Sykes Wilford

A Look Back at 2014

A Look Back at 2014

January 2, 2015 by Sykes Wilford

It has become something of a tradition that I write the newsletter introduction for the update that falls closest to January 1st. In the past couple of years, I've written about the emergence of a new enthusiasm for pipes, especially among men in their twenties and thirties. In looking over those, they feel dated now. Not because they were wrong, but because they were so very right. ... Read More

Sixten Ivarsson: A Journey Through Time

Sixten Ivarsson: A Journey Through Time

December 10, 2014 by Sykes Wilford

2 Comments

Perhaps five or six years ago, when Nanna Ivarsson first told me that she had piles and piles of Sixten Ivarsson's old drawings and correspondence, my heart skipped a beat. While my career has been entirely in the pipe and tobacco business, I'm educated as an historian and I'm the child of a professor and a university librarian. The very idea of such a trove a pipe history sitting in an attic somewhere set me aquiver. ... Read More

Eltang Tobaccos: 15 Years in the Making

Eltang Tobaccos: 15 Years in the Making

September 17, 2014 by Sykes Wilford

Like most friends who have known each other a long time, Tom Eltang and I have a series of discussions that are regularly reintroduced into our discourse. Some of these are ridiculous, like our plan to share a Gulfstream jet so that we can smoke while flying over the Atlantic (suffice it to say, it ain't happening). Some of these are serious subjects, things you'd expect, like discussion of the future of artisan pipes or changes in the wider pipe market. ... Read More

Eltang Turns to a New Stain

Eltang Turns to a New Stain

August 20, 2014 by Sykes Wilford

5 Comments

A few months ago, back in maybe June or July, Tom Eltang called to chat. We talk pretty regularly, so this wasn't particularly unusual. After a few minutes of chit-chat, the conversation took an interesting turn. Tom dropped something of a bomb. He was done with the Golden Contrast stain after decades of using it as his primary—often his only—pipe stain. He'd developed an allergy to one of the components. ... Read More

West Coast Pipe Makers Pow Wow

West Coast Pipe Makers Pow Wow

February 14, 2014 by Sykes Wilford

1 Comment

Jared Coles and Adam Davidson discuss the best way to clean the knuckles of bamboo, while Steve Liskey talks about different ways to drill and fit bamboo with Nathan Armentrout. Meanwhile Jeff Gracik, who is hosting this get-together at his home and workshop in San Diego ... Read More

Reflection on 2013

Reflection on 2013

December 30, 2013 by Sykes Wilford

It’s hard to believe that 2013 is almost behind us. We find ourselves at the end of a remarkable year for the pipe and pipe tobacco community, and for Smokingpipes.com especially. For a pastime, passion, and industry that has only just begun to emerge from a half-century of slow, steady decline in popularity, we pipe people have been unaccustomed to good news. ... Read More

Kikuchi: Introducing Tsuge Ikebana's New Pipemaker

Kikuchi: Introducing Tsuge Ikebana's New Pipemaker

November 25, 2013 by Sykes Wilford

2 Comments

As a woman in her late 20s, Asami Kikuchi is something of a rarity in pipe making. Indeed, she's even more of a rarity in Japanese pipe making. There are just a handful of female high-grade pipe makers in the world and all of them ... Read More

ROPP: Past, Present, Future

ROPP: Past, Present, Future

August 15, 2013 by Sykes Wilford

4 Comments

Pipe smoking worldwide declined steadily for the half century between 1960 and 2010. Once home to dozens of pipe manufacturers making many millions of pipes, St. Claude now has three that make fewer than a quarter million pipes a year among them. As has been the case the world over, factories were consolidated. ... Read More

Pipes of Decades Past

Pipes of Decades Past

August 12, 2013 by Sykes Wilford

6 Comments

In the great marital ledger, I, like most husbands, have some entries in both the credits and debits column. Specifically, I've gained credits for taking my wife to Europe five times in the five years we've been together. ... Read More

Video: A Conversation with Peter Heding

Video: A Conversation with Peter Heding

December 31, 2012 by Sykes Wilford

Back in August, Ted and I went on the annual pipes pilgrimage to visit lots of Danish pipe makers, plus the Mac Baren tobacco factory. As always, it was a bit of a whirlwind. Ten pipe makers and a tobacco factory were crammed into just five full days on the ground. Even so, we were able to spend quite a bit of time with each of them and were able to chat on camera with a few, including Peter Heding, our interview victim in today's video. ... Read More

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