A baff? Preview

Just got a few photos of pipes in progress from David Wagner. He tells me he's hoping to have 8-12 pipes for Chicago. I can't wait to see them all! Think of all the great pipes being made right now. What a great time of year! -T

baff? website

Making Our Fortune

It's slowly dawned on us that maybe pipe racks won't make us rich. So with that in mind, we're branching out! Book cases! That's where the real money is. Okay, I'm joking. We do want to do some other things and the photo above is a little preview of coming attractions. It's a small book case with a secret top compartment for ... secret stuff. I'll be painting it over the next couple of days and post photos of the completed project then. I would love to hear any feedback you might have. -T

The Chicago Dilemma- What to Pack?

It's getting close to that special event of the year- The Chicago International Pipe & Tobaccaina Show! And now I am confronted with the yearly problem; what to pack for the show. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not talking about clothes- that's easy. I'll be there for 3 days, so 3 pairs of cargo (plenty of room for stuff) pants, 3 pair of underwear, 3 t-shirts, 3 pairs of socks, a sweater and/or jacket (it's usually chilly up north) and I'll be wearing my hiking boots. Check, roger, over and out on that. The real dilemma is ... how many and which pipes to take? It's a day's drive up, 3 days there and a day back. Approx. 100 hours total. I'll sleep about 18 hours of that. That leaves 82 hours. Say 5 hours in the Mega Center (where we can no longer smoke). Now I'm down to 78 hours. 4 hours for meals at non-smoking restaurants puts it at 68 hours of pipe smoking time. That means if an average bowl lasts 40 minutes, I'll need to take 102 pipes. I don't own 102 pipes, so I'll have to smoke them more than once on the trip. I prefer not to smoke a pipe more than once a day. If I adhere to this limitation, I'll need 20 pipes. Still a bit much, so I'll say 12 or maybe 13- a baker's dozen. Ok- I've got a number in mind, but what about other considerations? Which pipe maker's will be there? I don't want to be sitting around a table w/ pipe maker X and not have the pipe he made. Wouldn't he see that as an affront? Maybe not, but it's something to think about. And then there's the recently purchased pipes that I want to show off. I would hate to leave them behind. This is the one time of the year where I am around people who will actually want to see my new pipes. Another thought- I have to bring pipes that are good smokers. I don't want to bring a pipe that may be finicky with certain tobaccos - I'd hate to be seen relighting a pipe more than once or twice in such august company as this. I pride myself on being a pipeman. I don't want to look like some greenhorn.

There's a lot to consider. It's good that I have nearly a month to get my plans ironed out. Oh- jeez! I haven't even thought about what tobacco I'll bring! I need to get busy. There will be some long days ahead. I'm sure it will work out fine- it always has- but careful planning will certainly help. -T

What They Smoke Part 4 - Wolfgang Becker

If I were Wolfgang Becker, I would smoke Wolfgang Becker pipes. Apparently Wolfgang agrees with me- he has a fantastic selection of his pipes reserved for personal use. Take a look- T

What They Smoke Part 3 - Gregor Lobnik

Unfortunately, for me at least, Slovenian pipe maker Gregor Lobnik only makes pipes part time. He has a day job and this slows his output considerably. But, when he does make pipes they are really special. -T

Gregor Lobnik - These are my pipes that I smoke when I go out. At home I smoke pipes that are wasted in the process of pipemaking. I use only one mouth piece and a lot of drilled blocks of briar in different stages of making. Depends when I see something went wrong. Does not look good, but smokes good.

(from Left to right) Leather covered pipe, Lobnik pipe which has brought me into the final of the 2004 P&T magazine carving contest, Black rusticated Lobnik and a Ser Jacopo w/ silver

What They Smoke Part 2 - David Wagner/baff

Austrian pipe maker David Wagner of baff pipes (actually, David is baff pipes) is next up. Several people have commented that they had heard most pipe makers smoke their own pipes or at least their rejects and David addresses this. David Enrique also told me he smoked is own pipes to test new innovations. -T

Here's David Wagner-

This rack is in my workshop and they are my favorite smokers. 

Foreground from left to right: Wallenstein, Tsuge, baff, baff

Background from left to right: Prammer morta, Prammer morta, Dunhill bent

But most of the time I am smoking half finished pipes for testing purposes. E.g. I smoke a pipe with let's say 3.5mm drilling in the stem for maybe 2-3 months, then I drill the stem to 4mm and see if there is any difference ...

What They Smoke Part 1 - David Enrique

A couple of weeks ago on French pipe maker, David Enrique's Blog he posted photos of a pipe he had made of Morta or Bog Wood. I was drawn to it immediately, so I emailed David to ask if I could buy it. He replied that it was his first attempt at making a pipe from this material and he wanted to smoke several bowls in it to get a better sense of it's smoking properties. I couldn't stand in the way of scientific investigation. But this exchange got me to thinking - What pipes do pipe makers smoke? What interests them in a pipe? What makers do they value? I had seen Bo Norhd's pipe rack in Chicago a couple of years ago and I found it fascinating to look at. They were beat up dirty old pipes. Here was a man who made possibly the best pipes in the world and this was what he smoked? So I decided to ask my favorite pipe makers to send me a photo of their personal pipes. David Enrique was the first to respond so I'll start with him -T

David Enrique- " Here are a few of my favorite pipes that I selected for their aesthetic beauty, comfort and smoking qualities." 

In the front: a Talbert Morta and a Paolo Becker Tomato

In the middle: a Rad Davis and a Comoy's Blue Riband that is a little billiard that I adore to hold in my mouth while smoking latakia

In the back: a huge Larsen Select, Danish Bulldag that smokes my best Virginia blend like a dream