I was recently on location at the Kapp and Peterson factory in Dublin, Ireland, and I'm excited to bring you a very special episode of All Pipes Considered discussing the revival of the 309/4S System pipe, now available on-site.

[Andy Wike]: We did a little walkthrough around the factory and now I'm sitting down with my good friend, Glen Whelan.

[Glen Whelan]: Great to have you here in Dublin again.

[AW]: We're about to relaunch the System 309/4S shape.

Classic Shape, Showcasing House Style

[AW]:This is one of the original patent shapes.

[GW]: Yeah, this has been around since we had the 1896 catalog which had 10 straight Billiards, they called them. It was around for almost 120 years before it was discontinued in 2013. Even when it was discontinued, it felt like that was a crazy decision to remove such a famous Dutch Billiard shape from the catalog.

I think we almost teased the return of this shape a couple of years back with the Pipe of the Year when we did the 4AB. And I think that kinda set the precedent for this to follow.

[AW]: Yeah, and during the 160th anniversary of Peterson is a great time to revive one of the shapes that really established the lexicon and the House Style of Peterson. The straight, bold Billiard, the tall Billiard. I think it's such a great shape. This was Basil Rathbone's preferred pipe in the last 10 Sherlock Holmes films by Universal.

[GW]: Yeah, and I think it shows how storied Peterson's history is that we can still take inspiration from history 120 years ago with shapes that people want today. It just goes to show you that classic style never goes out of fashion.

[AW]: That's true. It's timeless.

New System Shape

[AW]: What precipitated extending the System range this year?

[GW]: Over the past six years we've kind of wanted the Pipe of the Year to be a relaunch of an old shape or just to harken back to that classic Peterson aesthetic. Of course, we're at the mercy of raw materials. But the stars seem to be aligning a bit more perfectly now and it just seemed like the optimum time to do it.

[AW]: So before it was discontinued, it existed in the line as the XL339. Is that right?

[GW]: Yeah. We had the 338 as its little brother, and also the 313 or the AS Deluxe System. Now we have this reintroduced shape which will be the 4S Deluxe and the 309 in the System range.

I think for now, we'll focus on just reintroducing this shape into the System catalog and then hopefully, down the road, we'll see it back in the classic shape chart. But I think the demand is for this shape in the System design.

[AW]: For sure. It's one of the original patent pipes from the 1896 catalog, so I think it has to be a System. When it came to reintroducing the shape, what did that look like as far as R&D goes?

[GW]: In R&D, even if it is a shape that we're simply reviving, we still put it through the same steps that we would if it were a brand-new shape. We bring Giacomo, Jonathan, and Jason, who's the lead silversmith in to get their feedback straight away.

Once they've given the feedback, we can usually fine-tune if there are any changes that need to be made. But usually, then, we'll have Giacomo make a bowl from the block. That'll go into the factory, and it'll just go through normal processes throughout the factory.

Giacomo's Contributions

[GW]: One of the biggest contributors here in the execution and redevelopment of any new shape is Giacomo. He is key when we do any research and development on new shapes, redesigns of old shapes, and then the reintroduction.

[Giacomo Penzo]: The 309 shape is one of the most iconic shapes in the Peterson chart and also one of my favorite shapes. I pushed a little to remake this shape because I think it's the most iconic Peterson shape. It's very versatile for all our series; for the classic, for the System, and so on. It was something that I think we really missed in production and in the shape chart. I think many customers were looking forward to seeing this shape again in our catalog.

I started from the block, and I made a few samples. The details of the shape, the angle of the shank, the dimension, and so on, made the perfect revival shape for the 309.

[AW]: Definitely. It's also one of my favorites. I know for plenty of the Pete geeks out there that it's also a favorite of theirs, too. I'm super excited to see it come back into the System Standard and Deluxe System lines. Is there anything else that you want people to know about this shape?

[GP]: It's the pipe of the "Thinking Man," so it's the pipe that everybody should have in his collection.

Artisan-made, Traditional Pipes

[AW]: I think that people don't realize how much all of the artisans have to adapt to every single block that comes through.

[GW]: Exactly. No two pipes are the same. It goes for how a mouthpiece is fitted to the shank, and it's especially true when it comes to mounting.

[AW]: I imagine, yeah.

[GW]: Our silver sizes usually go in quarter-millimeter increments. That'll tell you the kind of variances and how small they can be. Every pipe is unique. We are a factory and we make factory pipes, but they're still made by hand. We just have more people in line hand-making them.

[AW]: Yeah, and with this being the 160th anniversary of Peterson, one other thing that I have observed is that there has been some modernization here and there, but for the most part, all the steps are kind of the same as they've been for 160 years.

[GW]: Yeah, the machines continue to get older. It's just like the people who are operating them that have changed. We just rotate in every 40 years or so. It's almost impossible to change these processes. It's a handmade product that continues to be made the same way.

[AW]: That's the tradition. That's the legacy.

[GW]: Exactly, yeah. That's the heritage.

[AW]: I really love this shape. I am really happy to see it reintroduced into the System line and the Deluxe System line.

It's Peterson's 160th anniversary, and to celebrate this, they've created and revived a new System shape: the 309 in the System Standard range and the 4S in the Deluxe System. Be sure to check them out now on-site and find your favorite today.