Where did they go?

My email inbox indicates that some of you have noticed that the number of available tampers at my web site (www.ming-kahuna.com) is much fewer in number that it has been in the past.  Well, that is true, but, the fact is that the number of pieces up now is more typical of the assortment that has been available at any one time in past years.  The current decrease back to more typical levels reflects the fact that a larger portion of my work is devoted to special orders.

If you have followed the course of my craft over the years you will know that I have had a love/hate relationship with special orders. And while I’m still not thrilled with custom orders (ie., make me a tamper the shape of my Aunt Edna’s nose) I love special orders (ie., make me a Pug in Panache).  There is a big difference.  One is someone else’s vision, the other is re-creating my own work.  So, having finally come to terms with this issue, a very, very large portion of my work product is special orders.  I try and display some of the special orders on my site, often as works in progress, so that my customers can keep tabs on what I’m doing and maybe have some ideas for what they themselves would like to order.  I hope to be able to do that more and more as right now it doesn’t happen nearly enough.

That said, as more of my time is devoted to special orders fewer pieces are offered for general sale.  This is unavoidable as there are only so many hours in a day.  Despite this, rest assured that I am making a conscious effort to maintain a portion of my production for general and show sales.  And while many tampers offered for general sale sell within minutes of going up on the site, that is not a reason to not consider the other fine tampers that are offered.  Some tampers sell quicker than others.  Some of my finest tamps have taken the longest to sell.  One never knows.

In lieu of the Chicago show…

As you may know I will not be at the Chicago show this year.  Family comes first and there is an event that I really, really need/want to be at.  Seven straight years at the show was already a lot to ask for and I was lucky in the past for a lack of conflicts.  Of course I missed my first Chicago show in 1999 thanks to a trial that ended up settling on the courthouse steps.

Despite the fact that I won’t be in Chicago the tampers that you would have seen there will be offered on the Ming-Kahuna web site over the next days or possibly even weeks.  You’re going to see some rather fun pieces including the two tamps that had been slated to be the first two KazeTamps: “Sky Captain” and “Deco”.  You will also see “Angry Beavers” which may give you a snicker if you understand the reference.  You’ll see ten or so Bali pieces and a few fun smaller KazeTamps in Caneel.  There will also be a variety of Jakes in Bali and possibly a surprise Caneel pipe/tamper rest.  Yup, you heard it right, a Caneel pipe/tamper rest!  There are also some TouchStones, one in particular called “The Blues”.  There will also be some Incubus in Caneel and Bali.

From Ming you will see a series of Whispers, three in
Cumberland and one in Caribbean.  There will be a couple of mini-monoliths in Cumberland and Pugs in Mint and Renegade.  A few years ago I picked up some resin impregnated water buffalo horn for a project, so I’m using part of that to make a cool “little” Pug.  You’ll also see some more Tidbits in the Clipper shape. There’s also Blutos in Aziza, Ming, and Kahuna!

That’s all I’m going to tell you for now.  Please stop back daily to see what’s new.  Okay, it may not be Chicago, but for Ming it will be quite a show.

If there’s anything that you’d like to see before it goes up on the site just drop me a note at mingkahuna@aol.com, I’d be glad to give you a preview.

Tough as nails.

When a “used” Ming does come up for sale you will sometimes see a notation that the tamper was never used.  Other times you will hear someone say (or write) that they never take their Mings away from home.  More common is the comment that they are too pretty to put in a bowl.  Those are incredible compliments, but they leave me with very, very mixed feelings.

Please understand that I am not one to tell someone what they should do with their property.  How each of us finds pleasure in ownership is our own business whether it is through use, or just owning and looking at something.  Some guys smoke all of their pipes, others just some of them, and yet others collect pipes without ever smoking a one of them (yes, there are such collectors).  How I look at this is very much influenced by the fact that I am the one who makes the tamper.  Let me explain further.

When I sat down nearly nine years ago to create my first tampers the entire idea was form and function.  Form dealt largely with the aesthetics.  Function dealt with creating a useable and durable pipe tool.  The idea was to create a tamper that maximized both sides of the equation with a dead minimum of compromise, and much of the compromise being made in favor of function.  As luck would have it, the form aspect of the tamper is most obvious and due to its high visibility often overshadows its equal partner, function.  So, with form so visible folks seem to either underestimate, or misunderstand, the function/durability aspect of my work.  Allow me to explain a little further.

In the earliest days of Ming-Kahuna I decided that it was imperative to create a pipe tool that would stand the test of time in terms of durability.  I engineered the construction of the pieces with failsafes and double failsafes to protect them from structural failures.  Much of it might seem like overkill, like wearing suspenders and a belt, but the number of pieces that I am aware of that have had issues, over thousands of tampers, can be counted on the fingers of one hand, a hand missing three fingers at that!  This was no accident and only came from years of development, product testing, and the very careful selection of only the most appropriate and durable materials.  Many materials that I would have liked to work with I rejected as I had doubts as to their durability.  Many have been product tested with some making the grade, and others not.  But the bottom line here is that any Ming/Kaze that you acquire has gone through rigorous evaluation and careful development to guarantee that it will be incredibly durable, standing the test of time to be around for generations to come.  Early on a Ming motto, along with “art that works” was “Creating tomorrow’s heirlooms today”.

Here’s the bottom line.  The fact that my work is aesthetically pleasing does not even begin to equal the notion that it is also somehow fragile or prone to excessive wear and tear.  I wish you could know how well engineered and durable that these materials are.  The stories that I can tell you about the abuses my tampers have seen and come through relatively unscathed are amazing.  When you start out with appropriate materials and engineer their use in an appropriate manner, you can have both form and function as equal partners.  Aesthetic desirability does not preclude a durable functional pipe tool, and a functional pipe tool need not be anything less than a fine artistic statement in tamper art.

So please, as you look at my work understand that they are designed, and have been proven through use, to be tough and durable in just about any environment, and need not be relegated to limited use.  And while it’s true that anything wears in time from use, to bring a tamper back to new condition is a very simple matter.  If you don’t want to buff it yourself you can ship it back to me and for the price of return postage I’ll make the tamper look like new again.  That has been the policy of Ming-Kahuna (and now KazeTamp) from day one, and will continue to be the policy in the future.

So again, while I would never be so bold so as to tell someone how to use their property, please don’t be afraid to use your Ming or Kaze tamper as it was intended and designed to be used.  Of course, if limiting the use continues to be how my work is enjoyed, and that’s just fine as the goal here is enjoyment, however that is accomplished, I would certainly suggest one of my Tag aluminum/brass tampers.   Tags will be right at home in the most harsh habitable environments on the planet. 

  

Ming Legacy Pipes?

I occasionally receive emails from folks regarding the Ming Legacy line of pipes that have been in the works for years.  Let me take this opportunity to tell you a bit more.

A number of years back, just shy of five, I announced that I would begin efforts aimed at pipe making beyond the 25 or so kit pipes that I have carved.  Towards that end I have carved a number of pipes from scratch experimenting and trying to create something unusual that will smoke well.  So far my efforts have been based on a very unusual path to follow, one with plenty of precedent:  the one piece all briar pipe.  My inspiration for this type of pipe came from Tom Eltang and Todd Johnson and a couple of all briar ukulele shaped pipes made by them that I am proud to own.  So far my efforts have gone in that direction, and, I’ve got to say that it is quite an enjoyable direction. 

While I suppose that my efforts will eventually be aimed at more traditional construction, for now pipes such as the ukulele/volcano variant that you see above keep me happy.  That pipe was the first that I carved (from scratch) and is the only one that I will show, for now.  It really is a fine smoker, smoking like a far larger pipe than its current 4.11 inch length.

Unfortunately the photo above will have to do for now sp as to satisfy anyone’s curiosity. I’ve had some primo briar aging for well over four years, and some time in the future I may even use some of it and formally throw my hat in the pipe making ring.  The thing is that pipe making isn’t a real big priority with me, it’s just something that I’d like to do on a very limited basis. I may sell some, or I may not, or heck, maybe I’ll just throw an occasional pipe in with a tamper order. Who knows?  It all remains to be seen.  That’s the fun part.