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