother Earth has provided (which is everything except for meteorites, star 'dust' and sunlight)? Indeed, this is the day we try to reflect how lovely the planet is and try our best -if even for one day- to try and preserve it for the future. Don't run the water as long; be sure to shut off a light when you leave a room; try your best not to waste gasoline revving your engine at a red light when the little old lady in the next lane is revving hers while giving you the "I can go from zero-to-my-age in six seconds" look.

Plant a tree. Plant a flower. Do your best not to cut down a tree or smash a flower. You get the idea. For generations, people around the world have done a fair job of re-planting after a harvest, and the briar harvesters around the Mediterranean (I would assume) do the same thing. Briar takes a long time to grow, and comes from a plant that we all hope will continue to be around for generations. This lovely material is coveted by all of us for its unique characteristics and beauty when worked by a skilled pipe carver (after being skillfully boiled and cured by a cutter). It's questionable whether or not any pipe makers are reading this newsletter today, because they're probably hard at work preparing for the Chicago pipe show in early May, but you collectors out there know a nice pipe when you see it. We carvers appreciate a beautiful block of briar and are reminded where it comes from; in the ground, surrounded by sand and dirt (some specks of which inevitably reveal themselves during the pipe making process, and which we pipemakers always hope are only skin deep). Many craftsmen feel a connection to their chosen material, and its source, just like those who puff happily on the finished piece.

We've an impressive variety of pipes for your perusal, including work from Hiroyuki Tokutomi, Benni Jorgensen, Rinaldo, and Radice. Other brands, such as Butz-Chouqin, Tsuge, Stanwell, Chacom, Savinelli, and Peterson offer unique styles and finishes smokers the world over have come to love, while there are also estates to ponder from Ireland and Italy. Also, if you're looking for Castello pipes, later this week we've got a promotion lined up just for you, which will be accompanying a live event in our Low Country Pipe and Cigar Store. Stay tuned for more info!

Six Macanudo smokes are going up for you cigar enthusiasts out there. Perhaps after you browse our site tonight and find some interesting pieces to add to your collection, you will be able to escape to some serene place to puff on a wonderful leaf - tobacco - courtesy of that unique floating marble in the vastness of everything; Earth.

Adam Davidson: Pipe Specialist

Gearing Up for Pipe Show Season ~ted~

2013-04-18T16:00:00-04:00

There's much abuzz here at Smokingpipes.com. After all, it's that time of year; the show season is nearly in full swing. This past Saturday we were in Raleigh, NC for the TAPS Pipe Show (which, as usual, was awesome; the club members are fantastic and it was a beautiful day for a pipe show), and of course we've got the big ol' Chicago show just around the corner here. There's much to do in terms of preparation.

On Monday and Tuesday my wife and I spent the day up in Morganton, NC at the Cornell & Diehl factory. As many of you well know, we visit the fine folks at C&D annually (it's a relatively short haul from Little River, SC), however, this year I made a point to take some extra time to get down and dirty at the plant. And by that I mean I got to blend tobacco, tin tobacco, and put labels on tins. It's exciting to think that those tins that I put together from start to finish are going to be opened and enjoyed one day and that I had something to do with it. That's exactly how everyone at Cornell & Diehl feels about their product. It's a wonderful operation, and it was really inspiring to listen and learn first-hand about the passion that goes into what those guys do every single day. You can bet that we'll have a piece for the blog up soon.

In the meantime we'll be getting down to doing what we do best: serving up fresh pipes. This afternoon we're pleased to introduce Gamboni pipes to Smokingpipes.com. Gian Maria, a Rome based pipe maker, got his start in the craft back in 2007 with a little help from the Musico workshop. He seamlessly blends Danish, German, British, and other design sensibilities into a cohesive and attractive aesthetic that is very much his own. Also, the pipe maker must be big into golf what with grades like 'Hole in One', 'Putting Green', and 'Stableford'. Both good-humored and clever.

We're also featuring four new pipes from the ever-so popular Michael Lindner, in addition to fresh work from Randy Wiley, L'Anatra, Savinelli, Nording, Brigham, and Peterson. All this on top of a whopping 84 recently restored estate pipes. Huzzah!

Ted Swearingen: Vice President, General Manager

Insights from a (Semi-Inanimate) Owl ~eric~

2013-04-15T16:00:00-04:00

This Sunday morning I stopped by the office, and as I walked towards my desk I took a start when I noticed a rustling sound -- like something small and quick scurrying somewhere unseen. I turned quickly, alert to potential danger - was it possible one of the local semi-feral felines had somehow slipped into the office? A wayward water moccasin, perhaps, in extreme confusion over having somehow slithered its way up from the river the night before, and into our building before realizing, too late, only after I had turned the lights on, that it had meandered completely out of its element?

It was an owl. An owl, smoking a pipe. This was Katy's doing, obviously - it was on her desk, after all. A diminutive, evidently solar-powered owl, waving its round little head from side to side, and wagging a tiny origami Billiard at me in the process. Well, trying to, anyway -- the pipe had become somewhat dislodged, and now hung straight down from its beak to drag across the ground at its feet; back and forth, back and forth. This was the source of that rustling that had startled me in the first place. Cautiously, I approached and set to correcting its pipe-smoking technique. With everything in order, it was free to continue with its slow, tireless oscillation in silence.

Of course, even with the rustling sound gone, I still had the problem of feeling like I was being watched by a tiny, yet evidently relentless little owl -- and an owl that smoked a pipe at that. Just the sort of owl, I thought to myself, likely to be particularly adept at observation, and inclined towards patiently working things out.

As I looked back over at it, I noticed that it was flanked by several pipes -- full-sized human pipes. Katy doesn't even smoke a pipe, but she still keeps several around her desk. That's when I started working some things out for myself, as well. Pete, Kat, Kelly -- none of them smoke pipes, but they all had pipes on their desks; particular pipes which they always kept on their desks. Why? The only reason that I could come up with was: people, or a lot of people anyway, just like the sight of a pipe. Pipes are old-school, pipes are classical; pipes are, quite simply, charming. So it may be that even people who don't smoke them, or don't even smoke at all, might still like to keep a few around for atmosphere, waiting there just out of the corner of their eye. Much like that owl was still doing.

Well, they're welcome to it -- and so is the owl, too, I suppose, so long as I never find myself, alone in the office, glancing over to discover him having somehow moved closer while I wasn't watching. The more people who take pleasure in pipes, even if just aesthetically or sentimentally, the more people there are who will be happy to leave us to enjoying pipes in our own way -- by smoking them. And to that particular end, the smoking of pipes, we here at Smokingpipes have, of course, a fresh update waiting for you all.

So, here it is: From Greek artisan Chris Asteriou, there's a fine quartet of beautiful briars, and from American pipemaker Ernie Markel, a fine trio too. From England come the classic pipes of Dunhill, and from Russia, P.S. Studio's impressive modern pieces. Joining them you'll find a vast array of briars assembled from the offerings of Savinelli, Peterson, Vauen, Luciano, Nording, Johs, Stanwell, and Tsuge -- plus of course some estates as well. Finally, we have several new pipe stands from Savinelli.

Eric Squires: Copywriter

From a Block of Wood to an Exquisite Object ~adam~

2013-04-11T16:00:00-04:00

Pipes are beautiful to me, but they are just pieces of wood to some people (not any of you reading this, I would hope). Chairs can also just be pieces of wood. Baseball bats, tables, and a million other products could also be looked upon by someone unenthusiastic about them as simply pieces of wood shaped to perform a function. It's that magical (and skillful) craftsmanship and artistry that evolved over centuries -through trial and error- that elevate something that could just as soon be busted up to keep a home warm with fire into something that warms our souls and passions.

Finding the best wood for the project or craft takes a lot of time and skill. This is why white oak is used by a cooper to make barrels (which is an extremely high skill!), hickory is often used for tool handles (because of its hard grain and shock resistance), curly maple was/is one of the choicest woods for flintlock rifles, and briar is the chosen material for pipes. In centuries past, a craftsman was necessary because most people from farmers to butchers needed tools, and everyone needed containers, and objects for everyday life -- and all of these were made by hand. These craftsmen learned what to search for in their raw materials, knew they had to be properly cured before use, and only after this would they start taking more time to make the perfectly-made object more beautiful. The maker's mark guaranteed the products, built a reputation, and were always applied with pride. (As Eric has mentioned to me, even in medieval times there were those who would unethically copy a famous smith's mark onto swords.)

Some barrels were guaranteed for thirty years against leaking or warping; flintlock rifles -with their highly-figured stocks- could sometimes look like some of the most beautiful contrast-stained smooth briars of today. It's safe to suggest that the first pipes made from briar weren't cured, stained, or polished with carnauba wax. Sandblasting briar, introduced and patented by Dunhill, opened a new door to the beauty of our chosen smoking instruments. Carvers experiment with different textures, colors, finishes, and have a lot of failures along the way, just like those other craftsmen and artists before them. Trial and error, experimentation, and learning from both successes and failures drives a pipe maker to achieve and to proudly stamp their maker's mark on a product they stand behind. After all, if those first carvers of briar for tobacco never took risks to make their products more attractive, the wonderful root, with its often stunning grain, might simply just as well be another piece of wood.

Today we have over two hundred examples of pipes from dedicated craftsmen and artisans. J&J, from California, continue to push their own boundaries and are producing some really lovely stuff. Askwith and Larryson are great examples of English makers who strive for beautiful finishes on an already-wonderfully-made pipe. Il Duca pipes push the boundaries and materials by utilizing briar, olivewood, strawberry, and morta. Ardor continues to experiment with textures and colors, as does Kevin Arthur. Everyone has something to contribute, and each hopes you will thoroughly enjoy the pipe coming from their shop.

Adam Davidson: Pipe Specialist

Good Company, a Good Smoke, and the Benefits of Perseverance ~eric~

2013-04-08T15:48:00-04:00

Things have been hectic around here the past week -- but then that is more often than not the case anyhow, and most of us are used to it by the time we have our first year at Smokingpipes under our belt. Marketing meetings, emergency meetings, super-secret meetings, and of course, pipes, pipes, and more pipes. One thing that helped me get through it all was one of my favorite go-to tobaccos, MacBaren's Old Dark Fired. For once, it occurred to me to actually buy two tins when it last came in -- rather fortunate, that, as by the time I did the four-hundred tins we'd received little over a week before had already dwindled down to a few dozen. Many of you, it would seem, are of a like mind in appreciating this unique dark flake.

As busy as things about the office may be, though, we do still manage to squeeze a bit of R&R in over the weekends. (Well, we try, at least.) This past Saturday, for example, Ted called me up and asked me to haul my carcass over to a local marina, in order to join him and his wife for a few drinks and a bite to eat. Good company, good food, and a few pints of Guinness were in order, as was a bowl of Old Dark Fired. While the weather was clear and pleasantly cool, it was however, also more than a little breezy, and I found myself going to considerable lengths trying to find someplace I could successfully light my pipe. Rather than give up and do without after the sixth or seventh match was extinguished before it could even touch the tobacco, I found myself leaving the balcony, winding down the stairs, and eventually attempting to wedge myself into a two-foot wide alley, just to escape the breeze coming off the water. Even that proved for naught -- whether I underestimated the breeze, or overestimated the sheltering properties of such a confined space, I had no better luck there, either. Eventually my perseverance proved worthwhile, nonetheless, as by holding the bowl of my pipe right up against a down-wind wall, and cupping my hand over it, I managed to at last to achieve a promising billowing of fragrant smoke, and was able to return triumphant to our table.

Later on, come evening, I would rejoin the young couple for dinner at their place, following which Shelly took to keeping herself entertained with a jigsaw puzzle as Ted and I retired to smoke and enjoy a bit of obscure cinema -- the Italian-produced Violent City, starring one late, great Charles Bronson, and a soundtrack by none other than maestro Ennio Morricone himself. Though one of the best he ever starred in, I suspect this gem-noire may not have ever been particularly well known stateside, despite having been filmed in the U.S., and in English. One aspect in particular that suggests this is that a considerable amount of the original English voice-track seems to have been lost, and the movie will suddenly break into and out of subtitled Italian during the course of various scenes. (This varies from version to version -- the one on Amazon's Instant Video service seems to do it the least, the DVD I had brought to Ted's, the most.) Ted noted that they seemed to break out Italian voice-actors whenever something particularly poetic or romantic was about to be spoken. In turn I speculated that, in Bronson's case at least, this may have been because the quiet, sinewy block of a man, who'd began working in a coal mine at an age when most boys were still mowing lawns, may have stared down the director, refusing to utter the intended lines. I can't imagine very many people in the film industry were comfortable telling that man "No." back when he was in his prime.

As we watched, enjoying our pipes and cigars, I considered possible drinking games applicable to this particular film. I don't engage in such games myself, but the devising of them can be an entertaining mental exercise in and of itself. The first and most obvious, of course, was to take a drink each time someone smoked. Having been filmed in 1975, however, this proved unworkable unless your intention was to wind up sprawled and incoherent on the floor -- every major character smoked, and often. Next came "a drink every time one character or another engaged in an act of betrayal". Again, unworkable -- despite Bronson's character being a hired killer, he seemed to be the only one not stabbing someone else in the back with every other scene. (Any scene in which an act of betrayal was not occurring, of course, simply depicted the set-up for a later-revealed betrayal.) The appearance of a ridiculous outfit that could have only seemed possible to wear in public during the 1970s? Far too copious again, ranging from the monochromatically-orange three-piece suit of another assassin to the psychedelic tunic of a waiter. My last attempt was "count each time Telly Savalas waves his hand while talking, and then divide by three". Hopeless -- utterly hopeless. I knew this was far too dangerous a theme when I counted to eight hand-waves halfway through a single line, before giving up. Even Dionysus would have been reduced to a weeping, hugging, old-girlfriend-calling, gibbering mess trying to keep up with that man's conversational gesturing.

Still, so long as there was good company and a good smoke to enjoy, I was willing to accept this defeat, at least.

And, fortunately enough, today we are once again ready and able to provide you with all you need to enjoy the latter (though the former, being quite a bit more subjective, we'll leave up to you). So what is in store for this Monday? Pipes, of course -- and loads of them. Fresh artisanal pieces arrive on site from Werner Mummert, Radice, and Castello, joined by a bevy of briars by Stanwell, Chacom, Tsuge, Butz-Chouqin, Savinelli, and Peterson. You'll also find batches of Italian, English, and Danish estates as well, plus more cigars by Kristoff, the introduction of Missouri Meerschaum's deep-chambered "Freehand" cobs, and, lastly, new accessories from Savinelli, in the form of bowl-protecting leather pipe sleeves.

Eric Squires: Copywriter

Inevitability Strikes ~ted~

2013-04-04T15:38:00-04:00

It finally happened. I broke a pipe.

To be fair (to me), I didn't break anything. Rather, some crude combination of sloppy baggage handler and a soft leather pipe case (that I now have some very serious doubts about) double-teamed up against one of my most prized smoking pipes and snapped the tenon right off from the mortise. So I suppose it's more accurate to state that I now own a broken pipe that used to be not broken.

Nevertheless, I still feel responsible. As well I should. It's my pipe; I am its custodian. It survived eighty years relatively unscathed and I volunteered my charge of it. If I had packed the pipe for journey more carefully or had learned by now that I ought to travel with 'beater' pipes the thing would be fine. Coulda, woulda, shoulda -- we all know the drill.

The good news: it's repairable. The pipe, which is honestly one of the top three smokers I currently possess, can be amended and put back into regular service. And that's exactly what I intend to do. Or more appropriately, that's what I intend to have done as I long ago realized that I'm without the faculties required to repair just about anything (that's why Mother Nature invented guys like Ronni Bikacsan).

But truth be told, a replacement tenon will bug me. Yes, it brings down the value of the pipe, but I never had (and likely never will have) any ambition to sell it. I think it just rubs some weird intellectual node in the very wrong way. I guess it's like the same way a lot of car guys will sooner bore-out and rebuild the same, original, decades-old engine in their prized project rather than replace it with something new and modern. (Or so Eric informs me -- I'm not really car guy. It's a matter of those faculties, or lack of them, again.) And so I think I'd rather not intellectualize it any further than that.

Maybe the lesson is this: a broken pipe can happen to anyone. I think I take pretty spiffy care of my pipes (better than others, not as good as some), and it happened to me. It's like when a motorcycle instructor tells you that going down on your bike isn't a matter of 'if' but a matter of 'when'. Because it's going to happen. Because on a long enough timeline, it's an inevitability. Maybe it's the same with the pipes you smoke.

Sorry to sound so fatalistic, you guys. I just broke one of my favorite pipes.

Still, perhaps if you yourself have recently suffered a similar misfortune, we may be able to turn that frown upside down. There's much to be excited about here today. For instance? Well, we've got new work from legendary pipemaker Lars Ivarsson to show off. Son of Sixten, father to Nanna, Lars' pipes are arguably the most highly sought after work currently produced. The pipes are just that good. And that's why we're so pleased to showcase a couple of them here this afternoon. Also in today's update you'll find fresh pipes from Kent Rasmussen, Rolando Negoita, Randy Wiley, and Claudio Cavicchi in addition to a hatful of new pipes from Peterson, Brigham, Winslow, Nording, and Johs. Oh, and be sure to check out the new series we're offering from Savinelli! New pipe stands from Neal Yarm also hit the site today (they're very cool, by the way). And as usual, there are a whole slew of estate pipes newly available. So let's just be glad it's Thursday!

Ted Swearingen: Vice President, General Manager

The Rabbit Catcher ~adam~

2013-04-01T15:46:00-04:00

Ever since the get-together at my home and workshop on St. Patrick's Day (which was sunny, warm, and beautiful), it's been rather cold, rainy, and dismal here in the area. When checking the weather last week, it was reported that the month of March - for many parts of the United States - was actually colder (on average) than the month of January! What the heck! Pipe smoking friends of mine have been grumbling about not being able to smoke comfortably outside, and who wouldn't be a little antsy for sunny warm days this time of year?

As my wife and I talked about having some friends over for Easter, she pretty much had just one wish; to hold a bunny - sunny day or not. A seemingly simple idea once you understand that she and I have observed a few unusually docile rabbits in our yard chewing on sprouts -- believe it or not our neighborhood has a handful of beautiful cats that walk around and seem to be friends with the rabbits (something usually not seen outside of animation). My wife suggested we try to trap one of the floppy-eared things. I told her that if we succeeded, I would surely let her pet it before firing up the grill.

As it turned out, Easter was a beautiful day. Sunny, warm, and the perfect day to leave the garage door open while a few of us sat outside having a few drinks while a duck was slowly smoking on the grill. The day was picture-perfect for puffing my pipe, and the open door alleviated my guests from sitting in a too-fragrantly-smoky room. Between pouring a pint, showing a friend how I made silver caps for military-mount pipes, and discussing various topics, the girls (and admittedly me, too) kept scanning the tree line for floppy-eared creatures. Then, while checking on the duck, my wife squealed as we all saw two brown-and-white rabbits hopping through our back yard. As the sun was setting, we saw a woman getting closer and closer to them (they'd by now worked their way around to our front yard). Eventually she caught one and we discovered they were actually her pets. My wife got her wish to hold a bunny on Easter. His name is Timothy Flowers. It was nice to meet some of our new neighbors and learn of their unusual hobbies, but then again they met me. I suspect their high school guidance counselors had never asked if they'd ever considered a career in making tobacco pipes, somehow.

With that story, we're happy to announce that for the month of April we are running a Dunhill tinned pipe tobacco promotion: buy four of the same Dunhill blend, get a fifth free. We're also showcasing five beautiful pipes from Michael Parks today. Michael, you see, visited me last weekend and our offices last Monday. His pieces are meticulously made and inspirational in their perfection. We've also got creative pieces from Ichi Kitahara, displaying the sort of "balanced asymmetry" he learned from Tokutomi, along with a whole lot of his own personal inventiveness, Dunhill, dozens of fresh briars from other popular brands, and thirty-six estates -- along with some new accessories, plus "little cigar" kreteks from Djarum. Perhaps, like my wife on Easter Sunday, today you might just find something you've been wishing for!

Adam Davidson: Pipe Specialist

Anthropological Musings ~christopher~

2013-03-28T16:00:00-04:00

As I sit here, smoking my fine Peterson Churchwarden with its smooth Ebony finish and silver band, a question comes to mind: How the heck did we come to this, to an entire industry and culture of smoking dried leaves in a wooden bowl with a straw attached?

Sure, we know about the European explorers coming to the Americas and finding tobacco use amongst the natives, but I am talking about earlier than that. How did man first come up with the idea?

I imagine some poor schmo sent out to try a bunch of plants to see if they are edible. He comes across a tobacco plant, nibbles on a leaf, spits out the foul tasting weed and starts to move on. But then he notices something: a strange, yet pleasant feeling. (Remember, this is the first exposure for the entire human race. There are no genetic dispositions or any individual resistances to nicotine at all). He comes back to the bad tasting leaf, tries it again, chews and spits, getting a little kick.

Excited about the find, he picks a few specimens and makes his way back to the tribe. Hoping to impress all the other men with his find, he offers them some around the evening fire. However, unimpressed by the taste, they scorn him and toss the weeds in the flame. That might have been the end of it, but the unique scent of the burning leaves enchant the men, and perhaps the warm nicotine glow starts to make them feel unusually amicable. So the tribe starts using the leaves of the tobacco plant as a regular part of their evening fires.

As time goes by, the scent, and pleasant feelings produced by the smoke, draw them closer and closer to the fire, trying to attain more of this pleasing effect. But the fire is too hot to really enjoy cuddling up to. They try building smaller separate fires, but it is more trouble than anything else.

Finally, some smart guy carves a bowl, out of stone perhaps, and burns the weeds in that, being able to hold the bowl under his nose and inhale deeply. This is nice, but the smoke still stings their eyes, so another brilliant chap grabs some nearby reeds, trims it down and uses the hollow tube to suck in the smoke from the top of the bowl.

While some others take a shortcut, and begin rolling the first cigars, after all this, it is just one refinement and improvement after another until we're back to our briar stummels and vulcanite stems.

Of course, this is just a silly daydream, musings about the nature of our love of pipe smoking, and certainly should not be taken too seriously. Fact-checkers put away your red pens.

However, for our modern day tribesmen looking for a new bowl to inhale the pleasing effects of burning tobacco leaf, we have plenty of new pipes to choose from. There are pipes from Tokutomi Pipe Co. and Peter Matzhold, as well as updates from Mastro de Paja and Ardor. There are new lines from Savinelli and some new, or long lost, lines from Peterson as well. There are also updates from Johs, Brebbia and Neerup, and a whole slew of estates of various origins.

Christopher Huff: Copywriter

St. Patrick's Day Smoker ~adam~

2013-03-18T16:00:00-04:00

There was a small gathering at my home yesterday in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, which was something I'd been planning for a while. Whenever the opportunity arises to host some friends, and force-feed them like an Italian grandmother, I have a lot of fun. It all started when I purchased a ten-pound salmon on Friday, cut it in fillets and other pieces, cured it with salt and brown sugar over night, and slow-smoked it over hickory at a very low temperature for about nine hours. On top of this, two corned beef brisket tips and a dry-rubbed pork butt got the first kiss of smoke early Sunday morning for a long, slow, smoky experience. Eric pulled up to the curb a little after noon, so I gave him a tour of the place and workshop. Ted and his wife arrived soon afterwards, followed by Brandon's family. The idea for the day was casual relaxation in the warm sun, some leisurely snacking, and anticipation for the meats later. A blob of dough was rising in a bowl while a gallon of milk was slowly forming into curds on the stove. Guinnesses were poured, as well as red wine for the ladies, and everyone was hanging out in the garage (workshop) puffing their briars, taking sips, and engaging in various conversations. As things finished in the kitchen (mozzarella pulled into taut strings, rolled with olive oil, salt, and pepper came up first), everyone seemed to be enjoying the beautiful day. The salmon (especially the almost bacon-like belly) over sticky rice with sugar snap peas were handed out in little bowls, followed (hours later), by thin slices of smoky, succulent, pastrami-like corned beef and eventually crusty French bread warm from the oven with avocado oil and sea salt. Taking various breaks to sip my own Guinness and smoke a pipe with the fellas, I noticed my hands were developing a rather impressive pink 'smoke ring' from fiddling with grill and hickory chunks all day.

We all shared tobaccos -young and bright or wonderfully aged. Eventually, hours later, the others had to part, though, and it was just Eric, my wife, and I telling stories ranging from the discomfort of school busses (which my wife never experienced in Russia, as she always walked to school) to the ideal life we would live if money was no option. All well and good, but the pork was still not done. Eric didn't seem to mind, as he was sampling some 1997 Taylor Fladgate port, while on my part I opened the bottle of delicious red wine he'd brought. It's fun being a host for friends, especially when there is good fellowship and food. At 2:00 a.m., after 17 hours smoking on the grill, and two hours after even Eric (known for sleeping little) had to leave, the pork butt was finally finished and stored in the fridge. The day had been sunny and warm, it was definitely one packed with flavorful smoking and friendship.

Today we've got a number of impressive offerings for your smoking pleasure, including thirty-six estates and new offerings from Sergey Senatorov, Dunhill, P.S. Studio, and other brands. For cigar fans we're putting up Trinidad Paradox Robusto and Toro cigars, as well as a new Smoker's glass candle. Enjoy!

Adam Davidson: Pipe Specialist

The Unwanted Bowl ~christopher~

2013-03-11T16:10:00-04:00

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. I think I have had a rather good run, but all good things must come to an end. I have come across a tobacco I don't like. This happens to every pipe smoker eventually, and I am sure that it probably happens sooner than later.

Since I've only been smoking a pipe for about half a year, I've had a chance to sample a large variety of tobaccos (at least in my opinion). Working here at Smokingpipes.com, surrounded by a variety of more experienced smokers, I get offers to try this blend or that flake. Overall, they've been positive experiences. I've favored some tobaccos more than others, but never tried one I didn't like.

I finally hit one, however. This one - and I am not going to name names because everyone has different preferences, and that's not the point here - actually made me sick to my stomach. The thought of it even turned me off my pipe for a while. In an attempt to be fair, I went back and tried it again, to make sure it wasn't a bad lunch that tainted my first try. While the effect was not as dramatic, it still was unpleasant.

The good thing about pipe smoking is that there are hundreds of different tobaccos. Sure, there are hundreds of cigarette brands, but beyond menthol and regular, the flavors don't vary much.

There are many variations and flavors with pipe tobacco, and blending can really fine tune the pipe-smoking experience. One bad experience is just a little bump in the journey.

Of course, here at Smokingpipes.com, we have a vast selection of tobaccos for you to choose from, in both bulk and tins. Why premiereing today in this very update is the highly-anticipated People's Choice Winner from the 2012 John Cotton Throwdown, manufactured by Leo. We're also adding three new bulk blends to the site from Lane.

And what good is all that wonderful tobacco, if you don't have something to smoke it in? Well, in this update, we have just as wide a choice of pipes. There is a selection from pipe maker Grant Batson, as well as pipes from Rinaldo, Castello, Tsuge, Savinelli, Peterson, Stanwell, and Vauen.

Christopher Huff: Copywriter

This Marmot is No Al Roker ~adam~

2013-03-07T16:00:00-04:00

When March rolls around, I think it's safe to say that everyone is ready for a change in the weather. Winter can be beautiful if a light blanket of snow covers the ground, and we actually had a thin layer a couple weeks ago (!), which isn't bad, considering I've only seen it happen two times in seven years. Our friends in the Midwest, my parents in Indiana, and even folks in Texas were being blasted with snow recently; proving, again, that Punxsutawney Phil (the official Groundhog Day groundhog) is not to be trusted.

March in most places is one of the the gloomiest months around. Mother Nature promises cold weather around the holidays in most areas of the country, but the way she's been playing with the temperature and humidity controls as of late has me thinking that she's been hitting the cider too regularly. Typically, this month shifts from cold temperatures one day, warm and sunny skies the next, only to slap us in the face with a cold and wet storm. Because summer and winter are the extreme temperature changes, fall and spring - being transitional - have been the favorite seasons for most people. Most guys here in the office smoke their pipes outside of work, but even the rather mild climate has made hanging out in the garage only slightly better than spending the slightly-above-freezing mornings and crisp evenings outside. Before you know it, though, a few weeks will fly by and we can all puff our chosen vessels in the comfort and beauty of nature.

Anyhoo, on to today's update. After a few months of waiting, we're thrilled to have six new Grechukhin pipes in stock! His pipes are innovative in form, finish, and overall design; truly one of the best artisan pipe carvers in the world. From Japan, five Tsuge Ikebana pipes are offered; and you can find a bevy of briars from Cavicchi, Ashton, L'Anatra, Randy Wiley, and Poul Winslow, while Nording, Savinelli, Peterson, and Brigham showcase affordable luxuries. For the estate fans out there, check out the selection for deals on smoked and unsmoked pieces!

To that end, we've got an exciting promotion going on until the end of this month (March 31st): All Dunhill bulk tobaccos are 10% off! Unlike some other promotions we've had, where the discounts show up in your shopping cart, the prices were reduced by 10% as soon as our big red "Update" button was pushed. Enjoy!

Adam Davidson: Pipe Specialist

Feeling Punchy ~brandon~

2013-03-04T16:00:00-04:00

A few months back John and I were moseying through the office discussing the lack of wall art in the marketing department (I'm sure the lack of wall art comes as a surprise to all of you. You probably think we have pipes hanging from assorted fixtures and paintings of various pipe related scenes hanging on the walls. However, this simply hasn't been the case due to a few new building transitions and so on. Anyhow...). It was at this point we had an interesting idea. What if we created a 1920's-esque boxing poster? One like you would expect to see in the streets of New York, or better yet, what if you could've taken a snapshot of two gentlemen settling a dispute over a crooked game of cards with a bare-knuckle boxing match in some abandoned warehouse off of some darkened alleyway somewhere.

Well, that's exactly what we did, only we didn't simply put it on our wall, we put it in Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine as the official Smokingpipes.com poster for 2013. Now if you're not a fan of burley pipe smokers duking it out, then you should certainly check out the other side as it features some creative origami. Either way, I hope you're satisfied. And if you're thinking, "Hey, I might want such poster." then you're in luck; it's now available here at Smokingpipes.com too.

Even if you're not interested in posters, you will certainly be pleased to see the many new pipes going up on today's update. We have pipes ranging from Walt Cannoy (back in action after a long hiatus and better than ever), Luciano, Stanwell, Dunhill, Tsuge, Chacom, Savinelli, Peterson, and Vauen, as well as several estates. Cheers!

Brandon Bellegarde: Pipe Manager

Visitors Visiting ~ted~

2013-02-28T16:00:00-04:00

We've got visitors visiting our offices today (it's what visitors do, you understand), which means that on top of the normal hustle and bustle that makes up our ordinary Wednesday (getting the Thursday's update put together, and what all), we had to make the place look presentable as well. Not that we live and work in a pig sty, mind you, but between those prints and posters we've been meaning to hang, those broken pipes we can't bring ourselves to donate to the pipe science box (which means they just 'hang' around until then), and all the little nooks and crannies that need attention, we were extra busy yesterday. But we don't mind, we love having visitors, be they peers of the industry or simply curious customers. If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop by.

Otherwise, it's still business as usual in these parts though. I'd like to mention to be sure to keep an eye out for the spring issue of Pipes & Tobacco Magazine. Like last year, we've got another two-sided poster to give away this season, and you'll also find a write-up on our staff writers, and a couple of especially cool ads that highlight different folks that work here. We're always very pleased to scope out the latest addition of our hobby's finest print periodical, but this quarter's edition is quite special to us. There's even a really awesome article on Nanna Ivarsson in this spread. Yes, we're excited!

As for the update, this evening we're adding a bunch of goodies to the site. We've got fresh work from Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes, as well as new pipes from Ardor, Mastro de Paja, Brebbia, Savinelli, Nording, Neerup, and Peterson. A whopping seventy-two newly restored estate pipes are added to the mix as well. We've also got a handful of very tasty (and very popular) cigars from Camacho that are back in stock at last, the Triple Maduro, in four different combinations of ring gauge and length. Enjoy!

Ted Swearingen: Vice President, General Manager

Our Secret Clock Just Struck "Update!" ~eric~

2013-02-25T16:00:00-04:00

Life at Smokingpipes proceeds at a steady pace. Our recent International Pipe Smoking Day special brought in a staggering day's worth of sales -- all thanks in no small part to our customers, both for choosing us to provide for their own needs, and for helping get the word out to their fellow pipe-men and pipe-women. Meanwhile, we've also succeeded in capturing our first wayward feline as part of the previously mentioned "Big Barn Cat Project", and are happy to report no loss of either life or limb on the part of any of the involved parties (i.e., the resident semi-feral horde, our own employees, Katie's car, or, at least as far as we know, the local veterinarian). Furthermore, our Secret Brainstorming Meetings continue to bear much creative fruit, while simultaneously thus far serving their role as a diversionary ploy quite effectively; that is to say, that we may happily report that the Super-Secret Brainstorming Meetings remain completely unnoticed, despite whatever mad cackling may be making its way out of our subterranean passages between the hours of 12:75 and 16:-15 each Friday afternoon. (All Super-Secret-level meetings at Smokingpipes are scheduled on Secret Clock time.)

At some point between all this, we've even managed to put together an update too -- this one, in fact. So here it is, just for you. What we have in store today includes the artisanal briars of Scott Klein, lovely Pesaro numbers by Rinaldo, and fine Italian classics from Castello. Joining them you'll also find plenty of handsome pipes from the likes of Chacom, Tsuge, Butz-Chouqin, Savinelli, and Vauen, not to mention a massive bunch of Petersons, including no lack whatsoever of the new 2013 St. Patrick's Day edition pieces. Add to all that thirty-six estates , the introduction of another blend by Borkum Riff , and H. Upmann 's much-anticipated new Legacy Cameroons, and there's bound to be something for everyone. Well, unless it's one of us, looking for spare time -- but that is what the Secret Clock is for, after all.

Eric Squires: Copywriter

Recognizing Unofficial Holidays and Encouraging Insanity ~adam~

2013-02-21T16:00:00-04:00

Yesterday, February 20th, was International Pipe Smoking Day, which was started by Smokers Forum in 2008 as a day to celebrate pipe smoking. After all, if the world calendar is replete with unofficial holidays such as "Talk Like A Pirate Day" or "Wear Your Pants Backwards Day" (which I expect results in all manner of accidents and complications), why not have folks around the globe gather to celebrate something many of us enjoy. From what I've heard over the years, dozens of pipe clubs everywhere get together to celebrate with contests, raffles, and good old-fashioned camaraderie. It's great that the semi-official holiday has gained so much ground in recent years, as it's introduced a lot of new pipe smokers from all walks of life to the enjoyment of pipes. Pipe smoking is gaining ground outside of the usual, stereotyped pipe smoker demographic, and we can only hope this continues.

We here at Smokingpipes.com celebrate the business and enjoyment of pipe smoking every day, as I'm sure many of you do as well. During one of our marketing meetings recently, appropriately subjected as "Brainstorming Meeting: We All Go Insane!" a small collection of staff closed the doors to the conference room and smoked our pipes, spouted out-of-the-box marketing ideas for various current and future exciting things, and laughed at each other when some of us [coughs] wanted to find out exactly how far was too far. One idea was to do a comic strip (unsure of how many), and the ideas and weird pseudo-world of characters between my ears wouldn't stop. Case in point: our first strip introducing two characters; Brandy and Flake. You can be sure we're going to whet your whistle with a number of different ideas over the coming months.

In the meantime, we've quite a staggering update for you today consisting of 166 new pipes, including new pieces from Brad Pohlmann and more of Peterson's Saint Patrick's Day pipes, along with 72 lovely estates from all over. And just like any other holiday, hopefully you will find some excuses today to enjoy some leftovers from your recent celebratory adventure.

Cheers!

Adam Davidson: Quality Control & Pipe Inspector

Addicted to Collecting ~christopher~

2013-02-18T16:00:00-04:00

My particular addiction is collecting. I am not sure when it started. It probably dates back to around 1978 and advent of Star Wars figures, although it didn't really take hold until the 90s at the height of the comic book craze when the comic industry was producing "gold-foil holographic 3D covers" and super hero toy lines became prominent collector's items. Throw in Star Trek paraphernalia and the renewal of Star Wars licensing, and it was a downward spiral for me.

I collected nearly everything: books, Zippo lighters, knives, Beany Babies, Hot Wheels, Pogs, Magic the Gathering cards, gem stones, Tarot cards, Native American artifacts, Happy Meal toys, GI Joes (Well, just about any action figure line) and who knows how much else that I have since forgotten and forsaken.

Relocating to Myrtle Beach proved to be a cure, or at least a way for me to cut back. Without the room or the free income I had left behind, I had to relegate much of my collections to storage in my parents' basement. And while I still collect a few things here and there, most of my urges to own every item of a set is long gone. But, since starting here at Smokingpipes.com, beginning a pipe collection seems to strike the right balance between providing a satisfying sense of acquisition and maintaining restraint.

Pipe collecting is a perfect collecting hobby for me. I was never one of those "sealed in mint condition" collectors. I read my comics, posed the GI Joes in running battles along shelves and in various otherwise unused nooks and crannies and generally preferred collections that I could use in some, at least theoretical, purpose.

And while I know that there are pipe collectors out there that don't smoke all their pipes (as our estate selections often show), smoking a pipe from a collection isn't looked upon with horror like in some other collecting fields. Experimenting with the different pipes, tobaccos, blends and accessories is part of the allure. And here at Smokingpipes, we are all about helping you enjoy that allure, and expanding your collection.

Speaking of collecting, this update introduces something I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting: Peterson's 2013 St. Patrick's Day pipes. We loaded up a large variety of shapes, some rarely seen from Peterson. Also, we have some excellent pipes from Italian pipemaker Gabriele Dal Fiume, a selection of Dunhills, as well as plenty pipes from Savinelli, Tsuge, Chacom, Stanwell, Luciano, and Johs -- plus plenty of estate pipes too.

Christopher Huff: Copywriter

Sleepless in Smokingpipes.com ~brandon~

2013-02-14T15:56:00-04:00

So, in honor of Valentine's Day, romantic saps, and pipe smokers everywhere, I give you my love letter to my once favorite pipe. Enjoy... And note that you may find much of it familiar, as it's primarily comprised of quotes from the hopeless romantic's ultimate drug: romantic comedies.

A better companion I've never had. Before you, I was a ship wandering aimlessly in this traitorous sea of life. I was searching for land and hopelessly wondering if it would ever be found. Our paths crossing seemed, so serendipitous. I remember studying the curves of your body, wanting to hold you tightly. Your cheeks were as close to perfect as... well, as possible. You were the picture of excellence. I was smitten. 'It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together...' 'You had me at hello.' 'Love is too weak a word for what I felt -- I luuurve you, you know, I loave you, I luff you, two F's, yes I have to invent, of course I do...' 'There you have it, folks. Young love. Full of promise, full of hope, ignorant of reality.' We've made so many memories together...Remember that time we were driving in the car, and you burned a hole in my pants. Life was good wasn't it?

Over the past several months, we've simply grown apart. Don't get me wrong. There's still fire between us. However, it just hasn't been the same. We're less like companions and more like office mates. I wish things could be different, but they can't. It is what it is. Don't say a word... There's no need. I know you better than you know yourself... 'You like boats, but not the ocean. You go to a lake in the summer with your family up in the mountains. There's a long wooden dock and a boathouse with boards missing from the roof, and a place you used to crawl underneath to be alone. You're a sucker for French poetry and rhinestones...' I know what you're thinking before you do. As you read this, I can see the wheels turning. You're thinking, 'You're breaking up with me because I'm too... blonde?' That's simply not true. 'Life is messy. Love is messier.' 'The heart wants what it wants.' And mine wants someone else. 'There's no logic to these things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that's that.' 'Better to have lost and loved than never to have loved at all.' Right? I see you wishing me ill. Your silence isn't fooling anyone. You're planning my demise... I know it. You're thinking, 'I'm very discreet but... I will haunt your dreams.' 'Our love fern! You let it die!' Well I'm sorry, but it's over. 'So, we're not getting married but I have to get rid of my pants?'

Whether your heart's been broken or you're pipe's still treating you well, we've got a plethora of fresh pipes to choose from. By the way, we're introducing a "new to us" set of carvers who happen to be quite appropriate to this particular day -- the Swedish pipemaking couple Love & Sara. So, check out Geiger pipes. Enjoy. I know I will.

Brandon Bellegarde: Pipe Manager

It's Raining Cats and... No, Just Cats ~eric~

2013-02-11T16:18:00-04:00

To quote the fine people behind the 24 Hours of LeMons (a specialty racing series for vehicles-of-questionable-provenance-or-mechanical-integrity) on organizing last year's Southern Discomfort event: "Weather: Clear and mild, or muggy and miserable, or freezing rain alternating with shine...who the hell knows? It's the Carolinas in February." Well, for this Monday what we've been dealt is a break from clear-and-cold in the form of muggy-with-alternating-rain-and-sunshine. I won't complain though, as it's still providing a rather fine atmosphere for a good English blend.

The on-again, off-again downpour has, however, delayed today's scheduled commencement of our office's long-awaited "Big Barn Cat Project", a team-building exercise being spearheaded by one young go-getter known as Katie Ranalli. Over the past few years, you see, the stray cat population that inhabits the Smokingpipes "campus" has been building steadily in numbers, litter, upon litter, upon litter, and is now threatening to reach a critical mass wherein feline outnumbers human. Each night as we walk to our cars, there of late seems to be more and more fiercely-shining little eyes watching us from the shadows. It's probably also getting rather more expensive for those of us who insist on feeding the blasted blessed furry darlings. (John, Lisa, I'm looking at you.) The stated goal is to capture them one-by-one, and have them fixed.

I myself have been drafted into this humanitarian (felinitarian?) endeavor on the basis that I grew up with cats. The the only one that was considered to actually be "mine" (only technically speaking, of course; he had some very different opinions) was a big, ill-tempered, unusually tenacious mongrel of questionable origins who once nearly cost me an eye is unimportant. Then again, perhaps the roughly eighteen years of experience in handling a semi-feral, domesticated-in-name-only predator which that particular fur-ball granted me is indeed why Sykes chose me to volunteer as a part of this little adventure. Still, with the good, sturdy raccoon trap we've generously been provided with, I'm confident we'll carry it all off at least mostly unharmed. Besides, what are a few emergency rabies shots when it's all for a good cause, after all? I'd alternatively suggested either creating a number of cardboard boxes rigged with one-way-only, bamboo-spiked entrances (we all know how cats cannot resist a good cardboard box), or the procurement of several South American bolas, but alas those were all vetoed by the rest of the project's (predominately female) volunteer pool.

I bring this subject to attention, of course, to show that we here at Smokingpipes really do care -- not just about you, our customers, but even for society's lesser, more potentially dangerous and/or flea-ridden creatures as well.

And on that note, while our local feline population may now be able to look forward towards a less Malthusian future, you, of course, can look forward to more fresh pipes -- today, right now. With this Monday's update we're happy to present to you new artisanal pieces by none other than Michael Parks, joined by quality offerings from Luigi Radice and sons, plus Castello as well. Following those up we have great selections from the likes of Mogens "Johs" Johansen, France's own Sebastien Beo, and the popular marques Tsuge, Savinelli, Petersonn, Butz-Chouqin, and Vauen. You'll also find plenty of estate-pipe offerings, some new smoking accessories, and cigars by both Perdomo and Arturo Fuente.

Eric Squires: Copywriter

Ode to My Lovely Lady in Red ~sutherland~

2013-02-07T16:00:00-04:00

We pipe smokers tend to be a sentimental bunch when it comes to our favorite fire-pot. And why shouldn't we be? As a breed, we love pipes, but there is always that one pipe, call it our one true love, that we gush and dote over, whether it's a simple sandblasted classic that spends much of its life in our jacket pocket, or a rarefied freehand that we've enthroned as the centerpiece of a collection. Maybe some of us even carry around photos in our mobile phones, posed sensually in the most alluring light, only to be revealed to similarly smitten souls with a wink and a nod.

Given that Valentine's Day is precisely a week away, we've decided it would only be appropriate to shower the one you adore, that bent Apple of your eye, with affectations and appreciations... in the form of a love letter. And so it is here that I ask you to join us this week in this (admittedly, deliberately silly) exercise of adulation, be it in the form of prose or poetry, by posting to our SmokingPipes.com Facebook page. I'll get us started:

"When first we met, you were a jilted and battered lover. Still, I could see past the scars of your last affair and know that you once were, and still are, beautiful. You've graced this spinning blue marble of a world the better part of two decades longer than I, yet your elegance and countenance seem unbound by time. And your smooth draw... well that's just a slice of heaven."

"Recently I've been spending time with another, as you may know. Like you, she is partial to rich red dress (you know this is my weakness). But do not despair my dear, for though she is younger, sleeker, and more curvaceous, she can't compare to the way you spark and smolder; the pleasure I find in her company is but merely platonic, and no more. With your classic beauty and sultry British accent I am compelled to always keep you faithfully by my side."

Ah, enough from me, for now. It's only making me crave my next bowl. If you be a soul as yet without a mate, however, we do just happen to be the internet's premiere pipe dating service. Featuring 2500+ briar, meerschaum, clay, and cob pipes to choose from in all shapes, sizes, and nationalities, you're sure to find something to love. Why just today, we've at the ready two hundred more new applicants, each with profiles featuring honest, and often quite revealing photographs [snicker], sure to set your heart a-flutter, from the likes of J&J, Ashton, L'Anatra, Nording, Savinelli, Peterson and Brigham. And if you don't mind someone with maybe a little baggage, maybe a little more mature and worldly, we've plenty estate pipes from all around the globe as well.

John Sutherland: Marketing Mngr and Sr. Photographer

Breaking-in: Pipes, Houses, Etc. ~adam~

2013-02-04T16:00:00-04:00

What do you do when you get a new pipe? For some, it's an obvious answer: fill 'er up and smoke it! Sometimes we search around looking for just that perfect pipe to add to our growing collection and, even in cases of ordering or commissioning a custom-made piece, it still feels like the virgin pipe belongs to someone else for a period of time. Many collectors eagerly await the time their new pipe will arrive, constantly tracking the shipment or simply counting the days on their fingers for when it will arrive. Will it be as nice as it looks in pictures? How will it feel in the hand? Will it be comfortable in the jaw, securely gripped or teetered just behind the canines? If all hopes are met, the only thing to do is to make it your own. A pipe is meant to be enjoyed through smoking, so as the breaking-in process sets in the pipe starts to build character personal to the smoker. Favorite blends, aromas, and flavors develop over time -- ones that reflect who the smoker is.

The only other times we tend to hear the phrase "breaking it in" seems to be regarding a new pair of jeans (through repeated wearing and washing) or with a baseball glove (through folding, rolling, beating, oiling, etc.). What about a home or office? A new space seems stale at first, even if it is beautiful and spacious, or humble and inviting. My wife and I moved into a home this past Saturday. With the arrival of movers at 8:15 a.m. we began taking my shop of six years apart and loading it into a truck. Exciting as it is to move to a larger place, I couldn't help but feel just a touch sad/guilty for dismantling my long-established man cave. It was a place of comfort and fond memories where friends, customers, and pipe makers shared laughs, joy, creativity, quite a few beers and countless bowls of tobacco. When I would raise the metal door to begin the day, there was a pleasant aroma of tobacco, briar dust, and the lingering scent of ebonite all around. I love this, but unfortunately couldn't put it in a box along with my tools and briar blocks.

The home we moved into is lovely, but it still felt like the previous renter was occupying the place. Scents are powerful, so my wife sent me off to the store to get some candles scented of lemon, peach, and mint chocolate for various rooms. In the span of only one day, this made it feel more like our place. All I had to tackle now was my new workshop. Boxes, benches, and bins are still scattered all over, so I sat out there with one of my pipes loaded with Full Virgina Flake (a blend of which I smoked many pounds of in my previous shop) and allowed the fragrant clouds of smoke to "break-in" my new work area. Walking out there last night to retrieve something from a box, I was pleased to find the faint scent lingering in the air. It'll take a little while, but just like breaking-in a new pipe, breaking-in my new workshop is going to take a little while. I think I'll have a few of the Smokingpipes.com crew come down soon with their own pipes to help me out.

Tonight we're happy to add a new pipe maker from Germany to our roster: Werner Mummert, a technically gifted artisan who offers a wide variety of shapely pieces. Other pipes that await a chance to become your own include wares from Dunhill, Tsuge, Luciano, Chacom, Johs, Stanwell, Savinelli, and Peterson. We've increased the quantity of estates this update to thirty-six, which might take less time to break-in overall, but a few bowls of tobacco will help them fit you like a favorite pair of jeans.

Adam Davidson: Quality Control & Pipe Inspector

On Stateliness ~eric~

2013-01-31T15:00:00-04:00

Some months ago I found myself leaning with my elbow against the van of childhood friend's band, when the lead singer of another act that had played that night referred to me, in the course of his conversation with my old friend, as "this stately mother[expletive]". I was flattered. I've been called many things by many people; bold, insufferable, hilarious, shameless, tenacious, stubborn as an old mule, well-read, misguided, refined, snobbish, short, and, oddly enough, tall (I can only assume that is a matter of personal perspective), as well as both precisely eloquent, and utterly, intentionally confusing - but this was the first time I could recall ever being on the receiving end of the word "stately". My jacket, perhaps, played a part in this. It's a rather anachronistic double-breasted number that might mislead some into suspecting that I'd acquired it by counting coup on some 19th-century military officer. The rather full beard-and-moustache combination inhabiting my face these days may have worked in my favor. But facial hair and jacket alone I believe would more likely just create the impression of a mild (at best) eccentric. The bent Billiard that happened to be clenched between my teeth, I would argue, made all the difference. Pipes are, as a rule, rather disarming, and especially in their more classical forms. This is an effect that has often been touched upon by others in the course of writing about pipes and pipe-culture, so I know I'm not alone in holding this theory. Completely, utterly wrong I may be (see: misguided), but at least on this matter I'm in good company.

Try this experiment: Picture a man of middle years, chomping on a cigar with a rifle over his shoulder. Odds are, what you've imagined is a character along the lines of the archetypical "grizzled sergeant" of old war movies, or perhaps some intentionally overblown 1980's action-flick character. Now try picturing another middle-aged fellow, again with a rifle over his shoulder, but this time with a pipe clenched in his teeth. I'd wager the image you have in your mind now is another altogether different: One of your own grandfathers, perhaps, going off to hunt with an old dog trotting at his heel, or maybe some antiquarian gentleman on safari.

Of course, more importantly pipes are simply a joy to smoke -- that is, after all, why we smoke them. If we just wanted to impress others, there are much less involved ways of doing it; ones that don't involve all the ritual, commitment, and care that enjoying and properly maintaining even a modest rotation entails. It has suddenly occurred to me that this, in itself, might in fact play a part in creating the cultural context from which springs such complementary associations as "pipe=stately [expletive]".

But that's enough wool-gathering for now: On with the pipes. Today we have at hand some drop dead gorgeous pieces from one Maigurs Knets, followed up by all manner of Italian flare and flourish in the form of artisanal pipes from Ardor, Ser Jacopo, and Mastro de Paja. Joining in are, of course, plenty of briars by Peterson, Savinelli, Nording, Brebbia, and Neerup, as well as a wide variety of estate pipes from parts near and afar alike.

Trapped in a Nicotine-Free Flying Tube ~ted~

2013-01-28T15:43:00-04:00

As I write this newsletter introduction it is Sunday afternoon, and I'm sitting in the rinky-dink operation that is Myrtle Beach International (laughingly) Airport. Despite its modest design (if not name), as far as airports go it's not the worst, being only a little larger than a small middle-school and thus fairly easy to get around and through and all distances between any point "A" and any point "B" are but a few long strides. (Though security-theatre-wise, we do have those notorious x-ray machines now! And to think of how so many of us, as kids, secretly sent away for those "x-ray specs" advertised in the backs of comic books and the like -- how the tables have turned.)

Air travel, for me as well as other pipe smokers I presume, often represents the greatest obstacle between that last opportunity to enjoy a smoke and that next opportunity to enjoy a smoke. Not that I'm necessarily writhing in the terminal, foaming at the mouth at take-off, or fiending madly throughout for cherished nicotine, understand, but it sure would be nice if Myrtle Beach International Airport had one of those smoking habitats carved away somewhere, even if it were along the seedy back-side of the building far, far away from bright-eyed children and other such honorable individuals whose delicate constitutions and evidently hazardously fragile respiratory health so concerns modern legislators. Instead even smokeless tobacco like snuff or snus is for some wild reason totally prohibited. Bah!

Consequently, once again, I have left to the good folks at Delta the charge of my precious pipes and tobacco tucked away with painstaking attention in my check baggage. I've flown with Delta a lot over the last couple of years, and though I've slept in the Atlanta airport more times than I care to remember, and missed so many connecting flights in the last six months that my colleagues have deemed me cursed (more accurately, I didn't really miss any of those flights, rather, they, missed me!) no baggage handler has yet misplaced my luggage (i.e. sent it to the Philippines or Guam accidentally). I expect, as has been usual so far, there will be nothing to prevent me from packing a bowl right at baggage claim, with eager hands, and a too-long deprived palate.. and no doubt to the complete horror of a few of my more sensitive fellow travelers.

But should my treasured cargo disappear, and I hope that I tempt no mischievous Fury here; at least I know where to go to rebuild my trove anew. Fresh pipes we find in plenitude this afternoon from the following (and excuse the tense shift, please): Peter Heding, Rinaldo, Radice, Castello, Chacom, Tsuge, Sebastien Beo, Butz-Chouqin, Savinelli, Peterson, and Vauen. We're also adding thirty-six estate pipes to the mix, in addition two new pipe tobaccos, new cigars, and new cigar accessories. Lots of new stuff!

Ted Swearingen: Vice President, General Manager