News & Featured Pipes

News and featured pipes from the workshop, newest first.

Page 5 of 5

Elladan
Fourth pipe in my LOTR series, small elegant churchwarden type, easy to handle, great smoker...

Hello my friends,

For all of you who were asking if there'll be any more pipes in LOTR series, my aswer is YES... and after much thought and your input I decided to design another Churchwarden style pipe fit for any Goblin four feet and over...

Carved from quality Plateaux, witted with black Vulcanite stem with inscribed brass band and small green acrylic band, this is well balanced pipe with nice cool smoke.
It will be easier to smoke and handle then full size "Aragorrn" and as all the creatures of Middle Earth, you should be able to enjoy it outside while fishing or inside by the glowing fire.

It is named "Elladan" and I hope it will be well recieved as any other pipe in my LOTR series...

Enjoy it... :-)

New YPSC 2003 Club Pipe...

I am please to let you know that I was trusted again this year to carved another pipe for the members of the Yahoo Pipe Smoking Club, also the number fourth...

This year pipe is a freestyle bulldog pipe, smooth on top, with rusticated bottom. Fitted with black Vulcanite stem and Sterling Silver band with YPSC logo and pipe number, this is a Limited Edition of 100 pipes.

This pipe can be ordered by any member of YPSC club and it represent great value in hand-crafted pipes and if it should turn out to smoke as well as the other YPSC club pipes, i will be a happy man...

This pipe is now available and orders can be placed from my site.

My favorite tobacco of the month...

I was given tin of Samuel Gawith "Commonwelth Mixture" by Reiji Hicharo from Japan and must say I did enjoy it despite the Full Strenght logo on the tin.

I do not like very strong tobaccos so I was not sure what I will find after opening the tin. But I must say I was pleasantly suprised, the smell is gentle with just egnough Latakia in the background to make it interesting. Nice dark color with brighter bits offseting it and of medium cut.

It packs nicely in the medium bowl and taste is just delicious and well balanced with Latakia comming trough in nice measure all a way from the start to the bottom of the bowl. It leaves nice grey ash when you finish with it and I did enoyed it very much and will be sad when I reach the bottom if the tin.

So if you do like Latakia in smaller amount then presented in 965, then try the Commonwelth Mixture, you might like it.. :-)

While carving his Thorrins pipes deep in the Middle earth forest, the old Great Wizard noticed few extraordinary blocks of rare wood and decided to use them to carve very special pipe for few of his best friends...

Anyhow that how it all started, and part of it is certainly true. I did came across few Plateaux blocks with beautiful cross grain and without any faults whatsoever, and rather then carving standard Thorrins I used the blocks to produce slight variation of the same shape. I left the bowl smooth to take full advantage of the cross grain and put the rustication on the shank only, to retain the special look of the series.

The pipe is then double stained with orange over black to bring the grain forward...and what a pipe this turned out to be. I am sure the few lucky owners will take as much pleasure from the pipes, (only three were carved so far, one sold in US, one in Japan, and one is still available)as the few goblins did in the forests of Middle Earth.

As I said, only one more Thorrin de Lux is available and as I can not guarantee regular supply, due to the rarity of spotless briar blocks, they will be placed on my site from time to time as they will become available. If you are interested in one, please place an order for one, and I will supply you as soon as I have one available...

Happy puffing and greetings from Great Wizard :-)

Just look at the shape and the grain of this freehand pipe. The shape, even that it looks "wild" is easy to hold in either right or left hand and the pipe have nice balance for its size.

Carved from top quality Plateaux, with nice grain and natural Plateaux comb on the bottom, this is a pipe you will enjoy smoking and it will really stand out in your pipe collection. Hand cut black Vulcanite stem features bamboo band and has no filter.

So if you ever wanted freehand pipe with a twist, then this is a pipe for you...enjoy it.

What the cat saw from under the bench ...

Our son Mark came to visit us over the Easter Holidays and after seeing my old site decided it was time for a face lift. He designed all new site from scratch, and I love the result of his labour.

The site has fresh, professional look, is easier to use and I like the new viewer in the pipe section where you can view the pipe from all sides, turning it, as if you hold the pipe in your own hand. The site can be viewed on 17" or 15" monitor and using variety of current browsers.

I trust you will like the new look and will find your navigation easier and therefore will have more time to concentrate on the reall subject of this site ... the pipes...

I would like to take this opportunity and thank Mark for his effort in desinging the site and teaching me how to use the various editing tools.

THE TOBACO OF THE MONTH...

I was lucky to recieve a tin of Samuel Gawith "Commonwealth Mixture" from Reiji Hicharo in Japan. Great, mild mixture, with Latakia, mixed in just the right proportion to my taste. I am about half way down the tin and took real liking to it, so it will be one of my regular companions when filling my pipe at my workshop, as the delicate but strong flavour of Latakia is not normaly welcome upstairs in my house... :-)

Thorrin and Cutty Sark

Thorrin new LOTP pipe.

Well it had to happen, with sales of other two LOTP pipes doing great and people asking for more, I had to sit down and put my hand to paper and result is number 3 in the LOTR series, a pipe called "Thorrin".

I wanted not only unusual shaped pipe but also one which would smoke cool and yet be well balanced. The length somewhere between "Gandorr" and "Aragorrn". I lengthened the pipe with a shank extension, kept the antique look of the finish the same as the other two pipes and there you are... another pipe for the goblins to puff on :-)

I trust the pipe will be warmly welcomed to the existing LOTR family by all fans and people who appreciate cool smoking pipe. So if you like what you see, place your order and I will include it in my next batch due to be carved later in the week.

NEW

Cutty Sark
Classic half bent pipe, rusticated finish and stem fitted with Palm Tree band...

Finally, after long wait, I found the time to carved, what is promised to be a very interesting and popular line of pipes ... even if you are not an owner of a sailing boat or don't know low tide from high... the pipes are good looking and great smokers, and I think the price of them is very attractive. Especially for pipe smokers just starting out, who'd like to own hand carved pipe, or smokers who are looking for good pipe to smoke outdoor, perhaps while fishing :-) ... there you are, there is your connection with water after all, so you have your excuse to go ahead and get one ...

All the pipes in the "Old Sea Dog" series comes in my new Coral Sand finish, are black with just enough natural briar highlights showing through and stems are fitted with a wooden band which comes from piece of Palm Tree which I found on the local beach during one of my walks, I should say early morning walks, but I am not that enthusiastic and usually like to stay in bed as long as possible, which means as long as my wife will let me stay :-)

When I saw the wood I admired its tight grain and very interesting pattern. It is very hard wood and it gives the "Old Sea Dog" series the required connection to the sea and its predominantly dark color provide the perfect link between the pipe and the stem as I wanted the overall look to be dark...

The pipes are named after the great sailing clippers of yesteryear and a small story of the boat is included with each pipe.

What else the cat saw from under the workbench ???

Received more wood...
Yes two more bags of wood are in but it I will not be using it for at least 2-3 years from now. My shelves are still well stocked with Plateaux which is well seasoned, so there is plenty of time for the new wood to air out and show its true potential...

QUESTION of SALES ????
It was brought to my attention that some of my customers are holding back from buying pipes from me and are waiting for more of my Xmas, Birthday, or any other sale in a hope of picking up a bargain.

As I need for my income to be constant right throughout the year, and not peak from time to time with demand I can not hope to supply, and therefore leave some customers less than happy with my services, I have decided NOT TO HOLD ANY SALES IN THE FUTURE, but to concentrate on giving you the best possible value for your money right throughout the year. I think it will be a winning combination for all of us...

Pipe carving is now a full time business for me and your support is valued greatly, I can assure you of that. So rather than spending time on working out the best time to hold sales, I'd rather spend time carving more pipes and offer them to you at great prices all year around :-)

If you have any thought on the subject of sales, please let me know, your help will be most welcome, thanks...

My favorite tobacco of the month...
No time for experiments this time around but opened tin of Barbary Coast and enjoyed it enormously...