V&N- Maybe not so cruel ... ?

I'm not sure if Martin and Anders (Vollmer & Nilsson) are in fact nice guys or if this is part of their evil plot for pipeworld domination, but after all my moaning and whining they informed me that one of the pipes that they had sent me photos of was available. It happened to be one of my favorites, so I immediately snapped it up. It's a beautiful pipe and I'm sure I will love smoking it for years to come. I can't wait to get it. But I have to wonder- maybe I'm one of those conspiracy nuts- or maybe they knew I couldn't resist ... -T

p.s. They tell me they are working on a website update, but then, in theory so are we.

Vollmer & Nilsson; Cruel Friends

Be careful what you wish for ....

I recently exchanged emails and ideas with our pipe maker friends Martin Vollmer and Anders Nilsson. The object of the correspondence was a pair of pipes that I wished to commission to be picked up in May at the Chicago Pipe Show. The "pair" ended up being 3 pipes and after some discussion and some great ideas on V&N's part, I will be getting 3 amazing and exciting pipes. I can't wait. Foolishly in parting I asked my friends to send me some photos of current work whenever they had the chance. I like to see what they are working on and they are even worse at updating their website than we are. Well, I got what I asked for and I can't help imagining Anders and Martin having a good laugh, knowing that I would certainly come down with a bad case of pipe lust. The Swedish duo give the impression of being perfect gentlemen, but I think if you look closer you will find a cunning cruel streak. Here's a few of the photos they sent that are now making my life a little miserable. -T

Happy Thanksgiving!

We will be over indulging w/ friends and family ( after watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade) and we hope you all have the opportunity to do the same. -T

The Factory is Humming!

OK- we don't have a factory or anything close, but we have been busy and that's good! Here's a couple of international orders. One to Canada and one to Merry Old England. -T

Two Cousins on YouTube!

Take a look !

Fascinating Reading!

Great stuff over at A Passion for Pipes. Even we old dog pipe smokers have a lot to learn.

Here's a little intro to what Neill has to say-

"This three-part series will go in my book in the chapter: On Successful Pipe Smoking. It explores a number of issues, most notably 1) How and why blends develop; 2) Matching tobaccos to pipes; 3) How chamber geometry affects tobacco flavor; 3) Why draft hole diameter is relevant to tobacco flavor; and 4) Where tobacco flavor really comes from. The three series posts are:

1) The Mystery of the transforming tobacco
2) Finding that magic fit between pipe and tobacco
3) How and why chamber geometry affects tobacco flavor

In developing this series, I used research findings I unearthed that were developed by scientists who were researching the relationship between the chemical composition of smoke and tobacco-burning temperature. The experiments and findings were initially part of a cancer research study, but their findings and methodology have much broader utility."

Take a look if you haven't already. It will make you think and maybe make you want to do a little experimenting on your own. -T

Above image from Neill Roan' article