So there are simply not enough words in this world to describe what a wonderful experience I had today in Nils Thomsen's pipe shop in Berlin. Not only does he make gorgeous pipes and speak English fluently, he is simply a quality human being. As soon as we (myself and 3 other guys my age, 21-19) walked into his shop, he asked us to sit down and proceeded to give us his CD for free. He then joked with us about being so young and what 4 Americans wanted to do with an old man's pipes. I told him I wanted a pipe made in Berlin and I really admired his work. He laughed and told me that I was a good liar. He then told us to feel free and look around and since he was old and lazy, he had one of the guys I was with be his "sales associate" and show us any pipes we wanted to see. Pretty cool.
Mr. Thomsen was incredibly kind in that he sold us pipes well under what they were marked for. One of the guys I was with only had 30 euros on him so Nils found him one of his personal pipes that he was willing to let go for such a low price. I would have bought that pipe in its used state for at least 100 euro. He offered us coffee and after we had purchased our pipes, we all sat down and discussed world issues. He then invited all of us t join him every Thursday night to smoke with a group of his friends and talk about philosophy, life, and politics.
I could not control myself and so I purchased 3 of his handmade pipes and I got them for A STEAL! And here they are:
Pipe 1
Look at the Briar!
Pipe 2 and my favorite. That is horn where the shank and the stem meet.
Pipe 3. The shank is made out of a pig's rib. It is one of only 2 he has ever made like this.
One of my friends did not purchase a pipe and when Nils asked him why he said that he doesn't smoke much and that he'll just borrow one ours. Mr. Thomsen said that pipes, cars, and wives you don't share and he proceeded to give all 4 of us a Design Berlin Variable pipe
Folks, if you like what you see, please check out his website. It has been a long time since I have met such a generous and kind man who is so talented.
www.nilsthomsenpipes.com