Articles by Chuck Stanion | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

The Real Popeye The Sailor

October 2, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

18 Comments

I've always lacked common sense. I admire it in others, but can't seem to cultivate its use, so I find myself in odd situations, like in first grade when I talked a pal into screwing two metal trash cans together with me inside and rolling me off the end of his dock into the lake, where I hoped to submerge and learn how to improve the craft's design. It was an outstanding success, because I submerged wonderfully and learned a whole lot about what needed improving. We'd found only two screws and I pushed my way out, but when things were at their worst, what I found myself thinking was, "What would Popeye the Sailor do?" ... Read More

Nicotine And Pipe Tobacco Blending

September 18, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

25 Comments

I once smoked a bowl of 1792 on an empty stomach first thing Saturday morning at a Raleigh pipe show. A friend recommended it and offered me a bowl and I thought, sure, why not? But I soon learned why not, and I've not smoked a bowl of it since. I was unable to smoke another pipe that whole weekend ... Read More

William Faulkner: Pipe Smoker

September 11, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

16 Comments

William Faulkner achieved more in the context of Southern literature than any other writer. He was awarded the Nobel Prize, two Pulitzers, two National Book Awards, and he was further immortalized by the USPS with a two-cent stamp with his image, including his ever-present pipe. ... Read More

A Closer Look At Latakia Tobacco

September 4, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

35 Comments

Latakia, like Cavendish, is the result of a process; there is no tobacco plant that grows Latakia leaves. And Latakia production, like that of Perique, is a tiny industry; its annual yield of about 60,000 pounds is vanishingly insignificant when compared to overall global tobacco manufacturing, which is focused on cigarettes. ... Read More

Elements of the Pipe: Rims

August 20, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

1 Comment

Every pipe has one. Pipes have tobacco chambers; chambers have rims of one sort or another, and there are many sorts. Some smokers are particular about rims, especially given that, after the internals of a pipe, they require the most care and cleaning, and the different styles provide different levels of care to keep carbon ... Read More

Bertrand Russell: Mathematician, Philosopher, Pipe Smoker

August 14, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

34 Comments

Bertrand Russell's parents, Viscount and Viscountess Amberley, were progressive for their era in the late 1800s. They were advocates of birth control, for example, and Lord Amberley was an atheist. The couple asked John Stewart Mill, an English philosopher and political economist, to be their son's "secular godfather." Theirs was an ... Read More

A Closer Look At Aromatic Pipe Tobacco

August 7, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

36 Comments

Until recently, I had little interest in aromatic tobaccos. I considered aromatics to be a category of tobacco best left to newcomers, remembering how I had insisted on smoking them exclusively when I first started pipe smoking. I had wanted the most impressive-smelling tobacco possible and had terrible experiences with aromatics in those days. ... Read More

BriarWorks: The Handcrafted Factory Pipe

July 17, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

16 Comments

BriarWorks is a company dedicated to producing very high-quality pipes at affordable prices. Those are not easily combined elements, and it took enormous effort and expertise to achieve that goal. It was an idea that had been evolving for years in the mind of Todd Johnson, a world-class pipe maker who is accustomed to making ideas reality. ... Read More

6 Mistakes Every New Pipe Smoker Should Avoid

June 24, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

25 Comments

Beginning pipe smoking can be an intimidating ordeal. Many people try smoking a pipe and give it up because they aren't experiencing the way a pipe should smoke. But if you can avoid these common mistakes, you'll find yourself enjoying pipe tobacco much more quickly. ... Read More

Edwin Hubble: Pipe Smoker and Astronomer

June 12, 2020 by Chuck Stanion

8 Comments

We used to think that our own galaxy was the entire universe. Edwin Hubble expanded that understanding to unimaginable distances. Before Hubble, we didn't know about distant galaxies. Telescopes of the time saw only fuzzy areas of what were deemed gas clouds and dust, referred to as nebulae. ... Read More

Chuck Stanion