Do you have a friend that is almost like a brother or sister to you? And isn’t it true that siblings often compete with one another? I guess it’s no surprise that Dustin and I, who call each other “brother”, are a tad competitive with our pipes. Both of us are collectors and we have very similar tastes: American artisans, Russian pipes, reverse and regular calabashes.

Maybe it was this competitiveness that spurred me into action upon seeing one of Dustin’s recent acquisitions, or maybe it was just a phenomenal pipe by a phenomenal artist.

I remember quite clearly that it was a Wednesday evening when I was scrolling through Facebook on my phone, waiting for Lauren to get done writing a paper. Suddenly, a bizarre calabash popped across my screen: enormous of proportions, distinctive wood choice for the bowl, fantastic bamboo, beautiful sanding.

I instantly pulled up the artisan’s number on my phone and sent him a text message.

“Hey, Steve. I know it’s probably pointless, but is that calabash available?”

Mr. Liskey quickly replied, “Sorry, dude. That one is going to Dustin. ”

Of course! My old adversary, Big D. Babitzke, had struck again! Quickly, I made my move:

“Think you can make its twin?”

“Yeah! We can even do a few things to outdo Dustin’s!”

Well, Big D., prepare to meet your match!

The pipe that Steve Liskey created as the twin to Dustin’s “ice cream cone calabash” takes the calabash system to a level that has been experimented with by only a few people. I recently wrote a piece all about reverse calabashes, a technique that is growing in popularity because of its cool and tasty smoke. The regular calabash system has been around for much longer and delivers similar – though, I would argue, slightly lesser – results.

Dustin’s ice cream cone is a conventional calabash with an enormous frontal expansion chamber. What arrived in the post for me, however, truly lived up to Steve’s promise. Not only does this piece feature the conventional frontal calabash system, adorned with a fashionable cap of spalted tamarind, but the rear area has also been hallowed out, making this pipe both a traditional and reverse calabash: a double calabash.

I know that few people have messed around with this concept, but it hasn’t really caught on as of yet. However, I see no reason why a double calabash should not deliver increased results. Let’s look at the reasons behind the success of the calabash. A conventional calabash features a front chamber where the smoke can expand, mix, and, most importantly, cool before traveling to the mouth. The reverse calabash system does the same thing, just closer to the stem of the pipe. Theoretically, a double calabash should cool the smoke in the front (like a conventional calabash) and then further cool the smoke in the rear (like a reverse calabash), allowing for the coolest, driest possible smoke. And let me tell you, this pipe smokes like a dream: low maintenance, flavorful, cool, dry…perfect.

Another upside of this system is that is damned near impossible for any dottle to make it to the stem. If it somehow made it through the front system, it would surely be caught in the rear. That means one should never have to fear smoking a bowl down to the very bottom, even before the pipe is broken in.

With the recent explosion of reverse calabash pipes, from artisans to factories, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see this type of experimentation start to flourish. People often think that something as old as the pipe has been perfected already. Surely Einstein, Twain, and Russell couldn’t have been wrong. Well, they might not have been wrong, but they might not have been perfect. The reverse calabash is proof of that.

I am inspired to see young artisans continue to push the boundaries of the pipe, from engineering to shaping. Much like in nature, when an organism is threatened with extinction, it evolves or it dies. Though the pipe is no longer as close to extinction as it once was, it is still an endangered species. With no pipe-zoos to keep it thriving and protected, we must rely on evolution. Thank you, Steve, for pushing us one step further away from going extinct and one closer to flourishing once more.

The pipes looked like they were floating there.

I was walking down the lanes of the Chicago Pipe Show main room in May, 2012, with Lauren by my side. Near the table of Cornell & Diehl, there was a table with a number of drool-inducing pipe stands, with pipes held on by magnets. I won’t lie, I don’t remember much about the pipes on that table, nor do I remember much about the person behind the table.

Months later, I found the card for the artisan who created those stands and started hearing his name more and more: Grant Batson. Grant’s name wasn’t being mentioned because of his pipe stands, however, but because of his pipes. Since November, I have become enthralled with Grant’s work, gobbling up almost anything that he has to offer. I have also realized that he is an incredibly talented and kindhearted man. Even when he’s had a rough day in the workshop, I can always hear Grant smiling over the phone.

It was while in college that Grant was first introduced to pipes. “In 1995, I was in college, and thought pipe smoking would be a cool hobby.  I’m terrible with times and dates, but I do remember that one of the very first pipes I bought was during a missionary trip to Uganda.  It was a solid hand-carved pipe made exclusively from Gaboon Ebony.  I also began collecting (bordering on hoarding) pipes from ebay.  I had fun finding little gems in assortments of estate sales.”

After graduating with degrees in PR/Marketing and Spanish, Grant took his years of woodworking experience, combined it with his passion for music, and started the Batson Guitar Company with his brother, Cory. Grant and Cory not only created a successful company, but a highly innovative acoustic guitar that is extremely popular with many guitar enthusiasts.

Recently, Grant Batson changed his focus. He has turned the guitar company over to his brother and has started to hone his skills in pipe making. I was shocked to discover, after owning and being very pleased with three of his pipes, that he has only been making pipes since April, 2012. In less than a year, this man has learned the craft and has found incredible success, with his pipes being sold on some of the most esteemed high-end pipe websites around.

Though both guitars and and pipes involve woodworking, it might not seem like the most natural transition for a craftsman. When I asked Grant how guitars and pipes related, he mused that they are “very similar industries. Pipes and guitars are both ‘functional art’with huge collectibility.  The tooling for the manufacturing of these is vastly different, but both take both sides of your brain to pull off, if you know what I mean.  For me, pipe making is much more enjoyable, as the science is relatively simple.  The art portion leaves much more room for creativity.”

This room for creativity has led Grant to discover a signature shape within his first 100 pipes, even if he didn’t mean to. The blowfish is a shape that seems to be only increasing in popularity and allows for a great deal of artistic license. Grant Batson’s unique creation, however, is quite different from any other rendition that I have seen and I would imagine H.P. Lovecraft would have loved it.

He calls it a “Tormented Blowfish”. No, this is not a pipe that has many personal demons. Rather, the blowfish has more sharp edges than the typical, rounded shape, and features roughed, gnarly outlines. I find this rendition of the blowfish to be attractive and captivating, mostly because, much like the accentuated outlines in comic book art, the rusticated edges emphasize the flow of the lines that otherwise would be more difficult to appreciate.

When Grant was designing my individual TBF, he seemed ecstatic, yet anxious at the same time: ”The grain on this one makes me not want to rusticate it.” That had me a little nervous that the grain would be totally obscured, but my fears were unfounded; in actuality, I found that the rustication emphasized the splendid grain. Grant’s other last minute addition was the red stem: brilliant! I was also surprised by the incredible amount of tobacco that the bowl could hold. While smaller than my Ardor giant, the chamber is still enough to occupy me for a fortnight!

Now, the pipe might appear slightly cumbersome at first. Initially, I struggled to find the most comfortable grip, as a result of the little fin that sticks out on the side. Once I found the right hand position, however, it became a very comfortable pipe.

As a result, Grant has recently found himself overwhelmed with commissions for his Tormented Blowfish, or TBF. Grant seemed quite surprised by the shape’s recent popularity: “a good client of mine in Wisconsin, requested a blowfish that looked a little dark and evil.  So, I rusticated the edges or lines of it, stained it gray and black, added deer antler (Jim, the client, is a big hunter) as the shank ring and put a funky stem on it.  The Tormented Blowfish was born.  Since then, I’ve had more orders for the TBF than any other shape.  Crazy.”

As a testament to the high quality of Grant’s work as a whole, and his Tormented Blowfish specifically, Dustin Babitzke is one of the TBF’s biggest fans. As perhaps the world’s foremost blowfish collector, and one of my closest friends, I hold Dustin’s opinions on pipes and the blowfish shape in extremely high regard. Here are his comments on Grant’s work and his own Tormented Blowfish:

When I hear the word Tormented the last thing I tend to think about is Pipe Smoking. In general, our hobby is a fairly stress free one where we go to tear ourselves away from the torment and stress of day-to-day life. So when I heard that a pipe maker I’ve had my eye on since last May had made a “Tormented Blowfish”, I had to find out what was happening.

Grant Batson came on my radar last year at the Chicago show. Todd Johnson had been telling me for months that Grant was going to be the next big carver. I was intrigued and upon meeting Grant, instantly realized that this was a guy I could get along with. He’s a heck of a guy and an amazing Luthier. He showed me a guitar he had made and I was blown away. Then he pulled out a pipe stand that instantly captured my heart (and my pocketbook). The man obviously had skill as a wood worker, but as we all know, knowing how to work with wood does not a pipe maker make. With my limited budget at the pipe show I opted to just buy the pipe stand and not purchase any of Grant’s pipes (a mistake in hindsight, but read on).

So as the months went by I kept receiving updates from Grant on new pipes he had been working on and the pipe makers he was getting training from. I watched his carving skills emerge and his eye for grain was impeccable. And then, on a fateful day in Autumn, I saw the Tormented Blowfish, a combination of sandblasted and smooth briar with a gnarly finish around the shank. I had never seen someone capture the beauty and grain of a pipe with such a fearsome and rugged look.

(Photo by Dustin Babitzke)

Being a Blowfish fanatic, I find that many makers seem to think that any old crossgrain apple can be called a Blowfish, but Grant realized that the Blowfish needs an organic look and feel that captures the spirit of Lars Ivarsson’s original concept. It should look alive and almost ready to swim out of your hand. Grant captured that perspective perfectly. I was awe struck and on the phone the next morning to Grant. Within two weeks a package arrived at my door with the Tormented Fish ready to be lit.

Before I speak of its smoking characteristics I have to mention the pipes outward beauty. Weighing in at less than 60 grams, the first thing I was surprised by was the feel in the mouth. The button was comfortable to clench, the balance was perfect, and the awkward weight I usually feel from the bowl of a Blowfish was not apparent. Both side panels of the pipe feature gorgeous birdseye so he left both smooth to showoff the grain. He then blasted the rest of the pipe with a deep blast that brought out the crossgrain on the bowl and then amazing tight birdseye rings along the shank. He finishes the shank off with a deep black stained piece of briar Plateaux that has been made to look almost burned or charred. The overall appearance is a pipe that has been through the flames of Hell and back and survived the journey. But upon lighting a new story erupted.

I packed it with one of my favorite tobaccos, Blue Mountain, and struck the charring light. The draw was perfect, not too much but little to no resistance. The engineering could not have been better if Cornelius Manz himself finished the pipe. Through an entire 1 hours and 7 minute (yes I timed it) bowlful I was transported not through Hell, but through a Nirvanic bliss that words cannot do justice. No relights, no gurgling, no nasty pipe water in the mouth, nothing to ruin the enjoyment of this sweet pipe ever emerged. At the writing of this article I’ve probably enjoyed another 50 or so smokes with a similar experience. How could a pipe maker with less than a year of pipe making under his belt do something this wonderful? He’s damn good, that’s how.

I love to buy pipes from new makers and love to chat with them on things I would do to make the pipe better. I love watching new makers emerge and improve their skills. But with Grant Batson I have no critique, I have no tips, I have no requests except put me on your commissions list right away, I’m ready for the next one. For anyone considering what Artisan Pipemakers they should be putting their “must-buy-from” list this year, Grant needs to be #1.

Here’s another reason that I — Ethan again! — would add Grant to your list: plateau. Those of you that have read a few of my pieces might know that I absolutely love plateau on a pipe. When I first started inspecting Grant’s work, I noticed that many of his pipes featured a decent section of prominent plateau.

“I love plateau,” Grant said happily. “I’m a country boy and love things rustic, raw, and real.  Whenever I’m able to leave plateau on a pipe, I do.  Not only does it look great, in my opinion, but it serves as a reminder to me of where this shiny, expensive luxury item came from: dug out of the earth by hand and thrown into a wooden wheel-barrow.”

Grant’s appreciation of the rustic is clear in his work, but so is his experience with making musical instruments. The result must be functional just as much as it must be beautiful. “If it don’t smoke great, it ain’t a great pipe.  Grain Schmain.  And I love grain.  Shapes are fun, too, but smokability is the only real factor of importance, I think.  The stem should be comfortable and the draw should be open.” I can testify from personal experience, Grant’s opinion on the importance of engineering is clear in the smoking quality of his work.

This particular pipe that you see to the right is one that Grant made even before he made my Tormented Blowfish. It is a gorgeous sitter with a good deal of Japanese aesthetics. Slight asymmetrical, it leans to one side, as if it is attempting to burst out of its perpetual seated position.

I’ll admit, I kind of feel bad sharing this with you. Grant is a remarkable artist and I have no doubt that he will quickly become a universal name in the pipe world. Until then, however, I feel like being selfish and hiding this genius. But I can’t (dammit). If you have not checked out Grant’s work yet, I highly recommend you do and keep an eye on this guy.

First of all, a delayed Cherry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Safe Solstice to all. May your days be merry and bright. Now, let’s jump back a couple of weeks.

Sunday morning on December 2^nd. It was a beautiful day; 70 degrees outside. As I put on a short sleeve shirt, I temporarily thought about global warming, but decided just to enjoy the side effects in my Led Zeppelin shirt.

Around noon, I strolled into The Scottish Arms, a pub where I worked for four years and my fiancé, Lauren, still works as a hostess. Kissing her on the cheek, I settled into a corner booth with an Irish Coffee and papers to grade.

*thud* Lauren drops a local magazine in front of me, open to a specific page with the title “Holiday Gift Guide”. I sighed as I waited for her to point out the item that had caught her eye and prepared for mental calculations of how much of my holiday budget I currently had remaining.

Despite my initial cynicism, my eyes fell on something beautiful, though I did not fully appreciate it at first: a picture of six Vauen pipes from a local pipe shop.

I don’t know if it was because I was too focused on all of the grading I had to do or if I was simply groggy from the previous evening, but my first reaction was simply to say: “Yeah, those are pretty good pipes.”

Lauren looked at me with surprise and I stared back at her with what I am sure must have seemed complete idiocy.

“But it’s a pipe advertisement in a magazine.”

She was right. The beauty of this advertisement was not the brand of pipes being advertised, but the fact that pipes were being mentioned at all. I had not seen something like that outside of specialty shops, hipster-style “ironic” stores, and old, faded catalogues.

I eagerly read the blurb next to the pipes. Nowhere did it mention that this would be a great gift for a grandfather or antique lover, nowhere did it mention it as an alternative to cigarettes or a costume piece. There were no caveats. Not even a warning. It was simply an advertisement for pipes.

Why? Why, now of all times, is there a pipe advertisement in a local publication? Surely it is not just because it is a local establishment. There must be something else.

I recently read a blog piece by Neill Archer Roan concerning the recent item called the Stiff pipe, a pipe which was meant to appeal on a style-level to young, non-pipe smokers. In this article, he mentions that the time might just be perfect for such an invention. The same factors that made the time right for the Stiff pipe might be what make it perfect timing to slowly start advertising for pipes again.

Two of the most popular shows on cable are Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. Both shows focus on strong male leads; one is the sixties and one during Prohibition. These shows have helped, I would argue, to revive interest in classic drinks, such as Manhattans, Martinis, and straight bourbons, along with other typical acts of manliness.

There are also many websites, one called, appropriately, The Art of Manliness, that gives great how-to guides on everything from shaving with a straight razor to tying a bow-tie to, yes, smoking a pipe.

Something else coming back in style that used to be considered outdated is suits. Phrases like monkey-suit were not uncommon from the sixties and even into the nineties. Now, however, it is thought of as stylish to wear a vest with jeans and is even becoming more and more acceptable to wear a full suit to an informal to semi-formal gathering. I even wear a three piece suit occasionally while I teach my high school classes. Once again, I think that the above mentioned shows have had a slight influence on this. Another show, with a totally different tone, that has helped to revive the suit is How I Met Your Mother. One of the main characters is constantly commanding “Suit up!”

The drinks and suits are just pieces of the puzzle. There are many other signs that we are getting more and more comfortable with invoking the styles of previous generations, from architecture to interior design to children’s names. Each piece of the puzzle that falls into place makes it easier for the next piece to find its way.

Tobacco use is dwindling, yet pipe smoking is on the rise. It is possible, just possible, that the association so many people had with pipes, namely that it was a hobby of the older, wearier generation, might be dying off. With the death of that characterization comes the revitalization of the pipe hobby.

Maybe it might be as simple as a style thing and pipes might become the new 70s band shirts. It gives one an air of cool to be involved with something far before his time. Personally, I have stopped people wearing Pink Floyd t-shirts because they looked too young and asked them what their favorite Floyd album is. If they say “Dark Side of the Moon”, I dismiss them as posers. But I digress.

Personally, I hope this is not simply an issue of style, but a resurgence of common sense and independent thinking.

People do not want to rid themselves of tobacco completely and the gentle art of smoking, but do wish to avoid the potential hazards of cigarettes. Tobacco is becoming an enjoyment instead of a vice and, let’s face it, pipes are far more enjoyable than cigarettes. After all, how often has a cigarette smoker been approached to be told how good his cigarette smells?

Now that we have answered why, at least a little, there’s another question: so what? What does this matter? Is it possible that I am taking a little an ember and mistaking it for a bonfire? Well, I have been guilty of that before.

But…come on! This is a big event! It is these embers that might just catch the torch that brings pipe smokers out of the shadows and removes the stigma attached to the activity. It is possible that this might mean more and more people will stop condemning pipe smoking and start enjoying it. It is possible…

It’s also possible that this is simply a fluke. It’s possible that such an advertisement might get harsh blowback from the public and will not be seen again. It’s possible that this means nothing. Only time will tell.

In the mean time, I encourage each and every one of you to continue being positive ambassadors for our hobby. Follow basic rules of civility and chivalry and we can fan the flames. Smile at passersby while you smoke, stop to talk to curious people, and don’t smoke where it is not welcome.

As for me? I’m going to buy a Vauen from Jon’s Pipe Shop just to show that the advertisement was successful and encourage more of them in the future.

Sometimes you really can turn a piece of coal into a diamond. It just requires a little work.

This last Sunday, I left St. Louis for a month in Chicago. I am starting job training for my new position teaching high school English at one of the lower-achieving St Louis public school, courtesy of Teach for America (more on this in another post).

One I had been on the road for a little over three hours, I noticed that the road started feeling a lot rougher. Being naive, and probably a little sleep-deprived, I chalked it up to rough roads and my beat-up car. At one point, I had gotten it going over 85 miles per hour and I simply figured that I had pushed it too hard. Silly me.

About two hours out of Chicago, I knew that something was up, especially when I started seeing pieces of black debris flying by the corner of my eye. Calmly, I pulled over to the smell of burning rubber and saw that my rear driver’s side tire was shredded.

No problem, I thought to myself. I may be a city-slicker, but I can change a damn tire. So, I rummaged through my trunk to find the…lack of a spare. Problem.

So, I climbed back in my car and called AAA. “We will have a tow truck out there within an hour,” the woman on the other end told me, after she tried to tell me that I wouldn’t be able to find any place open on Sunday (Thank you, Walmart!).

I had an hour on my hands and four pipes sitting right next to me, which I had brought to keep me sane during my time at job training. So, I pulled out a black sandblasted Rubens Rhodesian, packed it full of the re-release of  Balkan Sobranie, and started making the best of my time. With that pipe, a radio special on philosophy and psychology, and some surprisingly beautiful scenery for Nowhere, Il., I managed to make the best of that hour. Not only did I make the best of it, but it ended up being one of the most pleasant piping experiences in recent memory.

The point of this story is to remind you to step back from an otherwise irritating situation and find the best. It is there, even if you have to search a little to find it.

“Hey, why don’t you give me a call sometime? I always like to get to know my customers by voice.”

I saw this message on an e-mail from Nick Miller, the man behind Quality Briar, after we’d been dealing with each other for a while. His website provides great value for high-quality pipes and is one of the few that carries a good number of Russian carvers, so I had become a frequent denizen of Quality Briar. Read more