Deeply ingrained in the lore of pipe smoking and entrenched in the birthplace of the briar pipe is a fraternity whose members include the most influential, creative, and dedicated pipe smokers across the globe; These are people whose achievements and comportment profoundly support the pipe community. The Confrérie des Maîtres Pipiers de Saint-Claude (Brotherhood of Master Pipe Makers of Saint-Claude) recognizes these individuals and inducts them into their brotherhood amid much pomp and circumstance, in rituals rife with symbolism and reminiscent of Order of Knighthood ceremonies.

More than 1,500 ambassadors of the pipe have been inducted since the Brotherhood originated in 1966, including pipe makers, journalists, prominent public figures, collectors, and others dedicated to pipe smoking. Officers of the Brotherhood wear colorful robes similar in style to doctoral gowns at college graduations, and each step of the inductions is saturated with tradition and ritual.

As the ceremony proceeds, candidates undergo long biographical introductions delivered in the French language and a test of their smoking prowess. Each leaves a personal pipe with the Pipe and Diamond Museum of Saint-Claude, where the Brotherhood meets. Pipe making and diamond cutting have been primary industries in Saint-Claude.

Every member of the Brotherhood has left a personal pipe, generally chosen for its significance in their individual pipe-smoking journeys. When called to the dias, candidates are given a selection of new pipes to choose from, each stamped with the Confrérie's logo. That's the easy part, followed by the task of filling that pipe and lighting it with a sliver of wood. No lighters or matches. They light their pipes and smoke them in front of all the prominent members in the ceremonial chamber to demonstrate that they know what they're doing.

Then they are knighted. Not with a sword, but by tapping their shoulders with an oversized Billiard. They are also awarded sashes with medallions and certificates of membership. The ritualistic aspects of the ceremony lean into tradition and history. Some may think it all a little contrived, but no more so than Masonic rituals, Boy Scout ceremonies (the Order of the Arrow is impressively ritualistic), graduations, weddings, baptisms, bar mitzvahs, or any number of other important rites and observances that are integral to the social fabric of civilization. All of these occasions foster a sense of belonging and purpose. Rituals connect people to their beliefs and communities, acknowledging gratitude for the time spent together. Pipe smokers tend to resonate with tradition, and the Confrérie's induction ceremonies satisfy that appreciation.

The Most Recent Chapter, June 2025

The induction ceremony for 2025 took place during the 150th Chapter of the Confrérie, which coincided with the first Saint-Claude International Pipe Show. The fraternity originated in 1966, but each year hosts two or more chapters, one of which welcomes new members. Nine pipe smokers were inducted, including two from Smokingpipes: Josh Burgess, VP of Manufacturing, and Truett Smith, Pipe Manager. Josh was the Director of Peterson Pipes for two years before returning home to our South Carolina headquarters, where he remains heavily involved with Peterson alongside his other responsibilities. Truett, as Pipe Manager, coordinates with pipe artisans and manufacturers worldwide to ensure our website is well-stocked with the most comprehensive inventory of pipes available.

Rituals connect people to their beliefs and communities, acknowledging gratitude for the time spent together.

They double the number of Confréres from our ranks, joining CEO Sykes Wilford and VP of Retail Shane Ireland. Having four such acknowledged and distinguished pipe specialists on staff aptly demonstrates Smokingpipes' dedication to pipe expertise.

The language barrier made the ceremony more difficult. It's conducted entirely in French; Truett speaks a smattering of French and was able to understand the basics of what was going on, but Josh was lost beyond following the body language and progression of the ceremony. Still, they were both required to fill, light, and smoke their pipes under the watchful eyes of a chamber packed with experienced pipe smokers, and those circumstances could cause apprehension in anyone.

"Even though I suspected that the lighting of the pipe was more of a symbolic rite, as opposed to a litmus test that your induction was dependent on," says Truett, "it was still nerve-wracking."

That's understandable. Imagine filling a new pipe you've never smoked with tobacco you're unfamiliar with and lighting it with a spill of cedar rather than your usual lighter or matches.

"I was a bit nervous," says Josh. "Smoking the pipe under pressure, and then just being conscious of what an impressive group it was. Not just my class, but all the other members who were there."

they were both required to fill, light, and smoke their pipes under the watchful eyes of a chamber packed with experienced pipe smokers

"You find yourself thinking back to the basic techniques," says Josh. "You want to make your class proud and do it right. There were nine of us inducted. Not only was Truett there from the company, but we also had pipe makers. Pete Prevost was in the class, and Gabriele Dal Fiume. Sykes and Shane were in the audience, along with Tom Eltang and Antoine Grenard, both wearing their grand robes, and so many other notable people. So you're really on the spot when you step up there to choose your pipe and light it. My strategy was to get that pipe going, whatever it takes, get the pipe fired up, and look for voluminous smoke. So, I puffed like a freight train when it was my turn to light my pipe."

Truett was equally conscious of the solemnity of the occasion. "I don't know what the audience crowd size has been historically for other chapters, but it was definitely a full room this year because of how many people were there already for the pipe show, which isn't normally the case. This is the first year they've done the pipe show. Typically, there aren't as many people there for the Confrérie because it's only the people being inducted, but this year, there were people in Saint-Claude for the pipe show, and as many of them as could fit crammed into the room for the induction ceremony."

Unsure whether relighting was permitted, Truett benefited from the experience of others. "Thankfully, the person who went before me, the spill went out, and they had to relight the spill. That made me more comfortable: Oh, okay, I can relight the spill; it's not like a one-light situation. What I didn't factor in was that when we each selected a pipe from this display, it was going to be our Confrérie pipe, and it was sort of a ceremony. We hand over the pipe that we're donating to the museum as part of our induction, and then we receive a pipe from them that's stamped with the Confrérie. That's the pipe that we pack and light later in the ceremony, and it's brand new. You don't know how it performs or how it behaves.

So you're really on the spot when you step up there to choose your pipe and light it.

"Also, the tobacco that they had was a very broad cut, and the chamber on my pipe was bigger than I would normally smoke," says Truett. "Since I was thinking that this was just for ceremonial purposes, I didn't feel the need to fill the whole bowl, which proved to be a mistake. I filled it, I don't know, halfway, two-thirds of the way. Then, when I tried to light it with the spill, the flame struggled to reach the top of the tobacco. I think it worked out fine, but it definitely was not as smooth as I would've liked."

Since inductees leave a bit of themselves with the Confrérie in the form of a pipe from their own collections, each must make the decision of which pipe. Josh decided that the first pipe he ever bought would be most appropriate. "It was a Wessex bent Billiard that I had purchased as a college student with saved change from my change jar, back when we all carried cash. I had been dropping my change into that thing for a decade; I poured it out on my dorm room bed, counted it, and I had $60. I thought that should be enough to buy a pipe. So I went down to my local pipe shop and bought the Billiard. I had not smoked it in 15 years. I ended up with better pipes in my collection, but it was the one that got me started, and I was very sentimentally attached to it."

Josh found himself thinking about that experience during the ceremony. "At the time I bought that pipe, the most important thing in my life was what I might major in, but buying that pipe turned out to be a really, really important decision, because it set me on a career path that's been really good to me. So, leaving that pipe in Saint-Claude was a special gesture. When I thought about my collection, that was the one that made sense."

I didn't feel the need to fill the whole bowl, which proved to be a mistake.

Truett's thought process was similar, and he chose the first pipe he ever smoked. "It was a La Rocca, a little rusticated Dublin/Billiard thing. It was my dad's. My dad had only three or four pipes, and they were mainly for aesthetics. I never saw him smoke, but they had been smoked, and I enjoyed smelling the chambers as a kid because they were sweet and aromatic. When I turned 18, he gave me this La Rocca pipe, and we smoked together as sort of a father-son rite of passage type of thing. That's what kicked off my pipe-smoking journey. That was the only pipe I had for several years. It got me through all of the beginning stages of pipe smoking. I hadn't smoked it in 10 years, but I've always kept it and decided that it would be the perfect pipe for the Confrérie."

After the knighting of the inductees, photos are taken and conversations fill the room. "There's a giant book that has the names of every Confrérie member in it by chapter," says Truett, "and so we signed the book and left a little note or whatever, kind of like with a guest book. Then — and this isn't typical — we all walked from the Saint-Claude Museum of Pipes and Diamonds to the world's largest pipe. Saint-Claude has a pipe monument."

Imagine a pipe monument in your own town. It's nearly inconceivable. And the parade of pipe smokers, many in full gowned regalia, must have been an inspiring sight. "We walked to that statue, a giant bent Billiard, and took pictures," says Truett. "We took group shots there as well. All of the board members wore their robes, and everyone was smoking. Antoine told me that this was the first time that the townspeople had ever seen Confrérie members in their robes in public. Yes, that was not a typical occurrence, but it certainly turned a lot of heads. We got a decent number of horn honks in our direction."

That was the only pipe I had for several years. It got me through all of the beginning stages of pipe smoking

Saint-Claude incorporates many pipe features besides the world's largest pipe. As the birthplace of the briar pipe, it's appropriate. "Saint-Claude is a really interesting town," says Josh. "Pipes are celebrated. You not only have the world's largest pipe there, but you also have pipe topiaries — hedges cut in the shape of pipes. Some of them are in front of the cathedral. And there are medallions in the sidewalk that point the way to the pipe museum. You pass workshops like Genod as you walk around, and Chacom. It's just a place where you don't feel out of place smoking a pipe, because it's so much a part of Saint-Claude's identity. And so it's an interesting place for a pipe smoker to be. It feels a bit like going home; a bit like a pilgrimage. So it was special to be there."

Saint-Claude's first pipe show was a success. "It was very well attended," says Josh, "so I think it was a great show. It was very well organized. The exhibitors were all solid. You had artisan pipe makers, as well as some of the factories. We were there for Peterson, but it was a very well-done show and a lot of fun. I hope we get to do it again."

"It was a solid turnout," says Truett. "I know the dinner was about 270 people, so if you imagine that not everyone who attended the show went to the dinner, there were easily 300 people at the show, which was really impressive, especially for the space. It wasn't the largest space. It was maybe similar to the Muletown show in terms of show-floor space, and it was packed. There was a good energy, with a lot of options in terms of vendors, a good number of artisan pipe makers who traveled out of their way to attend, as well as factories and other hobbyists. Definitely a good turnout."

It's just a place where you don't feel out of place smoking a pipe, because it's so much a part of Saint-Claude's identity.

It was an exciting weekend, and we here at Smokingpipes are rightly jubilant that two more of our colleagues have been acknowledged for their dedication to and enjoyment of pipes and the myriad people who contribute to the pipe community. We commend Josh and Truett. Better representatives would be hard to imagine.