Simba has arrived!

Simba is here! (see May 17th blog entry below)  After a long journey it ended up on my doorstep this past Friday.  As an extra, bonus pieces of the thinner material were included increasing my supply by about 1/3.  These thinner pieces can be laminated to thicker CA like Blood of Kings or Tsunami to create some fun stuff.  While my supply is very, very limited, there is more than I had hoped.

I’m really pleased to be able to offer the subtle beauty of ivory with a non-ivory alternative that features the warm touch of cellulose acetate.  While I will continue to work with mammoth and 100% legal elephant ivory, I do understand and respect the objections that some folks have as to elephant.  Beyond one’s convictions it can also be a matter of cost as top notch elephant and mammoth ivory are very expensive in unworked form.  Not all ivory is of the same quality.  For the most part you get what you pay for.  To bring you the finest can require an expenditure varying between $50 and $100 per piece, sometimes more.  Other ivory is available for far less, but that is not my interest.  Even mammoth, which can be obtained relatively inexpensively (compared to elephant), varies greatly in quality (ie., Russian versus Alaskan) and results in great waste.  Much of a tusk ends up being unusable in the search for the best portions. Over years of working with these wonderful materials I have learned firsthand what works and what doesn’t.  It isn’t as simple as it looks.

The best part about Simba is that none of the foregoing is of concern.  You get the look of elephant/mammoth without the concerns.  This way there’s a little something for everyone depending on budget, convictions, or preferences.

Look for pieces made from Simba to begin appearing in the near future.    

Simba Update

Regarding the entry of May 14th…never mind.  There is no need to rush or panic if Simba is to be in your future.  As it turns out there is no immediate shortage.  I have secured a supply, and while very limited,  it is significantly more than I had. 

I only have myself to blame that I don’t have more Simba.  I have known about this material for years.  I even had a small sample of it, and more recently a larger sample, but just now worked with it.  The sample was only .375” thick, not much to work with, so it never excited me despite the fact that I could see the grain pattern to be amazing, like true elephant ivory.  Then I got a few more samples and sat on them for the better part of a year not realizing that they were now .44 inches thick, which is a horse of an entirely different color.  As you can see, back on May 14^th I finally worked with it, and made immediate plans to use the precious little that I have.

I’m usually pretty quick on the uptake, but it took me another day to contact my supplier to see if he had any left.  I didn’t consider it as I couldn’t possibly be that lucky.  WelI, I was that lucky.  He had all of it left that exists, and now I do.  It isn’t much, one seven inch by forty-eight inch sheet.  That might sound like a lot, but believe me, it will be gone before I know it.

At any rate, at least for a while it will allow me to offer the exquisite beauty of elephant ivory with its stunning grain in the form of cellulose acetate, an option much more palatable to many people based on their views on the use of elephant ivory.  I will continue to offer other ivory, but this will offer a much needed and less expensive option to those who want it.  There are other “alternative ivories” out there, but none even begin to compare in the beauty and graining of Simba.

Look for Simba to begin to appear in the next month in numerous various shapes, sometimes offered combined with other fine cellulose acetate materials such as Blood of Kings.

Sorta Moxie

Sorta Moxie, but still a Ming-Kahuna.

Many of my prized synthetic materials are made by the renowned Italian plastics producer Mazzucchelli 1849.  They have been producing plastics since 1849 (early versions) and are an incredibly high-tech producer today. Sadly the fine pen grade materials, used for some of the world’s finest pens, are no longer available today.  Happily, I spent years buying up as much as I could before the supply dried up.  Caneel, Bali, Blood of Kings, Tsunami, Glacier Bay, Asia, Smoke, Ming, Kahuna, Sedona, Aziza are among those materials, just to name a few.  Some of those materials I have in such short supply that they are only offered on a very limited basis.  The material that you see above, that I call “Simba” (Tarzan’s elephant, not Lion King) is made by this wonderful producer and is in very, very, very short supply.  There is a possibility that I may be able to find more, but for now there is enough to make maybe eight or nine tamps like the one that you see above.

Okay, so what is so special about Simba?  As I’ve said, Mazzucchelli are incredible in the materials that they can produce.  How they do it is way beyond me, and here they have really outdone themselves.  Simba is a cellulose acetate material that if put side by side with elephant ivory is indistinguishable except for the most trained eye.  They have reproduced the grain beautifully, in fact to an extraordinary degree.  In the view that you see above it is rather uniform, but it does get rather variable as with real elephant ivory.  Then, add the beauty of ivory with the warm touch of cellulose acetate and you have an incredible material.  The shape of the tamp was chosen to provide for a piece for maximum use and wiggle inside the bowl. The shape is a simple elegant one to allow the material to put on the show.  The tamper is 3.15 inches long.

The best part is that this material allows one to enjoy the beauty of elephant ivory (or very nearly so) while leaving an actual elephant out of the picture, and at a fraction of the cost of real ivory.  But, as I’ve said, as of right now my supply of this material is extremely limited,  and I can only take orders for five of these tampers.  They will be priced at $90 each with a 1/2 down pre-payment required at the time that the order is placed.  No discounts apply to these tamps.  If material remains after I make five of them, then a few more may be offered.  If I can obtain more of this material that offer may be on a more permanent basis, but that all remains to be seen.  Email me at mingkahuan@aol.com to place your order.  

Kat Moxie, AKA “Gumby”

(here it is)

Folks, today or tomorrow I will be putting up the last of a series of very special ivory pieces that so far has included three incredible tamps: Raikou Moxie, Ikazuchi Moxie, and Bonito Moxie.  In fact, the piece of ivory for Kat was sandwiched between the pieces used for Ikazuchi and Bonito.

Kat Moxie is one of the most uusual tamps that I have had the pleasure to offer.  There has never been anything quite like it.  I had intended to offer the tamp in Chicago and declined to allow a waiting list form.  I will be offering the tamp at the special price that I would have offered it for in Chicago had I been able to go to the show.  The other three tamps sold for between $515 and $1014, but with the special pricing Kat will be less at $475.  Look for the piece on my web site later today or early tomorrow.

 (Sorry, Kat Moxie is now sold)

Here I Be

Let me say that these comments are being offered in response to an issue raised by numerous recent emails asking me where I’ve been.  Quite possibly not being in Chicago and minimal participation on Internet newsgroups and boards has caused some to ask.  The short answer is that I’ve been right here doing what I always do.

With the WorkShop blog I have found an appropriate place to share some thoughts about my craft and the world in general.  I have never been comfortable with promoting my work on newsgroups and boards, and have tried to keep it to a dead minimum, especially in recent times.  We all decide what we are comfortable with in terms of self-promotion, but I must say that I personally find it distasteful to be constantly pushing my work in people’s faces.  I’ve worked long and hard for many years to build a reputation and only find it to be counter-productive to practice “in-your-face” self-promotion.  If you’re reading these words you probably know my work, some of you for many years now, and know where to find me.  To do “hey look at me” promotion isn’t my style or what Ming-Kahuna is about.  I enjoy sharing aspects of my craft here at the blog and am 100% comfortable with that.  Anyone who reads my words has come to them voluntarily knowing what the WorkShop blog is about.  I’m hopeful that folks will want to read what I have to say, comment themselves when they have a mind to, bookmark the blog and Ming-Kahuna site, stop back frequently to see what’s new, and tell their friends about the blog and Ming-Kahuna. 

As to newsgroups and boards, I will continue to participate as I have in a limited manner offering information when appropriate.  Quite frankly, I don’t have a lot of time to spend with such activities and what time I do have I prefer to spend in my workshop.  With my PDA I’m now free to answer email from anywhere, and that has allowed me to leave my CPU and access to the discussion aspect of the Internet behind, to a large degree.  To get to newsgroups and boards with my PDA is a major pain, so they have dropped by the wayside.  That said, when I am by my home computer I will try and participate on groups, and by more than just placing ads. For me participation in an Internet group is as a fun diversion rather than an opportunity to generate income.

So, if you’re looking for me I’ll be right here and at www.ming-kahuna.com, right where I’ve always been.  If you’d like to learn about my work you can get a little taste of it here.  As I see it, there remains a huge difference between offering a little snack and force-feeding a ten course meal day after day.  A fine wine is best sipped.

You get the idea.

Moxie Has Brass

(The above photograph has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter below.  I just happen to like that photo.  If it helps, please feel free to read this entry with an inner voice consistent with Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove.  A fine second choice would be the voice of Slim Pickens as Col. Kong)

When I carved the first few handful of all briar Moxie tamps the idea was to keep the tamps as natural as possible without the imposition of manmade materials.  That seemed to make sense as I have made briar tamp surfaced tampers from the very beginning of Ming-Kahuna back in 1998.  Acrylic and cellulose acetate tamped with briar had proven to be fairly popular with my European customers where there seems to be a slight preference for non-metal tamp surfaces.  I’ve always theorized that this preference is because of the use of wood dowels as tampers in the smoking contests that have been more numerous in Europe than in the US.  I’ve also used wood tamp surfaces with ivory, but like the use with synthetics it is one material used in conjunction with another giving the tamper a finished off appearance. In any event, based on past experience,  I thought I was fairly safe in introducing all briar tampers.

With my craft I am always learning.  In large part this is because I am dealing with people’s preferences, and those preferences are often difficult to glean, and even when seemingly obvious they can be misleading.  Anticipating that I may have miscalculated with the all briar tamps I made it clear in their listings that brass could be added.  Unfortunately folks don’t want to buy a tamper based on what it could be, they want to see what they will be getting.  This was further evidenced by the fact that the all briar Moxies that had sold were originally built with brass.  The writing was on the wall.  Merely offering the opportunity to retrofit the brass wasn’t good enough.  So, being a bit confused I did what I often do, I go to my customers for the answers.  I wasn’t surprised by the results of my inquiry.

One thing that was perfectly clear was that the all briar tampers were seen as “not finished off”.  Folks saw the shapes as just fine and dandy, but the lack of a separate tamping surface material made the tamper seem incomplete, out of balance.  To be perfectly candid, I completely agree with that assessment.  Please understand that I’m only talking about my own work here and these were the opinions of folks only as to my work.  Most of the people I talked to on this issue had been familiar with my work for years, so I suppose the all briar departure was just too different for them be comfortable with.  Their suggestion was to make the briar tampers with brass tamp surfaces and make all briar tamps available through special orders.

So, as it turns out I had things reversed with metal tamped briar/wood tamps the exception and all wood tamps the rule, rather than vice versa.  Consistent with that I have now “taken down” the three all briar tampers on my site (by addding notations to their listings) and have added briar tamps surfaces to them.  My customers were right, they now look complete and finished off.  Problem solved.  The updated pieces will be up and available in short order.

Thanks to all who responded to my April 3^rd solicitation of opinions.  

Totally Rad (Part I of IV)

(two Rad Davis pipes headed to Chicago.  Look at that blast!)

If the name Rad Davis means nothing to you chances are you haven’t spent much time around the artisan pipe world in the past two years.  To date, the quick rise of Rad Davis in the world of pipes is pretty much unprecedented.

I have to say that it was really a unique experience watching Rad progress from his earliest days under the tutelage of Mark Tinsky.  His earliest work showed a certain flare that suggested good things to come.  With every new batch of pipes there were key improvements that were exactly what I was thinking needed to be done.  I would think to myself something like “Okay, now he needs to inset the tenons” and “bing”, it was there with the next batch.  With every group of pipes Rad kicked it up a notch adding features like handcut stems,  flush mounted stems, Cumberland, and all sorts of features typically only associated with pipes with much higher price tags.  As this was going on there were many of us cheering at these advancements amazed at how he knew exactly what needed to be done and could do them so well so quickly.   At the same time Rad was working with shapes, many with a pronounced Danish flare, and came upon what I consider to be his signature shape, the wide squash tomato, a shape that I think of as a “Rajah.”  Rad hasn’t been afraid to experiment with shapes and his efforts have really paid off.  His work is identifiably his own, from across the room as we like to say.

Not only has Rad excelled as a man of shapes, but he has done so much with finishes and stem materials.  His blasts are simply incredible, a skill that he picked up seemingly overnight.  There’s nothing quite like one of his blonde blasts with a Cumberland stem, often the green variety.  Being an admitted
Cumberland freak his common use of this stem material only makes his pipes more desirable to me.  Rad’s pipes continue to be one of the very best values in the artisan pipe world today.  I love his work.

I could go on and on about this kind man and his fine work, but the idea behind this piece is to let Rad do the talking.  This will be a four part interview consisting of four questions and follow-ups.  You are also welcome to submit a follow-up for Rad, but I will submit the question to Rad before posting it.  Any reader follow-ups for part one will have to wait to be answered until Rad gets back from the Chicago show.

So, let the interview begin!

Me:  What did you bring to pipe making that has shaped, or otherwise defined the kind of pipe maker that you are and the pipes that you make?

Rad: I don’t know that I brought anything *with* me to pipe making, since I had no idea that I would be a pipe maker, and I didn’t become one on purpose.  In the summer of 2003, I watched Mark make a pipe for me in his shop, and thought the process looked very cool, so I told him I”d like to try making one sometime.  He said he had some kits that he couldn’t sell for one reason or another (flaws in the bowl, etc.) and that I was welcome to play with them.  I did and was immediately hooked on the whole process.  I think I made close to 3 dozen pipes that summer in Mark’s shop when I had days off from guiding fly fishermen.  When they actually started to sell on line at $50-100 each, it was the beginning of the end for me.  I couldn’t believe that I could do this and actually make money at it. If anything defines the kind of pipe maker I am it is that I think about making pipes all the time.  When I’m not in the shop, I’m thinking about what I’m going to be doing the next time I’m there.  I get ideas for new shapes or techniques or variations or how to make things better over the weekend and try them on Monday.  My wife calls it an obssession, and maybe it is.  I make pipes because I can’t help it.  I’m always wanting to try new stuff, and I can’t wait to do it.  It’s the most fun I’ve ever had at a “job”.  

Follow-up:

Me: Did you bring any particular skills or attitudes with your from your life before pipe making that either helped you or hindered you?  Is there anywhere from your life experiences that you look  to as inspiration for your artistry?  The same question but as to your attitudes and philosophy as an artisan. 

Rad: One skill, and I learned this when I started tying flies, is that I found out I was pretty good with my hands.  Up until I started tying flies, I had no idea!  I can’t draw at all, in fact many times when making a pipe, the longest process for me is getting the shape drawn on the block so it looks right to me.  I do have an eye for what looks right, I just have a hard time executing it with a pencil.  Shaping a briar block into a pipe comes fairly easy to me for some reason.  I have no idea why. 

Another thing I have found out is that I’m much more of a perfectionist than I thought I was.  I keep finding myself wanting to make things better, with regard to quality. My inspiration doesn’t really come from life experiences.  A lot of times it comes from seeing other pipe shapes and doing a lot of “what ifs” in my head.  I was inspired once by the shower head in my bathroom.  It’s one of those that you can remove from the bracket and hold in your hand.  If you turn it over, it looks like a long graceful pipe with a flattened bowl.  I’ll see certain things that just look like they might be tweaked into a nice pipe shape.  It can come from anywhere, but it always seems to be visual rather than based on something that happened in my life.

Me:  That’s it for Part I.  Part II will be a second question that I will put to Rad upon his return from the Chicago show.  If you’re going to be at the show be sure to stop by and see Rad.  If you are looking for one of his pipes I’d recommend getting to him as early as possible. While I won’t be at the show I can assure you that I will be back in Atlanta smoking a blonde blast squash tomato (Rajah) with green Cumberland stem.  I’ll snap a photo of this amazing pipe for Part II.

Again, your own follow-up questions are welcome.