Recent Articles | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

Pipes and the Southern Cross

February 4, 2014 by Bear Graves

In 2001, my wife and I went on a Scuba trip to Belize. It was a fantastic trip; being an avid underwater photographer, we elected to stay on a live-aboard called 'The Wave Dancer,' a 120' vessel that went all over the Belizean coral reef and allowed me to dive and shoot up to six times a day (breathing oxygen enriched EANx Nitrox II). ... Read More

Interview Meet Roman Kovalev of Doctor's Pipes

January 23, 2014 by Bear Graves

Bear Graves: Busting up my usual question format a bit, I have to ask: how did you decide on naming your company "Doctor's Pipes"

Roman Kovalev: Sixteen years of my life was spent working in a hospital as a pediatric neurologist, even then I smoked my pipes a good deal of the time.

Traditional Mentorship - Is it a Pipe Crafting Anachronism

January 14, 2014 by Bear Graves

"Is there still a place for a staunchly traditional Master/student relationship?" Given the amazing debut pipes of Asami Kikuchi, I believe the answer is 'yes'. ... Read More

Interview Meet Michail Kyriazanos

January 9, 2014 by Kathryn Mann

1 Comment

The update for today (January 9th) features a carver new to Smokingpipes.com. As always, we were contemplating the way in which we could introduce him to you; the pipe enthusiast. What better way than to actually introduce him? ... Read More

To Each His Own

January 6, 2014 by Eric Squires

The second car I owned was a 1967 Chrysler Newport. Though Chrysler was very much a luxury marque back then (no minivans, and their cars came in one size: full-size), the luxurious features on mine began and ended with a vinyl top. It was a four-door, translating it into a collector value of, roughly estimated, zilch. And I loved it. ... Read More

New Years: It's About Time

January 2, 2014 by Bear Graves

Good evening folks, may I join you in a smoke? I hope that your New Year's Eve/Day was everything that you had hoped for. As has been my habit for the past couple of years, I spent my new year's eve posing as a valet. I know what you are thinking, and you can stop right there. I am an excellentvalet; honest, polite, responsive and I treat every patron’s vehicle as if it were my own. ... Read More

Reflection on 2013

December 30, 2013 by Sykes Wilford

It’s hard to believe that 2013 is almost behind us. We find ourselves at the end of a remarkable year for the pipe and pipe tobacco community, and for Smokingpipes.com especially. For a pastime, passion, and industry that has only just begun to emerge from a half-century of slow, steady decline in popularity, we pipe people have been unaccustomed to good news. ... Read More

Welcome Alexander Tupitsyn

December 5, 2013 by Bear Graves

Five weeks ago we presented the Smokingpipes debut of Scott Thile, followed by our site launch of Tonino Jacono's art a week later. Three weeks past, Abe Herbaugh joined the SPC family of artisans, and Caminetto's intro to our lineup occurred just 14 days ago. Last week we had the pleasure of being asked by Tsuge to oversee the worldwide introduction and launch of Asami Kikuchi and her stellar Ikebanas. This week? "Drumroll, please... " ... Read More

Kikuchi: Introducing Tsuge Ikebana's New Pipemaker

November 25, 2013 by Sykes Wilford

2 Comments

As a woman in her late 20s, Asami Kikuchi is something of a rarity in pipe making. Indeed, she's even more of a rarity in Japanese pipe making. There are just a handful of female high-grade pipe makers in the world and all of them ... Read More

The Romance of Certain Old Tobaccos

November 11, 2013 by Joshua Burgess

After working here at Smokingpipes.com for four months now, my Monday morning routine is pretty well fixed. I walk through the door around 8:30, say hello to Mark as I put my lunch in the mini fridge, hang my hat on the peg in my office, pack a bowl of Early Morning Pipe, and get to work. ... Read More