J. Mouton Pipes

In many ways, woodworking has been in Jason Mouton's blood for generations. His great-grandfather and grandfather were lifelong carpenters, and his father built houses from the floor up — everything from the foundation and the framing to cabinets and roofing. Mouton joined his dad at the age of 14, but it wasn't until he started making pipes decades later that he found his true passion.

Like many modern pipe smokers, Mouton found a home in the online pipe-smoking community. YouTube channels in particular helped guide him early in the hobby, teaching him specific techniques and introducing him to tobacco blends and pipe makers, and Mouton participated in the community with his own YouTube channel. A fellow community maker once gifted him with a selection of pipe tobaccos, and in reciprocation, Mouton fashioned a tamper on a belt sander as a thank you. The recipient was so impressed by the work that he encouraged Mouton to make more and eventually try his hand at making a pipe.

Through selling his handmade tampers to friends across the online pipe-smoking community, Mouton purchased a lathe and began making pipes. His carpentry expertise provided him ample foundation, but he turned to online forums and YouTube tutorials regarding the specific intricacies of pipe making. He credits the in-depth videos from Jared Coles, J. Alan, and Grant Batson as being especially helpful during this beginning stage, as well as conversations with Chris Asteriou.

Moreover, Mouton devoted himself to studying pipe design, and he's an obsessive student. Through online pictures, he rigorously analyzed the aesthetic aspects of renowned artisan makers, measuring proportions and tracing lines to understand what makes a well-designed and well-shaped pipe. In his own workshop, his homework included recreating these forms to the millimeter, refining his technique and honing his aesthetic eye. Even with years of artisan pipe making, though, Mouton still maintains a student mindset. Continually studying the work of other respected carvers and forever devoted to learning and improving, he's fascinated by the aesthetic diversity in pipe making and its constant evolution, as well as the interconnectedness of artisans and their respective styles.

Every J. Mouton pipe is handmade from Italian or Grecian briar, and each stem is hand-cut from vulcanite, or occasionally from amber-toned acrylic. With a fondness for exotic materials, Mouton will occasionally accent pipes with fossilized materials; stones like jade, jasper, and agates; bamboo, boxwood, horn, or hand-spun silver, and his most prestigious work bears his "Chantilly" grade stamp, an homage to his Louisiana roots.