Ernie Markle

In this episode of All Pipes Considered, Chip Kushner and I discuss Ernie Markle pipes, covering everything from the American artisan's penchant for shaping to the extreme care he takes with his finishes and overall execution. ... 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

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

Ernie Markle is a great example of the new movement in American artisanal pipes. Now working full-time from his home in Pheonix, AZ, he's really cultivated his craft over the last few years. But what separates Ernie from other modern American carvers? ... Read More

The day after last year's event, Jeff, Adam, and I sat at Jeff's kitchen table and decided it was something that needed to happen again. Furthermore we wanted it to again be free for the attendees. We wanted it to be more like a prestigious academic conference to which one is invited, rather than a training workshop for which one pays. ... Read More

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

It's now day two of the get together at Jeff Gracik's workshop in San Diego. I'm still writing live from the scene. In fact, Eric just turned on the disc sander, making the surface upon which I'm typing vibrate rather disconcertingly. It does leave this author feeling particularly connected to his subject matter, though. ... Read More

Writing this, standing up, at the entrance to Jeff Gracik's workshop, as machines whirr and briar dust flies, conversations on the finer points of tool use are audible over the general din. Jeff asked us out here after the West Coast Pipe Show in Las Vegas, so we find ourselves in a surprisingly cool San Diego in the company of five American pipe makers: Jeff, Brad Pohlmann, Adam Davidson, Ernie Markle and Eric Heberling. ... Read More