pipestem’s place

I began smoking pipes late in 1972. Mostly drugstore pipes and such. Later in life, while living in Nurnberg Germany, I bought a nice Dunhill pipe, bruyere finish,  in the Prince of Wales shape. I also had the opportunity to smoke some good cigars. I put my pipes aside for a few years and almost exclusively smoked cigars. After a few years of this I decided I’d much rather be smoking a pipe. This coincided with a move to Pennsylvania where I met pipe maker Mark Tinsky. Mark became a great friend and helped me a lot in this hobby. Soon after I met Mark, I also met Bob Hamlin at a NYC show and got connected on the internet to the IRC channel #pipes. I’ve been there ever since. On #pipes I made a lot of friends such as Mike McCain. Mike exclusively smokes a pipe from Castello in Cantu Italy. It’s the shape #84, frequently called a hawkbill, and sometimes referred to as a donkeynut. I became interested in this shape as well and bought my first one from PCCA. Before I knew it, I had sold or traded all my pipes and only had Castello #84s. I’ve never regretted making that move a single day. The collection has won multiple awards at shows in Chicago, St. Louis, and Richmond. I don’t show much anymore but I still enjoy sharing my pipes with friends and this is an attempt to show them virtually. I hope you enjoy the site.