Monthly Archives: June 2018

World-Class Flint Knapp Artist Kenny Hull

Flint knapping is an ancient art form. I have never heard of it until I visited the Chicagoland International Pipe & Tobacciana show last month. One of the tables was displaying an obsidian knife carved by world-class flint knapp artist … Continue reading

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A Meerschaum by Tekin

Tekin Gok is a Turkish meerschaum pipe carver, born in 1974. He learned pipe carving from master carver Sevket Gezer as well as from his uncle, the award-winning artisan carver, Salim Sener. Meerschaum is a German word for a mineral … Continue reading

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A Ferndown

Leslie “Les” John Wood worked for Dunhill for 25 years. His last position was master silver smith, but till December 2011 he still did all of Dunhill’s silver work. In 1978, he started L & JS Briars to craft his … Continue reading

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Do Zombies Run SingPost?

Every single contact I have had with SingPost has been a negative one. We often read in the news of how our postal services were able to deliver letters presumed lost for years, or without addresses, or simply with the … Continue reading

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I Have a Dream

So the summit’s tomorrow. And I have a dream. Well, the Bible says old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions. Anyway, back to my dream: At the end of tomorrow, Chubby and Orange Man both happy … Continue reading

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The Trump-Kim Summit. Enough Already lah!

So, two of the world’s craziest megalomaniacs are coming to Singapore to talk peace. Why Singapore? It’s neutral – we sleep with everyone – and we are safe because we are a fucking police state, with CCTV cameras aimed even … Continue reading

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A Pipe by Michael Parks

Michael Parks is a Canadian pipe maker who doesn’t make a lot of pipes but he does bring extra-high level to each one that is made. Working with solid vulcanite or acrylic rod for stems, he crafts mouthpieces to as … Continue reading

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Ascorti Natural Bent Billiard

The history of Ascorti pipes started back in 1986 when Giuseppe “Peppino” Ascorti started making pipes. Today, the company is helmed by son, Roberto Ascorti. Roberto personally selects the best briar, ages it for two years, and then starts carving … Continue reading

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A Jeff Gracik Pipe

I learned pipe making from Lee von Erck and two of the nicest people I’ve known – Ernst Markle and Jeff Gracik. Ernie’s educational background is in Philosophy and Spanish, yet previous to becoming a full-time pipe maker he worked … Continue reading

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