About Me
I work out of a small shop in Lexington, Kentucky. I began making briar pipes in early 2022. I have been a pipe smoker and tinkerer for a long time, and I’ve always been fascinated by their construction. My fascination and a desire for a better pipe caused me to eventually try my hand at making them myself. Learning how to make pipes was a natural progression for me since I’ve spent most of my life crafting and making things for myself. What began as a hobby turned into a passion pretty quickly, 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.
My Process
All of my pipes are handmade, and I try to shape each one according to what works best with that particular piece of briar. My stems are drilled and hand cut from rods and are made to fit each pipe specifically. I use leather dye to bring out the grain of the briar and I finish each pipe with a coating of carnauba wax. If I am unable to leave the pipe smooth then I do rustication, but in the future I may set up to do sandblasting as well. After finishing my pipes I generally use a natural bowl coating with a neutral flavor. I use the coating for aesthetic purposes and to protect the briar, never to cover up pits or other such flaws in the bowl. I take a lot of care in making sure that each pipe flows well and that they are comfortable when smoking. I make sure that all of my drilling is as accurate as possible and that everything lines up well. My mouthpieces are made to be comfortable on the outside with a nice taper on the inside leading to the main airway. Each pipe is made to have a smooth open draw and is able to pass a fluffy pipe cleaner easily. 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 buy my materials from widely trusted sources and I make sure that I don’t skimp out on quality. I do use olivewood or morta sometimes, but briar is what I work with the majority of the time. I keep all the blocks safely stored while they are waiting to become pipes, taking the time to make sure that they are fully dry and stable before working on them. I also monitor the temperature and the humidity in my shop to make sure that the blocks don’t undergo stress from fluctuations. For my stems I use German ebonite or Italian Acrylic. 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.