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Too few to go around

At the Chicago pipe show, demand for Cornelius Mänz' pipes much exceeded supply. German dealer Heiko Jahr was smoking one of his own, when approached by a collector willing to trade. Heiko took the Mänz from his mouth - and got a Bang, a Thurmann, a Heeschen and an Ilsted for it!

Cornelius was tickled pink when he heard the story. "I never thought anybody could be that keen," he laughed. "But yes, I was under-represented in Chicago. In all, Heiko and Per Billhäll had six pipes on offer. I had hoped to send 16, but had to undergo a sinus operation during the run-up to the show. After that, I had to keep away from briar dust, so I was out of action for about ten weeks."

Another reason for Mänz' failure to produce more pipes was the removal of his workshop to new premises. Until recently, he worked in a tiny cellar room at home, but now, he and his designer wife share a cheerful, sunny studio nearby. Mänz says the sunlight actually shows in his pipes: "I think they're better for it, to tell you the truth, but the removal itself took a lot of time and work."

Germany's most celebrated young carver promises to do his best to meet increasing demand, but rules out lowering his standards to make more pipes. Nor does he intend to exploit his growing reputation by increasing prices. "I think the level I've reached now will remain stable for a fairly long time. I'm not going to make customers pay for my popularity or for the extra hours I put in. That's my personal choice." Currently, most pipes by Mänz retail between $400 and $600, though some collectors are prepared to pay considerably more on the estate market, because the brand is so rare.

Sometimes, Cornelius says, he'll even take a pipe he had deemed finished and ready for shipping, and re-explore it. "Then I'll detect something or other I could have done better - and back to the workbench it goes. You know, even today, a year after going full-time, I'm still making most of those pipes for myself, so to speak. I find it hard to compare them with other people's work, which is why I have difficulty determining things like price structures. I need Per and Heiko to help me with these issues."

Mänz hopes to be in Chicago, next year, intending to travel with Heiko and his close friend Wolfgang Becker - with whom he would love to share a workshop, if they lived closer to each other. "Meanwhile, I'm probably going to be at the European pipe show in Cuxhaven, this August. I'm really looking forward to meeting other makers - and my customers, of course."

(June 6, 2004)

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