Cuxhaven challenge a success
Rolf Osterndorff staged Europe's first major pipe show and proved a host of sceptics mistaken. Next year, he's going for an even bigger event. More

Who's grabbing the sceptre?
Danish expert Lars Kiel says that no country is likely to become the next pipe superpower. He predicts a more global scene. More

Soap your own!
The disappearance of many famous British aromatics - so-called soapies - is a sorry fact. But you can emulate these greats at home, and even 'improve' on them. More

Mänz won't be rushed
Cornelius Mänz says he'll do his best to meet demand - though he won't lower standards to make more pipes. But neither will prices sky-rocket. More

The $400 myth
People mulling their first high-grade purchase are often daunted by fears of exorbitant prices. But you can enter the game for less than you think! More

Tokutomi's art
Sykes Wilford is passionate about the work of Japanese carver Hiroyuki Tokutomi. In an essay for Pfeifenbox, he describes the beauty he perceives. More

Passion goes professional...
.. as well-known collector Jeff Folloder joins the pipe industry. In a Pfeifenbox interview, he talks of his new job at Smokingpipes.com. More

Four paws make a pipe…
… at least, Bill and Terri Weist of Cat's Paw form a very convincing duo. In a Pfeifenbox interview, we discover where the Canadian brand is going. More

Italian renaissance
Dealers and collectors see chances for an Italian comeback - especially in the USA. They advise to watch for first signs in Chicago, next month. More

Tasting for Talbert (II)
Trever Talbert's experimental attempts at improving old smoking wood offer some surprising insights - and room for speculation. More

Upbeat Tillman
In the first of a series of essays on pipe blends, Jon Tillman of tobaccoreviews.com presents an optimistic view of our leaf's future. More

Losers - and a few winners
The dollar slump is starting to worry pipe collectors. Will European high grades soon be unaffordable in the US - and what does that mean for the industry? More

Hit Parade
Are you ready to digest the Pfeifenbox Top Ten of pipe producers? It's given on the understanding that it is as good as any other. Better? Most definitely not. More

Tasting for Talbert (I)
Trever Talbert asked a couple of people to test some funny pipes for him - a unique educational opportunity, but not for the faint-hearted. More

Art dilemma
Art Ruppelt of Ming-Kahuna tampers gets to play the Pfeifenbox version of Desert Island Discs - paying tribute to Jorn Larsen and Greg Pease. More

In the family
Two generations of Tinsky and Chonowitsch, three of Ivarsson - not to forget the special relationship between Fritz and Paolo Becker. Is carving a family craft? More

Barbi loves Chicago
Divides between pipe cultures in Europe and the US may be narrowing. While they remain, Rainer Barbi and Mark Shelor take an admiring look at each other's continents. More

A new revolution?
The Pfeifenbox panel has been expanded: Greg, Erwin, Sykes, Mike and Jörg chat about the possibly finite nature of Danish hegemony. More

The carver known as Random…
… to participants of pipe boards and newsgroups gets put to the test. Belgian collector Erwin Van Hove reviews one of his pipes and is "pleasantly surprised". More

Shapes to talk about
Romanian-born carver Rolando Negoita says that there's a time for every pipe - including his own flamboyant designs. But he doesn't view them as 'art'. More

Pipes for free
Bear Graves helps smokers donate pipes to the needy - a scheme he runs within the framework of the newsgroup ASP. Over 1000 have profited, as he tells Pfeifenbox. More

Ignoring the best?
Why did a recent Pfeifenbox panel apparently fail to identify an American promise in carving? Online dealer Mike Glukler explores some possible reasons. More

Rastall deported
Web monkey Ian Rastall plays the Pfeifenbox version of Desert Island Discs - and dares to mention Erinmore, which he somehow expects to be frequent in paradise. More

Young lions
"It's probably easier to grow giants now than it's ever been," says Greg Pease in a Pfeifenbox panel discussion aimed at identifying tomorrow's super-heroes. More

Keeping traditions afloat
Moty Ezrati bought the Upshall business to save it from decline, as he says. In a Pfeifenbox interview, he discusses the state of the industry in Britain. More

The man who makes Chicago work
Frank Burla has dedicated years of his life to the success of the Chicago pipe show. In an interview, he outlines his annual task. More

Older articles:

Showcasing Le Nuvole
As latest news bodes well for the summer's European Pipe & Tobacco show, Maurizio Tombari (Le Nuvole) talks of his own expectations for the event. More

New World carvers focus on Europe
Some of North America's best-known carvers are targeting European collectors with a special February offer proposed by Pfeifenbox and calculated to offset import taxes. More

Pease on pipes
Master blender Greg Pease is also one of the world's premier briar specialists. In a Pfeifenbox interview, he reveals some of his evaluation criteria. More

Something clicked
For nearly 30 years, Roland Schwarz saw little point in smoking expensive pipes. Then he started making his own, telling Pfeifenbox that he's going for perfection. More

Halloween in Herbignac
Learning the French way of celebrating his beloved Halloween hasn't been the only adjustment for Trever Talbert since moving to Brittany in 2002. More

Folloder in exile
Flamboyant and outspoken collector Jeff Folloder gets banished to the Pfeifenbox version of a desert island - with a frightening pipe and lots of weed from Greg Pease. More

Barbi on prices (III)
Continuing an interview with Rainer Barbi, Pfeifenbox looks at intercontinental price issues in the briar business. Are the tags for some Europeans justified? More

Is America coming to Europe?
With the dollar's depression continuing and the budding of a pipe show culture in Germany, 2004 could be a transatlantic year for briar lovers. More

Straight grain and lucite
Italy's pipes have an ambiguous reputation - great value, plenty of style, but a lack of true perfection. Not quite fair, says journalist and estate vendor Laurence Steinman. More

Stranding Heiko
The second person to face our Desert Island Dilemma, German high-grade dealer Heiko Jahr is torn from his treasure chamber and forced to make choices. More

A cigar for New Year's Eve…
… but only to light fireworks. Otherwise, yours truly remains strictly briar-oriented, though none too keen on Christmas pipes. More

A family brand
Paolo Becker, one of Italy's few true high-graders and Europe's best blasters, tells Pfeifenbox that his father's ideas still guide his hands. More

Down under and next door
Czech-born Jan Zeman is New Zealand's contribution to the pipe world. He is carverless Australia's honorary briar ambassador, too. More

Almost Danish
The guy who 'discovered' Cornelius Mänz has spotted a new talent - Tom Richard Mehret from Germany's northernmost fringe. More

Desert island dilemma
Leather man Neil Flancbaum (Smokin' Holsters) tells Pfeifenbox what he likes and loves best... and what it would take to spoil his enjoyment of pipes. More

Garbled fantasies
The best that can be said for pipes posing as Lord of the Rings paraphernalia is that they are more Tolkienesque than a cigarette. More

Out of Africa
Johan Slabbert is South Africa's best-known carver and one of the few pipe makers to successfully concentrate on woods other than briar. More

Karl Erik, or Ottendahl?
By 'splitting up his name', Karl Erik Ottendahl has created a little confusion. Nonetheless, he is one of the only Danes left in the Italian-dominated mid-grade market. More

Barbi on prices (II)
In the second part of a Pfeifenbox interview, German star Rainer Barbi shifts focus from value to production and distribution costs. More

Briefly Bruno
A selection of short news items from the German section of this site includes the saga of St. Bruno (featuring a saviour called St. Bernard). More

Barbi talks of value (I)
In a Pfeifenbox interview, star carver Rainer Barbi says there's nothing mysterious about prices - at least, there shouldn't be. More

New in the North
Love Geiger appears to be inventing the (relatively) affordable Swedish pipe. In an interview, the 26 year old views the future of the industry in a positive light. More

Von Erck on style
Lee von Erck feels comfortable being thought of as one of the few 'typically American' carvers, as he tells Pfeifenbox in an interview. More

Part-time in the USA
Tyler (Lane) Beard talks about the problems and opportunities of part-time carvers. He says 'hobbyists' can produce quality worthy of the top echelon. More

Morettis and the Internet
Marco Biagini tells Pfeifenbox that getting on the Internet and establishing a website has helped him improve his Moretti pipes - already some of the best for the buck. More

Charatan's return to glory?
Connoisseurs say that new Charatans are beginning to resemble their legendary predecessors in terms of quality. Can the demise of a brand be reversed? More

Tasting with Tillman
Jon Tillman runs tobaccoreviews.com, the world's definitive resource for infos and opinions on pipe blends. In an interview, he discusses tasting methods. More

Importing America
What will it take for American pipes to gain a market niche in Europe? Must a national style emerge? Probably not, but that's not to say that none will be perceived! More

Chonowitsch's finest pupil
"I know my style is close to Jess. And his style was close to Sixten," Jörn Larsen tells Pfeifenbox. But he's very much his own man, too. More

A German high-grade summit
Online dealer Heiko Jahr is gathering several of Germany's best carvers in Leipzig early next summer - and inviting the collecting public to come and talk to them. More

Tinsky's truths
Mark Tinsky - possibly America's most popular carver - is famous for debunking myths. He explains his view of fibs and finesse to Pfeifenbox. More

Gems from Japan
F. Sykes Wilford has lost his heart to the Japanese artisan pipe. In an interview, he also talks of cultural differences between the carving worlds. More

Desiring Dunhills
Have you ever wondered what motivates true Dunhill collectors? Ask Austrian musician Wolfgang Pointner, who's got 160 of them and sees no reason to stop buying. More

Furnaces for flakes
One of the pipe world's best known compressed baccy enthusiasts answers a nagging question. A talk to Tarek Manadily about flake pipes. More

Germany's gift
Along with Kent Rasmussen, German carver Cornelius Mänz is Europe's major hope in a new generation of artisans. He says that hype scares him more than anything else. More

From France
Few serious collectors pay much attention to French pipes, nowadays. Erwin Van Hove can see why not, but thinks people may be missing something. More

Date set for European pipe show
Rolf Osterndorff hopes to draw the world's pipe-lovers to the German North Sea coast next summer, rapidly pressing ahead with plans despite scepticism in some quarters. More

In brief
Werner Mummert talks of changes to his bits, while others discuss a Sixten renaissance. A rundown of news from the German section of this site (and elsewhere). More

Rough Guys
Europeans rarely see the true soul of a rough pipe - blasted or rusticated the American way. Larry Roush talks of his love for such pieces. More

Cuxhaven goes Chicago
German dealer Rolf Osterndorff is planning an American-style Euro Pipe Show for 2004. Friends say that he'll need help. More