Giving credit where credit is due...
 

Hey all,

I wanted to share with you a little something special I received in the mail today... This is my new pipe from pipe-maker/artist Stephen Downie. If you're unfamiliar with his work, I suggest you check out http://downiepipes.com/

I came to Stephen with an idea for a commissioned pipe in January. There were several pipes in front of mine that he was working on, but less than 2 months later, here it is! I really want to use this opportunity and space to say THANK YOU to Stephen; & I would encourage any of you that have an idea for a pipe, or missed out on purchasing that "ONE pipe that got away," contact Mr. Downie, he's extremely professional, enthusiastic about what he does, and as you can see, a hell of an artisan pipe-maker!

http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/u...1/DSCN1072.jpg
http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/u...1/DSCN1070.jpg
http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/u...1/DSCN1073.jpg

Thanks, Stephen!

Re: Giving credit where credit is due...
 

that's very nice indeed!

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Beautiful Pipe.:tu

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great looking pipe :tu

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I've never smoked a pipe but wow what a nice looking pipe you received. I went to his sight and can see he does amazing work. Congrats :tu

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Wow that is a damn fine looking pipe! What is the white material made of?

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That is awesome!!! Always thought about smoking one.

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damn, that's a good lookin pipe

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Great looking pipe. Thanks for the link. He has some great info on his site.

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Nice pipe! Very well done!

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pretty awesome pipe
enjoy breaking it in

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Dude that is sweet!

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that is a gorgeous pipe

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Hey all, thanks for all the positive feedback! The pipe really speaks for itself, but I must say, the job Stephen did is really quite exceptional.

To answer BT's question, the lightly-colored portion was locally sourced by Mr. Downie & is Canadian Birch. You can't tell really tell from the picture, but it has the faintest horizontal grain that really works well to contrast the radiating flame/straight grain. There are also two inserts on either side of the birch wood that Stephen tells me he acquired in a tobacco-for-hardwood trade from South African pipe maker Johan Slabbert of Jobert pipes.

On another note, I smoked the pipe for the first time today & had some Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake, as recommended by many on this site, & both were outstanding. The pipe smokes like a little freight train & the LTF was very pleasant. All in all, it's been an awfully good past few days.

Re: Giving credit where credit is due...
 

There are a group of American pipe artisans that consistently produce superior work, including Stephen Downie. Others are:

Rad Davis
Brad Pohlman
Will Purdy
David Jones
Kurt Huhn
David Jones
Brian Ruthenburg

and I'm sure several others.