Alex Florov

Scott Klein was a young, on-again, off-again pipesmoker, smoking the pipes his grandfather had left him when he could get them to work. He didn't know what he was doing. "I couldn't get any consistency out of them," says Scott. "One day I'd love pipesmoking, the next I'd hate it." ... Read More

The American Pipemaking Exposition has become an annual, 4th of July tradition since we introduced it in 2015. The event focuses on a central, pipe-related element that either defines or has been championed by the American artisanal pipemaking tradition, with each carver submitting a piece showcasing that theme. ... Read More

On this episode of All Pipes Considered, Shane and Kaz have a seat in the lounge as they discuss the work of skilled craftsman Alex Florov. ... Read More

We spend countless hours here at Smokingpipes extolling the virtues of briar (Erica Arborea). It is, of course, the most common current medium in the creation of tobacco pipes. However, as most know, it wasn't the first. ... Read More

Sometime back we asked a whole bunch of prominent American artisans to come up with pipes (one from each, that is) for our third annual American Pipemaking Exposition, a showcase of sorts highlighting interesting themes and happenings within the American pipemaking movement. ... Read More

In the beginning there was the Dunhill Shell. At least, that's how histories of the sandblasted briar usually go; whether or not Dunhill was in fact the first to come up with a sandblast-finished pipe, I leave to better historians and whatever original source materials they may find. ... Read More

In the first part of the interview we discussed some of Alex Florov's background and explored some of the similarities between his works and that of Maigurs Knets. This continuation will discuss Alex's thoughts on other modern pipe makers and hint at his plans for the future. ... Read More

Alex Florov has spoken to us before about influences and other master-pipemakers whose work he admires, but there's another pipemaker relevant to discussions of Alex Florov pipes. Specifically, an artisan who is relevant because the two share some history as artisans. ... Read More

Once upon a time the warriors, and other elites, of certain societies displayed their prestige by wearing jewelry made of iron. Far more recently in human history, aluminum was once as valuable as silver — which was what led to the pointy end of the Washington Monument being made out of it. ... Read More

0.0002"x0.0000". Two-ten-thousandths of an inch. Those are the sort of tolerances that Alex Florov works with. While that is perhaps a large measurement in circuit board manufacturing, it is infinitesimally tiny by pipe standards. Alex is a model maker. ... Read More