jwh784Sep 22, 202113 minMoving PartsAny guesses how much of that is true? When you buy a used vehicle you’re buying someone else’s problems. The gambler knows,...
jwh784Sep 8, 20215 minGrinder and PaintGrinder and paint makes me the welder I ain’t, goes the rueful old saw uttered by just about everybody who hasn’t practiced enough to...
jwh784Sep 1, 20214 minOne Bite at a TimeA hot, humid midwest afternoon. The highway patrol cruiser, LED lights lasering red and blue, is parked off the left shoulder of I-80...
jwh784Jul 7, 20215 minLong, Strange TripSomehow, I expected the first concert back to feel more . . . different. Like my first rehearsal with the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1996,...
jwh784Jun 9, 20213 minIrreproducible ResultsOne of the reasons for this blog to exist is to offer a bit of my perspective on the pipe maker's craft, to expand on some detail or...
jwh784Jun 2, 20212 minStrong ImpressionsNew Zealand is an amazing, unforgettable place. It is peculiarly habitable in many respects; unlike its larger and hotter neighbor down...
jwh784May 26, 20211 minShorts #3The 2004 Chicago pipe show seems worlds away. There was a time when the adjustments needed to comply with antismoking regulations seemed...
jwh784May 19, 20212 minSilent ServiceEvery so often someone asks about the Zippo in my pipe photos. Most photos of pipes for sale include something to give an idea of scale....
jwh784May 12, 20211 minShorts #2For anyone interested in writing, I recommend Stephen King’s On Writing, and The Deer on a Bicycle by Patrick McManus as an interesting...
jwh784May 5, 20211 minShorts #1Yes, I’m on break from blogging. But there is a new pipe, and I don't know how many people subscribed to the blog in order to be notified...
jwh784Apr 28, 20211 minPauseMark Twain wrote, “We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it and stop there lest we be like the cat...
jwh784Apr 21, 20215 minThe Cruelest BoxCasinos have never held any attraction for me, but I do play golf. And make pipes. I don’t know how many of you remember Psych 100 and...
jwh784Apr 14, 20215 minCoveting My Neighbor’s SoloThis is something I wrote months ago when someone in management asked me to “write something about music” for a newsletter. "Maybe write...
jwh784Apr 7, 20217 minTrucksInteresting, how the US has so many pickup trucks while the rest of the world is largely able to manage without them. That thought occurs...
jwh784Mar 31, 20218 minWarmed OverAnother firewood, score, and just in time. Too little firewood, too much maple, that was the issue. While I’ve got nothing against maple,...
jwh784Mar 24, 20213 minDaylightPerhaps I had forgotten how this felt. Last spring wasn’t much of a spring, what with the world coming to an end and all, and I can’t...
jwh784Mar 17, 202113 minNot For MunchersSomewhere, I read that half the value of an artisan pipe lies in the hand cut stem. Even if that’s off by some substantial percent, it...
jwh784Mar 10, 20216 minRust Never SleepsThe anniversary will be slightly different for each of us, as the pandemic spread and shut things down. For me, it’s March 13. There, I...
jwh784Mar 3, 20217 minMore CommissionsPerhaps you’d be interested in seeing more pipes I’ve made on commission in the past few months. Maybe even in reading a little...
jwh784Feb 24, 20214 minChoicesMy dad used to say, “Life is full of choices.” This may be a slender premise for a blog post, but it can’t be any more slender than the...