News & Featured Pipes

Let me wish you all Merry Christmas and very Happy New Year. Looking at the global scene, it certainly was a turbulent one for many people. Continuing war in Iraq, tsunami in Indonesia, cyclone in New Orleans and threat of Bird Flu, lot of people had a hard time and certainly need for good pipe smoke to relax a bit.

So let's hope next year will be calmer, with less disasters and violence and that all of us will live in peace and greater understanding of one another. End if the old humble pipe will help to achieve it, then all of us should light up and help others to do the same...join the pipe club and we will all be better for it :-)

I thank you all for your suport of my carving during the year and I am looking forward to our frienship next year...

I was lucky to secure another batch of Hodula's pipes and they arrived just in time for X-mas.

As usual, there is wide variety of shapes and sizes to please almost any taste. Last two batches attracted plenty of interest and positive comments and sales were brisk, so I would suggest you go and check what's available and if you see some you like don't think too long and just buy them. They are good smokers and all can be had for reasonable price considering that they are all hand made.

Pavel would also like to wish you the best for the coming festive season and would like to thank you for your support of his carving. He is always working on new shapes and I hope we will see some nice pipes coming out of his workshop next year...

I am working on another addition to the "Sea Shells" and this time design is based on the Seahorse shape. Don't worry Trever, the shape is completely different and even the name. It will be called "Manaia" which is Maori for Seahorse. It looks like two of us have telepathy between us, to be working on the same design, but I must admit you've beaten me to it. With the end of the year rush I will not finish "Manaia" until early next year :-(

The other and even more exiting design is based on the native NZ bird called Fantail, "Tirairaka" and as it is hard to describe the shape of both pipes, you'll need to wait until I finish them both early next year...

Well it has been a very warm winter...hardly used any heating in our house, but still the snow was falling on the ski slopes and even though our local field had only 40cm of the stuff we enjoyed it very much.

Our grandson from Melbourne paid us a visit last week and we spent some time with him at Mt Hutt ski field a short distance from Christchurch. He was extremely lucky as the field received an additional 30cm of new snow on his arrival and we had beautiful sunny days with hardly any wind and Harley enjoy himself. At 14 years of age he is a natural and will be a good skier by the time he's 16...

After the first run of this year's Club Pipe I've had a bit of time to carve few higher grades for members who might be interested in purchasing a higher quality pipe.

I have three YPSC 2005 high grades available and they are beauties...two with nice grain, one with spectacular birds eyes. They are discounted the same way as the standard Club Pipes and therefore represent great value for the money.

So if you are after high grade pipe, check them out and if you have any questions just let me know...

Yes there should be sandblasts coming out of my workshop again :-)

I've gained access to great blasting set-up with powerful compressor to give the ability to produce nice deep blasts. And even better news is, that I do not have to get dressed in a "diving suit" to do it...so keep checking the "Sandblast" category on my site from time to time as new blasts will be added on a regular basis...

Couple of blasts sold even before I had time to put them up on my site, but I have couple of Club Pipes available in blast finish.
One is a pipe from last year, finished in nice Walnut over black, a real looker and the other is this year's pipe finished in black...

Both pipes are nice pipes indeed and as they are the only blasts I've ever done in the YPSC Club Pipes series this represents an opportunity to purchase a unique pipe. Both are available from my site, the 2004 pipe was added just now...

I've reveived one more batch of Pavel's pipes and they all've been added to my site, so if you've missed out on the pipe in the first shipment, go and check them out...there are some nice pipes still available and at the prices what they are you can afford to buy more then one :-)

This is what customers who got their pipes have to say about them:

Hi Jan,

I received the Hudula pipe today. I'm impressed. It exceeded my
expectations by far. I'm very happy with all aspects of the pipe. I just
finished slowly smoking a mild cubed burley throught it to start the
break-in process. Thanks!

Kind Regards

Rod

They were all well recieved and I will continue to work with Pavel to bring them to you as they'll become available...

The popular pipe video "Pipes, Bike and Lot's of Blue Smoke" is now also available on DVD and you can play it in your DVD player or computer. The quality has been improved and the presentation is much nicer.

For people with no DVD player, the movie is also available on VHS tape and you can order both from my site from the VIDEO section.

The video covers all aspects of pipe making, from briar harvest in Spain to individual carvers and pipe factories and if you do not know much about the subject it will open your eyes and you'll be suprised how complex and involved pipe making really is...

Hello my friends,

I am happy to offer you a new range of pipes, most of them in a large or Magnum sizes.

The pipes are made by friend of mine in Czech Republic. His name is Pavel Hodula and he works from small town in the north part of Czech Republic. His pipes are well known and purchased mainly by tourists visiting Prague and Karlovy Vary.

I?ve met with Pavel during my last trip to Europe and was impressed with what he is doing and the quality of his pipes. His pipes are truly hand made as his workshop is very small and his tools very limited. Apart from drill press and polishing wheel, all his work is done by hand. Lot?s of filling and sanding and it is a slow process.

Anyhow, as Pavel has no access limited to Internet and has no credit card processing facility, I?ve decided to help him with marketing, and have therefore placed some of his pipes on my site and would like to ask you to look at them and if you like what you see, buy one or two. They are very reasonably priced, quality is good and they are great smokers.

They are all large, or very large pipes, some Magnum size, and are fitted with both, Vulcanite and Acrylic stems.

His pipes are listed on my site under the Friends? Pipes and I hope you will like them and will support Pavel?s carving and will come to enjoy some of his Magnum sized pipes?

A nice pipe, this is a large freehand pipe with part Plateaux top, fitted with Pearl Acrylic stem, great looker...

If you like a very large pipes then this Magnum sized 3/4 bent freehand pipe, eight sided, with nice grain is for you. This pipe is fitted with Acrylic stem...

Thank you to all who sent the e-mails back to me with their views in regard to the bowl coatings.

It looks like there is an even split in the opinions and in the light of that I will offer the coating as an optional extra. All my pipes are made with bare bowls and at the time of purchase it is up to each customer to say if they would like to go with the bare bowl or they preffer the coated one.

That way I should be able to please most people and also avoid the issue of being accused of trying to hide pits and other nasties under the coating. It is sad that some people thing that way, as I would think that most of top carvers would never do this in the first place...after all it takes many pipes to build the reputation and only one to loose it...

Another freehand, another "Signature" and if you love bird eyes, then this is a pipe for you, just look at the right side, its absolutely covered with nice tight bird eyes...

The shape is freehand, with perhaps bit of Danish influence and the pipe has nice feel to her and bice balance. Stem is hand cut from high quality German Cumberland and fitted with white machine Delryn tenon for smooth fit and strong connection...the effect of the coloured stem and bird eyes is just stunning...

I left the bowl bare and the pipe is well opened inside for easy draw. It will be a pleasure to light this pipe or keep it on display as a virgin :-)

Some people did not know that you can access all around pipe photos when using the pipe viewer on my site...so let me explain.

When you open the page for any given pipe on my site, you will see the pipe viewer which will show the main pipe photo with a pipe and lighter in the foreground. Just under there are 6 pipe symbols and when you run your mouse pointer over them the view will change to side, top and bottom views.

If you are on slow Internet connection please allow some time for the images to load and if you have any problems at all, please let me know...

The question of bowl coating ? it is probably the most controversial question any pipe smoker would ask, and I dare to say the answers would be as controversial as the question. Ask 10 people and receive ten contradicting answers.

So lets look at the problem in details, and I would attempt to provide few answers and be as open to the issues as I can.

First of all let me tell you my reason why I?d like to talk about the issue at all. After all my pipes carved until now came without any coating at all and all were what we call a ?bare bowl?, and I receive no complains what so ever about any problem with breaking-in of my pipes from any of my customers. It seems, that all of you who ever purchased pipe from me were very happy to break in new pipe and put up with any discomfort and bad taste for the first 6 or so bowls until the thinnest of cakes would develop and taken the sharp edge of burning briar away. All pipe smokers either know that this is to be expected or do not find a need to experiment with other possibilities, or at the worst possible case, they would had really bad experience with coating from smoking cheap factory made pipes.

So what would change my mind and put me on the way to coat the bowls on my pipes?

We to come straight to the point, it was my last trip to Europe and my visit to workshops of their top carvers, like Rainer Barbi, Tom Eltang and Bo Nord. To my surprise, most of them would coat inside of the bowls. It was very discovery for which I had no immediate answers, but the fact is that you almost can not buy top quality pipe with bare bowl, unless you specifically order one. One has to ask, why would that be? Why would most of the top carvers coat their bowls?

And fact is that coating would do more for the pipe, then to make it easier to break-in. It would first of all and foremost provide the protection for the bowl not only against accidental burn out, but also general protection of briar surface against burning tobacco, which can generate good amount of heat, make no mistake about that, and the un-coated pipe in the hands of fast smoker is accident waiting to happen which would ultimately be placed at the door of the carver and claimed as faulty workmanship.

The second issue is the taste during the breaking-in period. We all do it and put up with it, but surely if there was a better way, most of us would avoid it. Well there is and the answer is, quality bowl coating.
While in the workshop of tom Eltang in Copenhagen I was fortunate to be given formula for coating which consist of parts of pumice and charcoal. I did modified the formula slightly to suite my taste and the result is completely natural and neutral tasting coating which I am happy to apply to all of my pipes. It is nice and coarse and the surface will aid to better cake attachment and therefore help you to build even cake faster and easier.

I figured if all of these great carvers use it with all of their experience, then there must be more to it then just cosmetic reason. And even that is another argument, as coated pipe seems to look better and somehow has the finished look about her.

So the question for me is?should I coat all of my pipes or not? And we are talking coating perfectly finished tobacco chamber, not one where I would try to hide something, which is completely out of the question in any of my pipes. So far I will coat some of my pipes and see what reaction will be from all of my customers. Also I can ask any prospective clients who did place an order for one of my pipes, if he likes to have the coating applied. I have no problem with that as all of my pipes come of my bench with perfect ?bare bowls? and leave the final decision in his or her hands.

If you have any say on above matter I would very much like to hear about it and you can e-mail me at jan@zemanpipes.com

Well to be honest with you, I carved or better say completed two pipes on this very special day and I hope I'll be forgiven the fact that I kept one for me :-)

Anyhow the additional "Bruno" is a lovely freehand pipe. The shape is new to me and I like it very much and hope to add it to my range of shapes. If you like 3/4 bent pipes, this could be pipe for you. Great balance, light for its size and finished in light orange stain which really brings out the grain.

It also has my new bowl coating and will be easy pipe to smoke, right from the first bowl...

And very happy one at that...well just look at him, only thing missing is the pipe, and that will come with time I am sure...

Little bundle of joy was born on 4th of May 2005 in Wellington, New Zealand and my son Mark and his partner Katie are very, very proud parents indeed...

Bruno is going well and I named one of the pipes above after him as it was carved on the same day he was born.

Only thing for me now is to celebrate...:-)

After six months of preparation we were finaly in Germany, heading north to attend the Cuxhaven Pipe Show...Click on the photos for larger images and captions

Cuxhaven is a small town on the Northen coast, not far from Hamburg. Getting there was no problem as we had a small car and apart from me getting me back out of kilter when stoping for coffee the jurney was without problems. The chiropracter had my bad disc back in the place next day and the only pain was me seeing all this lovely tobacco I could have for the Euro 40 what he charged me...

Rolf Osterndorff kidly put us up in a small cabin in his place and after exploring the town we went to tha hall to set up the table. This was my first pipe show and I tell you when I saw how many tables there were, and all of them covered with pipes, I started to wonder how they all going to sell...

Its also about having fun...and fun we had, believe me :-) We met some very interesting people, pipe carvers from all over Europe, USA and Japan and I've learned lot about art of pipe making just by talking to them and checking their pipes. They were all great and help and advice was shared by all.

Bjorn Thurmann is well known pipe maker from Denmark and very easy to become friend with. Unfortunately we ran out of time and could not visit him in his studio at Copenhagen, at least we have a excuse to come back again...

You all know Anne Julies and it was indeed pleasure to meet up with her. One could not find more open and happy person anywhere...she is not only great pipe maker but also painter and splits here business activity equaly between these two passions... She is a great woman not only as an artist, but also human being, and the meeting was great experiance for me and I hope for Anne as well...

Anne had a number of pipes on display and I was suprised in their size differences. Some were small and some very large. She had a very large "Leg" pipe on display which would be perhaps 8" long, with beautiful grain and finished in gold over black stain. It later sold to gentleman from Wiena...

You can see another smaller version of the "Leg" on the enclosed photo in upper right corner...

Ofcourse... after hard day there must be time to relax and under pretence of exchanging ideas about different aspects of pipe making for some, and the official tasting of German beer for others, we continue into small hours of the morning...at least some did :-)

As they say...all the good times must end and so did the Cuxhaven show.

After three days some of us stayed bit longer to watch the finish of "Tall Ships" race, me and Vera packed up the car, said thank you to Rolf and headed to Denmark.

But that's another story for next Newsletter...in the mean time be happy and enjoy your pipes...

I hope you enjoyed the show, it was certainly pleasure for me to attend and I am sorry that Rolf had to cancell this year show. I wish him all the best, hope he will over come the obstacles and be in position to organize another show in 2006 or 2007