Articles by Chuck Stanion | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

Jared Coles: From Pipe Kits to Artisan Masterpieces

April 9, 2021 by Chuck Stanion

6 Comments

Maybe there's something about working with three-dimensional forms that attracts brilliant minds. Or maybe three-dimensional forms generate brilliance in those who work with them. Either way, smart people think in three dimensions. Look at Michelangelo. Look at Leonardo da Vinci. Smart guys. ... Read More

The Mystery of Balkan Blends

March 26, 2021 by Chuck Stanion

29 Comments

A number of terms used in our hobby represent slippery concepts. Cavendish, for example, isn't a type of tobacco so much as a process, and discussions centering on the topic can veer into confusion when different participants adhere to different interpretations. ... Read More

Sitting Bull's Greatest Pipe Smoking Demonstration

March 24, 2021 by Chuck Stanion

20 Comments

The hero of this story is Sitting Bull, the warrior reputed by some to be the military strategist behind the defeat of General George Custer at the Little Bighorn in 1876. He did not actually lead that battle, but had prophesied the defeat of the enemy, expanding his reputation as a spiritual leader. ... Read More

History of International Pipe Smoking Day

February 19, 2021 by Chuck Stanion

12 Comments

One of the most popular online forums for pipe smokers is Smokers Forums, based in the UK and still going strong after many years with a world-wide membership. I've managed to modulate the compulsion, but for years I couldn't start a workday without browsing Smokers Forums ... Read More

Legendary: Hans Former Nielsen

January 29, 2021 by Chuck Stanion

15 Comments

Fifteen-year-old Hans "Former" Nielsen had scoured the classified ads looking for a job, and he found the perfect opportunity: a local shipyard was looking for a toolmaker to train. He had been given the nickname "Former" by his friends, who thought he looked like comic actor George Formby and started calling him that, and it evolved into Former. ... Read More

Waldo Waterman: Pipe Smoking Aeronautical Genius

January 6, 2021 by Chuck Stanion

7 Comments

If we transported someone from around a hundred years ago to the present time, we might expect them to be impressed by cell phones, satellites, interstate highways, computers, and digital media, not to even mention BBQ potato chips. There are lots of things we have now that should impress those people, but our time travelers would be disappointed. ... Read More

How to Discipline Your Pipes

December 23, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

12 Comments

Many of us romanticize our pipes, admiring their execution and design, their flowing lines, crisp ridgelines, and meticulous engineering. We wax poetic about the tightness of a pipe's grain, its easy airflow, or the superior flavor of that block of briar. But pipes are instruments designed for a purpose: the combustion of tobacco. ... Read More

Frank Jack Fletcher: The Pipe Smoking Admiral

December 9, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

6 Comments

"Valor" is an admired quality, especially in terms of military personnel when circumstances and common sense can dictate that they remove themselves from preposterously dangerous situations. It's more than courage: It's a testament to our armed services members that their training, determination, and tenacity overcome ... Read More

Jean-Paul Sartre: Philosopher, Author, Pipe Smoker

November 27, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

28 Comments

Through his writing, teaching, and lectures, Jean-Paul Sartre made existentialism part of popular culture. "Existence precedes essence," he wrote in his book, Existentialism and Humanism (1946). Sartre's argument reversed traditional philosophical thinking whose default position most often inferred that essence is more fundamental and unalterable than its existence. ... Read More

Know Your Tobacco Cuts

November 13, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

17 Comments

Pipe tobacco offers a multitude of flavor opportunities, and the way that tobacco is cut contributes to the variety of experiences. Just as we consider the flavor properties of component tobaccos, and adjust moisture levels to our liking, we have a choice in the way our blends are cut. What's most interesting is that the way a tobacco is cut can affect not only the way it burns, but the way it tastes and ages. ... Read More

Chuck Stanion