While at the Chicago pipe show in 2007 , Chuck Stanion shared with me his new vision for the "P&T Pipes of the Year" . They would be a smaller number of artisan made pipes , rather than the much larger number of factory made pipes that they had done in the past . He went on to explain that he had commissioned J.T. Cooke to make fifty pipes for 2008 , and that he would like me to make the pipes for 2009. Needless to say, I was excited. This was a grea
t honor for me . I started learning to make pipes about the time P&T Magazine released it's inaugural issue , and it has always been a source of inspiration and enjoyment for me . Not to mention the honor of being chosen behind my long time friend and mentor Jim Cooke . I couldn't wait to get started on what was sure to be an interesting ch
allenge over the next year and half .
Pipe factories have a lot of briar on hand for m
aking pipes.... I mean a lot . If an individual pipe maker has a few hundred blocks of wood at any given time.... a fact
ory has thousands , even tens of thousands of blocks . So, when a factory is commissioned to do a certain number of specifically shaped pipes , they have plenty of wood on hand that will accommodate the shape . This is not necessarily true for the individual artisan . So the first challenge was to find a shape that would be pleasing to the readers of P&T, and be able to be made from most blocks of briar . I settled on a classic freehand with a modern edge....a kind of "Calabash" meets "bent Dublin
" sort of thing . I felt It should also incorporate some of my signature design features such as exotic hard woods or Ivory , and be available in a variety of finishes .
In June of 2007, I finished the first prototype for approval from P&T . It had an Amberblast finish and a Cocobolo wood end-cap that features the beautiful contrast between the heart wood and the sap wood . The idea was that the "Cocobolo end-cap" would be on all of the pipes , except the highest grade "Saints" which would have Ivory . The shape was approved and I was ready for action ! Only forty nine m
ore pipes to go...... that's a hal
f a years production..... what was I thinking!
The original prototype for the P&T 2009 pipe of
the year .
Selecting blocks and roughing out shapes
.
Finished shapes ready to be sandblasted or stained .
Finished bowls with end-caps ready for stems .
Fifty finished pipes ready for stamping !
After working a few pieces into my normal production , I quickly realized that it would be much more efficient to work on these pipes in batches of 3 to 5 pipes at a time . Allowing me to set up each step and repeat it several times, rather than have to set up for every step on every pipe . This was different for me because I have always liked to start a pipe and work on it until it is finished . I think I like the feeling of closure .
You would think that twenty months might be plenty of time to fit in fifty additional pipes..... or at least it should have been . I still found myself scrambling at the last minute to take care of all the final details; stamping , waxing , buffing stems . It took me a day and a half just to do the stamping , which by the way is the most nerve racking part of pipe making . Here you have... say.... a $1500 pipe that you have put hours into , carefully and meticulously hand crafting every detail of it's delicate beauty..... then you take a steel handle with sharp little letters on it , and roll it across the shank of that pipe while pressing down on it with all of your might ! This can be a recipe for disaster , or at least impotence and high blood presser . Repairing a slip with a stamp can take hours, and with the sheer amount of stamping that had to be done , there would be plenty of opportunity for things to go south.
Fortunately , I finished the pipes ( and was still able to bare children ) on the tenth of January 2009 . This was a proud and happy day for me , and I thank Chuck , Dayton and everyone at P&T magazine for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the legacy of this great publication .
I would like to encourage you to also be a part of this legacy , and follow this link to the P&T website where you can purchase one of the few remaining 2009 Pipes of the Year.
Thanks,
Jody
Link to P&T Magazine;
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