Eric Squires

Dedication to quality is the mark of true artisans, even more so than anything that may happen to be stamped, etched, or otherwise inscribed onto their works. So what does it say when an artisan whose quality of work is well-established dedicates a year to shifting his focus and work-flow to a new project? ... Read More

"Greece and classic are very close as you already know," says Chris Asteriou. Hellenic, Hellenistic, Greco-Roman; if one were so crass as to throw a stone in a museum exhibit on the classical world, it would be hard to make it not hit something either Greek or influenced by Greeks. ... Read More

Chapuis-Comoy: Given how many generations they've been around, just how many decades-old, never sold, French-made stummels can this pipe-making operation have lying in storage? This has been an important question to us, since it is these very same long-obscure briars that make up the resurrected Ropp brand. ... Read More

Once upon a time the warriors, and other elites, of certain societies displayed their prestige by wearing jewelry made of iron. Far more recently in human history, aluminum was once as valuable as silver — which was what led to the pointy end of the Washington Monument being made out of it. ... Read More

I'd never heard of today's mystery tobacco until I stumbled upon it while searching for something else. That may seem a little odd, since (as you'll see, eventually) the maker is far from obscure; in my defense, though, let me just point out that we do have a hell of a lot of tobacco around here. ... Read More

When Fritz Becker passed twenty-four years ago, his son, Paolo Becker, didn't change a thing about their brand's name: Becker. Over time he took the direction of design and shaping somewhere completely unique ... Read More

You may not have heard of Davide Iafisco before, but if you own a newer Luciano, you may already be familiar with one aspect of his work — for over a year now he's been one of the key carvers behind that brand's new look ... Read More

Summer is more or less upon us, and you know what that means — it's that magical time of year when most pipe smokers start to put the Latakia blends away, and bystanders breath a sigh of relief. So for this Mystery Review I've chosen a Latakia blend, figuring it might be interesting to see what our subjects' might ... Read More

Given the great multitude of new pipemakers that have cropped up in recent years, it only follows that the question, "What does a new pipemaker need?" must have been asked many times. But what of a new school of pipemaking? ... Read More

Vladimir Grechukin is an artisan I have a difficult time finding another to compare to. The closest, I would say, would be Paolo Becker. Both are pipemakers who were apprenticed in a traditional approach to the craft ... Read More