Articles by Kathryn Mann | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

Holiday Pipe Dreams

December 18, 2012 by Kathryn Mann

As a new pipe smoker, I am, of course, seeing pipes everywhere. Stephen Colbert featured one on his show a few weeks ago. And I just went to the movies this weekend, and it seemed like nearly everyone was puffing on a pipe for most of the first act. ... Read More

The Hobbit and New Pipe Smokers

December 10, 2012 by Kathryn Mann

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The great wizard - and mythic clincher of very long Churchwardens - Gandalf the Grey is returning to the big screen next week, and he is bringing with him a troop of rowdy dwarves and a slightly reluctant hobbit - all of which come equipped with plenty of pipes and halfling pipeweed. ... Read More

Why Briar, Anyway

November 30, 2012 by Kathryn Mann

Think of a tobacco pipe, and the first image that pops into most people's minds is a briar pipe. Oh, sure, most of us have a few non-briars -- a meerschaum or two, maybe a "Missouri meerschaum" corncob, a clay, perhaps a prized calabash -- but most of the wood pipes are briar. ... Read More

Introducing Brigham

March 21, 2011 by Kathryn Mann

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We have a new brand of pipe added to the site starting Monday (March 21). However, Brigham is not a new company. In fact, Roy Brigham established the company in 1906 after serving as an apprentice to an Austrian pipe-smith. ... Read More

No Smoke, No Show

February 15, 2011 by Kathryn Mann

Blue and yellow lights penetrate drifting whorls of pipe smoke suspended in silence. I can feel the audience's anticipation. A tall man takes the microphone and announces, "Memphis - the moment you have waited for - Clarence Gatemouth Brown." ... Read More

A Conversation with Brad Pohlmann

October 13, 2010 by Kathryn Mann

Brad Pohlmann has been making pipes for over thirty years, though for many of those years he pursued another career. During the past three years, he's returned to his original calling and again become a full time pipe maker. He kindly took some time to sit down with Bear Graves for an interview:

A Conversation with Gary Schrier

September 10, 2010 by Kathryn Mann

Recently Bear Graves sat down with preservationist and pundit, Gary B. Schrier of Briar Books Press: