Welcome back to another episode of All Pipes Considered. Today I'm excited to talk about the Peterson project that I have probably been most excited about this year: Peterson 160th Anniversary pipes, out now on-site in two special shapes, the Pat B and the Pat OB.

[Andy Wike]: We've been very hush hush about this, but it is a two-pipe release of some really old shapes originally found in the 1906 catalog, the Pat B and the Pat OB, coming back as the 160th Anniversary pipes for Peterson of Dublin.

Fortunately, Chris and I had the opportunity to visit Glen and the guys over at Peterson earlier this summer, and we got the opportunity to actually see some of the first bowls going through all the stages of production in the factory. While I was there, I had the chance to chat with Glen Whelan, Managing Director of Kapp & Peterson.

[Glen Whelan]: We've kept this release top secret.

Peterson Pat Shape

[AW]: Without further ado, we are talking about the Pat shape. This was one of only a handful of named shapes in the 1906 catalog. Peterson, historically, didn't really name a lot of their shapes. Instead, they had designations that were numbers or abbreviations. The Pat shape is very reminiscent of early 20th century pipe design, with stout, muscular proportions, and a short shank and stem.

[GW]: It laid the foundations for Peterson. We've just followed through on that tradition, right up to today in what we do.

[AW]: Sure. What do you think Pat means, in that historical context?

[GW]: I think it's gotta be an abbreviated form of Patent. That makes the most sense.

[AW]: I would totally agree. When we think of patent in relation to Kapp & Peterson, and Charles Peterson, typically we're thinking about the System patents. Of course, the Pat shapes were never Systems. So even in the 1906 catalog, you see these pipes named as Pats, but they were in a section labeled Patent Lip pipes, which really is the precursor to the modern classic range.

[GW]: Yeah, and a range which is hugely important for us. We like to talk a lot about the System but not everybody is a System smoker. So the classic range is vast now when we look at today's catalog. In older catalogs, it used to be just the smooth pipes that would be showcased. Now, there's more to be seen, and most of that is driven by the classic shape chart. It's an ever-evolving, classic shape chart as well.

[AW]: This is also not the first time that Peterson has revived this specific shape or shape class. I remember it most recently in the 2013 Antique Collection.

[GW]: I think the Antique Collection was more of a tribute to what those pipes would've looked like, whereas what we're doing today is more of a truer representation of what they actually were. They're much stouter. The Antique Collection was nice, but these to me are much closer to what we're trying to actually represent in this series.

[AW]: I love that. That's super interesting. It's a true-to-form recreation of this archival shape, but executed today with modern finishing and production. It is a historical recreation of this shape but executed with our modern capabilities.

Two Shapes: Pat B and Pat OB

[AW]: There's two shapes really that we're talking about here.

[GW]: We have a bent Billiard and we have a straight Billiard. Peterson has evolved from those shapes. They're the foundation of everything. It's like they're at the top of the family tree and you can just see the lineage down throughout the years. You can see where the inspiration for other shapes came from just these two shapes.

[AW]: When we're talking about Pipe of the Year or any special-edition release, I know that the inspiration and the origins of that release start really far back. It's a super collaborative process involving people at Peterson.

[GW]: We want as many people's input as possible here. The people on the factory floor know their job. They're handling pipes every day of the week, so the more of those people we can get involved, the better.

This particular idea, though, is one that Josh Burgess has been pestering us to go with for a number of years, almost since Laudisi acquired Peterson. Two years ago, we started thinking of the plans for the 160th anniversary this year. From May 2024, after Josh visited, iteration began. Within a week, we had Giacomo Penzo sizing the briar blocks for the bowl. These bowls are quite meaty so they need big blocks.

Once we got those started, Giacomo had to work really hard on developing a stem profile that would lend itself to this muscular aesthetic.

Interesting Stem Work

[AW]: I also spoke with Giacomo Penzo, the Pipe Specialist at Kapp & Peterson, while visiting. Giacomo, Glen mentioned that the work that you did on the stems really stood out to him. Obviously, recreating that B stem with all the lines and the abbreviation had to be challenging. Can you speak more to that for us?

[Giacomo Penzo]: The project was very important, so we wanted to make everything very special. We decided to design a proper stem for these two pipes. We wanted to replicate the style of the stem that you can see in the old catalog from 1906. It was a challenge because it's not usual to make a new stem.

I began the process by drawing sketches, studying the proportions and dimensions, and then we made the mold for the stems. It has been something new for us, so it's been an interesting challenge. In doing so, we improved the shape of the stem to be a little more stout to go along with the chubby shape. I think the result is very cool.

[AW]: As you said, I think the results definitely speak for themselves. It has to be so challenging to create a brand-new stem that carries the lines of that specific pipe without disrupting anything and remaining true to form.

[GP]: Yeah, we wanted to maintain the lines, the shape, the proportions, but also the comfort. We did our best in every step of the process to design these pipes.

[AW]: Even on the internals, this is a vulcanite P-Lip stem, so it has the graduated bore that was part of Charles Peterson's signature patents. It has the P-Lip bit, which is also part of Charles Peterson patents so not only is it a true-to-form shape and stem that you would find in the 1906 catalog, it also features some of the innovations and engineering improvements that Charles Peterson set out just a couple years prior to that catalog.

True-to-Form Shape Crafted From An Image

[AW]: Aside from the stems, were there any other unique challenges in reviving this historic Pat B shape?

[GP]: Yeah, a few challenges. We didn't have any physical samples to use as a reference to start production. I studied the catalog from 1906 with the patent shapes and tried to get, as best as possible, the dimensions and proportions from a drawing. I made a sample by the block of briar for both shapes. Once we fixed the last few details, we made the final prototypes for the production.

[AW]: You were working from a flat 2D representation of a picture from a hundred years ago. From that, you were able to make this three-dimensional object that's functional and true to form. That's incredible.

Peterson 160th Anniversary Pipes

[AW]: Obviously, these pipes commemorate 160 years of Peterson. Is there anything that you particularly want Pete geeks to know, or anything you wanna say to them about this release?

[GW]: We want to thank all the Peterson geeks. Without them, we wouldn't have this storied history that's gonna lead us into a new history. We are all truly grateful for that.

[AW]: Super grateful. I'd like to give a really special thank you to the Peterson team and to all of you Pete geeks out there who support the brand and have helped carry that tradition across 160 years. We're very grateful here at Smokingpipes that we've been able to be a part of that tradition and are looking forward to the next 160 years.