This is a story about a really great afternoon.
I am fortunate enough to have a really great tobacco shop nearby. In Salt Lake City, of all places. They have full selections of McClellends, MacBaren, Sam Gawith, Peterson, Dunhill, OTCs, Dan Tobacco and many others. The prices are reasonable, a 50g tin of Sam Gawith is 14.99, and hey, no shipping! Bulk tobacco (Peter Stobekkye and MacBaren) is $3.99 per oz. They have a nice selection of pipes, too.
I am double fortunate to trade this tobacco shop straight razors and other shaving gear for store credit! The owners and the guys that work there are all great. The guy at the counter, Ron, likes to give everyone gruff about everything, real old codger type. It's a fun place to hang out.
Today I went in to drop off some razor stuff and pick up a few tins. I noticed they had HH Mature Virginia, which was on my to-try list in bulk, so I bought some, packed my pipe and sat down with a drink at the back of the store (you can smoke there too! holy crap!). As I'm chatting with the owner about the pipe shows in Chicago and Vegas that he's been to, in walks a pipe maker. His name is Arley Curtz. His pipes aren't well known out side of Utah, but he was the resident pipemaker and repairer at said tobacco shop for decades, now retired. I'm pretty sure a dictionary would have a picture of him next to the definition of "old codger pipe smoker". I ended up shooting the breeze with him for over an hour.
Me being a new pipe smoker, he gave me lots of tips on how to smoke the pipe, which I badly needed and immediately improved my smoke. We also talked about pipe making mechanics and restoration, which I just got into. He knows everything about vintage Barlings and Dunhills and could probably date them by sight. I told him my nicest pipe is a Mark Tinksy and it turns out he knows him well and has had his help on many a pipe.
Long story short, I walked into a store where everybody knows my name, light up a pipe and hung out for an hour and a half. I would of thought that was impossible after the year 1990.
I am fortunate enough to have a really great tobacco shop nearby. In Salt Lake City, of all places. They have full selections of McClellends, MacBaren, Sam Gawith, Peterson, Dunhill, OTCs, Dan Tobacco and many others. The prices are reasonable, a 50g tin of Sam Gawith is 14.99, and hey, no shipping! Bulk tobacco (Peter Stobekkye and MacBaren) is $3.99 per oz. They have a nice selection of pipes, too.
I am double fortunate to trade this tobacco shop straight razors and other shaving gear for store credit! The owners and the guys that work there are all great. The guy at the counter, Ron, likes to give everyone gruff about everything, real old codger type. It's a fun place to hang out.
Today I went in to drop off some razor stuff and pick up a few tins. I noticed they had HH Mature Virginia, which was on my to-try list in bulk, so I bought some, packed my pipe and sat down with a drink at the back of the store (you can smoke there too! holy crap!). As I'm chatting with the owner about the pipe shows in Chicago and Vegas that he's been to, in walks a pipe maker. His name is Arley Curtz. His pipes aren't well known out side of Utah, but he was the resident pipemaker and repairer at said tobacco shop for decades, now retired. I'm pretty sure a dictionary would have a picture of him next to the definition of "old codger pipe smoker". I ended up shooting the breeze with him for over an hour.
Me being a new pipe smoker, he gave me lots of tips on how to smoke the pipe, which I badly needed and immediately improved my smoke. We also talked about pipe making mechanics and restoration, which I just got into. He knows everything about vintage Barlings and Dunhills and could probably date them by sight. I told him my nicest pipe is a Mark Tinksy and it turns out he knows him well and has had his help on many a pipe.
Long story short, I walked into a store where everybody knows my name, light up a pipe and hung out for an hour and a half. I would of thought that was impossible after the year 1990.
