Preparing for a Pipe Show

It’s about two weeks till we set out for the Chicago Pipe Show. Again this year, I have the pleasure of traveling with Mike McCain. We enjoy the trip so much, it’s almost as much fun as the show itself. This year, we’ll arrive on Thursday evening, enjoy the festivities on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and strike out for Alabama early Monday morning. But this is not about the trip itself, this is about preparing for a pipe show.

When I first started attending pipe shows in 1997, it was easy. Grab my wallet, keys, a change of clothes and out the door. My first show was NYC in the late summer of 1997. I only had a few pipes at the time and almost no good tobacco.  It was easy deciding what to take and what to smoke.  I was fortunate enough to travel to the show with Mark Tinsky, John Hayes and Paul Bonacquisti. I spent my entire fund allocation for that show in the first 30 minutes. I met Bob Hamlin and learned of the Internet pipe community. I was overwhelmed to say the least. What an introduction to the pipe show world!

As my collection grew, I decided to start displaying my pipes inspired by the efforts of Mike McCain. I remember my first display. I had 13 Castello 84s and arranged them in a wagon wheel display. I had the good fortune to be next to Mike McCain’s display and of course he won the show award that year. I certainly learned a lot from him. He coached and taught me every thing I needed to know about displays, themes, and information. Key issues for displaying pipes.

In preparation for displaying pipes then, I’d spend weeks getting ready. First I would do a major cleaning on each pipe, carefully removing any buildups on the pipes surface, a good clean reaming and complete sanitizing inside with 190 proof grain alcohol. When the pipes were squeaky clean, I’d give them a good polishing with an old briar pipe wipe cloth I still have to this day (and still use). Early on I had to decide how to display the pipes. I didn’t have enough that I had to decide which pipes to display just yet. I would sketch the design, decide which pipes went where and then clear off the kitchen table and do a practice setup. When satisfied, I adjusted the sketch and carefully packed the pipes for the trip. As the collection matured I changed my basic layout. By then, I had started using spread sheets to detail where each and every pipe and accessory would go on the table. The same attention to detail on cleaning was maintained but now I had to decide which 45ish pipes would go on the table. This was harder than deciding how to display them. I had to get pipes from all periods of production, all sizes, all colored stems, all finishes, all the special pieces, and so forth. I had to pack the seven day sets, Castello tobacco tins and tampers, and all the stands. It was quite an experience doing so. Additionally, I had to update the information paper on Castello pipes to keep up with changes and new lines. One such change was the addition of the FLAME finish.

  After displaying for many years, I started to sustain significant damage to my collection. On one trip, the airlines decided to break the top off an antique seven day set case. Another trip casualty was a major ding in the case that came with my seven day set. The damage and cost has caused me to scale back my displaying efforts. I may do so again but I’m taking a few years off.

Now, preparing for a show is much less intense than when showing pipes but a lot more goes into it than when I first started. Even more challenging than showing is selecting the right pipes and tobaccos for the weekend. Being limited to about 10 or so pipes for a weekend really challenges you to pick them from 75ish pipes. Some are must picks (the big FLAME, the EPOCA, the early 50s pipe) but many are hard to choose from so many nice pipes. I must have burley pipes. I must have Orient 996 pipes. I must have a general English blend pipe or two. The more I think about it, the more the number may be 15 pipes. Then I have to move up to my big case. And I thought this preparation would be easier. I still have to clean my pipes as before. The decision to cut pipes from the trip is harder than before because I take even fewer. Before it was the display that dictated the rotation, now it’s the pipe tobacco. As I consider the entire process, this may be even more difficult than my pipe display period.

Wow, only two weeks left before the show and I have so much to do! Now where did I put that grain alcohol! Happy smoking.