COLIN’S BLOG: ACROSS THE COUNTER

The long and the short and the tall

From my long association with Pipe Smokers I’ve learned that there is one thing common to them all – they love their pipes.
But where does this love stem from?
I mean, to a non-pipe-person a pipe is just a piece of wood turned into an object through which you can consume tobacco. No big deal.
To the Pipesmoker, however, the pipe is the end-product of many hours of labour by many hands.

By hearts that have a passion for what they are doing – creating a product which will be a thing of beauty to the eye with a delicate balance in either hand or mouth, producing a cool, dry smoke –

such a pleasure!

And the true pipe man is never satisfied with just one or two pipes – he prefers to spend time fondly selecting just the right one for his mood. Often the pipe brings back memories of the occasion on which it was acquired – a keepsake from a special holiday, an inheritance, a gift. And he is always happy to add another to his collection.

Colin Wesley

Colin knew his pipe customers!

The Pipe Smoker will look at his collection of pipes, many or just a few, and select the one that feels just right for today.

But sometimes he isn’t satisfied.

Something is missing.

The selection of pipes from which he can usually choose exactly the perfect one for the occasion just doesn’t seem to be adequate.

He wants something quite different today – something out of the ordinary.

Has that happened to you?

We have some suggestions – the long, the short, the tall, plus a few prestige pipes.

The Long

You’re planning to sit back and enjoy the URC final, or the next instalment of your favourite sitcom?

Or maybe you’ve just received the book you’ve been waiting for?

What else but an elegant Churchwarden pipe – with medium to large size bowls, and a total length of 29cm.

The long stem pipe will keep the bowl out of your line of vision – and offer a cool smoke.

Available in Black or light Brown sandblast, or almost Natural smooth finish.

From Marca – and by now you know their excellent value.

The Short

Do you remember the Roley, the Rollkiss, the Dunhill Vest Pocket pipe?

Here is the same shape with the swivel mouthpiece.

Today you are popping out for a casual lunch or a quick break.

You need to take your pipe, but it’s bulky and the stem might break if you carry it in your pocket.

The Rolex is the answer.

Several variations, some standalone some comfortably rounded – but they all fit easily and safely in a pocket or small bag or briefcase. And you fold away the stem so it won’t break.

How convenient.

The Tall

Who hasn’t heard of the Oom Paul pipe.

A large bowl for a long smoke, with a steep bend so that it hangs comfortably – less strain on your teeth or jaw.

Ideal for keeping your hands free in the workshop or at your desk.

The Oom Paul non-filter have a round base which is very comfortable to hold.

I had a thought: The new Oom Paul filter pipes we received are the same shape as the Marca Dry 120 and have a flat base so you can stand the pipe when you’re not smoking it. See later in this blog.

Prestige pipes from Savinelli – Autograph and Punto Oro

When we visited the Savinelli office and factory in Barasso, Italy, Colin would ask to see the available Autograph and Punto Oro pipes. He would look at the shapes of the pipes on offer, feel the weight and the balance, and choose pipes he knew would be appreciated in our market,

When I visited in September 2024, I was able to select a few pipes from these groups. There weren’t that many to choose from, due to the shortage and cost of good briar. Maybe just as well, given the prices. But the pipes I chose are stunning – just have a look.

Look again – we have a Punto Oro Reject! That is a nearly finished, stamped, Punto Oro in which a small surface hole appeared. This has been filled, and the Punto Oro pipe “R” with a small surface blemish is half price!

Also from Savinelli – they showed me a Dry System shape that hadn’t been in their range for some years. Shape 2699, a chubby bent, with panelled hexagonal bowl. Good feel in the hand. Even better – a rusticated finish with burgundy glint highlights. I added a few to the order.

Finally – the annual St Nicholas pipe 2024 is a beauty. The very masculine, extra large shape 616 in festive dress.

Before I visited Savinelli in Italy I had spent 2 days at the InterTabac trade show in Dortmund. My companion at a previous show had remarked how almost surreal it was – all these people happily walking around smoking their pipes and big cigars. Reminiscent of previous eras.

My main port of call was the supplier of our pipe and cigar accessories. As usual there were some very interesting new items. They will feature in a future blog.

It was there that I found the old Andreas Bauer meerschaums on a previous visit. All finished now, but on the stand was a small selection of Meerschaum pipes from which I was able to choose a few that were really lightweight – an indication of quality.

I also popped in to the Dunhill stand. The 8 cases of pipes contained almost only Shell Briar pipes. Very few Amber Root, and no Root Briars. “Shortage of good briar” was the comment.

The consensus of the pipe manufacturers was that briar has been difficult to get over the last couple of years. The supplies are thin on the ground and the prices are very high.

Savinelli: ”Since 2021, the price of briarwood has doubled, and its yield has significantly decreased.”
This was confirmed when in 2024 the head of Savinelli Pipes attended the G7 Agriculture Summit in Sicily.

This year brought another sign:

I finally received the Marca Churchwarden and Oom Paul pipes that I had ordered in May 2023. Delays were due to the shortage of briar. And the high cost of briar meant they had no option but to charge us higher prices. We had to average the costs of new stock with that of all our existing stock so the retail prices wouldn’t be too high.

The cost of the new Oom Paul pipes was still unacceptably high, due to the cost and the scarcity of the large briar blocks needed for this shape. 

This is where I had the thought: The Marca Dry shape 120 is the Oom Paul shape!

I separated all the Marca Dry smooth shape 120 remaining from the 200 dozen pipes received in 2014, and averaged their costs with the cost of the new Oom Pauls. This reduced the retail price to a more acceptable level for the Pipe Smoking customer.

Despite the problems the Marca value and quality has been maintained.

You can see the good grains on the smooth pipes, and the smoking quality is not affected by the occasional flaws and surface fillings (a few more than on previous shipments).

The sandblasting is as good as ever.

But if the briar doesn’t have enough variety of hard and soft wood it isn’t possible to sandblast – the result would be a slightly rough surface. As they say: “the briar tells you what you must do”.

For these pipes they hand carve interesting patterns – in our case the Oom Paul pipes were finished with a horizontal curve on the Oom Paul black pipes, and a vertical teardrop pattern on the Oom Paul brown pipes.

All these new pipes – Marca, Meerschaum and Savinelli are assembled on the “NEW” section of the website.

And for just over two weeks, they are the subject of our special offer:

PS If you can’t visit a Wesley’s Bricks and Mortar, remember that if you’re not completely happy with your Internet choice, you can always return it for a full refund.

Note:

By law, no South African citizen, living in South Africa can buy a tobacco product via the internet or postal system.  In fact, you may not receive a tobacco product through the post.

In addition we may not receive payment through the internet for tobacco products.

We may only supply tobacco products within the trade – not to private individuals. The fine is substantial

Contact us for help in getting tobacco to your area. Visit The Library to read archived blogs from “Across the Counter”.