lucifer’s pipes | Dutch Pipe Smoker

One of the highlights of the year for me is always a visit to the Lohmarer Pfeifenmesse (Lohmar pipe-show) the first Saturday in May. So you can imagine the shock when I first heard that this years pipe-show would be the last one. What?? No more Lohmars? Disbelieve.. You know, beyond all the exhibitors with their beautiful wares I mostly enjoyed the atmosphere created by all the pipe-smokers. I met so many lovely people there. Organizer Volker Bier explained it all in a YouTube video. For those of you who don’t speak German, in a nutshell it comes to this: Next year the location where the pipe-show is always held, Villa Friedlinde, is getting a big renovation. So no activities then. Also Volker had enough of organizing the show year in year out. All those years were great, but now it is enough. Luckily two friends of Volker, Kelvin and Toto, stepped in. I was immensely happy to hear that next year a brand new pipe-show is organized by them in Hamm on May 16th.

Mark

Back to this year. Normally I would have drove along with good friend Rob, except he could not make it, he had to work. Regarding pipe-meetings it is “the more the merrier” so I asked Mark (the organizer of the annual Dutch pipe smokers forum Zutphen meeting) if he wanted to tag along. He was happy to go together with me. Only, one day before the pipe-show he texted me and I had to silently laugh a bit. The week before Lohmar Mark started in the gym, his first time ever. Being enthusiastic in trying to shed some weight, gain some muscle and improve his condition he tirelessly outdid himself. Only to discover that the next morning he could not get out of bed because of all the muscle pain. “If this continues I won’t be able to go with you tomorrow.. I can’t even get in the car this way!” he said. “Just relax and let me know early in the morning.” I answered. I was happy that apparently the aches lessened because Mark felt good enough to visit Lohmar.

The Lohmar 2019 pipe-show blend © HU Tobacco

The drive there went smooth despite the whimsical weather. Which was really sad because with almost all the previous Lohmar editions it was good to excellent. We arrived pretty early which had a reason, I wanted to go to the table of HU Tobacco as fast as possible. A couple of days before Lohmar I read on the Facebook page of Hans Wiedemann (owner and master-blender of HU Tobacco) that he was releasing a special pipe-show blend. A mixture of sweet Virginias, Burley and Latakia, advertised as: Is it a Virginia blend with Latakia in the background or is it an English mixture with a pronounced Virginia sweetness? But the thing was, there were only 50 tins! I tried to reserve a tin on Facebook and crossed my fingers. When I had finally reached Hans through the vast crowd at his table I was disappointed. All pipe-show tins were gone.. In fact, lots of Hans’ blends were already sold out! Especially the newer ones that I wanted to try.. So besides some tins that friends had asked me to buy I ended up with Moroccan Bazaar (as a lover of the oriental spice markets I just have to try this blend) and RaiKo InBeTween (formerly known as RaiKo ChocoLat, due to German regulations).

Thomas Nietsche putting some final drops of aroma on my No. 7 blend

Beside the table of Hans there stood a guy with lots of jars filled with all kinds of mixing tobaccos in front of him. It was Thomas Nietsche, the master-blender of Kohlhase & Kopp. I also read on Facebook that he and Hans had put up a contest. You could create your own blend there and let it mix by Thomas. After Lohmar all the entries are smoked and the best will become the 2020 Hamm pipe-show blend plus you get a €50 HU Tobacco coupon. I know I have been not so positive about Kohlhase & Kopp in the past but I have to say this was a brilliant initiative and Thomas is a very nice bloke. While I was waiting for my turn I explained to Mark (in Dutch) the purpose of all of this. “I understood some of that!” Thomas said jokingly while blending some tobaccos. When it was my turn I had a faint idea in my head. I wanted a kind of Balkan blend with a touch of aromatics. Very tricky because Latakia does not do well with added flavours. I instructed Thomas to begin with 30% Cyprian Latakia, then 20% orientals. I asked if he had a good Red Virginia and he did have some aged one, he put in 30%. To round it off I let him add 10% Bright Virginia and 10% unsweetened Black Cavendish. I already saw that he had some small bottles with concentrated flavours so I instructed Thomas to add just a few drops of milk-chocolate and vanilla essence to the mixture. The result was a blend that at least smelled heavenly. Vanilla-like toffee with a smoky background. Thomas saved a sample for the contest (entry no. 7 on the list) and the rest was given free of charge to me.

The Lucifer’s Pipe duke and HU Tobacco’s Moroccan Bazaar

Because of the bad weather it was crazily busy in the tents where a lot of the exhibitors showed their wares. I opted to go to the villa itself, still crowded, but more space to manoeuvre. Almost immediately I bumped into Rudi, Fred and Paul. Especially the last one I had not seen in quite a while. After talking a little bit we discovered we were in the way so I went along. There are many skilled pipe-makers at Lohmar but often the prices they ask.. Woww.. So I was pleasant surprised when I saw a pipe I wanted for a fair sum made by Berlin based Lucifer’s Pipe. It was a nicely shaped duke made of morta. Since I always wanted a pipe made of the dark wood I did not have to think long of buying it. I even got a discount without asking for it! When I turned around a gentleman approached me. “Hello Arno do you remember me?” Although his face was vaguely familiar I could not remember him. “I am Hans-Walter, we met here some years ago, there is a picture of me on your blog. Which I love by the way! The history of for example De Graaff or Capstan blends is what interests me.” Some wheels turned in my head and suddenly I remembered him. If you read this, Hans-Walter, sorry I did not recognize you immediately! I meet so many people… And thanks for your kind words! Hope you will come to Hamm next year.

Me fitting a bracelet, on the left is Adrian

Back in one of the tents I decided to pay a visit to Adrian. Every year he is there with his hand-made leather wares and is he a very nice chap. I always have to think a bit of Blackbeard the pirate when I see him. Well, actually I see him sometimes that way because Adrian loves to celebrate the carnival dressed up as a pirate in his home city of Cologne and puts pictures of it on Facebook. After talking a bit to him I took a look at his leather stuff and spotted a cool bracelet I liked. I fitted it and yes, I wanted to buy it. The price was a tad high but with my inborn Dutch skills I haggled it down. Mark also succeeded in that while buying a pipe at another stand, not my kind of pipe but really something Mark would go for. It is good we don’t all have the same taste.

The Ashton Pebble Grain I bought at Peter Heinrichs

Mark and I almost wanted to go (the weather got worse and worse) when we bumped into some Belgian pipe-smokers forum members: Geoff, Paul and his wife. We told them we were heading to Peter Heinrichs in Bergheim for a smoke in their pipe-museum/smoking lounge and maybe something to buy. The more the merrier so the Belgians agreed to join us. On the way really everything that could fall from the sky (except aeroplanes) hit us. Snow, rain, hail.. Blah.. When we arrived we were greeted by the widow of Peter Heinrichs (who is in charge together with her lovely daughters). I must say the old lady has an iron memory. Once I had mentioned I liked estate pipes, especially vintage Dunhills. So she produced some cases with in them old Dunhills, Charatans, Ashtons and more. I face-palmed myself because I knew this was going to cost me money. Lucky for my wallet there was no Dunhill that really took my fancy. But I did like an Ashton Pebble Grain Zulu like shape, which I bought. I also purchased a tin of Château Henri No. 24; Latakia from Syria (although I beg to differ…) and Cyprus, Virginia, a bit of Burley, orientals and Java-tobacco. In the smoking lounge I could not resist smoking the Lohmar No. 7. It was way to freshly mixed but despite that, not bad, not bad at all!

Dinner!!!

At 4 o’clock Heinrichs closed. I wanted to do some shopping at the German Lidl in Bergheim and afterwards get some dinner. The rest agreed and went with me. I just love to go to the Lidl in Germany. They have many products that we in The Netherlands do not have, they are cheaper and of better quality! Almost every time I am in Bergheim, regardless of whom I am with, I go to Dönerburger for dinner. It is a Turkish style take-away restaurant where you can also just sit and eat. Nothing fancy but the quality of their food is excellent and cheap. I repeat, cheap! That always makes this greedy Dutchman happy. I had a big plate of Döner kebab (lamb meat, I also had the choice to go for chicken) with fries, tzatziki sauce and a cola and I had to pay exactly €10! In The Netherlands you can’t go out and eat like that for that price.

The Belgians at the Rauch Lounge

To round off the day I proposed a visit to the Rauch Lounge in the German town of Wassenberg. I had never been there and since it was more or less situated on the way home (also for the Belgians) we decided to go there. Inside we immediately bumped again into Rudi, Paul and Fred. They had gone there directly from Lohmar. Very nice because now I had the chance to talk to them a bit longer. Rauch Lounge has not been active for long, since November 2015. I must say, kudos to them, starting a tobacco shop in these anti-tobacco times. The store is loaded with all kinds of pipes, tobacco, spirits and cigars. And the best thing, they have a modern smoking lounge which is open late. It was bigger than I had imagined looking at the pictures on their site. Mark and I picked out some cigars in the humidor and together with the Belgians we sat down and smoked. The day had been perfect, a fitting goodbye to the Lohmar pipe-show.

I would like to thank Volker Bier for organising all those excellent editions of the Lohmarer Pfeifenmesse, I will remember them fondly and hope to create new memories next year in Hamm. Further thanks go out to the convivial Belgian delegation, always nice and educational to talk to them and of course Mark, who had to endure my music and farts in the car. Sorry man! All pictures (except the © ones) were made by Mark and myself.

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On 21 May it was time for the 11th edition of one of the most interesting pipe-events in Germany: the Lohmar Pfeifenmesse. Also this time at Villa Friedlinde organized by pipe-maker Volker Bier in cooperation with the local authorities. A collaboration I really applaud! The economy of Lohmar gets a boost from the hordes of pipe-smoking enthusiasts and they get to use community-centre Villa Friedlinde and the surrounding park. Like every year I could drive along with Rob. Only, this time I was not the only one. Rob’s car is big enough for several folks so Wilfred, Jan and Marielle joined us. The more the merrier! We drank some tea and coffee at Rob’s place before leaving and I had to laugh when I saw the big bag of Marielle. Thanks to Rob she has discovered snuff and brought along all kinds of the stuff in all kinds of little boxes like the ones you keep contact-lenses in. And besides that she is gaining a vast knowledge about the subject. Hail to the snuff-queen!

In the car, never-mind the sour-looking chap on the left

The ride to Lohmar was enjoyable, well, at least for me. Marielle, Wilfred and Jan were packed together like sardines in the back of the car. When we arrived the weather proved to be excellent. Last year we were lucky in that regard but now it was just perfect. The sight of the pipe-show looked and felt like one big garden party. People were walking around the stands, having a drink, sitting on the grass etc. The first familiar face was that of Paul, one of the Belgian members of the forum. He even brought his pipe-smoking girlfriend with him!

Hans and myself

The first stop was the stand of Hans Wiedemann, good friend, master-blender and owner of HU Tobacco. For some time Hans was not doing well physically. He suffered a heart-infarct and had to change his whole lifestyle. Even the existence of HU Tobacco was hanging in the balance for a wile. But go figure, during day time Hans had his regular job and in the evening and at night he was managing HU Tobacco, packing and sending away orders etc.. So now Tabakwaren Bosch, a tobacconist from the South of Germany, has taken over German orders for HU Tobacco. Foreign orders are still being handled by Hans himself. It was busy at the stand, a good sign. A slimmed down Hans and I greeted each other as old friends. He had some new offerings. First the 5 year HU Tobacco Anniversary Blend. I smelled it but no, I am sorry, not really my cup of tea. However, what was my thing was Asmara, an oriental forward blend. I already received a sample before from other German friend Rainer and it reveals all kinds of flavours when smoked slowly. The greatest surprise was a strange blend called ChocoLat. Notice the capital “L”. It was created by Rainer in cooperation with Hans. Almost 50% of latakia is combined with Virginias, Burley, unflavoured black cavendish and a light cocoa topping. It reminded me of Sillem’s Black but different, better. A very interesting smoke!

Eddy and Hans-Walter, a friend of him

When walking around a bit I spotted another German friend: Eddy, who I met last year at Lohmar. Eddy is somewhat a collector of patent-era Dunhills and other English brands. We sat down on the grass in the park and I had to gasp for air when he opened up his pipe-bag. First he pulled out a gorgeous Comoy army-mount prince. Precisely the sort of pipe I like. To be honest I felt a bit like Gollum when looking at that pipe. My precioussss…. Then came a series of old Dunhills. The oldest was a smooth bulldog from somewhere between 1918 and 1923. Vintage Dunhills very often have beautiful sandblasts which I saw at the next two pipes. A Tanshell “O” shape squat bulldog from 1953 and a Shell billiard from 1925. Especially the squat bulldog had a jaw-dropping sandblast. While wiping away some drool I congratulated Eddie with his pipes. He is a very lucky (and now poor) man to own these!

Maike and Rob

Meanwhile Rob had bumped into female pipe-maker extraordinaire Maike from Maike Pipes. Last year Rob turned 50 and he wanted a special pipe for the occasion. But who was going to make it.. At earlier Lohmar editions I already saw what Maike could do so I hinted to him that perhaps the female pipe-maker from Berlin was a good choice. So Rob mailed her and Maike got busy. Literally the day before his 50th birthday he received the pipe, a wonderful churchwarden Maike-style. What I love about her is her eye for design, the insight in the flowing lines that make a good pipe shape. Just take a look at her website. I saw lots of pipes at Lohmar which looked not right. Incorrect proportions, strange lines, sloppy finishes.. The German habit of smoking and building filter pipes, which can look rather plump, also does not help. And the prices some pipe-makers dare to ask for their (in their eyes amazing) pipes.. Auwtsch.. At least with Maike you get a good looking, good smoking pipe for not too much money.

The clay pipes I bought

Many (German) pipe-makers were present at Lohmar. Just to name a few: Hahn Pfeifen, Michaela Daniels Pfeifen, Eckhard Stöhr Pfeifen, Uwe Reichert Pfeifen, Jan Harry Seifert, Lucifer’s Pipes, Hartmut Heckmann, Nortbert Bauer Pfeifen, Zigl Pipes, Markus Meyer Design, Jürgen Börner Freehand Pipes, Bischoff Pfeifen and Uwe Maier. Tommi Teichmann had some amazing looking prince-shape pipes which at first sight looked perfectly sandblasted. Only, they were not. They were painstakingly beautifully rusticated by hand. Sadly way above my budget.. Another of Tommi’s offerings was almost in reach of my budget. He had made all kinds of loose bowls (some rusticated, some not) with a small hole at the bottom in which a bamboo stem fitted. A bit like a Popeye pipe if you want. But they were just above the amount I was willing to pay for them. What was within my limited budget were some surprisingly nice looking clay pipes made by Markus Fohr. He had some models which had an acrylic mouthpiece made onto the clay bowl. So I bought 2 of them and I must say, they smoke amazingly well!

Dining at the Meigermühle

In the mean time fellow forum member d’Artagnan had joined us and we all were relaxing in the grass soaking in the rays of the bright and warm sun. Some beers were fetched at the voluptuous lady who managed the stand of the local Lohmar brewery. Like every year she always tries to hide when I grab my camera and like every year she fails. The rest of the afternoon was spend talking and chatting away to each other until our bellies started to grumble. Time to go to the place we went last year: Café Restaurant Meigermühle, located in an historical timber framed building at the edge of a forest. Rob was being very stern, in order to not break with tradition we were only allowed to order a Schnitzel, which we all did. While the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon we sat on the outside terrace smoking our pipes while contemplating what a great day it had been.

All pictures were made by myself, Marielle, Rob, Jan and Paul.

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Dutch Pipe Smoker

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