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Lonely carver upside down

While Japan has contributed several carvers to the high-grade scene, Australia and New Zealand are strangely mute, considering their British heritage. There's Jan Zeman and there is… well, there is always hope. Fortunately, Jan is a highly versatile producer whose output meets a lot of tastes and budgets.

Jan left what was then Czechoslovakia just after the Soviet invasion in 1968. He spent six years in Australia and has since been in New Zealand, where he is the only carver of significance. Jan's portfolio ranges from re-engineered factory pieces to freehands. In this interview, he talks of his work and his unique status, and invites pipesters to visit.

You may well be the only significant pipe maker in both New Zealand and 'neighbouring' Australia. Don't you feel a bit cut off?

JZ: Well you think I would feel like that and at times I do wish there were more of us around to pop in for a visit and share the ups and downs of our trade. But with the Internet it is relatively easy to keep in touch with pipe makers all over the world. I feel that I am a part of the global scene as far as pipe making is concerned. I travel a lot, and each time I am in Europe I try to visit as many pipe makers there as possible. It's nice just to say "hello" and hopefully make new friends. I find pipe makers to be very friendly all over the world - very open and hospitable people.

How would you assess the pipe smoking scene on the other side of the planet? How often does one meet a fellow pipe smoker?

JZ: It is certainly hard to smoke pipe upside down - as any of European pipe smokers find out when they visit New Zealand, it takes bit of practice to get used to [laughs]. But seriously, it is a sad scene and I can't see any chance of improvement, with our government adopting tough anti-smoking legislation later this year. There are hardly any pipe shops in the country and the choice of pipe tobacco is limited to brown and red Amphora and other equally unpopular brands.

On average I would be lucky to meet another pipe smoker a couple of times a year. It's always a happy occasion and a good excuse for a chat, pipe, and maybe a beer as well. The average age of pipe smokers would be well into their 50's to 70's, though I have noticed that there are a few younger people taking up the pipe, so maybe not all hope is lost. As the pipe smoking community is so small, it does not pay to open up a specialized pipe shop. Without them though there is no way to attract people to smoking pipes. It's a catch 22 situation. The government tax of $300 per kilo of tobacco makes it uneconomical.

Your Lord of the Rings pipes don't strive for phony authenticity - you even use such un-Tolkienesque materials as bamboo. What exactly makes a shape an LOTR shape in your book?

JZ: This is a hard question. As we all know, J.R.R.Tolkien did not elaborate on the specific shapes of pipe instruments used in his trilogy. I think it is very important that any pipe maker who embarks on the quest of reproducing pipes smoked by the book's characters needs to put their soul and design skills into lifting the quality of the pipe above everyday designs. It is certainly not sufficient just to take a standard shaped pipe, alter it slightly, give it a name like Bilbo or Hobbit, and believe it will become an overnight success. It does not work that way.

Most of the pipes for the movies were made either from particleboard or Macrocarpa wood. Great for the movie effects but none of them would make great smoking instruments. I would hate to see a Hobbit's face if they ever tried to smoke one. The Hobbits treasured and cultivated fine tobacco leaf and certainly took great care when fashioning their smoking instruments.

As well as reading all the books and seeing the movies my greatest inspiration for my LOTR designs came from New Zealand's scenery. The forests and old trees covered in moss after falling to the ground many, many years ago. One only needs to sit in such a spot, hear the clear bubbling stream near by, and you can easily believe there are Hobbits and other small creatures all over the place…after all New Zealand is Middle Earth.

After each design is finished, I ask my wife and myself: "Would a Hobbit smoke this pipe?" Would they be happy to stuff the bowl with fine tobacco leaf and enjoy lying on the moss covered forest floor while seeing their smoke curl up through the trees and fade into the blue sky? That's the main question behind each of my designs.

Take the last of my LOTR pipes, number five in the series and called 'Baranor'. I had a dream about the Hobbits being led by Gollum through the Dead Marshes and saw again, as in the movie, all the souls submerged in the water. But there was one difference between my dream and the movie…the souls all came out of the water at dusk and lit up long pipes made from the long reeds growing around the marshes. I carved 'Baranor' the same day - it is certainly a fine smoking pipe. The smoke is cool and dry and the pipe is relatively light for its size and length.

All of my LOTR designs, which I call 'Lord of the Pipes', are carved from the same quality plateaux as any of my other pipes and receive the same attention to detail as all my other pipes do. I have developed a special finish for the series, which has a real Middle Earth magic to it. It appears rough to the eye but is silky smooth to the touch…a real Grey Wizard trick. Of course, even though they are a series, each pipe is made by hand and I enjoy carving a small series of pipes. I think carving more than one pipe of the same shape improves a carver's discipline, eye for detail, ability to create shapes and the carving speed. After all, carvers need to be efficient to be able to create pipes that are affordable and good value for money in today's competitive market place.

I would never try to adopt any of my existing shapes to be LOTR pipes. You just need to start from the scratch and they need to be original, fun to smoke and to display, as well as affordable to the wide audience of J.R.R.Tolkien fans, or other smokers who would like to have bit of a fun while smoking. So there are no secrets I can share with you, and I am sure anyone out there can design and produce a LOTR pipe, but I have one important factor in my favour…all my pipes are born in Middle Earth, and each and every one of them carries a small part of the local spirit which no other pipe maker can claim. I do thank J.R.R.Tolkien and Peter Jackson for a wonderful book and movie.

Besides higher grades, you offer an affordable range of factory made pieces that you finish by hand. Would you care to explain which bits the factory does and which you add?

JZ: Let me first explain why I introduced the 'Latitude 41' pipe range. We all know there are people who do not own or smoke good quality handmade pipes - either because of the cost or the amount of care such pipes require. Let's face it, the good quality, and I am not talking about top quality hand carved pipes, still cost a good deal of money, and it's a pity that some people never experience the joy of smoking a good quality pipe.

Most factory made pipes are made from good quality briar, but I believe they suffer from one or two large handicaps. One is the inside of the bowl being coated with all sorts of carbon based concoctions, sometimes even varnish. These are said to make breaking-in the pipe easier and to provide you with a better smoking experience. Mass produced pipes also have varnish or lacquer applied to the outside of the bowl. In my view such coatings are not necessary or desirable. Another common problem is inaccurate drilling of bowls and stems, which results in restricted airflow.

To correct some of these problems I import a range of half finished pipes and finish them myself to insure good smokeability rather than good looks. I leave the inside of the bowl bare and sand it with coarse sand paper to facilitate easy cake build up. I correct the drilling if necessary and enlarge the smoke canal to 4mm diameter - and at the same time open up the inside of the stem to the same size for easier air flow. The end of the stem is filed flatter and thinner for comfort and the button is also reduced in size. The outside of the pipe is treated with spirit stain only and finished in pure Carnauba wax so the wood can breath and the pipe can properly dry out during it's rest period. No varnish or lacquer is used in the final treatment. There are 13 different hand alternations on every Latitude pipe. The end result is a pipe with a natural finish and good smoking characteristics. It may not win any beauty contests, but does provide a great smoke at an affordable price.

I think it is important to introduce more people to the pleasures of pipe smoking, We need to provide pipes which will not turn them away after their first smoke, but rather encourage them to experiment further with better pipes. I see my 'Latitude' series as beginners' pipes or pipes to be enjoyed outdoors, so that there's no need to worry about damaging or even losing a more expensive companion.

How does one meet Jan Zeman in person? Are you planning to attend any international shows this year?

JZ: Meet me? With great difficulty! The only place further from most common pipe markets would be Antarctica [laughs].

New Zealand tourism is increasing all the time and some of the people coming here are bound to be pipe smokers. Anyone is welcome to visit my studio. The doors are always opened and there's a cold bottle of Chardonnay ready to be opened after a smoke or two in my garden.

Then there's always the Internet, where I have made many friends over the last few years. The emails and the chat rooms are wonderful ways of keeping the communication lines open at all times.

And my answer to your last question is 'yes', I will be attending the 2004 Pipe Show in Cuxhaven, Germany. I look forward to meeting fellow pipe smokers and coming away with many new friends. I hope to have some pipes on sale as well.

See Jan's pipes here: http://www.zemanpipes.com

(December 12, 2003)

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