Cody Perkins Pipes

Local Pipe Carver Meets Local Retailer

By Stephen Goss

Who knows!  The evening of Thursday, May 29, 2014 may some day be celebrated as a red-letter moment for Burlington-on-Whyte Tobacconist and for Cody Perkins, a local pipe carver.  At this event, a small but fervent group of pipe smokers were on hand at Burlington’s to meet Cody and to look over his latest creations.  The pipes (and of course if you follow this blog, you will already have seen photos of them) were extremely well received and Cody’s talent as an artisan was clearly in evidence.

Chris Hansen (proprietor of Burlington’s) welcomed the group, introduced Cody Perkins and clearly articulated the context of the evening’s proceedings.  I believe Cody impressed the group with the passion he has for his craft and with his technical expertise.  He spoke about the provenance of each pipe and about the technical aspects and production challenges associated with each of them.

The assembled group learned about the varied materials Cody uses in creating his pipes (briar, olive wood for the bowls; ebonite, bone, and various other materials for the stems) and from where he sources all of his materials. He also shared the varied techniques he brings to bear when crafting his pieces.

All of the pipes Cody brought with him were sold that evening.  Personally, I am thrilled with the “horn” I purchased from him which came with an accompanying tamper (both pieces housed in a sturdy, but elegant leather pouch stamped with Cody’s brand “CP”).  I have since packed my first ‘Perkins’ with a fine English blend (Dunhill 965) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Smoking a new pipe for the first time is often a hit-and-miss enterprise because the bowl hasn’t yet been seasoned, so to speak.  Yet, you can often get a sense of how the pipe will age and will develop its smoking qualities over time with regular use and, of course, with some requisite TLC.  I sense the pipe I purchased, a stunning horn shape, as I indicated before, with a stem crafted from buffalo bone and inlaid with buffalo shin bone, is going to be one that will keep improving as I smoke it and one I that I will treasure for a long time.  Now if only I’ll be able to find a place to display it amid the many fine pipes already in my collection!

Cody went home without any of the pipes he had brought with him (albeit with a little extra money in his pocket) and now he will get back to work on his lathe and drill press so he can have more pipes to bring in to Burlington’s.  The idea is that Burlington will start to carry some Perkin’s pipes as early as this fall on a consignment basis.  Do yourself a favor and keep a lookout for them on the shelves along with the other fine brands the guys at Burlington’s carry!  I am happy to say that I was there at the dawn of what is likely to be a happy association of local pipe maker and local pipe retailer.