Brad Pohlmann has been a staple in American pipe making since he returned to the craft in 2003. He has a loyal following of collectors and continues to rank high on the "most desirable" lists among the newer generation of pipe smokers and enthusiasts. After working out of rustic shop in a rural area of southern Oregon for years, Brad's seen some new and exciting developments recently. And congratulations to Brad for recently winning "Best Pipe in Show" at the 2015 West Coast Pipe Show.

New Shop

Simply put, Brad moved his shop closer to civilization, just on the outskirts of Ashland. He still very much appreciates nature and is quite fond of his creek out back and local wildlife. But the move afforded Brad much needed space and an overall better location to continue perfecting his craft.

Where his old shop was just one big room, Brad says his new one is "compartmentalized into different stations and divided into five separate rooms." There's an area for storage and shipping, one for finishes, and a lathe room among others, but Brad had this to say about his blasting room:

"In the blasting room, I've got a bandsaw and an 80 gallon, 2-stage compressor set to 7.5 horses, which gives me more room to control the blast since I don't have to use such a high pressure. I can see what the wood's doing without taking away more material than I want to initially. Then I can always up the pressure if I'm working with a dense piece of briar. I also have the compressor and dust collection walled off, which is nice because, as you can imagine, it cuts down the noise by a lot."

In addition to the new space, Brad's also overhauling most of his equipment. He's replacing his old lathe, for starters: "I'm looking for something more substantial and rigid. It will open up new possibilities for longer designs and even magnum pipes. I'm also upgrading my tooling and putting in variable speed motors for shaping wheels. I've operated up until now with a very minimalist shop. With all of these changes, I hope to increase production."

New Shapes

We've already begun to see new designs coming from Pohlmann's workshop, like the Balloon for example. To give you a sense of direction, Brad explains that he's "trying to break out of the Danish influence and start exploring more modernist territory: sharper lines, more fluidity." He's also been working on scaling down some of his signature shapes, trying to retain their iconic balance and proportions, but with the end result being something noticeably lighter. The sandblasted bent Billiard recently featured on the site is a great example of this: it has plenty of chamber, but it's light and compact. Given the rise in the popularity of Virginia tobaccos, Brad suspects that a lot of customers will be looking for a smaller pipe for their VA flakes — something Pohlmann's keen on providing.

He tells us, "I tend to make pipes that I like, pieces that I, myself, would smoke. It gives me something of a bias, I suppose, because I don't make a lot of pipes that I wouldn't smoke. It's time to start opening that up to a wider range of tastes!"

Staining

In addition to his new digs and new shape direction, Pohlmann's also been experimenting with new finishes. In his sandblasts, he wants to keep tweaking things until he finds something really unique, without just simply resorting to something like Dunhill's "Shell" finish. On his contrast stains, Brad says, "My contrast stains continue to evolve. I want the same effect that a yellow top stain would yield (a bright, defined contrast), but with less of a yellow tinge — something closer to tannish, earthy tones." The Sandblasted Standing Bent Dublin featured in a recent update is a particular nice example of just the type of contrast Brad's been working on.

Accent Materials

When we think of Pohlmann's accent-work, Tamarind is likely the first to come to mind. That being said, Brad has made it clear that he's not limited to the hardwood. Like many of the Danish greats, he has a high appreciation for boxwood: "It's versatile, and it will color up some and develop a nice patina in the same way Ivory would." He's also expressed that he would like to work with more black palm, even despite its reputation as a difficult medium to work with. In addition to those accents, Brad's also been working with Steller's Sea Cow rib bone (featured in the photo above) in some of his pieces. Extinct since the 1700s and found near the Bering Sea, it's a unique medium that no other makers have employed.

Thoughts On Other Pipe Makers

Brad's always had a high appreciation for other pipe makers. In his own words, "I'm excited to start working with some of the newer generation of pipe makers and see what they can teach me!"

With this humility and appreciation in mind, we'd like to share some of Brad's thoughts on his fellow artisans:

"Ernie Markle is such a great guy, and he's making pipes that are unmistakably "Ernie." He really has his own identity, and marching to the beat of one's own drum is always a great thing in pipe making. His stem work is great, especially when he executes those large diameter saddle bits. And I love the level of enthusiasm shared by the other younger Americans like Scott Klein and Steve Liskey. I'm just excited for a unique American aesthetic to develop. It will be nice when we finally have a style that's uniquely American — although I don't know what that will be yet!"

"I like Tom Eltang quite a bit because you can see so much of his personality in his pipes. The same goes for Tonni — his pipes are all nice, but when something is really nice, it's not just that, it's a grand slam out of the park! Cornelius Manz is excellent. He nails the scaled-down and compact stuff in a way that's still well-designed — which actually prompted me to start considering a move towards the same. The Geigers are also doing some very innovative shaping."

We're excited to see where these new changes drive Brad in his pipe making career, and if his latest work is any indication, we can expect many more great things from this American artisan.