I splurged and decided to buy myself a brand new pipe, instead of limiting myself to cleaning up and refurbishing estate pipes. 

The process was very involved for me. I trekked to the local pipe shop and gazed at their large selection, wishing I could blow $400 on a nice Savinelli but mentally chastising myself for even considering that.

Choosing a brand new pipe speaks a lot of a person’s character. He’s going to choose a pipe he can forge a bond with; a pipe that will respond to him and be pleasing if ample care is given.

I was interested in two different shapes for my new pipe: a dublin or a calabash. Here’s a chart showing different pipe shapes. Basically I wanted something with a broad rim around the bowl.

I ended up finding a pipe made by Nording, a company out of Denmark. The pipe I got is a calabash-ish shape. Traditional calabash pipes are made from gourds with white meerschaum bowls—think of the stereotypical “Sherlock Holmes” pipe. It’s beautiful and smokes wonderfully. It will be my “go to” smoker for aromatics and for social settings.