I work out of a small shop located in Lexington, Kentucky. For quite a while now I’ve been fascinated by the construction of tobacco pipes and what goes in to making one smoke to its full potential. Beginning in early 2022 my fascination and a desire for a better pipe led me to try my hand at making them for myself. Learning how to make pipes was a pretty natural progression for me since I’ve spent most of my life crafting and making my own stuff. What began as a hobby quickly turned into a passion, and I don’t think I’ll be able to quit any time soon. When it comes to my pipes, I have very high standards, and the details are very important to me. My goal is to make beautiful high-quality pipes that give a great smoke, and to make each pipe a little better than the one before it.
About Me
My Process
All of my pipes are completely handmade. I do my best to shape each stummel according to what works best with that particular piece of briar, and my stems are drilled and hand cut from rods. I always try to show off the briar’s natural beauty as best as possible. If I’m unable to leave the pipe smooth then I do rustication, but in the future I may set up to do sandblasting as well. I typically use a homemade neutral flavored bowl coating for aesthetic purposes and to protect the briar, never to cover flaws in the bowl. I drill all of my pipes as accurately as possible and ensure that everything lines up well. My mouthpieces are made to be comfortable when smoking and to have a nice open taper on the inside leading to the main airway. The engineering that makes a pipe smoke well is something that made me want to start doing this in the first place. A beautiful pipe is one thing but it’s nothing if it doesn’t smoke well.
My Materials
I make sure to always buy high grade materials from well known sources. I typically work with briar, though I do use olivewood and morta every once in a while. I keep all the blocks safely stored while they are waiting to become pipes and I take the time to make sure that they are fully dry before working on them. My stems are made from either German ebonite or Italian Acrylic rods. Some other materials that I like to add in from time to time are different types of woods, horn, artificial ivory, and bamboo. I pride myself in the quality of my pipes and I go out of my way to make sure that I use the best materials available to me.