From frustration comes inspiration ‘Happy accident’ sparks creative pipe-carving venture The Creators
By: AV Kitching Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024

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This article was published 12/10/2024 (330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jeff Nelson describes his foray into pipe making as a “happy accident.”

Nelson, 69, creates hand-carved hardwood pipes, designed to smoke cannabis, out of wood sourced from all over the world as well as from Manitoba.

The “home handyman” has worked with wood for years but had never considered carving pipes until four years ago when, after an unsatisfactory smoking experience from a store-bought pipe, he decided to make a better one for himself.

“I wasn’t looking for a new hobby,” he says. “But some of my friends saw it, and they wanted one of their own. I made a couple more and it grew from there.”

Splitting his time between his basement workshop — “I do most of the planning in there” — and the corner of his garage where the actual woodworking takes place, Nelson has made approximately 135 pipes since he started in 2020, and often has seven or eight on the go at any given time.

Developed as an alternative to glass pipes found in stores, Nelson’s hardwood pipes are not all created equal. He has four distinct styles on offer, ranging in size and shape.

Measuring a compact five inches with a small one-and-three-quarter-inch bowl, his classic pipes are simple and straightforward, with hardly any bend to the stem. The curved classic is virtually identical but has a gentle bend to the stem.

Sherlock pipes, measuring six to six-and-a-half inches and modelled after the implement made famous by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes detective stories, have a dramatic curve to the stem and a slightly deeper bowl.

Nelson’s most stylized pipe, the churchwarden, also referred to as the Gandalf, is the longest one he makes, measuring nine to 12 inches.

“The bend in the stem doesn’t alter the smoking experience, but the longer stem means the airway path is longer, so the smoke is cooler when you inhale, as opposed to the short pipes when the smoke comes out hotter,” he says.

When designing his pipes, Nelson gravitates toward natural shapes, preferring to carve uncomplicated lines with smooth curves that lead the eye along the body of the pipe.

“If I manage to make the pipe’s contours complement the wood and show off its grain, that’s even better and is pretty satisfying,” he says.

He sources his wood from across the globe, including four kinds — elm, paper birch, apple and maple — from Manitoba. He gets his supplies of exotic wood from Windsor Plywood in Winnipeg, which stocks his favourites such as West African Red Zebrawood, Ziricote from Mexico and Brazilian Jatoba.

“Some of the wood types have a property that gives them a 3D look. It’s called chatoyancy, and is quite sought after in lots of wood. It’s really, really appealing. Redheart from Paraguay is one of my absolute favourites because it has this quality, a 3D look beneath the surface of the wood,” he explains.

He’s recently started making stands on which people can place their pipes when they’re not using them, or on which to display them if the pipes, like many have been, were purchased as decorative items.

“I don’t consider myself an artist at all. I am surprised people think (my pipes) are artistic. I am an engineer and for me it’s more ‘make it work’ and not ‘make it pretty,’ so when somebody says they like the look of it, I get a thrill out of it. If somebody is enjoying it one way or another, it makes me happy.”

The stands were first made from scrap lumber, but lately Nelson been using driftwood that­­­ he sources from around the shores of Clear Lake and Lake of the Prairies.

“I also find wood when I am on bike rides on the path along the Red River, keeping my eyes on the shoreline to see what’s there. If I see a part of a log I like, I make a note of its location and return later to pick it up,” he says.

He posts pictures of his creations on his Instagram account, @pegcitypipes, where people can contact him to place orders by sending him an email or a direct message.

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca