Jared Coles: 'The Pipe' with Orange Wood Tobacco Pipe

Since 2015, Smokingpipes.com has hosted the American Pipe Making Expo, bringing together the nation's most talented carvers to create unique pipes based on an annual theme. 2023's theme is that of alternative materials, showcasing pipes with stummels rendered from mediums other than briar. Jared Coles' entry for the expo takes the form of this painstakingly rendered Lovat, inspired by The Pipe.

The Pipe was a brand of pipes that proliferated in the mid-20th century, novel in their use of stummels made of compression molded phenolic resin, with bowl inserts rendered from pyrolitic graphite, which was also used to make the noses of the rockets exploring the final frontier in those days. The Pipe was popular among smokers who had no prior experience with briar, as the smoking properties were quite different. The Pipe never caught on with briar smokers, and eventually the unique pipes left the market.

Paying tribute the bright colors and unique aesthetic of The Pipe, Coles crafted this Lovat with a briar core before submerging the stummel in a mold that he filled with a two-part epoxy resin, adding bright blue pigment to create an iridescent, swirling finish. After three days of curing, Coles then shaped the mass into this classically inclined Lovat, featuring a pert, rounded bowl with a subtle forward cant at the fore of an arrow-straight round shank. The shank itself is elongated with a broad accent of smoky orangewood, adding an elegant, organic touch to the design. Out back, an abbreviated vulcanite saddle stem offers an effortless clench, making this pipe as functional as it is visually impressive. Coles finished the pipe with a painstaking sanding process before buffing the stummel to brilliant sheen. This one-of-a-kind piece is an excellent example of Coles' attention to detail and a fitting tribute to the unique place that The Pipe occupies in the history of American pipe making.