Articles by Chuck Stanion | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

Boxwood: The Ivory of Woods

May 31, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

3 Comments

The variety of pipes available is staggering; from shapes and materials to finishes and stem colors, the choices are unending. Additionally, some of us like a pipe with an accent of some sort: silver, gold, acrylic, brass, vulcanite, stainless steel, mammoth ivory, dozens of different exotic woods, and even ... Read More

How to Ream a Pipe

May 10, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

27 Comments

Remember when we used to carry coins? They're quaint artifacts now, convenient for stabilizing table legs, but they used to be practical for things like parking meters and purchases. Now everything costs more than coins can cover, parking meters require credit cards, and debit cards are the preferred exchange ... Read More

Small Batch: Steamworks — The Culmination of 2,000 Years of Steam History

May 3, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

4 Comments

Steam has been employed for various mechanical purposes for more than two thousand years. The first steam device in recorded history was invented in 1st century Alexandria and was called Hero's engine, or the aeolipile. It had no practical use aside from entertainment and experimentation, consisting of a reservoir that ... Read More

Lighters Need Cleaning Too

April 18, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

20 Comments

I've managed to destroy a number of items by running them through the laundry in various pockets I've neglected to empty: valuable checks, essential phone numbers, flash drives, and a chocolate chip cookie I left in a shirt pocket, a cookie whose flavor was detrimentally mutated by the soap cycle. I still miss that cookie. ... Read More

The History of Mac Baren Tobacco

April 12, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

34 Comments

In Svendborg, Denmark, on the coast of the Baltic Sea, a very small tobacco factory with the name S. Bønnelyckes Tobaksfabrik opened in 1826 and did business primarily in snuff and chewing tobacco manufacturing. It continued for 50 years, never seeming to have attained much success, and in 1887 its owner lost it in a poker game. ... Read More

Ignition Sources and Nicotine

April 1, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

17 Comments

Research into nicotine absorption has recently revealed some astonishing insights relevant to those of us who enjoy pipe tobacco. A major study conducted at Growlingspann University in Sweden, under the leadership of Dr. Chamberlain Westcott and Dr. Imelda Boystenstein, has found that nicotine enters the bloodstream of smokers at different rates and concentrations according to the ignition sources employed. ... Read More

Paddy Larrigan's 100th Birthday

March 8, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

14 Comments

It's difficult to imagine anyone who has more profoundly embodied and defined the workmanship and culture of Kapp & Peterson than Paddy Larrigan, who celebrated his 100th birthday on March 7th this month. Of those 100 years, he's spent most handcrafting pipes and training new craftspeople to do the same. Paddy was ... Read More

The Refinement of an Inspiring Tobacco: Sansepolcro

February 23, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

7 Comments

Nestled into the fertile hills of Tuscany in the province of Arezzo, Italy, is a small town of about 16,000 residents. It's been there for over 1,000 years, built on the site where a pair of pilgrims returned from the Holy Land and founded a monastery. They had with them a stone from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and ... Read More

Meet Antoine Grenard of Chacom

February 16, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

6 Comments

While many of us remember a childhood of green playgrounds with soccer fields and play equipment, Antoine Grenard remembers a giant, multi-floored, cavernous pipe factory filled with storage racks, ancient ebauchons, briar dust, ancient original French pipe-making machinery, and thousands upon thousands of ... Read More

Remembering Our Pipes on Saint Valentine's Day

February 14, 2024 by Chuck Stanion

1 Comment

As Valentine's Day approaches, our hearts turn naturally to demonstrating our affection for those we love, those who support us in good times and bad, bring us joy and comfort, and make our lives better every day. ... Read More

Chuck Stanion