Pipe Line

Pipe Smoking Desktop Backgrounds: June 2023

June 1, 2023 by Andrew Wike

It's time for another round of beautiful pipe-smoking desktop backgrounds for you to enjoy. As in previous months, the set includes some of our favorite shots and artwork, including eight unique images, split between desktop and mobile orientations and available for download in two high-resolution formats. ... Read More

Briar Curing: From Sawmill To Smoke

May 26, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

23 Comments

We've all experienced the "break-in" period, loading bowl after bowl into a new pipe while it shows no gratitude whatsoever and delivers acrid, hot, astringent smoke to our bewildered palates. Its online photos had accurately depicted the wonderful shape and finish, but the flavors it's delivering do not match the pipe's ... Read More

Smooth Sailing: Exploring Cornell & Diehl's Melville at Sea Series

May 24, 2023 by Gabriel Bass

Every generation has its literary titans who create works that speak deeply to their respective age in the language of the day. Within that milieu are voices whose words resonate through the ages, while the rest, though talented, are eventually relegated to obscurity outside academic circles. Even among the few who retain ... Read More

The Pipe Stem: The Most Important Component of Any Pipe

May 19, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

9 Comments

Around 30 years ago, the sharing of information between pipe makers changed. The thinking, in North America, at least, was that the craft had to be learned by performing it solo. Pimos's Guide to PipeCrafting at Home was the only resource for new pipe makers. It's a great book and thousands of people have ... Read More

New Netherland, William Kieft, and the Smoker's Rebellion

May 17, 2023 by Davin Hylton

2 Comments

Following their succession from Spanish rule in 1579, seven Dutch provinces formed the United Provinces of the Netherlands and became the first fully independent Dutch state. What followed was the Dutch Republic's "Golden Age," a time when, according to the New York State Library's What Was New Netherland? ... Read More

The Retrohale: A Technique for Advanced Flavor Appreciation

May 12, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

12 Comments

Retrohaling is the practice of expelling tobacco smoke through one's nose without having inhaled it. For those of us who haven't practiced the technique, the obvious question is, "Why?" What's the advantage when we can obviously taste our tobaccos already? ... Read More

Celebrating the Lunar New Year: Dunhill Zodiac Pipes

May 11, 2023 by Zachary Podl

2 Comments

For thousands of years, people have constructed monuments to honor the stars. Stonehenge, Macchu Piccu, and Chichen Itza not only exhibit humankind's obsession with the stars, but also some of humankind's grandest achievements. In modern times, we continue to celebrate these solar phenomena, but without having ... Read More

Pipe Smoking Desktop Backgrounds: May 2023

May 1, 2023 by Andrew Wike

4 Comments

It's time for another round of beautiful pipe-smoking desktop backgrounds for you to enjoy. As in previous months, the set includes some of our favorite shots and artwork, including eight unique images, split between desktop and mobile orientations and available for download in two high-resolution formats. They're ready for you to use however you'd like. Feel free to download and set them as your desktop or phone background, or print them out and hang 'em on your wall. ... Read More

Vincent van Gogh and Pipe Smoking

April 27, 2023 by John McElheny