Pipes and Tobaccos 3

$7.
95US
Fall 2013
COVER STORY
Olie Sylvester’s
Monstrosities
Carving contest
results
Chacom, then
and now
Cassano Vida
Cassano Milano
NEW
HARDCASTLE’S 1908
NEW Made in England NEW
DESIGN BERLIN BARLING 1812
Midway Made in England
Pipe of the Year
Crescent
La Rocca Cognac
La Rocca Plum
California oranges on a sea breeze
MMXIII Tobacco of the Year
NEW
California Dream
Bright Virginias, black Cavendish and Burley tobaccos, matured under

warmth and high pressure, provide a unique bouquet reminiscent of the
aroma and taste of Californian oranges. This is a smoking experience that
will transport you to fragrant orange groves under the California sun.
Made in Germany by Planta Tabak Berlin

Imported by:
JAMES NORMAN Ltd.
218-A South Van Brunt St. / Englewood, NJ 07631
3+
jamesnorman@aol.com
Available in collector tins or in one-pound bulk
CONTENTS '"--t70- /0
12 Cup O’ Joes
What started as a simple coffee
shop has evolved over the years into
a remarkable tobacconist with an
impressive dedication to pipes (and
they still have great coffees).
18 KC contest
The Greater Kansas City carving
contest once again attracts a plethora
of interesting design concepts.
28 Preserving tradition
Chacom holds fast to the traditions
and designs it has followed for almost
200 years.
34 Monstrosities
Artist Olie Sylvester has invested
his multiple talents in the pipe
DPNNVOJUZ QSPWJEJOHOPUPOMZQJQF
related podcasts but some of the most
interesting pipes ever conceived.
44 Pipe smokers’ paradise

5IF1JQF1JOUJO(SFFOTCPSP /$
18 PGGFSTBXJEFTFMFDUJPOPGCFFST XJOFT
QJQFT QJQFUPCBDDPTBOEDJHBST
50 Associative tampers
"TJNQMFTNPLJOHUPPM BQJQFUBNQFS
has often been associated with other
activities.
60 Horace DeJarnett
Pipemaker Horace DeJarnett has
REGULAR FEATURES passed away.
4 EDITOR’S DESK
6 PIPE LINES $7.95US
PIPEFULS
16 PIPE STUFF Fall 2013
56 TRIAL BY FIRE
COVER STORY
ON THE COVER
62 EVENTS Olie Sylvester’s
Monstrosities
Olie Sylvester’s fertile mind gives birth

62 ADVERTISING INDEX to Monstrosities. (photo by Chuck Stanion)
63 PRIME RETAILERS Carving contest
results
Chacom, then
and now
64 PARTING SHOTS
2 3LSHVDQG7REDFFRVIDOO
EDITOR’S DESK
Grandpa and the game warden

One fall afternoon my brother and I were on the porch at our grandfather’s farm, play-
ing “Who Can Slap the Other’s Face Hardest,” when a pickup truck pulled into the long A quarterly magazine celebrating pipes of
dirt driveway and the 10 Tobys (all of Grandpa’s dogs were named Toby) went tearing all kinds and fine tobaccos
across the yard, baying and barking with big goofy dog grins on their faces. Their job
Editorial
was to make sure no one exited a vehicle on the farm without Grandpa’s approval. We’d Chuck Stanion Editor in chief
heard about the disappearances of visitors that Grandpa disapproved of, and my brother Stephen A. Ross Associate editor
suspected the Tobys of dragging them off through the hedgerows and then disposing of Amy Bissigner Copy/Design editor
Stephanie Banfield Copy editor
the vehicles in the swamp in the back acreage. I had doubts. The Tobys were certainly T.S. Donahue Copy editor
capable of driving automatics, but stick shifts seemed far-fetched, and that’s mainly what Advertising
folks drove in those parts. The Tobys most likely pushed extraneous automobiles into the Rich Perkins Sales manager
bottomless ravine behind the potato fields. Greg Cole Sales representative
Marrilyn Jackson Sales coordinator
The truck halted amidst the dogs and Grandpa appeared on the porch with a shotgun,
his ever-present Falcon pipe and two different pouches of tobacco. He had perfected dog Production
communication through smell. Granger tobacco meant “heel” and Half and Half meant Antoine Reid Production associate
Dan Kurtz Production associate
“kill and devour with prejudice.” Occasionally, Grandpa would mix the two just to watch
the dogs run in circles. He claimed that the one time he smoked Prince Albert it actually Marketing
motivated them to paint the barn. Kathryn Kyle Marketing manager
The man in the truck called out, “Hey, you wanna call off your dogs?”
Circulation
“I’m thinkin’ about it,” said Grandpa. The dogs looked at him expectantly while he Heather Brittingham Customer service
filled his pipe and applied a match. It must have been Granger because seconds later they
sauntered away from the truck and lined up on the porch. Administration
Phil Bowling Publisher/Editorial director
“I’m the game warden around here,” said the stranger, walking up the porch stairs. Dayton Matlick Chairman
“I’m investigating some reports of spotlighting.” Noel Morris CEO/Sales director
“What’s spotlighting?” asked my brother. I slapped him. He slapped me back. “Good Rhonda Combs Chief operating officer
Brandie Green Senior staff accountant
one,” I said. Beatriz Gutierrez Senior staff accountant
The stranger seemed perplexed but stayed on topic. “That’s when people shine bright Irene Joiner HR administrator/Office manager
lights at night to attract deer and shoot them,” he said.
HEADQUARTERS:
“Like the spotlight on Grandpa’s truck?” asked my brother, pointing toward the barn. Pipes and tobaccos
Grandpa glared at us. “Who’s winning,” he growled. I slapped my brother. He slapped 3101 Poplarwood Court, Suite 115
me back. “He is,” I said. Raleigh, NC 27604
Telephone: 919.872.5040
The game warden raised an eyebrow. “Yes, just like the spotlight on that truck over Fax: 919.876.6531
there between the barn and that gigantic pile of deer antlers and bones.” Email: chuck@pipesandtobaccosmagazine.com
Subscription email:
“You a smoking man?” asked Grandpa, holding out his two pouches of tobacco. subscribe@pipesandtobaccosmagazine.com
“Why, yes.” The stranger pulled a pipe from his shirt pocket and looked at the tobacco Website: www.pipesandtobaccosmagazine.com
choices. Grandpa seemed disappointed when he chose Granger. So did the Tobys. CIRCULATION:
“Come inside and we’ll talk,” said Grandpa. “You boys stay here.” Customer Service
919.872.5040 ext. 238
A few minutes later they came back out and the Tobys moved aside to open a path. or email
The game warden was carrying a large paper-covered packet from Grandpa’s freezer, a customerservice@pipesandtobaccosmagazine.com
tin of Granger tobacco and a jug of Grandpa’s beloved homemade elderberry wine. “It’s Pipes and tobaccos (USPS 015682) is published quarterly by
amazing that your dogs collect deer bones from all over the county and dump them there SpecComm International Inc., 3101 Poplarwood Court, Suite 115,
Raleigh, NC 27604. Subscriptions: $28 a year domestic; $48 a year
by the barn. Talented dogs.” international. Periodicals Class postage paid at Raleigh, N.C., and
“Yep,” said Grandpa. “I keep meaning to grind those bones and use them in the at additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2013 by SpecComm
International Inc. Pipes and tobaccos magazine is a trademark of
garden.” SpecComm International Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use
in whole or in part of the contents of this magazine without prior writ-
“Well, you should get around to it soon,” said the game warden, tossing the package of ten permission is prohibited. Pipes and tobaccos makes every effort to
venison onto the passenger seat as he climbed into his truck. “It’ll help keep pests away.” ensure the accuracy of content published. Neither the publisher nor the
advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found herein, and the
He drove off. publisher accepts no liability for the accuracy of the statements made
“He seemed nice,” said my brother. I slapped him. He slapped me back. I slapped him by advertisers in advertising and promotional materials. The opinions
expressed by contributing editors are not necessarily those of the
again and quickly moved away. publisher. The information included and items promoted in this
magazine are intended for an adult audience. For subscription infor-
“Government men,” said Grandpa, relighting his pipe. “You just gotta know how to mation: Write to address below or call 919.872.5040.
communicate with ’em.”
Postmaster: Send Form 3579 with address changes to Pipes and
tobaccos, 3101 Poplarwood Court, Suite 115, Raleigh, NC 27604.
Printed in the USA.
4 3LSHVDQG7REDFFRV)$//
3LSHOLQHV
P&T Readers
RESPOND
Briar trade appreciation Great issue is yet another—it’s never too late to
Many thanks to Ben Rapaport for the I’ve been a subscriber for several change your life for the better.
great article “The briar trade” in the years now, and I think the Summer Nathan King’s story about going
Summer 2013 issue. What a super con- 2013 issue has been the best one I from the world of racing to pipemak-
tribution to our knowledge of the ori- have received so far. There was a little ing was very interesting—talk about
gins and early days of the hobby that so bit of everything in it. a change of pace! And Ben Rapaport’s
many of us love. There was some humor (you think article was as entertaining as every
I’ve written several local histories, North Carolina grizzly bears are bad, other story he writes.
so I am reasonably familiar with the you ought to encounter Louisiana’s I always enjoy reading P&T but
demands and often the drudgery of version, yikes!). There were some the last issue was one of my favorites.
doing research. Rapaport has done a inspiring stories as well. Joe Skoda Keep up the great work!
wonderful job in a field that is rarely overcoming injuries from his car
explored. I hope there is more to come. accident to become a great pipemaker Nick Spencer
is one. Peter Heding following his Denham Springs, Louisiana
Tom Comstock heart and trading a promising medi-
Sacramento, California cal research career for pipemaking
Mastro Beraldi
Created by father and son in Rome, Italy, each Mastro Beraldi pipe is a unique, hand
made creation. Even the adornments and extensions are fabricated in their workshop,
Distributed by
R.D. Field
Importer of Fine Briar Pipes
Available at finer pipe shops
allowing them to produce singular compositions that are also modestly priced. www.rdfield.com
6 3LSHVDQG7REDFFRV)DOO
D É JÀ B L E N D
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OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER, AND BIRTH DEFECTS, OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM
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Sorry for having missed the last issue Royal Cajun Black. He wanted to Sr. Caballero, that it has passed on
of P&T, but I decided to write on mention it out of the thousands with the House of Windsor. Mr.
things best not written about, and of blends available as his current Caballero’s last tin was obtained at
consequently, by mutual agreement favorite, and I would concur as to the estate sale of his good friend,
and in the interests of all, we moved its excellence. Someone introduced the esteemed Tom Dunn. House of
briskly on to this issue with another me last year to the Blakeney’s Best Windsor recipes, I understand, are
topic. Our esteemed editor in chief series from McClelland, and I can now owned by a cigar company, and
requested for me that you, dear read- also attest to their excellence. They one can never tell, but they may resur-
ers, make nominations to the Dead have certain gustatory similarities to face some day. However, there are
Tobacco Society, or at least mention Cajun. But I digress. many companies making their own
ones that are not the same as they An email from Alberto Cabal- versions of these old-time blends,
once were. lero of New Jersey nominated Briggs among them Cornell & Diehl. In the
I received only a few responses, so Pipe Mixture, hoping that it was still Sutliff Private Stock series, BRG is
clearly this was not a hot topic in pipe alive. He first smoked it in his native their version of Briggs. I have to say
tobacco discussions, and one was Puerto Rico at age 19, and he is now that, having tried many copies of the
another note of encouragement from past his 80th birthday. An early intro- House of Windsor blends, the copies
Dave Chappell, who nominated a duction to Briggs seems to have salu- bear little resemblance to the origi-
blend very much alive—McClelland’s tary effects. I regret to inform you, nals, some of which migrated from
their origins over time under House more complicated. As well, back in flavoring, in tinning or bulk, and the
of Windsor tutelage themselves. I the day, Virginias were pretty much list can go on.
must add that a few are actually bet- from Virginia, but now there are I also feel the need to talk a bit
ter as blends on their own rather some fine ones from Brazil and some about what one might call resur-
than accurate copies. like straw from Africa, though I find rected blends. Escudo went away and
This brings up a point on departed that Samuel Gawith has held up quite came back, and has quite a following.
blends: Can they ever be brought well. Burley from Africa has been It is a very fine blend, and still comes
back the same? Well, if one consid- fairly good in my experience, though in the unique form it always did, so
ers the many factors that go into the perhaps not like the U.S. Burley belt, the machinery, if not the same, is
blend, then clearly the answer is no. and the worst Burley I have had was faithfully reproduced. Does it taste
This is even true of blends currently from Mexico. Is there a pattern here? the same to me? Not at all. Is it good?
in production but punted around to I think just in knowing what to buy Yes. However, I can vividly recall my
different manufacturers. Please note and accepting nothing less. The dap- first tin of Escudo. It was a late spring
that I am going to write quite a few pled red Virginia of old, the favorite day, and I was out on a walk from my
heretical things, and if you want of the British buyers, had a weight job in Center City Philadelphia for
to move on through this section to and richness to it that was unparal- lunch, having stopped by Holt’s and
the next to avoid possible agitation leled. To make up for that, a smidge picked up a tin of Escudo. I rubbed
of your liver, please do. I don’t get of Burley is now sometimes added to out a couple of “coins,” stuffed a bin
a lot of mail from this column, but old blends. I have mentioned Bur- pipe and fired it up. After the char-
the point of it was an exchange of ley showing up in some of the cur- ring light, the next light brought such
ideas with the dignified readership rently Teutonic Rattray’s blends. This an overwhelming wave of delicate,
of P&T, and I would rather not have makes them different, but not bad complex, rich and unique flavor that
it turn into a forum proposing to by a long stretch. Two of my all-time I stopped in my tracks. I just stood
bring back the rack on me. So, buy- favorites are Red Rapparee and Black there immobile for a few minutes,
ing the same leaf, for instance, is dif- Mallory, constantly in production then sat on the nearest brownstone
ficult enough from season to season over the years, and I still enjoy them steps and finished the bowl. I never
at the auctions. When one considers very much and always have them on even had lunch that day and didn’t
that the relationships with growers hand. Are they the same as when I care. In fact, all I was thinking about
dissolve with mergers and acquisi- first picked up a pipe? No. Then there was how I had managed to miss
tions, in many cases, it becomes even are the differences in processing, in Escudo until that moment, having
TM
Call 1-800-251-3016 to ﬁnd a White Spot retailer near you.
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3LSHVDQG7REDFFRV)$// 9
tried tins of just about everything. the thing itself. And coming from indigo label, a rich Burley base, full
The current version of Escudo, while Mac Baren, it will always be exactly Latakia and Virginia leaf to sweeten.
very fine, is not capable of stopping the same as they excel in fidelity, This is one of my all-time favorites,
me in my tracks. It is quite possible even overcoming crop variations to and Mr. Stewart has prompted me
that I am more jaded, or my tastes are an outstanding degree. Interestingly, to visit Holt’s to see if there are any
blunted by age, but I still remember their recent Old Dark Fired surpasses vestigial containers around. There
the irreproducible experience. Three Nuns and the yellow Capstan were also the other Tint blends, and I
Recently, Three Nuns and yellow (to me), so they have made a new believe 105 was the classic, Turkish-
and blue label Capstan have been love for an old puffer without delving rich, English blend I was so fond of
reintroduced. The Three Nuns I into the blending past. in the mid- to late 1970s. I second his
remember had Perique, and that was I received a letter from Mark nominations.
changed way back when, so the cur- Stewart, a fellow Philadelphian, and My list is, perhaps, a bit stranger.
rent version does not mention any he nominated Punch Bowl from My tastes over the years have drifted
Perique. My hat is off to Mac Baren, Arnold’s on Broadway in New York from aromatics to English and Bal-
who is manufacturing it today, for City (which might be Bowle, but it kan blends to flakes, both Burley
making it just about exactly as I was a long time ago for me) and Bur- and Virginia. With the more recent
remember it. The post-Perique ver- lington Arcade from Harry Tint’s wonderful Cornell & Diehl Burley
sion was not a favorite then, and it is on South Broad Street. I frequented flakes, and the astounding variety of
the same today, but a very nice blend Tint’s, and am more than familiar fine Virginia flakes from McClelland,
it is. What was more startling to me with Burlington Arcade. Holt’s Tobac- along with the classics from Samuel
was popping the blue tin of Capstan, conist (now Cigars) bought out Tint, Gawith and Rattray, I do not dress
which I did rather like, and getting and the blend was available there, in black and pass my time in smoke-
exactly, and I mean exactly, the same though they no longer have it listed abstemious mourning. I am satisfied.
tin aroma from decades ago—figgy on their website. The last production But there were a few blends whose
and grassy pleasantness. I recalled was actually from House of Windsor passing I regret and feel should
that I preferred one color over the (there is a strange theme here), and be remembered, if in name only
other of Capstan, though not which, I understood there was a disagree- and no longer taste. Do any of you
and so it is today, blue over yellow. ment as to who owned the blend at remember these?
It is a remarkably faithful, well, I one point. As it happened, I have My absolute favorite blend is John
can’t say reproduction, because it is two full containers of it behind the Cotton Smyrna. It was the most
3LSHVDQG7REDFFRV)$//
magnificent and complex English I the absence of Syrian Latakia: Baalbek is Gallaher’s Rich Dark Honeydew
can recall. I still have a small amount (my best shot at the perfect English) flake. Exceedingly dark, but not
that I am saving for a truly dreadful and the original Longevity (a dual black, this was cool, strong and an
day when the burdens of life exceed Latakia Balkan), each of which I have, anytime smoke. I have no idea what
my strength and a page is regret- but I fear are no longer themselves the room note was but don’t care.
fully turned to a new chapter. There as Syrian Latakia tends to fade away There are other Gallaher’s, but not
was an aromatic (of all things) from over time. Then there is Edgeworth, like this. There are other honeydews,
Amphora called Cesare Borgia that both the flake and the ready-rubbed. certainly unlike this (no consensus
came in a beautiful tin. It was the I have a couple of tins of the flake, existing on what a honeydew is). It
usual Amphora description of Burley, dense and chocolaty goodness. And was unique.
Virginia and Orientals (telling one the kindhearted Joshua Keirn found Well, I could go on with my lost
nothing much), and it was flavored an unopened tin of the ready-rubbed loves. I will again ask you to share a
with vanilla, chocolate and raspber- as fresh as the day it was sealed, few with the rest of us. It is cathar-
ries. It actually tasted like tobacco which we split. It was quite a find, sit- tic. As well, in considering the topic,
but had an exceptional room note. I ting unappreciated on a tobacconist’s other streams of thought occurred
may be the only person who misses it. shelf. Perhaps still available in the to me for future columns. The next
There was the blend Yaka Ova, avail- EU but no longer here, Orlik’s Dark will be on the perennial topic: What
able in bulk from the now-defunct Strong Kentucky was another favorite do you smoke when you can’t decide
Philadelphia Tobacco Shop. It was of mine. It was a flake, but in a prepa- what to smoke? I know some always
the richest, even heaviest blend I have ration I have never seen before or smoke the same thing, but I don’t,
ever tried—a true Balkan. I recall after. There were strata in the flakes, and I am faced with having to make
lighting up after a dinner when one which were quite short, so that very an excellent choice to fill a special
could smoke in restaurants, and while dark layers sandwiched a pale layer moment when the usuals don’t seem
walking out I glanced back to see in the middle. It was somewhat sweet right. What do you do? A related
glassy-eyed people and a few keeled in a dark, molasses way, but a deep topic: What are your regulars and
over along my way. Sumptuous. And blend without high notes. Definitely why? Please write to the magazine to
I smoked Ben Wades back then, too. a contemplative formulation, its con- my attention or email me at wserad@
Think of the cloud. I would nomi- stellation occupied a unique place pipesandtobaccosmagazine.com. Your
nate two of my own blends, made by in my tobacco firmament. And right thoughts, feedback and topics for dis-
Cornell & Diehl no longer because of up there with John Cotton Smyrna cussion are always welcomed. P&T
Kjeld Sorensen A NEW

GREAT DANE
With 20 years of pipe-making
experience, including an
apprenticeship with Tom Eltang,
Kjeld Sorensen integrates his
knowledge of the Japanese aesthetic
with his mastery of the home-grown
Danish style, creating a fresh and
lively look and feel to his high
quality hand crafted Red Hat briars.
Distributed by
R.D. Field
Importer of Fine Briar Pipes
Available at finer pipe shops
www.rdfield.com
Cup O’ Joes
Spectacular ambiance is just part
of this shop’s success
Twenty years ago, Kathleen Kelly was having a tough time finding
work. She’d just moved to Lake George, N.Y. Her love for the area was
almost genetic—her parents had honeymooned in Lake George, and
it was a favorite destination for family vacations when she was a child.
Now, Kelly was back and needed a job, but work was scarce.
Since she couldn’t find work, and because she’s not the sort of
person who is content to let circumstances decide things for her, she
determined to make a job of her own. “I loved coffee,” she says, “and
there was no coffee place in Lake George, so I decided to take a chance
and open a coffee shop.”
She had never run a business before and she discovered there was
a steep learning curve, but she found support from other businesses.
“I made friends with a lot of other store owners in Lake George, and
they were very helpful.” The business evolved pretty quickly, though. It
didn’t take long for her to branch out from coffee and cappuccino to add
premium tobacco. “That was during the cigar boom in the early 1990s.
A good friend was a cigar smoker, and he used to visit and try to find
places to buy cigars. It’s a big tourist area, and people would often ask
where they could find cigars. So, after being asked so often, we decided
to bring cigars in. We had a cabinet humidor.” It was famously difficult
for shops to maintain high-demand cigars during that boom—demand
far exceeded supply. So around the second year, to provide more choices
for tobacco enthusiasts, Kelly began stocking pipes. It was just Stanwells
at first, but she soon expanded into other lines, including Dunhill, for
which the shop would later become famous.
When pipes became part of the business, the workload increased
exponentially and staff was added to accommodate online demand.
EBay was the beginning of the shop’s online presence, but soon a
dedicated website was built. Cupojoes.com has become a standard in
the industry. “It branched from eBay,” says Kelly, “and our focus has
always been pipes and tobacco accessories.” The site promotes some
cigars, but pipes are the highlight of the shop’s Web presence.
Buying a pipe online often presents the buyer with a dilemma: how
to judge a pipe without holding it and seeing it in person. That, in
turn, generates challenges for the site’s owner. “Some people want to
hold a pipe and even look in a mirror with it to see what it looks like,”
says Kelly. “We encourage people to call us and let us know what pipe
they may be interested in. What we do is obviously permit returns if
anyone is unhappy with a purchase, but we also provide additional
photos from different angles when they’re requested. We do the pipe
cleaner test over the phone to reassure the client. We get to know our
customers. We have one customer who is concerned with the weight
of a pipe, so we weigh pipes for him. We encourage questions.” The
key is dedicated customer service, which promotes comfort and trust
and repeat business. A large inventory and fast, same-day or next-day
S
shipping also helps keep the website busy.

“In the early days we would close mid-
October and open again in April,” says
Kelly. “That’s one of the reasons it was great
to have the website, to continue to do busi-
ness off-season. Then we opened Queens-
bury Cigar and Pipe, which was located
about 10 minutes from here. So we had
Cup O’ Joes in the summer months, for the
tourist trade, and Queensbury year round.”
About eight years ago they moved Cup O’
Joes out of Lake George and into a shop-
ping plaza just a minute down the road
from its current location on State Route 9.
Now, though, the two are combined in a
new location, while the old store will be
transitioned into a hookah lounge.
Queensbury Cigar and Pipe, featur-
ing the Cup O’ Joes coffee lounge, is in a
freestanding building with an Adiron-
dack atmosphere. High ceilings and win-
dows on all sides give it an open feeling
few other shops can boast. The smok-
ing lounge area is 1,100 square feet with
a fieldstone fireplace. Across from the
fireplace is the coffee bar, featuring a
one-piece, 18-foot-long, L-shaped black
concrete bar top.
Down the center of the store runs a
semi-enclosed hallway sided by inter-
nally lit pipe displays holding hundreds of
pipes. On the other side of that is the main
At top, builder Brian Donovan and own-

er Kathleen Kelly discuss the tribulations
of bringing the shop’s design to real-
ity. Top right: The Dunhill Retailer of the
Year awards on display. Bottom: Kelly
and assistant manager Melissa Roberts.
On opposite page: The launch party
attendees pose for a photo opportunity.
(photo by Becki Morrison)
showroom, along with the 400-square-
foot walk-in humidor. Wood covers every
wall and giant beams traverse the spaces
overhead. A spacious deck opens the out-
side to comfortable use in warm weather.
The incredibly opulent and comfort-
able shop was completed just last spring
by builder Brian Donovan, who worked
closely with Kelly to remodel the building
© Becki Morrison
into something smokers would hate to
leave. “It was a collaboration,” says Kelly.
“We kept modifying the original ideas
and problem-solving issues that came up.”
The project took six months, including
demolition and building, and Donovan
used no subcontractors, completing the first Thursday of every month. Special Cup O’ Joes/Queensbury Cigar and
entire project with his own team. “The events are also welcome. Luigi Viprati has Pipe truly has everything to help any pipe
electrical and finish work were the tough- been there with his pipes; Arron Sissom of smoker achieve contentment: mascu-
est parts,” says Donovan, “though getting Music City Marketing visited with a large line, comfortable surroundings; friendly,
that bar in here and properly supported inventory of Dunhill pipes; Marco Para- attentive, knowledgeable staff; compre-
was interesting, too.” scenzo, U.S. distributor for Castello pipes, hensive inventory; rich, fresh roasted
The grand opening was last May and has presented his wares to the clientele; coffees; and an open invitation to relax,
was covered by radio and tourist maga- Peder Jeppesen, maker of Neerup pipes, smoke and enjoy the company of inter-
zines. Of course there was food, music, has visited; and the list continues to grow. esting people. This new incarnation of a
wine, coffee and fine tobacco in abundance. Especially important to the shop are long-established, professional tobacconist
Such a large space invites special Dunhill pipes, which represent a sort of is well worth visiting. P&T
events. Since it is among the few estab- specialization. Twice, in both 2005 and
lishments that can permit smoking, it’s 2006, having sold more Dunhill pipes and
popular with anyone who wants a func- accessories than any other U.S. retailer, Contact information:
tion where those who enjoy tobacco can Cup O’ Joes was awarded the Dunhill Pipe Cup O’ Joes
do so. Birthday and bachelor parties, Retailer of the Year award. 959 State Route 9
wine tastings, Scotch tastings and various The awards themselves are spectacu- Queensbury, NY 12804
club meetings have been held there, but lar presentations: gold-plated Dunhill 888.689.6876
most events are specific to tobacco. The pipes on briar bases, currently on display www.cupojoes.com
Adirondack Pipe Club meets there on the in the showroom.
PIPE stuff
Vauen pipes
Established in 1848, Vauen pipes have
been known for quality and craftsman-
ship for more than 160 years. Each pipe
made at Vauen’s factory in Nuremburg,
Germany, is the result of nearly two
centuries of pipemaking excellence and
undergoes 60 processes before receiving
its final approval.
Vauen pipes are available at fine pipe
and tobacco retailers nationwide. To
locate your nearest Vauen dealer, con-
tact its North American distributor, F&K
Cigar Co. at 314.423.1968; email: gezvan@
fkcigar.com; website: www.fkcigar.com.
Dokha and Medwakh tobacco

Dokha is a traditional Arabic tobacco that has been smoked in
the Middle East for more than 500 years. Some Dokha blends,
especially those from Turkey and Iran, are mixed with leaves
and bark and are available in a variety of strengths and flavors.
Unlike hookah tobacco, Dokha is not cured with molasses or
honey, and it contains very high nicotine levels.
Nirvana and the Medwakh.com Premium Dokha kits con-
tain a 15-gram bottle of Dokha tobacco, one premium Medwakh
pipe and a pack of pipe filters. Just dip the pipe into the bowl and
pack it full. Tamp it and light up to enjoy the strength and flavor
of Dokha tobacco.
To find the closest Dokha tobacco dealer, contact Gaia Trading
Co. at 512.443.1270; email: info@gaiatrading.com.
Lane bulk blends available again

Five popular Lane bulk blends are available for the first time in
five years: Hazelnut, Black Raspberry, HG-2000, LL7 and HGL.
The blends have been brought back due to repeated requests
from wholesalers, tobacconists and consumers. All five blends
are former best-sellers and are manufactured at STG Lane’s facil-
ity in Tucker, Ga.
One of the blends, HGL, stands for Herman G. Lane,
Lane Ltd.’s founder. According to company lore, Herman’s
personal everyday smoke at the old factory in Manhattan was an
extremely strong Latakia blend, the aroma of which would over-
power anyone in his office. Herman created HGL so he could
have the Latakia he desired but still provide a pleasant room note
for those around him.
Lane’s pipe tobaccos are available nationwide. Find your clos-
est Lane dealer by contacting Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane
at 800.241.2038; website: www.stglanepipe.com.
Amorelli pipes
The Pen of St. Michael design is based on a Sicilian leg-
end in which St. Michael pursues Lucifer over heaven
and earth until Lucifer jumps into Mt. Etna and cre-
ates hell. The carving on the Pen of St. Michael bowl
exterior is performed by laser. Fertility pipes feature
hand-carved agricultural motifs on the bowl.
The name for each finish or grade on an Amorelli
pipe is inspired by something special pertaining to
Sicily. Every Amorelli pipe is also stamped with a tri-
angle, the ancient symbol of Sicily. The three points on
the triangle represent the island’s three capes.
All smooth Amorelli pipes are unstained and do
not have an interior bowl coating, and each Amorelli
pipe is fitted with a Delrin tenon, making it impossible
to break the tenon.
To order Amorelli pipes, contact R.D. Field at 4400
Organ Mesa Loop, Las Cruces, NM 88011; phone:
575.526.6132; website: www.rdfield.com.
Captain Black Dark

STG Lane has introduced Captain Black Dark pipe tobacco, the first new Captain
Black blend in more than a decade. The blend is 100 percent pure black Cavendish,
created using Lane founder Herman G. Lane’s proprietary steaming process.
Visually, the blend lives up to its name—an extremely dark Cavendish in a ribbon
cut. Infused with hints of vanilla, the blend maintains the legacy of Captain Black’s
famous room note. Captain Black Dark is available in 1.5 oz. pouches and is avail-
able nationwide. To find your closest Captain Black Dark seller, contact STG Lane at
800.241.2038; website: www.stglanepipe.com.
2014 Smokin’ Girls of Burlesque

Calendar: Pipe Edition
A calendar that features Minneapolis-based bur-
lesque performers posing with some wonderful pipes
is now available. Many of the pipes are from Minne-
apolis pipe collectors and have a history and charm
all their own. A pipe collector teamed up with a pro-
fessional photographer that specializes in pin-up and
burlesque models to produce the 12-inch by 12-inch
2014 calendar. Each shot tells a story all its own,
and the calendar features information about each
performer, a write-up of each pipe and important
dates in history for both burlesque and pipe history.
The calendars are available for purchase online at
www.smokingirlsofburlesque.com. The price is $24.95,
which includes shipping and handling.
KC contest The Greater Kansas City carving contest once again attracts phenomenal designs
The annual North American Pipe-carving Pease, a collector of pipes for many years creative variants presented. Overall, the
Contest, held at the Kansas City pipe show and the man behind the famously popu- quality of the pipes was quite high, and for
each year, has proven to be popular and lar G.L. Pease Ltd. pipe tobacco blends; the most part, they exhibited adherence to
groundbreaking. Dozens of carvers enter Tad Gage, known to P&T readers as an the theme, which provided a big sandbox
every year and seven pipes are chosen insightful reviewer of tobaccos but also for playful exploration.
for the final winning set, which is always well-known for decades in the hobby as a I was a bit surprised by how few
beautifully presented in its own special premier collector of Barling pipes, among expressed the definitive “catalog” Dub-
display case designed by Anthony Harris. others; and George Dibos, legendary in lin, one of the oldest shapes in the history
The set is raffled and the proceeds go to his knowledge of pipes and a pipe repairer of the briar, but equally delighted by the
the carvers. of extraordinary skill, seeing what goes creativity brought to bear in riffing on the
What everyone looks forward to is the wrong with thousands of pipes through his basic form, the variations often being more
variety of design. A basic shape is chosen business, Precision Smoking Pipe Rejuve- fascinating than the theme itself. Some of
each year, and pipemakers showcase their nation & Repair in Kansas City. the makers showed great fluidity in their
interpretive and technical creativity to pro- As always, the judges spent hours dis- thinking about the abstraction of “Dublin”
duce stunning pipes within the basic shape cussing the pipes, examining the nuances as a shape concept, rather than as a con-
requirements. As you can see from the of design and the technical acumen with crete, formal definition, and, especially to
photos of all the entries, North American which they were constructed. It’s a pains- the winners, I say, “Well done!”
pipemakers are pushing the boundaries of taking and detail-oriented process. The Had there been more classic examples,
creative interpretation to produce some of judges have kindly submitted their own the judging would have been a much dif-
the most beautiful pipes anywhere. comments regarding this year’s pipes: ferent and probably more difficult task.
This year’s winning carvers were Matt Gregory Pease: Once again, it was an Presented with a dozen excellent examples
Brannon, Premal Chheda, Jerry Crawford, honor and a privilege to join with George of a traditional shape, how do you judge the
Micah Cryder, Adam Davidson, David and Tad in judging the fourth-annual best ones, other than by evaluating the care
Huber and Maigurs Knets, with honor- contest. The theme, the Dublin family, and creativity exhibited in their execution?
able mentions going to Wayne Teipen and opened the door for creative interpretation One thing these contests have exhibited is
Thomas Richards. and improvisation on a traditional shape just how much skill and creativity there is
The judges were again this year Gregory class, and there were certainly some very amongst the new generation of pipemakers.
George Dibos Gregory Pease Tad Gage

The open forum of the Internet has pro-
vided a convenient channel for discussion
of tools and techniques, of aesthetics and
mechanics, of what makes a superior pipe,
and a lot of new makers are clearly pay-
ing attention, fast-tracking a journey that,
without this medium of wide-reaching
and instant visual and verbal exchange,
once took many more years. Some of these
new makers are challenging the veterans
head-on, raising the standards by which
quality is judged. That, ultimately, is good
for the entire hobby.
Pipemaking is something of a cottage
industry, and the doors are still wide open
for those with the passion, artistry and drive
to develop the skills necessary to express
their vision. It’s an exciting time to be a pipe
smoker. I’ve been invited back to participate
in next year’s judging as well, and I’m very
much looking forward to it. I’d love to see
more of the more established makers rise
to the challenge, doing their best to show The seven winning pipes
the upstarts what they’ve got and helping
to make future contests even more exciting. pretations of the Dublin shape this year, consideration and appreciation. While
Tad Gage: It was once again a privilege, and we identified a few forms we felt were we agreed all pipes entered qualified as
and a challenge, to judge the American truly unique in our experience. It’s the kind Dublins, in many examples our decisions
pipemaker’s contest. It was exciting to of “outside the box” thinking that has led pivoted on aesthetics. That is, we could
see many first-time entrants, with many to new standards such as the ballerina, see the direction a pipemaker was taking a
strong submissions. As judges, we worked elephant’s foot, blowfish and volcano— concept, and we needed to determine how
very hard to avoid any effort to identify the shapes commonly recognized today but successfully the proportions or balance or
maker, focusing on the entries’ designs, virtually unknown a couple of decades ago. other factors achieved that purpose.
appearance and quality of construction. We also saw some classic Dublin shapes, For many pipes that made the grade
There were some extraordinary inter- and all interpretations received equal aesthetically, the ultimate criteria, as in past
3LSHVDQG7REDFFRVIDOO 19
Jerry Crawford
Crawford Pipes
www.crawfordpipes.com
David Huber
DSH Pipes
www.dshpipes.com
Premal Chheda
Smokers’ Haven
www.smokershaven.com
3LSHVDQG7REDFFRVIDOO
Maigurs Knets
Maigurs Knets Pipes
www.maigursknetspipes.com
Matt Brannon
McGimpsey Pipes
www.mcgimpseypipes.com
Micah Cryder
Yeti Pipe
yetipipe.tumblr.com
Adam Davidson
Adam Davidson-Design
adamdavidson-design.com
Wayne Teipen
Teipen Handmade Briar Pipes
Honorable mention www.teipenpipes.com
contests, hinged on execution. To choose submissions and wonder why a particularly ing to be seen by some of North America’s
only seven from so many pipes, we were pleasing design didn’t make the seven- best-known carvers primarily as a proving
challenged to be minutely discriminating day set or win an honorable mention, it’s ground for new talent. In general, this is a
about construction. In several instances, possibly due to an engineering issue visible good thing, as winning is definitely a fast
we shared our disappointment that a well- only through careful personal inspection of track to recognition for newcomers and
conceived and beautifully designed pipe the pipe. less well-known names—and raising the
unfortunately demonstrated execution George Dibos: With the completion of profile of North American pipemakers is
flaws. Generally, the engineering of draft the fourth-annual GKCPC carving contest, the fundamental purpose of the contest—
holes (perpendicular to the bowl, drilled trends are starting to emerge. but there is an inherent danger to them
close to the bottom of the tobacco chamber What is becoming most apparent is that completely surrendering the battlefield. A
and allowing easy pass-through of a pipe a contest situation brings out a person’s high standard to measure the newcomers
cleaner) and overall bowl drilling were desire to push both personal and industry against will always be necessary.
spot on. Some of the contestants may have boundaries in a “go big or go home” sort of As for the 2013 contest itself, there were
been amateurs or part-timers, but these way. This isn’t a problem with regard to the 44 entries, and the overall quality was high.
pipes were no hobbyist’s dabbling—they quality of the winners, but does result in I expected to see more subtle variations on
were enormously impressive. Some very the shape (or shape group) concept being the Dublin theme than was the rule, and at
attractive pipes, however, had flaws like somewhat less of an “apples to apples” least a few masterfully executed dead-on
off-center or angled shanks. Other flaws, contest than originally intended. Future classics, but that’s probably more a combi-
such as an unevenly turned bit or a less- contests will probably see themes that are nation of me projecting my own preference,
than-seamless bit-shank fit, could have more design-related as a result. Cavaliers, and the generation (or two!) gap between
been fixed had the pipemaker invested for example. Or sitters. Another possibil- me and many of the carvers than anything
more time. It’s a reminder that although an ity could be the required incorporation of else. (I don’t know the average entrant’s age,
aesthetically pleasing pipe is critical, execu- a particular material such as bamboo or but many of them are still in their 20s.) That
tion and engineering are equally impor- precious metal. said, it is also true that making a contest-
tant. The fact that the flaws we found were In a perfect world, I would love to see competitive “shape chart” pipe is technically
relatively minor and required determined a “specialty” contest for a specific, well- unforgiving in the extreme, and is probably
investigation to identify highlights one known, classic shape such as a billiard or avoided by some carvers for that reason.
of the downsides of buying pipes based prince. Administering such a contest would The most exciting thing I took away
on photos only. The scrutiny given pipes be difficult, though, because it is possible to from the contest this year was plotting
at this level of competition is intense. We find conflicting definitions for such shapes, points on an imaginary graph to see how
found it extremely important that pipe- and challenges to a winning pipe’s “correct- good many of these North American
makers ensure their creations’ engineering ness” after the fact would send events in an carvers could someday become, and the
receives the same attention as the design undesired direction. upward slope was steep indeed. Next year
and finishing. So, as you peruse the contest Another trend is that the contest is start- should be amazing. P&T
Thomas Richards
Thomas James Pipes
Honorable mention www.thomasjamespipes.com
Ryan Alden Kris Edwin Barber Grant Batson

Alden Pipes Edwin Pipes G. Batson Pipes
www.aldenpipes.coms edwinpipes.com www.gbatsonpipes.com
Nicholas Burnsworth Daniel Chlebove Jared Coles

Boulder & Briar Gabrieli Pipes J&J Pipes
www.facebook.com/boulderbriar www.gabrielipipes.com sales@jnjpipes.com
Russ Cook Rad Davis Tony Fillenwarth
Russ Cook Pipes Rad Davis Handmade Pipes Fillenwarth Pipes
www.pipesbyrusscook.com www.raddavispipes.com www.fillenwarthpipes.com
Bob Gilbert Eli Goodell Anthony Harris

Bob Gilbert Pipes egcoatings@gmail.com Acme Pipes
staffwalker@yahoo.com www.acmepipes.com
Jesse Jones Nathan King Eric Klodt

Jesse Jones Pipes Nate King Pipes ebklodt@comcast.net
jonespipes.com www.natekingpipes.com
Don Marshall Dru Melpolder Chris Morgan

D. Marshall Handcrafted Smoking Pipes Dead Guy Pipes Morgan Pipes Inc.
www.dmarshallpipes.com www.deadguypipes.com www.morganpipes.com
Dave Neeb Tonni Nielsen Steve Norse
Mkelaw Pipes—Pipes by Dave Neeb Vermont Freehand
www.mkelaw-pipes.com stevenorse@gmail.com
Scottie Piersel Gunnar Weber Prada Will Purdy

Piersel Pipes Totem Star Will Purdy Pipes
ladybriar.com www.facebook.com/totemstarpipes www.willpurdy.com
Colin Rigsby Nathan Rimkus Victor Rimkus

Colin Rigsby, Shurewood Briar Pipes NWR Pipes Rimkus Pipes
swpipes@att.net www.nwrpipes.com www.rimkuspipes.com
Matt Roussell Brian Rowley Dave Shain

Roussell Pipes Growley Pipes westgapipe@gmail.com
roussellpipes@gmail.com www.growleypipes.com
Bill Shalosky Joseph Skoda Olie Sylvester
Smokers’ Haven Skoda Pipes OomPaul.com
www.billshalosky.com skodapipes.com
Scott Thile Tim West

S.E. Thile Pipes Tim West Briar Pipe Workshop
www.sethilepipes.com www.jhlowe.com
PREMIUM TOBACCOS AND PIPES
Imported and Distributed By Arango Cigar Co. – Northbrook, IL 60062
)RUD5HWDLOHU1HDU<RX&DOODUDQJRFLJDU#DROFRP
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Preserving tradition Chacom preserves nearly 200 years of history
In 1825, the Comoy family began them sought to live out their remain- tion themselves in the burgeoning
making mouthpieces out of mostly ing years peacefully—often smoking briar pipe industry after the war.
boxwood in Avignon, a small village pipes and telling tales of their expe- Nine years later, Henri and sev-
located in the hills surrounding Saint- riences. A majority of the customers eral employees moved to London and
Claude, France. It was merely 10 years who bought pipes with the Comoy established H. Comoy & Co. Ltd., the
after Napoleon Bonaparte’s crushing family mouthpieces were these first briar pipe factory in England.
final defeat at Waterloo and only four former soldiers. The factory in Saint-Claude provided
years after the exiled emperor’s death Henri Comoy was born in 1850, just the London factory with materials,
on the South Atlantic Ocean island of six years before Saint-Claude’s pipe- including turned briar bowls.
St. Helena. makers started using briar for their World War I erupted in 1914 and
After years of warfare waged across pipe bowls. Henri became a prisoner the close association between Comoy
Europe during the French Revolution of war during the Franco-Prussian and Chapuis was interrupted. Factory
and Napoleonic wars, a sizeable per- war. Held in captivity in Switzerland, workers in England and France went
centage of the French male popula- Henri met cousins from the Chapuis to war, and many factories shifted
tion were “the Grumblers,” hardened family who were also involved in the their production capabilities to sup-
veterans of the French army who had pipe trade. They discussed merging porting the war effort.
survived years of turmoil. Many of their family companies to better posi- Once the war ended in 1918, busi-
ness resumed and the association
between the families strengthened. In
1922, the factory in Saint-Claude was
renamed Chapuis Comoy & Cie. Two
years later, Henri died and his sons,
Paul and Adrien, assumed manage-
ment of the factories, aided by their
cousins, Emile and Louis Chapuis.
By 1928, the London factory was
able to produce enough of its own
pipes that it no longer needed sup-
plies from the Saint-Claude factory,
especially considering the two facto-
ries were producing the same shapes.
To keep the Saint-Claude factory run-
ning, the Comoy and Chapuis fami-
lies established the brand Chacom—
joining the first three letters from
each family name. The Chacom
brand would be sold exclusively in
France, Switzerland and Belgium.
During the Great Depression,
Chapuis Comoy & Cie. merged
with La Bruyere, another large pipe-
making company in Saint-Claude.
The Chapuis Comoy & Cie. factory
expanded to employ more than 450
people, making it one of the biggest
pipemaking companies in the world.
After World War II, Chapuis
Comoy & Cie. and La Bruyere ended
their association and the Chacom
brand quickly expanded, establishing
itself as the best-selling pipe in France
and Belgium by 1946. Two years later,
it had established prominence in the
Scandinavian countries and Germany
and established distribution in the
United States. Chacom was so suc-
cessful that the company purchased
La Bruyere in 1957.
Chapuis Comoy & Cie. would
remain linked to Comoys of Lon-
don until 1970, when Yves Grenard,
an employee at Comoys of London,
bought the factory in Saint-Claude
and established its independence.
Yves oversaw the company’s growth
as the overall pipe industry began
to wane. Under Yves’ management,
Chapuis Comoy & Cie. established
the Chacom brand in more countries,
including Japan, the former East-
ern Bloc and China. Yves saw more
opportunities for growth as other
factories closed down and sold their
stocks of briar and their trademarks.
Through the 1990s, Yves purchased Antoine Grenard
Saint-Claude brands such as Vuil-
lard, Jeantet, Ropp and Jean Lac-
roix and brought their production in storerooms scattered throughout the only pipemakers in the world were
to Chapuis Comoy & Cie., forming the factory. And there were the briar from Saint-Claude.
an umbrella group named S.A. Cuty- sheds on a hill behind the factory that He left Saint-Claude in the late
Fort. Throughout the 1990s, Chapuis could inspire adventures for a curious 1990s to study mechanical engineer-
Comoy & Cie. employed more than young mind. Antoine likes to joke that ing and obtained a degree from a
120 people and distribution grew to even before he started working at the design school before moving to Paris.
more than 50 countries. factory he made his father’s secretary Coming from a small town of
Yves’s son Antoine assumed man- nervous with his boyhood exploits. approximately 12,000 people in a
agement of the company in 2007. As Antoine became a teenager, he remote part of the Jura Mountains,
Yves enjoyed watching his son guide began to work at the factory, spending Antoine had difficulty adjusting to
the company for five years before his all of his holidays from school learn- Paris. It was just too big and life was
death in 2012. ing pipemaking and getting lessons on too fast-paced. The cost of living was
Growing up, Antoine treated the how to run the company from Yves. He also exorbitant, especially for a young
factory more as a playground than a traveled with his father to Germany man just out of school.
production facility. There was all the and even attended the RTDA show Leaving Paris, Antoine looked for
old machinery to marvel at. There were in Chicago when he was 14. Antoine design work in Saint-Claude, Lyon
countless dusty racks to climb that recalls being shocked at attending and Geneva, about a 90-minute drive
contained an almost endless supply those shows and seeing so many pipe- from his home, but found nothing
of briar bowls waiting to be finished makers because he had thought that but graphic design opportunities,
which he didn’t want. He moved to
Dublin and lived there for 18 months
and learned English before his father
asked him to return to Chapuis
Comoy & Cie. Thinking it would be a
challenge and, ready to return home,
Antoine accepted.
Upon his return to the family
company, Antoine didn’t expect spe-
cial treatment—there was simply too
much work that needed to be done.
He set out to design a website for
the company, and a new sales catalog
needed to be created as well. There
were stacks of papers and old pho-
tographs to sort through and cobble
together into a rough outline of the
company’s history. Then there was the
task of re-familiarizing himself with
Grenard estimates that the historic photos were taken around 1930. the pipemaking process.
“When I came to the factory I was
28 years old, and nearly everyone was
30 years older,” he jokes. “If they told
me something, I did it.”
Always accompanied by his dog,
Baya, Antoine manages a company
that employs 25 people who craft
nearly 60,000 pipes a year. It’s a far cry
from Chapuis Comoy & Cie.’s peak
production years of the 1930s, but it’s
indicative of trends in the global pipe
market that the company remains one
of the largest pipe factories by volume.
It also symbolizes how Saint-Claude—
where the briar pipe was born—has
largely lost ground to other countries.
“Saint-Claude has a big deficit now,”
Antoine explains. “The pipemakers
Tom Eltang designed Chacom’s Oscar pipe. here thought they were the best in the
world, and maybe they were right. We
have Italy, who is in good competition
with us. There are the Danes, and they
developed the freehand pipes that
became famous in the 1970s. They
were all working together on the same
target. The French didn’t think they
had big opposition in the pipes, and
they ignored it.”
The problem wasn’t that the
French didn’t make good pipes.
Instead, it was that so many of the
dozens of pipe companies that made
Saint-Claude their home made pipes
for other companies, too.
“Maybe 50 percent of those old
pipe companies were working on Eng-
lish brands purchased only by English
people,” Antoine says. “Saint-Claude’s
pipemakers were more suppliers than
sellers of our own brands. That was
enough work for them that they didn’t
develop their own brands because
they were supplying too many pipes
for other brands. When it became too
expensive to buy pipes from Saint-
Claude manufacturers, the customers
went somewhere else and most of the
pipe factories closed. Even now, we
have to watch that because, still today,
we supply a lot of brands.”
Without revealing the names of
the companies that have pipes made
at the Chapuis Comoy & Cie. factory,
Antoine says that they make pipes for
12 brands. Trying to avoid the fate of
so many Saint-Claude pipemakers,
he’d rather focus on Chacom.
“When I came back to the company
in 2005, our image was not that good,”
Antoine comments. “We used to make
very fancy pipes, but they were too
cheap. We had to change some lines.
I made some very special pipes just to
show what we can do with briar; they
were things that were very unusual
and they weren’t for sale. We experi-
mented with translucent mouth-
pieces and different lacquer finishes.
We made a different shape each year
from 2005 to 2009—four shapes—but
they were good for our marketing.
Some people were very interested and
asked us to create a pipe line based on
those models. It was very special and
it helped us speak about Chacom, and
they made it easier to sell our classic
pipes. Those special pipes brought
Chacom back into the conversation.”
The Chapuis Comoy & Cie. factory
is housed in a very large four-story
building that Antoine guesses was
built in 1904. Constructed nearly 110
years ago, the building has a façade of most of the production taking place a lot of shelves in the Chapuis Comoy
mainly large-pane glass windows to let on the second floor. The top floors are & Cie. factory. Factor in bowls stored
in ample natural light. Between two of used to store old equipment and bowls away in old factories that the company
the stories on the front of the build- that had been turned years ago but, bought in the 1990s, and the figure
ing, part of the stucco wall is painted for whatever reason, have never been soars. There are thousands of unfin-
with a white background, on which, in made into pipes. Antoine grabs a box ished bowls, many of them turned
very faded black lettering, is painted of bowls and looks at a slip of paper from the prized Algerian briar so
the name of the company. Behind that contains information regarding many old-time pipe smokers pine for.
the factory and up a steep slope, an when the bowls were made—1954, Antoine says most of them are stock
open-air shed contains thousands of Antoine reveals. And there are count- made by companies that Chapuis
briar blocks drying out in the French less boxes of those old pipe bowls, Comoy & Cie. purchased. Others have
mountain air. turned in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and been uncovered in private residences,
Inside, the factory is part manufac- 1980s, arranged on shelves through- where family members discover a
turing facility, part office complex and out the factory. Antoine estimates horde of pipe bowls while clean-
part history museum. The offices and there are nearly 10,000 of them on ing out a deceased relative’s home,
S
warehouse occupy the first floor, with just two shelves alone. And there are for example.
Monza is a line that Antoine Grenard designed himself. “The rule I’ve followed since I
started running the company is if
some quantity of turned bowls or
completed pipes [is] uncovered, I will
try to buy it,” Antoine explains. “Old
pipes are nice, and I am planning on
cleaning them up and putting them on
the market.”
With so many old turned bowls
lying around, Chapuis Comoy & Cie.
could finish them and maintain its
current production number of 60,000
for at least a decade, but that’s not in
his plans. Chapuis Comoy & Cie. will
continue to produce modern pipes in
a classic style.
“When you buy a Chacom pipe,
you get a deep and special knowledge
A Chacom Pipe of the Year of pipes,” Antoine argues. “We mainly
produce pipes in the English style,
but we also have unique and special
shapes—they are very classic but also
different. For a long time, Chacom has
taken care of the shapes’ details. They
can be extremely special—for instance
with a straight billiard, Chacom always
tilts the bowl forward a little bit more
than the usual forward cant in a clas-
sic billiard. There are small details
that have developed throughout the
years that we keep. We have shape
charts from many years ago, and we
always turn the bowls the same. We
haven’t changed the pipemaking pro-
cess for more than 70 years—we’ve
just changed some materials. That is
a regular characteristic for Chacom.
We are known for very traditional
style. We are traditional because we
know how to make classic shapes per-
fectly, and then we are doing more
modern stuff using different colors
and designs. The pipe market will
always be traditional, and we will
therefore focus on the basics—classic
shapes, classic finishes. I want to
bring back the real value that Chacom
should be. Traditional. Our slogan is
‘Traditionally modern.’”
Antoine estimates that there are
300 different variations of Chacom
shapes available in more than 50 lines.
There are the special pipes, such as the
Pipe of the Year, or the Oscar, which
was designed by Danish pipemaking
legend Tom Eltang. There are 9 mm
pipes, such as Maya and Wedze, for
the German market. Then there are
the Exquise, Champs-Élysées, Saint-
Claude, Bercy and Galilée lines that
represent more standard shapes and
finishes. Carbone, Opera, Punch,
Baya, Atlas and Monza are the lines
that feature traditional shapes but
with nontraditional finishes.
“I don’t design too many pipes,
but the Monza line is one I created,”
Antoine says. “When you fit a pipe with
a mouthpiece, sometimes the fitting is
too tight and you break the shank. We
had so many pipes with broken shanks,
we threw them away. The bowls were
very good, with nice flame grains, so I
thought about how to save them. Why
not make a nice-looking extension
to replace the shank? At the begin-
ning, it was just to use the broken pipes,
but when you have a series, you must
have a standard number of shapes avail-
able, so it changed to a regular series.
They are very classic pipes with a nice
metal extension.”
Retail prices for the smaller pipes
start at a little more than $65 and range
to nearly $700 for the specialty pipes.
The briar is secured from two sup-
pliers in Italy and one Greek briar cut-
ter. The ebauchon and plateaux blocks
are dried for at least one year in the
shed behind the factory. When they
come inside the factory, the blocks
are sorted by quality and size. After
the bowls are turned, they are sent
to a woman in a neighboring village
who performs the first polishing. The
bowls are then returned to the factory
where they are examined. Bowls that Carbone (top) and Volute (bottom)
have too many flaws or are damaged
in some other way are thrown out; the pipe smokers to have vulcanite or carrying the Chacom name, Antoine
rest are sorted into eight grades. Cumberland mouthpieces,” Antoine recognizes that there is plenty of
Looking at a batch of 833 bowls, explains. “We definitely use more vul- room for improvement—not only at
Antoine sees that 50 of them will canite mouthpieces, and 70 percent Chapuis Comoy & Cie., but for the
be destroyed. of those are Italian hand-cut mouth- reputation of Saint-Claude pipemak-
“We throw away too much wood pieces that we buy.” ing in general.
when looking at the bowls for mis- With so many different brands made “I want to work on improving
takes,” he comments. “But that is how at the factory, Antoine says it’s difficult pipemaking’s image,” he explains.
we protect Chacom’s image for being to say exactly how many Chacom pipes “Saint-Claude is very important in
a company that makes quality pipes.” are made in a year without poring over the history of pipemaking, and the
Chapuis Comoy & Cie. makes vul- production ledgers. Chacom pipes can town should be recognized more for
canite mouthpieces molded in Italy, be easily identified by the traditional that. Then I want to show people
which are used on approximately rounded lips on their mouthpieces. how pipes are made. People come in
40 percent of its production. For its They also have a silver “CC” badge on the summertime to buy pipes from
best pipes, such as the Pipe of the their mouthpieces. The shanks have the shops. I would love to organize
Year, Grand Cru and Straight-Grain stamps that include the shape number, tours of the factory so people can see
lines, the company buys vulcanite and “Chacom” and the series name, such as how pipes are made and perhaps put
Cumberland rod stock from Germany “Grand Cru” or “Baya.” a small shop inside to sell pipes. It
and hand cuts mouthpieces. While the company is once again would be nice to bring something to
“I think it is better for the expert producing pipes that are worthy of Saint-Claude.” P&T
%<&+8&.67$1,21
Monstrosities
These are not your grandfather’s pipes
When a classically trained artist pos- entirely camouflage the consistent when talking about the concept. Some
sesses an innate love for pipes, it’s sparkle of mirth in its undertones. He people don’t understand them and
inevitable that the two interests will moves with the confidence of a man don’t care to, walking past with no
collide in interesting ways. However, supremely comfortable in his own more than a raised eyebrow. Others
not even Nostrodamus could have skin and keenly observes the world shrug and move on. But, occasionally,
predicted Olie Sylvester’s Monstros- around him from a slight distance, someone will see these pipes from a
ity pipes. Only Edgar Allen Poe or as if imperceptibly out of phase with moderate distance and become curi-
H.P. Lovecraft in their most fevered this dimension of existence. At pipe ous, then enthusiastic. You can see
night terrors could have glimpsed shows, he watches people pass, atten- the process reflected in their expres-
pipes like these. tively gauging their responses to the sions as they approach the pipes and
Sylvester is a soft-spoken and cap- Monstrosities on his table. He will- become more excited. “Oh, my God!”
tivating gentleman with a melodi- ingly engages anyone with the curios- they say. “These are amazing!” That’s
ous, hypnotizing voice that doesn’t ity to inquire and becomes animated what Sylvester waits for.
“When people see my pipes for
the first time at a pipe show,” he says,
“they either get really excited or they
shake their head and keep walk-
ing. It’s the two basic dichotomies.
When you look at something that’s
on the fringe and you’ve never seen
it before, sometimes it’s really hard to
accept it. I understand that and that’s
totally fine and I get it. It is really dif-
ficult to enjoy abstract art sometimes,
depending on who you are and what
your background is.
“Personally I think whatever it is
I do, whether it’s painting or pipes, I
would like for everyone to be able to
come to the table and enjoy that feast
without having to know anything
else. You just look at it, enjoy it, have
fun with it; it’s a pleasurable experi-
ence. And there are a lot of folks who
just can’t do that, and that’s OK if
they’re not interested. What’s impor-
tant is that they do find what they like
and what they’re interested in. What’s
impressive to me, though, is that the
pipe community has graciously found
a spot for me and allowed me to have
a cozy little corner. If somebody
cracks a smile, my work is done. It’s
not a problem that my strange guys
don’t fit into an easy category. What’s
really awesome is that they’re allowed
in the door. My ugly dudes, they hang
out and have fun, they’re just happy
to exist and to exude the humanity
that they are.”
Sylvester’s wife, Venessa, was the
prime mover behind these pipes.
She saw her husband’s interest and
suggested he start doing podcasts,
interviewing people in the pipe world
and making those interviews avail-
able online. She just didn’t know at
the time that it would lead to such an
unusual genre of pipemaking.
“I had never listened to podcasts
and didn’t know what they were,”
says Sylvester, “but she kept bringing
it up. So I thought about an upcom-
ing Atlanta pipe club meeting that
Bjarne Nielsen was attending. He
brought some beautiful pipes with
him. I asked if I could record him
talking about whatever he wanted
to talk about. So at that meeting,
in early 2008, I recorded him, and
it’s full of really interesting history.
I told my wife it was a good idea;
there’s no way I would have gotten
that kind of information just chat-
ting one-on-one with him. But if
you tell someone, hey, this is going
out to the world, it’s different—and
you’re allowed to ask a lot more ques-
tions. It’s been great for me; I’ve met
so many people and I’ve been able
to record some wonderful chunks of
pipe history that would never have
been recorded otherwise. Unfortu-
nately, Bjarne Nielsen died just a few
weeks after that interview went live,
and that further emphasized that I
needed to keep doing this.”
Currently, 49 podcasts reside on
OomPaul.com. They provide unique,
detailed insights into the backgrounds
and philosophies of many of the most
interesting people in the pipe world.
“When the podcasts first started, I
didn’t expect a big following. I just
couldn’t imagine people all over the
world being that interested. But it’s
contributors even though I wasn’t a
pipemaker. I wanted something tough
and rugged and crazy, something that
looked like it had been to hell and
back and was there to take you with
it, kicking and screaming.”
Monstrosity pipes have two cate-
gories, or “streams,” as Sylvester calls
them. “One is the Zombie stream,
which is sort of creature-from-the-
black-lagoon mixed with something
very tough and rugged. And then I
have the other stream, which is more
artistic, with hand-cut stems, a little
more expensive.” This second stream
is simply referred to as part of the
Monstrosity line, and the pipes are
undifferentiated from the Zombies as
far as nomenclature goes, unless they
are part of a unique, limited series,
which occurs frequently. Fundamen-
tally, you know them when you see
them. “The Zombie line is basically
me taking pipes that were at one point
supposed to get into the market and
didn’t make it. So these poor souls
had languished somewhere in some
importer’s remainders box for who
knows how long because of a pit or a
broken tenon or a cracked shank, and
they couldn’t be sold, so I adopted
the poor, sorry souls and gave them
life, hence the name Zombie. I fixed
whatever was wrong but at the same
time I accentuated the pits or scars or
cracks—I don’t hide them, I’m allow-
ing them to come back to life as well
Olie Sylvester’s first pipe features two very different sides and foreshadows the
as show off their badges of honor,
carver’s affection for accepting and accentuating natural flaws.
their rough ride back from where
they were. I take the nomenclature off
grown to be pretty huge. Every time were basically butchered kit pipes,” because once they’re reborn they’re
a new podcast comes out, new lis- says Sylvester. “I didn’t know how in no way any part of their former
teners tune in. The new listeners are to make pipes at that point, but I brand; they’re their own beast now.”
stepping into a library and will go wanted something to give people, so Modifying flawed or broken pipes
back and listen to previous podcasts. I thought, what would I want? Well, or kits was fine at first, but Sylvester
It’s very popular.” Thousands of lis- I would want a pipe, but I can’t make knew that the inevitable was coming:
teners visit every time a new podcast pipes, so how do I bridge that gap He needed to learn how to make pipes
goes out. Still, Sylvester considers it a and still put something interesting from scratch. In 2008, he attended the
service to the hobby and doesn’t try and creative (because I’m an artist) pipemakers seminar at the Chicago
to make the site pay. “It’s not a mon- into people’s hands? I thought about show and made a medium-sized pot.
etized site. I have a couple of sponsors, what kind of pipe I would want, and “It had a horrible little pit in it,” he
but it doesn’t make money. It’s really I’d want something artistic but some- says. “I got some advice from Anne
there just to be a library that people thing masculine, something that goes Julie and a couple of other great pipe-
can access and enjoy.” beyond masculine and into some makers. She’s a huge influence for
Sylvester started producing pipes other realm. So that was the begin- me; she and Luigi Radice are amaz-
in 2008 as companions to the pod- ning of the Monstrosities—pipes ing artists. What they do with pipes
casts. Those who supported the pod- that were something I wanted to see is just stunning. Bruce Weaver has
casts with a $100 donation would in the world and didn’t, and at the been a great help to me over the years
receive a Monstrosity pipe. “They same time something I could offer to as well, and Jon Rinaldi took care of
the bowl coatings and stamping early
on. Anyway, I dug at this pit and it
made a horrible gash on one side and
we decided to carry that gash up the
side of the bowl. It’s a Jekyll and Hyde
kind of thing, because on one side it’s
very nice, then you turn it over and
oh, my God, what happened there.
That was very appealing to me. It was
my first pipe and even then it was a
bit of a monstrosity.”
Next, he contacted pipemaker
Todd Johnson and asked about some
sort of apprenticeship. In 2010, and
again in 2011, he visited Johnson’s
workshop and learned more of the
intricacies of true pipemaking. “Solid
engineering is where you have to
start,” says Sylvester, “because if you
don’t understand why engineering is
important, you’ll never end up with a
good pipe, you’ll never end up with
a good smoker, you’ll be completely
lost. So even though I’m coming at
this from a different angle, it was
incredibly important to me to figure
out and learn from somebody who
knew very, very well what they were
talking about. It was important for
me to get that hands-on experience
from someone like Todd so that I
would have those fundamentals and
understand why you do this and not
this; how come traditional pipemak-
ing is done this way and not that; why
I need to be concerned with how big
this is and how small that is and what
would happen if those dimensions solidly designed, highly functional The details of a Monstrosity pipe
were changed. It was a fantastic pro- smoking instruments. The differ- are more deliberate than one might at
cess and I’m still learning stuff every ence is all style. When you examine first think. “Personally,” says Sylves-
day. I’ll forever be a student. But the one of these pipes, it’s immediately ter, “I’m a clencher, and pipes slip out
fundamentals are absolutely essential. recognizable that human hands have of my teeth. So I use this maimed stem
“When I began with the Mon- hewn it into its current shape. They technique where on a lot of the Zom-
strosities, I knew I couldn’t make are rough and tough. If you drop a bie stems there are these multifaceted
a pipe—I knew that was far beyond $1,000 artisan pipe and put a dent in buttons; they’re scraped and chiseled
my abilities. There’s engineering the wood, you’ve drastically reduced, in such a way that they have all these
you absolutely have to take care of if in most assessments, the value of little facets on them. I did that to help
you want to have a good, solid pipe, that pipe, both aesthetically and in clenchers like me. It’s a system where
so I let the guys who knew how to terms of dollar value. But if you drop I add these facets and scrapings in a
do that take care of it for me until I a Monstrosity, you’ve only added to specific way, so that your teeth actu-
was ready to take care of it myself.” the artistic process. They already ally have an area that holds on really
Many of the pipes came from Mark have scars and nicks and dings and well and the pipe doesn’t slide around.
Tinsky, who would drill the blocks scratches. “Sometimes I’ll sand part It looks burly and it’s actually very
correctly, fit the stems and then ship of them down smooth with some high functional. That’s how the maimed
them off to Sylvester. “And I would grit,” says Sylvester, “and sometimes stem came about; it was actually form
butcher them.” I won’t, but no matter what, there’s following function.”
Some may be fooled into looking at some sort of humanity there that Sylvester’s artistic vision may be
the photos on these pages and think- reminds you that some guy decided very different from most pipemakers’,
ing they aren’t real pipes, but they are to create this thing.” but he knows how to make a pipe, he
constantly battle. When I was a paint-
ing major at SCAD, I was fortunate to
do lots of things with that. I had gal-
lery shows and group shows and solo
shows and juried exhibitions—I was
even paid to lecture about my work
and exhibitions. That all went very
well, but for some reason my brain
said, Y’know what, you really need
to study biology for a while, so I had
this real need to get into science—
probably much to the chagrin of my
parents, who felt I needed to just stay
somewhere and do something. So
two years into my painting degree, I
moved to go study biology for a while,
and then two years into that degree I
sat my parents down again and said,
‘You know what, I really need to get
back into art.’ It’s a struggle. There’re
so many wonderful things in the
world to study that it’s difficult for me
to choose.
“I love painting and science, and all
of that really comes into play with my
pipes because of the type of art that
I do, which is called automatism—it’s
something the early surrealists did
back in the ’20s and ’30s; it’s a type of
art where basically something comes
into your mind and you act upon it.
So, the way I work with that in my
painting is to allow things to happen
on that picture plane where I’m work-
ing on paper or canvas or whatever.
With my pipes it’s very similar; I kind
of allow things to happen. There’s so
much beautiful stuff that we can pull
from that just happens out there in
our environment. It’s my job to kind
knows how to make art, and he knows traditional shape. I may be able to of leave it alone and allow it to be
how he wants to combine the two. make them, but I’ve got a whole bunch whatever it needs to be rather than
He’s perfectly capable of making tra- of other stuff going on in my head dictating what I think it needs to be
ditional pipes, but he chooses to make that you should take advantage of; my ahead of time. When I start dictating
Monstrosities. strengths lie elsewhere. I wouldn’t say what things need to happen and what
“I love traditional pipes,” he says. that traditional shapes are a weakness things need to be, it’s just not nearly
“I’m all about traditional shapes. I of mine, just that my strengths are as interesting as what can just hap-
love billiards and want to make bil- more solidly rooted in the art that I’ve pen. As an artist it’s my duty to allow
liards a lot. But other stuff grabs my been creating my whole life.” stuff to happen.”
attention: There’s a boar’s tusk sitting Art is Sylvester’s primary interest, That’s not as easy as it may sound.
here that absolutely has to be utilized, though that has fluctuated at times. This kind of art requires a careful
or there’s a piece of animal fur over He studied painting and graphic process of gathering the right mate-
here that absolutely needs to be used design at the Savannah College of rials, finding objects that have the
today. Or there’s a fossilized piece Art and Design (SCAD), but he took potential to be useful later and recog-
of dinosaur dung over here that you a break to study biology at Stetson nizing their characteristics as artistic
really need to work with today. Things University for a couple of years before elements. “I search constantly, and
like that grab my attention, and how going back. “I sort of have this brain I stumble upon the materials out in
couldn’t they? But I don’t think I’m that works a little bit on science and the world, not unlike the artist Kurt
the guy you want to come to for a a little bit on art. Those two areas Schwitters, who used to do amazing
found-object art with trash that he’d
find on the side of the road. It might
be in one of my favorite antique
stores, where I find weird stuff that
speaks to me. There’s a lot of stuff
that is out there in the world, whether
it’s in a gutter or in a shop, it doesn’t
matter, but every so often something
shines and I know when I see it that I
already own it. So I bring it home and
it ends up out in the lab and eventu-
ally it cycles through until one day, it’s
the day to use it. Rather than making
a pipe and looking around and say-
ing, what can I put on this to make
it interesting, instead I go out to the
lab and stuff is already out there, and
it starts happening—it all starts work-
ing together. So it may start with the
object rather than with the pipe itself.”
Sylvester has been an artist since
he was a kid, and strangely, he’s been
a pipe collector since he was a kid as
well. “I was 11 or 12 and there was an
old guy down the street, Mr. Follis; he
used to sell stuff at the local flea mar-
ket and he would let us neighborhood
kids go through it and buy stuff from
him. We were always over at Mr. Fol-
lis’ house looking through his shed full
of all the crazy stuff he’d be taking to
the flea market. One day, he had some
used pipes in horrible condition and I
thought they were cool. I had known
about pipes but no one in my fam-
ily smoked a pipe. I was immediately
drawn to these pipes and I started buy-
ing pipes from Mr. Follis and started
my pipe collection. My parents were
patient about it. They allowed me to something out of that. As an artist it’s is they not only energize us just as
keep my pipes under the condition that incredibly pleasing when people say, sculpture, but they can also help us
I wouldn’t try to smoke them.” ‘Y’know, I love your work, I have to in a very real way by having us slow
It wasn’t until after college that have it, I want to own it and look at it.’ down and relax and enjoy tobacco. I
he started actually smoking pipes. I don’t know what that is—I love art think they’re great.” P&T
Sylvester and his wife were walk- and I love collecting art and having it
ing through the mall and happened in my house. It’s like having little bat-
upon a Tinder Box. That was all it tery chargers that are on your walls, To listen to Sylvester’s podcasts,
took—one visit to a tobacconist. So, constantly recharging whatever it is enjoy some of his entertaining writ-
in 1999, he started collecting pipes that keeps us interested and makes us ings and peruse available Mon-
again. “But it’s been a love affair since human. For me, it might even be an strosity pipes, visit OomPaul.com.
I was a kid,” he says. “Those pipes to amazing crystal that my son found, View work in progress—Instagram:
me were very much little works of art. and that’s natural art, or it might be a olieps3; Twitter: BaronOlie
And I knew they were functional and piece of abstract work or figural work
even though at a young age I couldn’t that my wife did—she’s an amazing Monstrosities may be purchased at
appreciate the functionality visually, painter—that recharges my batteries. the following:
I just loved having them around. I When I see art, it’s uplifting. That’s www.cupojoes.com
think that’s what art does: We hang it the amazing thing about art in gen- www.pipesandcigars.com
on a wall or we display the sculpture eral, and pipes as sculptures certainly rokstarpipes.com
and it’s for some weird reason; we get do that. But the thing about pipes
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Spring 2008
2006 Winter
Winter 2008
STORY
COVER ence
ish Influ
The Dan
Designs
in Tsuge
NOT HIGH VOLUME—JUST HIGH QUALITY COVER STORY

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OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER, AND BIRTH DEFECTS, OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM
BY T.S. DONAHUE
Pipe smokers’ paradise

A great spot to grab a six-pack, a bottle of wine and a few tins of tobacco
A pipe shop should smell a certain of pipes and tobaccos, 450 brands of soft-spoken tone that makes custom-
way. It’s the blending together of all beer and wine, more than 1,000 cigar ers feel at home. “I always dreamed of
those different sweet tobaccos, creat- facings in a nearly 150-square-foot owning my own building; I’m not sure
ing that tantalizing olfactory expe- humidor and the Tarheel State’s only what held me back so long—just fear,
rience that can only be found inside My Father Cigars (MFC) Lounge. I suppose.”
a good tobacconist. For a lot of pipe With only one allowed per state, the Another motivation for the move
smokers, it’s the scent of excitement. MFC lounges offer special perks to was the smoking ban in North Caro-
It’s the first thing you notice when you customers such as visits from the Gar- lina. Christopher began to get some
step through the glass front door of cia family and an exclusive cigar. complaints from the neighboring store
The Pipe & Pint in Greensboro, N.C. The Pipe & Pint owner Larry owners in the shopping center about
The Pipe & Pint is more a gather- Christopher opened his original shop the smoking inside the shop. “So, I just
ing place for its numerous customers in February 1998, just down the road got extremely lucky and this build-
than simply somewhere to purchase from his current location. He says the ing fell into my lap [not even a week
top-notch tobacco products, boutique old store was performing wonderfully, into looking for a new location, the
cigars and a plethora of quality beer and but after nearly 13 years, it was time converted-to-commercial-use farm-
wine. The Pipe & Pint is a remodeled to upgrade. “That spot was good to house went up for sale]. We did most
1925 farmhouse with a vast selection me,” says Christopher in his humble, of the renovations ourselves, and
[when] I say ourselves, I mean myself
and some of my customers. Quite a
few of them pitched in and we made
it happen.”
Purchased in March 2010, the
1,800-square-foot, two-story house
underwent seven months of renova-
tions. “When I bought the property, it
had been neglected for awhile. It had
been vacant for close to a year, and the
property had been let go,” Christopher
explains. “The customers helped in
every imaginable way, whether it was
with the bricks and mortar, patch-
ing up concrete to raking up leaves
and trimming tree limbs, even put-
ting down tile. I have tried a couple of
times but haven’t really found a way to
truly repay them for what they did for
S
me, but I won’t forget it.”

I stopped by and just fell in love with it.”
Talbert explained that when he was
younger and would visit various pipe
shops, the staff didn’t make him feel
very welcome. He always figured it was
because he was young, and young peo-
ple don’t know squat about pipe smok-
ing. “I started smoking pipes in my
early 20s, and I have heard from a lot
of young guys the same thing I used to
experience, and that is that when they
walk into a pipe store, everyone has
gray hair and dismisses them imme-
diately. They felt like they were being
treated like kids. Larry wasn’t like that;
he was very friendly and welcoming.”
Fifteen laser-engraved and numbered, limited-edition meerschaums were The Pipe & Pint, on average, carries
commissioned for The Pipe & Pint’s 15th anniversary. In the background is a 10 to 12 different pipemakers’ brands,
pipe made by Trever Talbert while he was living in France. with a few from local pipemakers like
Van Catterall, Paul Tatum [both of
Christopher says pipes and cigars and with the people who ran them.” whom have retired from pipemaking]
go together like peanut butter and jelly. Coincidentally, his hometown was and, of course, Talbert. “When I’m lucky
Being a pipe or cigar aficionado are in need of a good tobacconist. “When enough to get any of Trever’s pipes, they
hobbies that share the same roots, and I got out of college and came back to sell pretty fast,” says Christopher. A
he considers himself a connoisseur of Greensboro, there wasn’t a pipe shop sampling of other brands includes Erik
both. “Pipes, cigars, tobacco and all that around,” he says. “The closest one of Nørding, Dunhill, Savinelli and Ashton,
goes with it, the hobby is interrelated as any kind was in Winston-Salem, so and an array of estate pipes. New pipes
far as I’m concerned,” he says. “Smok- I was driving all the way to Winston- have always been a part of The Pipe &
ing a pipe is one of the few things in Salem to buy tobacco and look at pipes. Pint inventory, and Christopher says
modern life that hasn’t changed in 150 I thought to myself, a city the size of he has always had a business interest in
to 200 years or more. A cigar is much Greensboro could surely support a pipe estate pipes, as well. “I have hundreds of
the same way; it forces you to relax. shop. I was determined to find out if pipes. I have a lot more pipes behind the
There are not many other things in this that was true.” counter and upstairs than I have in the
world that you can say that about.” True it was. The Pipe & Pint has store’s display case.”
Many of The Pipe & Pint’s customers seen steady growth every year since The Pipe & Pint sells around
are avid fans of both cigars and pipes, it opened 15 years ago. “I have been 30 pipes a month. The least expensive
and Christopher enjoys seeing more extremely fortunate that, for whatever pipe is $39.95 because Christopher says
and more people experiencing both. reason, every year has been better than he refuses to carry anything lower in
“I have not known many pipe smokers the previous year,” says Christopher. quality. He wants his customers to enjoy
who wouldn’t try a cigar, and almost “We have had steady growth. It used any pipe they purchase, so much so that
every cigar smoker—and I know from to be I was sitting down watching tum- he is giving pipe education classes across
my experiences here—will at some bleweeds blow by. Now, sitting down the counter daily. “Most common ques-
point try a pipe. Sometimes it sticks is a rare treat. I know exactly what to tion: Why is a $50 pipe different from
and sometimes it doesn’t,” he says. “To attribute that to, too, and I have been a $150 pipe? The answer is: It’s how the
me, a pipe is more convenient. Every extremely fortunate. It’s our customers; pipe is created, whether it’s handmade
night, after work, I sit down and smoke we consider them friends—no, family.” and the quality of the craftsmanship,
my pipe. I look forward to it. That’s Two of The Pipe & Pint’s most rec- it’s usually about an attention to detail.
the way I unwind from the day. I love ognizable customers are pipemaker For example, a handmade briar and a
a good cigar, too, and when I have an Trever Talbert and his wife, Emily. machine-made briar, while both have
hour and I’m not doing something else, Trever says that one thing in particu- their purpose and smoke great, a hand-
I’ll pick up a cigar.” lar sets The Pipe & Pint apart from its made briar is something special. Briar
Christopher had always aspired to peers: “It’s the ambiance. It’s not just and meerschaum are my standards, but
owning his own business, and a tobacco a case of pipes sitting in a corner that we also have some clay.”
shop was his first choice. “I just felt everyone ignores that I have seen in so As far as tobaccos go, The Pipe & Pint
comfortable in pipe and cigar shops. many stores. This place is pipe-smoker carries more than 80 different varieties
They just called to me for some reason, heaven. I heard The Pipe & Pint was of bulk, as well as four original-design
no matter which one it was,” he says opening up, and I’m from Greensboro house blends that have been around for
cheerfully. “Some were homier than [he lives in Greensboro now, but is 15 years and six newer house blends.
others, but I felt at ease with all of them originally from nearby Thomasville], so These are all resting on shelves along
the wall across from dozens of tins
from Cornell & Diehl, Lane Ltd. and
Dunhill, to name a few. Store Manager
Pete Pike Jr. created five of the six newer
house blends and has a few more still in
the experimental stages. Christopher
says he sources his bulk tobacco from
standards such as McClelland, Mac
Baren and some others. “House blends
are like cooking. It’s a recipe. You try
to create flavors people will like,” says
Pike, who revels in creating unique
tobacco blends. “You keep trying, and
eventually you get something you think
could really work.”
Selling more than 100 pounds of
pipe tobacco a month, Christopher Larry Christopher
says Lane’s 1Q is a best-selling staple,
while three of his house blends ($3.95/
oz.), Six Virginias, Magnolia Avenue
and Bear Creek, sell very well. One
of Pike’s creations, Grim Creeper, a
strong blend that uses Perique and
cigar tobacco, is so popular they can’t
keep it in stock. “Pete doesn’t have any
All photos by T.S. Donahue

preconceived notions about what pipe
tobacco should be,” says Christopher.
“He’s not afraid to try something new.
He’ll ask, ‘Why can’t I take these three
Virginias and grind up a Nicaraguan
cigar into it? Why can’t we put some
Lakeland dark in it?’ Next thing you
know, he’s made something we sell out
of almost immediately.”
Talbert is a big fan of Pike’s blends,
too. He says that he can really appre-
ciate Pike’s irreverence for traditional
methods of blending pipe tobaccos.
“I have dealt with a lot of different
blenders over the years; sometimes
they become so specialized and sen-
sitive that they end up turning out a
bunch of stuff that kind of tastes the
same. Pete doesn’t have that issue,”
says Talbert. “He’s not afraid to exper-
iment with virtually anything. I have
to say, these things he’s creating taste
a lot better than they may sound; it’s
amazing. They have character and are
really distinctive.”
There is a lot of nonconformity in
the cigar industry today, according to
Pike. He believes that ideal is needed
in the art of blending pipe tobaccos,
too. “It’s cool because we have this
incredible blending lab where we can
go nuts,” he says, beaming with excite-
ment. “Some crazy ideas have turned
S
out really, really good.”

comfortable, with large, plush leather
chairs and a wall-mounted flat-screen
TV, it makes The Pipe & Pint the exclu-
sive retailer of the MFC Lounge cigar,
available in one size, a 5.75 x 50 ring
gauge. “This may be one of José ‘Pepin’
and Jaime Garcia’s best blends to date,”
says Pike. “To be able to join with such
a strong brand, like MFC and Pepin
Garcia, is huge. It also gives us the
chance to carry a cigar that’s really hard
to find.”
With more than 1,000 facings in
its humidor, The Pipe & Pint is again
unique in that it is truly a boutique
cigar store and, according to Pike, the
Pete Pike Jr. brands that do well are unique them-
selves. “We have 102 facings of La Flor
Dominicana, Casa Fernandez, again
very small-batch, boutique-type com-
panies that don’t produce a huge num-
ber of cigars every year,” says Pike. “We
are not your big-box retailer. We are
much more small-batch, family-run,
with some of the most unique cigars
available and quite a few that are truly
hard to find.”
Beer and wine have been a part of
The Pipe & Pint’s product mix since
the beginning. Christopher says that,
as much business sense as it might
make to get rid of the beer and wine,
he could never do that. Tobacco, beer
and wine just go together. “Beer was a
hobby, too,” he says. “I was interested in
pipes and cigars, and I was interested
in craft beers, especially the old styles. I
tell people it was just three hobbies that
spun out of control.”
With more than 250 styles of beer,
The Pipe & Pint carries an incredible
Pike says he started out blending a blend that had the characteristics of selection of craft beer. Some of its for-
few styles that some people would call a hot chili pepper, and he and Chris- eign offerings include Mikkeler, Nogne,
“not very purist.” As a cigar smoker, topher created the fun-to-say blend, De Molen, Struise and Amager. There is
he could never find a pipe blend that which is a mixture of a couple base a large variety of domestic craft styles,
satisfied him. “I would smoke Perique aromatics, Virginias and some Nica- too, including Weyerbacher, Jolly
straight; I wanted that fullness in a raguan cigar tobacco, which gave it its Pumpkin, Green Flash, Ballast Point,
pipe tobacco. I thought, ‘You don’t see chocolate and cherry hints. “But on Hoppin’ Frog and many more. “Build-
many people take a Nicaraguan cigar the nose, in the [exhale], it gave a huge ing six-packs from singles is encour-
leaf and make a pipe blend.’ So I started burst of pepper. We are doing one now aged,” says Christopher. “We purposely
to mess around, and Grim Creeper called B3A, which is Blackberry Brandy target what we carry to match with our
came to be. It got its name because as Alexander, again using aromatics and a pipes and cigars, so stouts are real pop-
you smoke it, as great as its flavor is, mixture of Virginias and continuing to ular, porters too. We have had a lot of
you notice it’s pounding you, little by play with cigar leaf.” interest in Belgian and Flemish sours,
little. It has such incredible flavor and The Pipe & Pint is unique in many lots of IPAs (India pale ales).” Beer can
such incredible strength.” ways, including being home to the only range anywhere from $1.99 to nearly
Another brainchild of Pike’s is My Father Cigars Lounge in the state $50 for a single bottle.
Cherry Chocolate Chili Pepper. Pike of North Carolina. It opened in Janu- Wine is quite popular, too. The Pipe
thought it would be great to create a ary 2012, and it’s not only clean and & Pint carries about 150 brands, with
Spanish red varieties being the best- “We need to get more formalized in a project that has been more than a year
sellers. “It matches the demographic of getting our pairing ideas out through in the making. “The boxes are being
our customers,” says Christopher. “It’s social media, and that’s something made, the bands are being made, the
also a great product for the price.” Wine we’re working on,” he says. “Between next run will have the cigars coming in
is relatively new to The Pipe & Pint’s Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus, we packaged,” says Christopher.
product offering, but sales are quickly are trying to get people thinking about The Pipe & Pint is successful because,
skyrocketing. “I have carried beer since our pairing suggestions before they according to Christopher, there was an
day one. I started ordering wine for walk through the door.” unmet need in Greensboro, and that’s
my wife, Beth, and people would say The future of The Pipe & Pint is wide important for a business to thrive. He
‘Oh, you’re carrying wine, too,’ and so open. Christopher says that he may says running a business is much like
I started to carry a few bottles and it expand, but the shop will let him know the state motto of North Carolina. “Esse
just happened.” Wine prices range from when the time is right. “It’s organic; it quam videri is not only the state motto,
$7–$8 up to $60. grows when it needs to,” he says. “If an but the unofficial motto of this store.
The bonus of offering beer and wine opportunity presents itself, I will take It means ‘to be rather than to seem [to
in a tobacco shop is that The Pint & advantage of it, but I don’t want to try be],’” he says. “This, to me, means hon-
Pint is able to give customers alcohol and impose my will on anything.” esty, integrity and treating people the
pairing selections for their tobacco Any business can grow if you have way you want to be treated. With this
purchases. Customers are always ask- a quality product and treat people the business, and me personally, what you
ing Pike to give them a beer to match a way you would want to be treated, says see is what you get. That is the secret to
certain tobacco, and he’ll walk through Christopher. “I don’t push any particu- my success.”
the seemingly dust-free store searching lar brand. I try to match what I have That’s not a bad business philoso-
through a few hundred types of beers. to what a customer wants,” he says. phy. It also helps that when you’re at
He can normally bring back three or “I’m not concerned with price; I don’t The Pipe & Pint, you’re treated like a
more selections that would go great try to upsell people. I sell them what I member of the family. Like Christopher
with that particular blend. “You go think they need. I think it’s important always says, “Make yourself at home.
back to the knowledge bank you have, to remember that pipe smokers are a We always try to make sure you’re more
but it’s all really trial and error,” says really small part of the population. But educated when you walk out the door
Pike. “Now I think we have it down; I’m encouraged by what I see, as it per- than when you came in.” P&T
we are probably 90 percent there. We tains to the future of pipe smoking. If
know an IPA goes well with a Domini- you can encourage people to enjoy the
can. Then we start looking at which IPA hobby in a responsible manner, then it’s The Pipe & Pint
goes best.” a satisfying feeling for me, but it also 3716 Spring Garden St.
Pike says that he and Christopher are helps them get the same satisfaction Greensboro, N.C.
working on pairings more and more, from it that I have had.” 336.218.8610
but it’s a slow process and one they’re The shop also plans on releasing its www.thepipeandpint.net
excited to bring to their customers. own line of cigars sometime this year—
%<$/$67$,5/(6/,(
3+2726%</25(1=2$/,
Associative tampers The history of pipe tampers reflects a tendency to combine

this simple smoking tool with other important activities
Generally well known is the fact that, is further demonstrated by the many had a much smaller ring through
from the earliest days, smoking rap- corkscrews that double as pipe tampers. which the case could be passed to form
idly became extremely popular and These were usually made of silver, with a T, while another took the form of a
closely associated with drinking. many of the finest being Dutch. The folding screw. In every example, it was
Indeed, in the early days of the 17th most frequently found examples are of the protective case that formed the
century, there were hundreds of tav- the T shape, with a silver case (occa- stopper (Figures 3–5).
erns in London alone, where in the sionally brass) and a handle of silver, A further link occurred with ember
contemporary words of Barnaby Rich: ivory or mother-of-pearl (Figure 1). tongs; these hung by the fireplace in
“There is not so base a groome The majority are unmarked, though the tavern to enable the smoker to
that comes into an ale-house to call a maker’s mark alone, usually from a light his pipe with an ember from
for his pott, but he must have his pipe Birmingham maker, can sometimes be the fire. A tamper would be featured
of tobacco; for its commodity that is found. Fine Dutch examples may have either at one end of the handle or
nowe as vendible in every taverne, the handle in the shape of an animal more frequently at the apex of the
wine, and ale-house, as eyther, wine, or bird, or, in Figure 2, a farmer with tongs. I have also seen a pair of tongs
ale, or beare; and for apothecaries’ his oxen. where one handle formed the stopper
shops, grocers’ shops, chandlers’ shops, The earliest corkscrews comprised and the other provided a corkscrew
they are never without company, that a simple pillar (usually steel, though (Figures 6 and 7).
from morning till night are still taking silver examples occur) and closed in a Another corkscrew tamper incor-
of tobacco.” screw case with a finger ring and, per- porated a rather vicious curved spike;
The link between drink and tobacco haps, a crest at the top. One variation the purpose for this has been suggested
Figure 1 Figure 2
Dutch corkscrew tampers circa 1780, including pricker

English corkscrew tampers circa 1790 and Amsterdam hallmark
Figure 3 Figure 4
18th century steel tamper showing

case inserted to form handle
Figure 5
Early 18th century English tamper, finger-pull type with the

“Eye of Providence” and heart pierced by two arrows
Figure 6
18th century steel folding corkscrew with
each end formed to act as tamper
Figure 7
18th century steel ember tongs showing 18th century unique steel ember tongs with both
tampers at apex and at handle on lower example tamper at apex and corkscrew at handle
Figure 8
All photos © www.lorenzophotography.co.uk
18th century steel

combination nutcracker, hoof
pick, corkscrew and tamper
Figure 9 as being for removing stones from
horses’ hooves, and unless a more
plausible explanation is provided,
I am inclined to accept this theory
(Figure 8).
The custom of circulating nuts and
tobacco at the end of a meal unsur-
prisingly led to nutcrackers having a
handle carved down to act as a tam-
17th century treen per (Figure 9). A steel nutcracker is
nutcrackers, one also recorded, where one arm has a
dated 1671, the corkscrew on the end with a screw-on
other incorporating cover that becomes the tamper, thus
a whistle, both with forming the three utensils in one.
handles slimmed to act In the 18th century, the habit
as tampers developed, particularly in Holland,
of not just carrying a tamper in the
pocket but a silver tool that became
Figure 10 known as “a gentleman’s compan-
ion.” This, as well as having a crest or
coat of arms on the end, held several
essential pieces of equipment (Fig-
ure 10). In the case of this one, they
are a nail cleaner, ear scoop, tongue
scraper and pipe tamper. A somewhat
similar tool in steel but being more
of a workman’s piece has had fur-
ther equipment added and appears in
Figure 11. Here, we have the tamper,
pricker and corkscrew together with
the pick to clear stones from horses’
18th century Dutch silver “gentleman’s companion” displaying tools,
hooves, tweezers, turnscrew, bodkin,
namely tongue scraper, nail cleaner, pipe tamper, tooth pick, ear scoop
center worm screw and button hook.
While those described and illus-
trated so far have clear evidence of an
Figure 11 actual tamper, it must also be remem-
bered that any object of the right
size and shape could have been, and
probably was, brought into use for
the purpose of tamping the tobacco
in the pipe.
Early 19th century The most likely dual-purpose
multiple steel tool object must be a seal. There are
similar to “gentleman’s objects in wood, bone and ivory that
companion” have a seal at one end and a stopper at
the other. But a seal on its own would
be just as useful for the purpose. This
Figure 12 equally applies to needle and sealing-
wax cases. Sometimes, in addition, a
third end can provide further infor-
mation: the date or the owner’s ini-
tials, and, in the case of the tamper in
Figure 12, the station in life is clearly
indicated by the bishop’s mitre.
Scent bottles are another possibil-
ity, as are porcelain toys. Most have
a substantial base and are therefore
quite unsuitable, but when you find
one with such a small round base that
Figure 13
Circa 1800 silver combination

Figure 14
tampers illustrating pricker,
mouthpiece, perforated pipe bowl
cover and magnifying glass
it can hardly stand up safely, the dual

purpose has to come to mind. After
all, smoking was not a male preserve,
and one can well understand a lady
finding a dab of scent welcome after
a pipe full of tobacco.
As the years went by, various smok-
er’s requisites became incorporated
in tampers. The pricker appeared
in the early 17th century. In the late Figure 15
18th century, the silver mouthpiece
(to protect the lips from hot sticky
clay) came about and can be found
in hollowed-out antler tips but more
frequently in the smoker’s tool (Figure
13). This was followed by the magni-
fying glass (providing a light from the
focusing sunlight), which would have
taken over from the earlier tinder box
(Figures 14 and 15). Finally, the tool
might provide a perforated end to
cover the pipe bowl to encourage the
draw (as in Figure 13).
Older readers may recall that,
60 years or so ago, when visiting
a craftsman at his workbench, he
was usually discovered underneath
a cloud of tobacco smoke. Thus it
becomes logical that he would make 18th century steel tinder box enclosing striker together with
or order tools that incorporated the corkscrew and tamper
S
essential tamper.
Figure 16
19th century brass tampers depicting tradesmen’s tools
Figure 17 pickaxe and the barrel, glass and

bottle in the right-hand hammer.
Even closer to the trade are actual
tools that incorporate a tamper. For
instance, the steel gun-maker’s tool in
Figure 17 includes pliers, corkscrew,
pricker, worm screw and other gun-
making implements with three ends,
any of which could be used as a tam-
per. While one wonders how many
more crafts had tools to include a
tamper that have yet to be recognized,
surely a cobbler is as likely to emerge
from under that cloud of smoke as is
a gun-maker. We have come full circle
18th century steel tool with tamper, pricker, corkscrew, tweezers, hammer and as the corkscrew originated from the
gun-maker’s screw gun screw.
My final example, in Figure 18,
includes pliers with a cover forming
Figure 18
the tamper, but I need some knowl-
edgeable reader to tell us what it is for.
Hopefully, one of you will be able to
and maybe our editor will announce
the answer in the next issue.
Pipe tampers provide intriguing
insights into everyday social his-
tory, reflecting those pastimes that
have been important to the general
populace. For much of history, pipe
smoking was an integral part of daily
living, and this important accessory
resonates with those fundamental
behaviors. Pipe tampers with mul-
tiple uses and socially significant
Tampers are found usually in brass, known are bellows, iron and planes. themes provide a view of how smok-
in the shape of tradesmen’s tools, as Note the continued association with ers through the centuries have com-
in Figure 16, where an anvil, pick- drinking demonstrated by the barrel bined their most important activities
axe and hammer are illustrated. Also and glass design in the right-hand and amusements. P&T
of Pipes and tobaccos back issues
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2006 Fall 2010

Winter Spring
2008
STORY
COVER ence
ish Influ
The Dan esigns
ge D
in Tsu
COVER STORY
Lindner Pipes
COVER
STORY
Dunhill’s first Master
Blaster
100 years J.T. Coo
ke
rs New Zea
-five Yea land’s Fi
nest:
A ty
Twen quarter century
s
of Pip e Show Jan Zem
an
untry with CORPS
Low Co und Tobacco
Reviews:
igh Gro
Takes H Cornell
& Diehl
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F I N E TO BAC C O S
BY TAD GAGE AND JOE HARB
Trial by FIRE
This go around, we danced with Sas- that it competes with stouter English leaf complements darker aged Virginia,
quatch and sipped some new offerings blends, but that it’s an opportunity to and the orange and honey overtones of
from German-made Cup O’ Joes, then taste a Cavendish-forward tobacco, the aromatic casing refuse to turn bitter.
took a short tour of family history with gently supported by sweet Virginia and Thinking back on the days when I tried,
the Stokkebye 4th Generation tobaccos. cooling Latakia, in an uncased form. for a blessedly short time, tobaccos like
The tinned series from Cup O’ Joes fea- Dry, leathery, loamy, woody mesquite cookies and cream that tasted like nei-
tures a fanciful Bigfoot theme. Highlight- character, with a touch of brightness ther cookies and cream nor tobacco,
ing the consistently high-quality tobaccos more than sweetness from the Virginia No. 2 reminds me that one can find
from manufacturer Kohlhase & Kopp, leaf, Windigo is a solid changeup in a aromatic satisfaction with a blend that
they left an impression. In celebration of stouter English rotation. It’s also a good delivers on its tin aroma. There’s a hint
four generations of family tobacco mak- opportunity to enjoy English character of honey and a touch of citrus, and they
ers, Stokkebye, in late 2012, issued four if you’re not a big Latakia fan. complement rather than overpower
tobaccos manufactured and blended by the tobacco. And nobody is going to
Mac Baren. I found all the Stokkebye Harb: Windigo is the primary English- object to the room aroma. The lightly
offerings and the Cup O’ Joes tobaccos style blend in the series. The aroma of fruity scent might even win over some
benefited from 24 to 72 hours of open-air Latakia emerges as soon as the tin is secondhand smoke haters (a dream I
drying time to bring down the moisture opened. I found the blend to be very frequently have), and you don’t need
level. There is nothing wrong with moist moist, and it needed to be dried consid- to tell them that it is delivering real
tobaccos—they’re much better than too- erably before loading in the pipe. The tobacco flavor! With sufficient drying,
dry tobacco and they also let you dry cut is irregular, with the golden Vir- the mixture smokes cool and even, with
some and save some for later. —Tad Gage ginia presented as large, coarse chunks. no goop or dottle. This is a very fine
I found the blend hard to light, but it aromatic mixture.
Cup O’ Joes No. 1 Windigo produced lots of flavor that was com-
Gage: This chunky, coarse-cut mixture plex and had a good level of depth. The Harb: This blend is described as con-
of Latakia, Virginias and cake-sliced Latakia is the prominent flavor, but it taining a mix of broken Virginia, black
black Cavendish offered up a great doesn’t overwhelm the other compo- Cavendish and golden Virginia that has
visual appeal and a woodsy, sweet and nents. Rather, it combines well with the been flavored with orange, chocolate and
smoky tin aroma. The Cavendish is cut Virginias. There is a moderate level of honey. It is presented in a wild cut, with
from a cake—a nice sign of an aged body contributed by the Cavendish. some of the pieces being quite large. The
product that’s a step above Cavendish blend has a tangy/tart aroma with sweet-
ordinaire. The Virginias come in a vari- Cup O’ Joes No. 2 Maricoxi ness. The blend is not overly moist, but
ety of cuts, some pieces so generous Gage: If you’re in the aromatic woods I still let it dry to a crinkly consistency.
they can be unfurled like a flag if you’re hunting for a high-quality blend, you Once stoked to embers, it was obvi-
so inclined. The tin aroma promises might want to bag this one. Unlike ous that the flavorings were added with
a rich, medium English aroma, both many aromatics with potent casings, the a light touch so they complement the
sweet and smoky, and it leaned toward tin aroma doesn’t over-promise, offer- tobacco flavor. The honey adds a sweet
a mild English mixture when smoked. ing subtle notes of honey and orange. tone to the golden Virginia. The blend
The Latakia is present, but the black The cut is an attractive mix of tan, gold lit easily and burned smooth. The flavor
Cavendish, which isn’t cased, played the and brown ribbon-cut Virginias and a level is light, so some smokers may have
most prominent role of all the tobaccos. splash of black Cavendish. Although the a tendency to puff too hard trying to get
The differing cuts of tobacco offered aromatic saucing is evident, it doesn’t more flavor than the blend will deliver,
a pleasing interplay of flavors as vari- entirely mask some attractive, well- and that can lead to overheating and bite.
ous leaf comes to the fore. This is not aged Virginia leaf. The blond flue-cured The blend will reward you with a soft,
slow puffing rhythm in a variety of pipe want a bit more vitamin N may be
sizes. Overall, the flavor is very intrigu- attracted to No. 3.
ing, and I found that a pinch added to
other blends gave them a taste variation Cup O’ Joes No. 4 Yeti
that was very attractive. Cup O’ Joes No. Gage: A generally dark, sliced and lightly
2 is a definite recommendation. broken all-Virginia pressed flake greets
you with a delicious tin aroma of ber-
Cup O’ Joes No. 3 Chuchunaa ries, straw and cider vinegar: much more
Gage: Mixed coarse flake with ribbons appealing than the aroma produced by
of yellow and red Virginia, Burley and a yeti. Although not stoved, it has all the
black Cavendish look great, but the aro- attributes of a slightly fruity and well-aged
matic tin aroma is potent: powerfully Virginia. Quick to dry once opened (need-
fruity and cherry-like that masks any ing only a couple of hours to lose a bit of
tobacco smell. However, a plus is the excess moisture), the blend is easy to pack
tobacco dries down after a few days left in a variety of ways, from intact as strips
open, and that’s an encouraging sign that or rubbed out to varying degrees. I found
it isn’t going to become a gob of glycerin it a very exciting mixture for large-bowl
goop in the pipe. The tobacco packs easily pipes because it’s so easy to leave chunky
and delivers a huge smoke volume from and get all the punches of flavor from the
the get-go. And while a light, cherry-like interplay of the light and dark Virginia.
aromatic character comes through in the Quick to light in any form, it immediately
smoking, so does some very nice Vir- settles into a comfortable, easy-drawing
ginia character, lightly spiced by the Cav- smoke with awesome smoke volume. This
endish. The Burley acts like a binder. The is a fine all-pipe blend, delivering a light,
slightly rough cut makes this an excellent spicy, slightly salty barnyard quality that
and smooth-smoking selection, particu- is highly appealing. The sweetness is not
larly for midsize and large pipes, where pronounced, but comes across more as
it can deliver a rich and clean-burning smoothness. The nicotine potency is not
smoke and has a chance to open up. In a nearly as pronounced as many Virginia
smaller pipe, the chunkier-cut tobaccos mixtures, so the spice doesn’t overpower
were a bit crowded. A classy, tobacco- the subtle flavors. However, the nicotine
rich choice for aromatic smokers want- and spiciness do build toward the bottom
ing some cherry flavor but disappointed third of the bowl, so you nicotine hunt-
with run-of-the-mill “cherry” mixtures ers will find this plenty satisfying with a
that taste nothing like fruit. little patience. Yeti is a fine choice for pure
Virginia pipers who find bliss in a well-
Harb: With three flavoring agents conceived mix of carefully aged leaf.
added—rum, coconut and macadamia
nuts—I knew this blend was going to Harb: This blend is described as pure
be very aromatic. I wasn’t disappointed Virginia flake, but there is no indica-
when I popped the tin. I also found the tion of the types of Virginias used, or
tobaccos needed drying to reduce the of any processing the tobaccos may
amount of moisture. Once in a pipe, I have undergone. Because processing,
expected the flavorings to dominate, maturing and aging will produce differ-
but the tastes they added were not as ent flavor characteristics, I think more
intense as suggested by the intensity information would be useful to the con-
of the aroma. The primary tobaccos sumer in selecting this blend. The flakes
are golden Virginia and Burley, with a are thin and easy to rub out, and consist
speckling of black Cavendish through- of medium to dark brown tobaccos. The
out the blend. There was a tendency to tin aroma is that of Virginias that have
bite at first light, but this quickly abated been moderately flue-cured, and the
and the blend settled down nicely for flavors produced by the blend are typi-
a pleasant smoke that remained rela- cal of moderate processing. The blend is
tively dry and cool. The flavorings smooth and sweet. With a slow puffing
did mask the tobaccos initially, but by rhythm, No. 4 burned dry to a soft ash.
mid-bowl they had burned off so that
the rich flavor of the Virginias could Cup O’ Joes No. 5 Bigfoot
emerge more. The Burley contributed Gage: Despite the gorgeous, tiger-striped
a moderate level of body, so those who broken flakes of light and dark Virginias
that blinded me with their sheer beauty, cleanly and left no dottle. But given the tin aroma and negligible in smoking.
the tin aroma interrupted my senses with right pipe, this is a blend that’s sure to The ribbon-cut Virginia is pleasing,
an onslaught of a bowl of Jolly Rancher please an aromatic smoker looking for stays lit after tin drying and delivers
watermelon candies. Better than what excellent base tobaccos and an unusual good smoke volume. I found it pleas-
they say Bigfoot smells like, but holy and interesting flavor profile. ant enough but monochromatic—
wooly moly. Not that I have anything more Burley-like than anything resem-
against such sweets, but if I’d smelled Harb: The label describes a Virginia bling Virginia leaf, and with little
this mixture in a smoke shop jar, I would flake with a caramel flavoring, which is flavor change occurring throughout
have taken an immediate pass. But, the an interesting variation on the typical the smoke. The fine cut is a plus for
reviewer’s lot is to try new things, so I Virginia flake. Once the tin is opened, small pipes.
dove in. Well, Bigfoot proved that you there is no question that this blend has
can’t always judge a book by the cover, been flavored enough to fill the room Harb: The typical label describes a Vir-
because the mixture actually turned with the sweet scent of caramel. Once ginia mixture with pineapple flavoring.
out to be a warm, cuddly and friendly the tobacco has been stoked to embers, The tin aroma is sweet and tart from
aromatic. The nails-on-chalkboard tin the flavoring is not as intense as the a light topping that I could not iden-
aroma was nowhere to be found. Sure, aroma suggests, but it is intense enough tify as pineapple. The bright Virginias
there was a bit of delicate, watermelon- to initially mask some of the underlying appear to be the more prominent, with
like flavor. Although the tin description tobacco flavor and leave a moderately medium matured Virginia added. The
is caramel, I tasted watermelon. Every- full room note. By mid-bowl, much of tobacco was not overly moist, and the
body has a caramel aromatic, but it’s not the caramel flavor was diminished, let- first trial was with no drying. At the
often you run across watermelon, even ting the Virginia tang emerge. Cara- first light, the Virginias were delicate
if unintentional! Mostly, I tasted some mel is a popular flavoring that should in flavor, with rich sweetness, and with
kick-butt Virginias. Whether rubbed out attract some smokers to blend No. 5 the topping adding more sweetness and
or smoked relatively intact, these flakes from Cup O’ Joes. a light tartness to the blend. By mid-
presented deep Virginia flavor with bowl, most of the topping had dissi-
extensive interplay between aged bright Cup O’ Joes No. 6 Skookum pated. For a second trial, I let the blend
and sweet dark Virginias. I wouldn’t Gage: This is a fine ribbon cut with a dry to a crisp consistency, which evapo-
smoke this mixture in a pipe dedicated pleasing Virginia tin aroma, and while rated most of the added topping but left
to uncased blends, as it does leave some the label says pineapple/tropical notes, the sweetness it contained as part of the
aromatic ghosting even though it burned any aromatic flavor was minimal in the flavor the blend had.
4th Generation 1931 that the flavors continued to develop time—as close to bone-dry as I can
Gage: If I had $10 for every tobacco and allowed the blend to gain depth tolerate tobacco, but quite necessary
advertised as navy flake over the last down the bowl. This is a variation in to facilitate the gentle puffing required.
century, I’d have more than a little the variety of available navy flakes that Straight out of the tin, it wouldn’t stay
pocket change. What, exactly, is navy may be attractive to some as a change lit for me without furious puffing. Many
flake? Nobody knows, including me, of pace. experienced puffers have said this is
and we go over this same issue every quite similar to Mac Baren No. 1, with
time we discuss one! OK, it has to be a 4th Generation 1855 a bit more topping that isn’t particularly
flake. But bottom line, the origin of the Gage: I was immediately drawn to apparent in the smoking. Worth noting,
tobacco is something infused with whis- the unusual light buckwheat honey but I will leave it to your discretion. On
key or honey or mysterious humectants tin aroma (being less sweet-smelling its own, this is a fine blend.
that will allow the blend to hold up dur- and earthier than the clover-honey tin
ing two years at sea, resistant to rot and aroma of many honey-infused blends). Harb: Blend 1855 in the 4th Genera-
salt, repugnant to ship rats, but some- Blond broken flake (closer to sliced rib- tion series is composed of all-natural
how deemed fit for human consump- bons of flake) of Virginia featuring tans, Virginias that appear to have roughly
tion as a chaw or a smoke. Well, you get golds and browns was certainly appeal- equal amounts of golden and matured
my point. We effete smokers of today ing. Even with a few days of open-air Virginia presented as a ready-rubbed
have elevated our expectations for what drying, the tobacco remained moist, flake. It is suitable for loading in the
a navy flake should be. 1931 goes right but definitely smokable. While obvi- pipe from the tin, but some smokers
along with today’s elevated expectations. ously cased, it lit easily, delivered great may prefer to rub the tobaccos out for a
This is an attractive sliced flake brin- smoke volume and tasted almost exclu- more uniform consistency. The aroma is
dled with gold and tan Burleys and Vir- sively of tobacco. It wasn’t a super-sweet rich, with the sweetness of quality Vir-
ginias and a hint of black Cavendish, Virginia, but very smooth, with a sweet/ ginias and a nice fruity note. I found the
with a potent honeyed tin aroma. Once not-sweet spice of something akin to blend to be a bit too moist in the tin for
dried down appropriately, it’s easy to cardamom seeds, a signature spice of my preference, so I let it dry for a couple
rub out, which I found lent a more even Indian cuisine. The blend demands of hours and loaded it into a pipe with
and appealing smoke than in chunkier slow and easy smoking, however, to a medium-sized bowl. During the char-
form. Although navy flakes are all over fend off sugar bite and allow the subtle ring light, the blend had a tendency to
the board in terms of what constitutes flavors to bloom. I felt this performed overheat, so for the next trial I let it dry
the flavorings, the topping on this was much better after significant drying more, and it cooled down and burned
sweet honey with a touch of lemon lent
by the bright Virginia leaf in the flakes.
But, the topping was not off-putting
for the English tobacco smoker, and if
there is whiskey in it, the blend did not
smoke with the typical heat of whiskey-
sauced tobaccos. I must say, it bears a
family resemblance to manufacturer
Mac Baren’s Navy Flake, but deserves
to be judged on its own by the smoker.
1931 is a smooth blend with minimal
nicotine, delivering a pleasing, lightly
spicy and clean-burning tobacco with
just a hint of aromatic flavor.
Harb: This is a pressed flake blend that

combines mature Virginias and Burleys
with a touch of black Cavendish to bal-
ance the tobaccos. The flakes are thin
and break apart easily. Once stoked, the
flavor is sweet, tangy and rich. The Bur-
ley provides a moderately full body to
the smoke, which is smooth and flavor-
ful. There is a light topping that gives
the blend sweetness, and the Virginias
have a light fruitiness. Occasionally, a
floral taste was noted. It can burn hot if
smoked too fast or hard. By mid-bowl,
the Burleys became more assertive so
smoothly. This is a straightforward Virginias. This blend burned evenly or aftertaste. I could draw parallels to
Virginia blend that has good variation and slow, but could be pushed to bite if fine Mac Baren tobaccos, and I give it
between the lighter golden Virginias puffed too hard or too fast. Much of the a hearty recommendation for aromatic
and the matured Virginias, which lent vanilla flavor was diminished by mid- lovers. Oh, and I got very positive, un-
the blend more depth of flavor. bowl, but the flavor was still noticeable solicited room aroma kudos from the
toward the end of the bowl. Vanilla is wife, who tends to prefer the room
4th Generation 1897 a popular flavor addition, and if it is a aroma of Latakia and potent Orien-
Gage: A rich-looking blend of browns, flavor you enjoy in your tobacco, this tal tobaccos (bless her heart). Praise
black and tan, reflecting the black Cav- blend would be a good one to try. for this sweet-smelling aromatic from
endish, Burleys and Virginias. The tin the queen and founding member of
aroma was an appealing chocolate and 4th Generation 1957 the Spousal Stinky Tobacco Apprecia-
molasses rather than the described Gage: The tobacco presented a tin tion Society (SSTAS)—is high praise
vanilla and honey. The casing, how- aroma of vanilla, but way beyond, with indeed. These days, a fine-tasting
ever, fails to deliver much in the way hints of toasted hazelnuts and scones tobacco that wins praise from those
of flavor, although I detected a slight with a vanilla caramel sauce. Not around you is always a plus.
bitterness. The topping is simply a non- often do I find it in my black Latakia-
starter, masking the tobacco’s flavor but loving heart to praise the complexity of Harb: This is a blend that has a light
lending little to the overall mixture. an aromatic’s tin aroma, but this is it. touch of aromatic and creamy vanilla
Very fine, evenly brown ribbon cut of that adds to the sweetness and flavor
Harb: The addition of rich vanilla to Virginias, Burleys and not very much of the tobaccos used. The blend has
this blend produces an aroma that is black Cavendish painted an attractive a good compositional harmony, and
wonderful, and the addition of honey picture. This mixture really resisted dry- the component tobaccos work well
gives the blend subtle sweet notes. ing down, but despite being quite pliant together to produce an enjoyable fla-
These flavorings also make the blend after days of drying, stayed lit pretty well vor profile and burning characteristics
very moist. I let it air from dawn to dusk and burned evenly without any dottle that are cool with no bite as long as
and loaded it in a pipe even though it and very little moisture or need to use a the smoker pays attention to the puff-
was still a bit moist. Initially the tobacco pipe cleaner during the smoke. It offers ing rhythm. Some may like to use a
was hard to light. However, once stoked, a rich smoke with more nutty charac- larger-sized bowl to get an abundance
it was very smooth, with a pleasant ter than vanilla, and plenty of Virginia of flavor, but I preferred this blend
vanilla flavor. The honey added a nice sweetness. This is definitely a straight- in a smaller bowl so I could smoke it
sweet note. The primary tobacco flavor forward aromatic, but content to be so. slowly and evenly. If you’ve given up
character was the Burley, which was This could easily be an all-day smoke, if on aromatics or flavored blends, this
well-matched with the Virginia com- there is such a thing anymore. It delivers would be a good candidate to try if you
ponent. The vanilla may have masked a nutty, vanilla flavor, plus good tobacco want to return to the genre. It may find
some of the more delicate notes of the character, and absolutely no bitterness a place in your rotation. P&T
Horace DeJarnett
The pipe world lost a great friend on DeJarnett would tell you that his
July 24 when pipemaker Horace DeJar- pipes are perhaps not the most beauti-
nett passed away at age 77. Though he fully finished instruments on the mar-
was enduring terminal cancer, a stroke ket (some would disagree), but each
took his life. one is designed for performance. The
In 1999, when he retired from and one unwavering commitment DeJarnett
sold his food brokerage business, insisted on was that each of his pipes be
DeJarnett began his happiest voca- an excellent smoker.
tion: pipemaking. It started as a hobby His pipe designs reflect a certain irre-
but soon progressed, and he found sistible whimsy, and many pipe smokers
himself selling his pipes to enthusi- found themselves attracted to that char-
asts around the world. He learned the acteristic, as well as to DeJarnett’s charm
fundamentals from Arizona pipe- and personality. Tragically, no more new
maker Andrew Kovacs and sharpened DeJarnett pipes will find their way into
his skills by having long telephone the hands of pipe smokers, and his skills
conversations with Mark Tinsky of and enthusiasm will be missed by the pipe
American Smoking Pipes. community and all who knew him. P&T
I N T RO D U C I N G
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The 29th annual Conclave of Richmond Pipe Smokers Pipe & Cigar Smokers Exposi-
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N. Third St., Richmond, VA 23219. Visit the CORPS website at www.corpipesmokers. Cup O’ Joes CVR4
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The fifth-annual West Coast Pipe Show will be Nov. 2–3, 2013, at the Palace Station Hotel Meerschaum Store 42
& Casino in Las Vegas. Smoking will be allowed in the entire show area. For West Coast
Pipe Show room rates, contact the Palace Station Hotel & Casino at 800.634.3101; website: Music City Marketing 9
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435.760.2411; email: steve@westcoastpipeshow.com; website www.westcoastpipeshow.com.
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Dutch corkscrew tampers circa 1780, including pricker

18th century steel tamper showing

Early 18th century English tamper, finger-pull type with the

18th century steel

Circa 1800 silver combination

it can hardly stand up safely, the dual

19th century brass tampers depicting tradesmen’s tools

Figure 17 pickaxe and the barrel, glass and

2006 Fall 2010

Select back issues from 1996—2013 available

BY TAD GAGE AND JOE HARB

Harb: This is a pressed flake blend that

Offer available on 2011 and earlier editions

Ardor Peterson Eltang/Former L’Anatra Tinsky Savinelli Jody Davis

Chicagoland International Pipe & Tobacciana Show

Pipelines needs you! We keep hear-

4noggins.com Fader’s (four locations) Park-Lane Tobacconist

Pipes and tobaccos magazine PRIME Retailers.

Pipe by Jody Davis

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