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A Canadian couple

It is getting hard to keep track of the reasonably priced new pipe brands emerging in North America, but Canadians Bill and Terri Weist have gained an especially sound reputation for meticulous workmanship and shape harmony. Today, smokers find it hard to believe that the Weists carved their first Cat's Paw pipes just four years ago.

Bill and Terri are by no means the only married couple in the business (Trever and Emily Talbert come to mind, as do Le Nuvole's Tombaris ). Perhaps there's a special intensity about a husband and wife engaged in the same genre, a depth and scope of communication facilitating swift progress and fruitful self-criticism.

However, the Weists are unusual in another sense - the female partner being, as it were, the 'senior' carver. Terri makes about two thirds of the 150 Cat's Paw pipes produced every year. The briar workshop is her full time occupation, while Bill has a daytime job in the telephone industry. In a Pfeifenbox interview, they discuss their similarities and differences.

Over the past year or two, Cat's Paw pipes have been getting slimmer, more elegant and more ambitiously shaped. Are you aiming for the premium pipe niche?

Bill: Our designs have been getting more refined as we progress. I think this will continue to happen as we define our style and learn to read the briar better. We try to work with the briar to see what the block wants to be - not what we want out of the block.

Are we aiming for the premium pipe niche? I would have to answer 'no'. Our goal right from the outset has been to make the best pipe possible at a reasonable price. We are comfortable with what we are building right now. We have been told by a number of folks that we should be charging more, but that is not the direction we want to go.

How many of your pipes get sold overseas?

Bill: Only a few of our pipes make it overseas. We have sold pipes to individuals in Europe and Thailand. We do have a distributor in Japan. We have been working with Reiji Hachiro of Pipedo since he first started his business. We send between ten and 15 percent of what we make to him. But our largest market right now is the USA.

How do you split the work involved in your carving business - or do you do everything together?

Bill: How do we split our carving work? We actually split very little of the work required to make a pipe. For my own pipes, I select the block for a given shape, do the design, drilling and shaping right through to the final sanding, staining and buffing. Along the process I will look to Terri for constructive criticism or guidance to ensure that the flow and lines of the pipe are consistent. It certainly helps to have a second set of eyes while working at the bench.

Terri: I do much the same as Bill in that I do my pipes from the concept right through to finishing. On all of the pipes that we make, I do the final buffing and take the pictures that are used on our web site. Bill does all of the stamping work on the pipes as I hate doing that part.

Is there a difference between your styles? Do you differ in your shape preferences?

Bill: Is there a difference in our styles? I think that depends on just who you are talking to. My preferences tend to lean toward the work of the Danes. I love the flow of Danish pipes and try to add that flow into my work and make it my own. I enjoy making shapes like the Pickaxe and Elephant's Foot as they can really show the grain in a block of briar, and they can be very difficult to shape and keep the lines balanced.

Terri: As far a shape preferences go, Bill and I are about the same. I know some of the more well-known pipe makers that have influenced my work are the Danes Kent Rasmussen and Teddy Knudsen to mention a couple. Their styles have had a deep impact on my work. I do see a difference between Bill's work and mine. How to put it into words? Well... it is hard to describe. Bill seems to be at times more conservative, and I will go out on a limb. I like to try to make the best of a block and add my own little flare to the piece. I love to work with exotic woods and acrylic as accents to the piece, as well. I feel it adds a lot to a pipe.

What's your most significant disagreement, in terms of pipe making?

Terri: Bill thinks that my drafts of a pipe on a block are out of proportion - he cannot see what I see, and often enough he will look at me goofy and just say...'ok'. Man at times it make me feel like he is the pipe maker in the family! Seriously folks, we have a very good working relationship. Bill still works a full time job, and does a lot of his pipe making in the evening and on weekends. I am doing the pipes full time and have the shop to myself during the day.

Bill: I have to agree with Terri. By the time I am drawing the shape of a pipe onto the block of briar, I have a pretty specific idea of where the shape will go - or at least where I hope it will go, based on what I see in the block. Terri on the other hand will draw a rough shape on the block, look over at me and say, "So, whatcha think?" There are times when I just shake my head or nod, knowing that she sees something there that I don't. When the pipe is complete, her vision usually turns out hitting the mark. That doesn't mean that I won't tease her by asking why she is drawing a blob shape on the briar

Do customers ever remark on the fact that Terri is a woman carver?

Bill: Our customers often don't know that Terri is a female carver. When a customer does find out that Terri is a female carver, it is usually a reaction of surprise followed by, "Cool, I didn't know there were a lot of lady carvers out there!"

http://www.catspawpipes.com/

(May 4, 2004)

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