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America's most popular carver?

With moderate prices and a steady output of honest mid-grades, Mark Tinsky may well be America's best-loved pipe artisan. He requires little introduction, but for the few who don't know: Mark adores fishing and loathes briar mythology - as he demonstrates in this interview, given as he put the final touches on this year's Christmas range .

You take issue with many of the pipe-world's myths, as you see them - such as the length of time needed for certain carving tasks...

MT: Well.... In a sense, I can only speak for what I do. There are a lot of people getting into pipe making. Due to the information on the web they are able to leapfrog over a lot of the early lessons that used to take years to learn. However, during this learning process people used to be able to hone their skills and become efficient. So while some of these talented young makers are able to produce some first rate pipes, they haven't learnt some of the timesaving skills that their older brethren have. What may take someone ten hours to do, most professionals can do in two, if I may generalize a bit.

… or the desirability of 'dead root' briar.

MT: There is no desirability to dead root briar. It's a marketing scheme that is false. Michael Butera, who is one of the most knowledgeable pipe makers I know, once recalled the owner of a briar mill in Italy telling him that diggers do not harvest burl from the ground if the bush is dead ... the mills will not purchase them because dead burls are full of cracks, and all they yield is zero blocks.

Do you think some makers are out to make things sound more intricate and thus more valuable than they really are?

MT: I've heard of makers doing unnecessary procedures, which take a lot of time and therefore drive up prices. For instance, there's no reason for the inner bowl to be sanded to 2000 grit when, actually, a rough sanded bowl will cake better! But if the consumer feels this is a desirable feature and is willing to pay for it, who am I to contradict?

Your own customers value the comfort and smoking qualities of your pipes. They're regarded as some of the most reliable on the US market, but you rarely aim for the ultra-high-grade or 'sculptural' sector. Do you appreciate such pipes yourself?

MT: Very much! I'm often amazed at the designs and pipes done by the team of Ed Burak and Tony Pesante - or whoever Ed is working with nowadays. Walt Cannoy comes up with some fabulous work. Joan de Saladich does incredible sculpturals, and Ken Rasmussen creates wonderful original work!

On estimate, how many people in Germany do you think (or know) have a Tinsky? Where do such customers first hear about you?

MT: I know you yourself have a couple, as do a few other Europeans like Erwin Van Hove. However, they have bought pipes fairly recently. Others, who might be in the more distant past, sadly go unremembered.

Is the European market on the whole important to you? Is its significance growing?

MT: Any market is important! The web allows one to reach out to the whole world. Many small pipe makers like myself have no marketing strategy. We don't have distributors in Europe - or distributors here, for that matter. Advertising is important and also expensive. I prefer word of mouth as the best method to sell my pipes. I don't like hype and that's what advertising basically is. I think it's more important and satisfying to build your customer base on real conceptions rather than advertised preconceptions. A lot of across the pond sales depend on the strength of the dollar. When it's high they seem to disappear. Right now, due to its weakness, more sales are forthcoming. It's something that's obviously out of my control.

Your son Glenn is already making pipes of his own. Do you hope he'll become a full-timer?

I just hope he's happy in whatever he decides to do! He's quite multi-talented, if I may brag a bit. He plays the guitar and banjo and sings beautifully. He's also starting to write works of original philosophy. He's got a critical eye for symmetry. I confess here that I often show him my pipes for last minute corrections - he was very helpful in designing this year's Christmas pipe.

What is the Christmas pipe this year?

MT: This year's is the 21st annual Christmas pipe. It's maybe the smallest one I've made since the very first. Maybe a Dunhill size 4 and a half… I think there's a trend to smaller pipes these days. I know that - when not fishing - I'm tending to smaller sizes myself. My idea when doing a 'standard' shape, such as this year's Author, is to take the elements that I think best in a couple of other interpretations , and then add something that I think maybe unique and that complements the shape.

Mark's pipes can be seen and bought here: http://www.amsmoke.com/

(November 4, 2003)

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