On the 20th of February, we pipe smokers gather together, sometimes literally and sometimes just in spirit, to raise a bowl and celebrate International Pipe Smoking Day.

This might seem peculiar to anyone outside of the hobby, just as I am sure Dress Up Your Pet Day seems strange to anyone not obsessed with putting Fido in an Ewok costume (but that would be awesome).

International Pipe Smoking Day (IPSD) is really quite simple, though. Pipe smoking is rare now, very rare. We are fortunate enough to have online means of brotherhood and some of us even find solace in the monthly pipe club, where fellow Brothers of the Briar gather, talk tobacco, drink freely, and laugh loudly. On no other day, however, is there such a feeling of a world-wide family.

More than the mushy-gushy, transcendental stuff, IPSD allows us a time to sit back and appreciate how much this simple item can bring joy and peace into our lives. A simple piece of wood, combined with plastic (or rubber or some other material), stuffed with a dried, combustible plant manages to bring us such immense amount of happiness. That is what IPSD means to me: appreciating how much joy these pipes, pipe-makers, tobacco blenders, and fellow smokers bring into my life every single day, even if they don’t know it. To all of you who are at all involved with the world of pipes: thank you. It would be hard for me to express how much you have improved my life through your hard work.

Smoke on, my friends, and have yourself a happy, healthy International Pipe Smoking Day.

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.

I’m still exhausted. Last week, Lauren and I and three of our friends went to see the midnight showing of The Hobbit. The movie was a great time, even though waking up at 6:30 the next day was not.

Tolkien seems to be extremely popular among pipe smokers. Perhaps it is simply pipester-to-pipester loyalty; perhaps it is his drawn out language that lends itself to length musings and relaxation in an armchair. Then again, maybe it’s just because he wrote incredible stories.

When we arrived at the movie theater about an hour before show time, Lauren and I met up with our friend, Aaron. Aaron is one of the most incredible costume designers that I have ever met. Not only does he create outfits for characters like Jack Sparrow, the Mad Hatter, Batman, and so many more, he also acts the characters out at renaissance faires and parties. His a phenomenal actor, a brilliant guy, and a great friend. It should have been no surprise that he came to the movie with an elaborate set of Elven bracer that he created, start to finish – including staining, stitching, cutting, and molding – just a couple of hours before.

He also brought a pipe. Until eight hours before the movie, I didn’t know that Aaron even owned a pipe. When we were hammering out plans for the night, however, he sent me a text message reading, “We need to smoke a pipe. I have the perfect one.”

Well, well, Aaron! You are full of surprises! Believe it or not, Aaron, I just happen to have the perfect pipe and tobacco for this movie, too.

Many months ago, I spoke with the great pipe-artist, Stephen Downie, about a large project. I don’t know what inspired this project, but we started something that has since become known as the Fellowship of the Pipe: nine pipes for nine of the major Lord of the Rings characters. Here’s the catch: they aren’t imitations of the pipes smoked by those characters in the movies or books, but rather they are the pipes that those characters would commission from Stephen if they were able.

As a result of this goal, each pipe has required a great deal of thinking, including what type of tobacco the character would smoke (for chamber type), level of activity (for stem length), personality (for appearance), passions (details), and geographical origin (materials). These are just some of the factors that have gone into every pipe so far of these has been created.

So far, three of these pipes have been created and will be revealed in a later post. However, I knew that one of these pipes was perfect for this movie, but I couldn’t decide which.

At the impasse, I changed my approach and decided on the tobacco first. I knew for a fact that I wanted to smoke “Shortcut to Mushrooms”, by Just for Him. The delicious, buttery blend is one of the most highly rated blends out there and is a fantastic example of an English Aromatic. Even better, it is part of a Lord of the Rings pipe tobacco series, along with Old Toby, Treebeard, and more.

With this, I settled on the second the pipes Stephen has made in the series, Legolas. This pipe contains Elvish script, is modeled after one of the leaves in the story, and features light, fanciful features as would befit an elf. It seemed more fitting for a slight aromatic than the other options.

I was so giddy to smoke that pipe before the movie that I almost forgot about the movie. When we got to the theater, however, I was so overwhelmed with anticipation and excitement at being with so many friends that I left the pipe idle in the car, completely untouched.

Despite this hiccup in my best-laid plan, we had a wonderful time. Aaron provided Mystery Science Theater 3000 style commentary throughout the previews and Lauren, having never seen or read The Hobbit, let me experience the whole thing through new eyes. Though I regret not getting to christen the pipe on such a perfect occasion, pipes are all about enjoyment. Had I tried to rush the experience, it would not have been worth it.

For those of you who have not yet seen the movie, I really enjoyed it. It has an entirely different feel from the first three Lord of the Rings movies. It is not nearly as dark and has a great deal more humor. A perfect example is the trolls. In the first movies, the trolls didn’t speak: they screamed and roared and howled. In The Hobbit, however, the trolls spoke perfectly, sometimes with British accents.

If you’re skeptical about the fact that it has been split into three movies, don’t be. The movie moves along smoothly and includes a lot more of the Middle Earth canon than does the original book, as it draws upon many different writings.

At three thirty in the morning, I left the movie theater with four people that had a wonderful time and were smiling and laughing, despite the hour. It really was a night to remember, as Biblo said.

Then I had to wake up three hours later…

As pipe collectors, just like in the rest of our existence, we go through phases. Some last longer that others and are thus entitled “collecting focuses”, but this is just a euphemism. Very few collection focuses last throughout one’s entire pipe career and with good cause. To me, it would be a dull experience to collect the exact same thing and only that thing for one’s entire lifetime. Please don’t get me wrong: having a focus = good. But there are few people who never diversify their collection beyond one focus. By diversifying your passion and focusing on new aspects of the pipe hobby, your scope widens and  you are better able to appreciate all facets of this complex obsession.

One of my current phases developed without my even knowing it, like they tend to do. Of the last ten pipes that I have added to my collection in recent months, seven of them have been what are known as sitters.

A sitter is not a shape, really, but rather a characteristic of the shaping of the pipe. As near as I can tell, the best definition for a sitter is a pipe that has a flat portion on the bottom that allows it to stand independently in a upright position without the mouthpiece touching the surface on which it is sitting. That last part is important, as it is the entire point of a sitter; it is able to be set down without the use of a pipe stand and without the button getting dirty. If the button touches the table the pipe is sitting on, it’s not a sitter, it’s just a pipe that hasn’t fallen onto its side.

There are two shapes, as far as I can tell, that have being a sitter built into their shape: the poker and the tankard, which is essentially a churchwarden version of a poker. Many shapes, however, with the creativity of a talented artisan, can be made to be a sitter.

Whenever I notice myself falling into another “focus”, I ask myself why. Why this? Why do I like it?

Being a sitter allows the pipe to be an autonomous piece of art and yet be fully functional. For displaying purposes, most pipes require a stand of some sort, whether it be a pipe rack or a single seat. Sitters, however, do not. They can be displayed anywhere, which is something that I have truly come to appreciate as I have been designing my new office and pipe room. Most of my pipes are constrained to the confines of wherever I can fit a pipe rack. My beautiful sitters, however, are able to grace my desk and bookshelves and anywhere else that I can think of.

Does any of this add to the smoking quality of the sitter? No. Then again, neither does the grain. I like sitters in my capacity as a pipe collector, not a pipe smoker.

Also from an artistic perspective, I like the challenge that creating a beautiful and functional sitter poses to the artisan. Oh, sure, it’s easy to make a pipe that can sit on it’s own: just make a poker. But that’s not the challenge. The challenge it to simultaneously get the most out of the block and the shape and to successfully balance the pipe perfectly, both on the X and Y axis, to allow it to stand.

Another construction challenge involves creating a base wide enough to allow the pipe to weather the surface moving slightly beneath it without it tumbling over. After all, there’s no point in having a sitter that collapses every time a mouse walks by the shelf on which it stands. This has to be accomplished without make the pipe look bulky or bottom heavy.

As a consequence of this added challenge, there are often unique and beautiful creations that would never have been thought of otherwise. Everyone knows the saying that competition breeds excellence. In this case, the artisan is competing against gravity and the grain. What might have originally been a run-of-the-mill Dublin becomes an eye-catching and phenomenal piece, as can be seen by looking at this piece by Jonas Rosengren, a Speeding Dublin Sitter.

In general, creating a sitter makes the process of creating pipe a beautiful combination of math and art, even more than it usually is.

As a rule, designing a pipe is already highly mathematical. When you add in the complication of making the pipe sit independently, it heightens the experience and adds in many factors, such as balance on two axes. Also, the angle of the stem and cant of the bowl no longer simply concern shaping and smoking qualities, but also have to do with the balance of the pipe, while still having to be comfortable and functional.

I like it when an artisan deliberately challenges himself. Being content with one’s work leads to atrophy, while turning the volume up to 11, so to speak, leads to incredible work such as those pictured throughout this piece. After all, looking as these beautiful specimens, who could argue with the attractiveness of a well-executed sitter?

Cheers, friends!

P.S. If you know why the title of this piece made me think of one of my favorite SNL episodes, you get a cookie.