Category: Winter 2014

Trial by fire

by Tad Gage and Joe Harb Capstan “Blue” Sliced Flake Gage: Capstan Blue is the darker and heavier blend, but the tin aroma of the two is nearly identical. The flakes are perfect layers of dark leaf flecked with bright yellow strips and circles. Who needs to smoke it? The tobacco looks like a finely […]

An ingenious European tobacco trifle by Ben Rapaport Illustrations provided by Christie’s Images 2010 Of all the accessories in the taxonomy of tobacco- and pipe-related collectibles—the generally accepted term is tobacciana—jars, boxes, humidors, bags, pouches, racks, tampers (or, in the Queen’s English, tobacco-stoppers), tongs, tins and pails, et al., there is one lonely, near-forgotten […]

by William Serad I continue to get opinions on blends whose loss is mourned. In fact, I seem to have really struck a rich vein with Cesare Borgia. From Denny Avers of Lake Monticello, Va.: “I could hardly believe my eyes! Someone else who laments the loss of Amphora’s Cesare Borgia pipe tobacco. Many years […]

An avid pipe lover, Denis Blanc leaves a successful engineering career to own two of France’s oldest brands by Stephen A. Ross There’s an old adage in some industries that if one wants to make a small fortune he must take a large fortune and engage in business. With an increasingly negative environment regarding smoking […]

Is it a Dublin? Is anyone else as bemused, befuddled (and impressed) as I am with the pipes that were submitted to the Greater Kansas City Pipe Club carving contest? I could have sworn that the standard shape chosen this year was the Dublin. As I looked from pipe to pipe I couldn’t believe my […]

I had to explain to my wife why I recently bought so much pipe tobacco. I decided to blame space aliens. “You’re kidding,” she said. “Space aliens are coming for your tobacco? That’s really what you’re going with?” “It’s not crazy,” I said. “Four hundred billion stars in the Milky Way, 170 billion galaxies in […]

Strategies for coloring a meerschaum by Fred Bass Many meerschaum pipe aficionados smoke the blazes out of their treasured white pipes in active pursuit of the well-developed coloration that so few manage to achieve. Choosing the darker Cavendish blends with abundant oils, they push themselves late into the night, steadfastly puffing along, oblivious to the […]

Nate King pipes Pipemaker Nate King learned the necessity of precision, efficiency, attention to detail and sleek design as a racing mechanic and transmission specialist in IndyCar racing. When he began making pipes just a few short years ago, he found those values translated perfectly into pipemaking. King has gained attention in the pipe-collecting universe […]

Paul Spaniola, owner of Paul’s Pipe Shop in Flint, Mich., passed away on Aug. 27 at 100 years of age. Born Jan. 29, 1913, Spaniola was a legend in the pipe hobby, recently celebrating his 85th year in business. In 1928, at just 15 years old, he opened a tavern and pool hall. In 1930, […]