Inspiration

Early 1930s Vintage Comoy Deluxe Straight Grain Author (256)While more than a few pipe collectors and smokers appreciate and seek out sculptural and conceptual pipes, many – if not most, of us still feel a deep connection to classic shapes. There is a reason that billiards, bulldogs, lovats, canadians, rhodesians, pots, zulus, dublins, authors, and other classic shapes have endured. Their lines, proportions, and feel have propelled them into the canon, and while there are myriad expressions of each shape, if a variation strays too far from the canonical, it becomes something else. It may be breathtakingly beautiful. Its originality may be compelling, but it is no longer a classic.

Bent Billiard by Michael ParksEvery aesthetic realm feels tension between a desire to be rooted in its canon and a desire to break free of classical restraints. For me, this tension rivets my interest. I simultaneously hunger for what’s established and for what’s fresh. Indeed, were there no classical realm, how would we measure innovation? One cannot strike out in new directions if every direction is new; one cannot wander from a path that has never been walked. We need the classics to understand invention.

It was during the late 1980s that I studied with the author, philosopher, and futurist, Jay Ogilvy. At the time, Jay was working at SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) working with his colleagues on identifying and tracking large social and cultural trends.

During one of our seminars, Jay spoke with us about the rhythms of relative liberalism and conservatism over the centuries. Using myriad examples throughout history, Jay demonstrated that the most liberal times occurred at the end decades of centuries and the most conservative times occurred in the beginning decades of centuries.

Fat Apple by Michael LindnerAlthough these trends do not strictly follow the calendar, at the time we were entering not only the last decade of the 20th century, but also the last decade of the second millennium.  Understandably, a vigorous discussion ensued where we wrestled with how the millennial end might amplify a readily observable hypothesis observable at the end of centuries. We explored the idea in philosophical, artistic, religious, financial, social, and economic terms.

We could already see evidence of the truth of Ogilvy’s observations in books like Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations. For example, a rise of religious fundamentalism was already occurring, and not solely in Islam which Huntington so presciently described, but also in Judeaism and Christianity.

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The 2012 Piper's Dozen

Well, after a year’s hiatus, the Piper’s Dozen is back. This is unquestionably the most difficult post I write during the year. There are so many deserving people and products I consider for each category so I agonize interminably over who and what should be highlighted here.

Then, there was the consideration that the world was supposed to end last Friday according to the Mayans. Why would we give so much credence to a people whose entire population summarily vanished long before their projected day of reckoning? On the off chance that nobody would be around to read this year’s post, I procrastinated on finishing it up. In any event, we’re still here, so here is this year’s Piper’s Dozen:

1. Piper(s) of the Year: Matt and Jon Guss

Borthers Matt (top) and Jon GusIf it weren’t for the brothers Guss, there would’ve been no John Cotton Throwdown, no Balkan Sobranie Throwdown, nor the tremendous enthusiasm generated from  artisanal recreations of famous historic tobacco blends. This hobby has long been focused on pipes and pipe collecting With these new tobacco events, we see excitement created around tobaccos that is every bit the equal of pipes. When one considers  the class and organization of these two Throwdown events that took place at the Chicago show over the last two years, one cannot help but be impressed.

Additionally, Matt Guss is one of the most effective pipe club leaders  and advocates on the American scene. The Seattle Pipe Club’s healthy membership, its extraordinarily fun annual January dinner event, and its sponsorship of events like the Throwdowns are evidence of Matt’s commitment to the role of pipe clubs in advancing the vitality of the hobby.

Jon Guss’ pipes and tobaccos scholarship emerged from considerable research skills that were honed during his days working for one of the major management consulting firms. Today, Jon can be found poring over tax and public record archives in Edinborough or London. His methodological rigor has given pipe and tobacco enthusiasts new insights and plenty of debunked myths, not to mention entertaining reads.

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Steve Liskey: "Bamboo First"

Two bamboo pipes commissioned from Steve Liskey“Why would anyone want to put bamboo with briar?”

I’ve heard these words more than once – sometimes from prominent collectors. I’ve even heard them in my mind’s ear as I wondered the same thing, myself.

Ever since Sixten Ivarsson married briar to bamboo during World -War-Two while trying to make use of in-short-supply briar blocks, many have posed the same question: “Why bamboo?”

I’m not sure when I had a change of heart. I do know that bamboos are now among my favorite pipes to smoke and admire.

Bamboo – a material I used to consider tawdry and cheap – is now as character-filled and fascinating to me as briar. The range of colors, textures, and characters one can encounter in the approximately 1,450 species of bamboo is astonishing. Bamboo can be as quiet, distinguished, and elegant as ivory or ebony. It can also be as gnarly, gritty, and funky as a Newark railroad bridge. While I love both extremes, I find myself increasingly drawn to bamboo with distinctively gritty and gnarly character. I enjoy the contrast that exists when dissimilar materials exist in counterpoint.

To create a seamless shank extension using bamboo is not easy nor without its painstaking moments as any artisan who uses bamboo will tell you. This is why one sees some beautifully grained or exquisitely sandblasted briar in bamboo pipes. Mediocre blocks are not worth the trouble.

Bamboo Apple by Michael LindnerPerhaps because bamboo was initially used as a way to extend a pipe shank, bamboo can often look like a crude interloper in an otherwise elegant composition. Used poorly, there is no relationship between the bowl height or width, the foreshortened shank length, and the distance between knuckles. Used artfully, the distance between the bowl shank transition and the first knuckle will mirror one another, setting up a visual rhythm that is often terminated with a final vulcanite knuckle. The best saddle stems continue the visual repetition by being as long as the distance between knuckles. In summary, in the best bamboo pipes, the bamboo dictates the overall composition, or it is a reflection of the existing proportions of the stummel.

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Pairing Pipes and Tobaccos

The joy of pipe-smoking is all about deriving intense, complex flavor from my favorite tobaccos. Like many of you, I’m sure you like more than one blend, maybe even more than one style of tobacco. I know I do.

I have a great fondness for English blends, especially those with Oriental leaf. These blends require great skill from the blender in that every component tobacco should add value to the other components present in the blend.

If you’ve been here long, you know that I have been exploring the relationship between chamber geometry and flavor delivery for years. That investigation has led me to conclude that nothing beats a large diameter chamber with square geometry when it comes to making a good English blend sing. The difference is so profound as to render comparisons obvious.

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Prerogatives and Regrets

When it comes to pipes and tobacco, I find nothing so perplexing nor mystifying as my changing preferences with respect to pipe shapes. Like a lot of you, I have always had particular favorite shapes. I have had shapes that I could take or leave, and I have had shapes that I dislike, often intensely.

I have always loved zulus, princes, rhodesians, bulldogs, and eggs. These are shapes that I find pleasing to the eye and to the hand; hand-feel has always been an important consideration.

Conversely, I have never liked skaters, pickaxes, fugu-style blowfishes, or the elephant’s foot. I’m not particularly fond of the poker or the dublin, either, although I own a number of pipes in these two shapes that I treasure. I find many of the mid-century Modern shapes developed for Stanwell by Sixten Ivarsson in the late 60s and early 70s bizarre.

Why then did I recently acquire the Michael Lindner pickaxe you see depicted at right? This is not a sort-of pickaxe. This is not a pipe leaning in the pickaxe direction. This pipe is emblematic of the pickaxe shape. Further, I love it. Like every other Lindner I own, it is a remarkable smoker. It feels wonderful in the hand. It is well-balanced, and it sports one of Mike’s better sandblasts. Anyone who knows Lindner’s work knows that the man can create great blasts. (This one is a Spider grade: Lindner’s highest sandblast grade.

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