4th Annual West Coast Pipe Show

Brought to you by Steve O'Neill and Marty Pulvers

Bob Swanson put his first pipe in his mouth in 1967. He quickly fell in love with pipe collecting and became entranced in the traditional element of the pipe hobby. Through various encounters with pipe hobbyists at pipe clubs and working side by side with a pipe repair man, his connection to the hobby grew and in 1975 he made his first pipe.

Most of the pipes he made were for his close friends and he never made more than 30 to 40 a year. He has developed a loyal fan base. Bob's open mind takes his design language all over the pipe making map. He is definitely not afraid to try a new approach or design. He has developed his own unique style and it makes his pipes very recognizable.

He also applies an additional touch of Bob Swanson branding to his work by placing a 'White Ring' on each of his pipes. The ring is cut from faux ivory and its what you look out for to obtain your stamp of approval, when you want to be sure that you have an authentic Bob Swanson pipe in your hand. Bob Swanson is the pipe maker and he is the grandson of Perry White. In honor of tradition, Bob Swanson makes his Perry White Pipes.

WCPS: How do you feel about the current tobacco legislation being enacted all around the world? How does it make you feel & what, if anything, do you think we should do to fight it?

BS: How do I feel? I feel like the people must have felt during prohibition who wanted to drink alcohol. I feel there is a faction, a majority of people, who want to enforce their personal beliefs on others, in this case smokers, based on their own personal misconceptions and lack of knowledge, and their tormented and twisted ideals of health effects on other persons and themselves. They are the "do as I do and do as I say because I am right and you are wrong and do not try to change my mind with facts, I do not want to hear them crowd". I believe we as a community of smokers should follow the lead of successful activists. As an example, the Greensboro "sit in" so many years ago, which to this day is recognized even in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We need to actively challenge these "anti" laws which in most cases are not legal, and if challenged, would be found so in a court of law. Smoking and tobacco are not illegal and will not be found so because if it were our government could no longer tax it! I am then saying, smoke ins, like the Greensboro sit in. We need to expose our "Surgeon Generals" phony statements regarding smoke and second hand smoke. Other than these items... well I am pretty passive about the whole thing.

WCPS: What gets you in the mood to carve? And what goes through your head while you are carving? Music – what kind? Radio – what kind?

BS: What gets me in the mood to carve a pipe is getting up in the morning. Going through my head while I carve is who will end up buying the pipe, what type of person, what shape will it end up being, will the grain pop in the final finish, being certain I finish it with no flaws, keeping it within artful shape and design, perfect as possible engineering, expert craftsmanship, will the new owner enjoy the pipe as much I enjoy making it? Mostly I the music I listen to is; Willie Nelson, The Gaithers Gospel, I love most all piano music, Jim Croce and others but these are the most listened. As far as radio, Rush Limbaugh (only occasionally... ) and on Saturday Mornings Rick Edelman, a financial advisor.

WCPS: Is there a time when you know you cannot or will not carve because of factors other than your health? Perhaps when your stressed or angry? Do you do anything to ‘get away from it all’ and if so, what do you do?

BS: Actually, if I am stressed or angry I use my pipe work to calm me. There are times when I am "filled up" with pipe making and I stop then until the next day. I also must stop when my "Old Florida" home calls for more updating or maintenance, since I am the maintenance man. I also love to work with my plants and trees on my property, I have 48 varieties of exotic tropical fruit trees and over 350 varieties of tropical plants and orchids. When I want to get away from it all, I sit in my favorite chair, on my porch, looking at the serenity of the river scenes, the tropical foliage mirrored in the water, with a wee dram of Single Malt and a favorite pipe with a "bowl full" and a book.

WCPS: Whats inspiring you these days? Or are you feeling uninspired and if so, why?

BS: I am inspired every day by my many blessings. As far as my pipe making, currently, I am inspired by the recent "surge" of interest in pipe smoking from younger generations. As in so many circumstances it is these young men who are the future of so many things we hold so dear. Additionally, I am constantly inspired by the thought of the next perfect straight grain block, or the block that will be a truly exceptional reveal blast. WCPS: How often do you go outside the normal boundaries of pipe design? Do those ‘weird’ / 'different' designs ever make it to a retailers window or do they stay locked in your drawer for your eyes only? Do you have a picture of any of these ‘weird’ / 'different' designs that you can share with us? BS: Really, I do not think I go beyond normal boundaries. I do not see myself as a Preben Holm although I greatly admire his work. I do make "freehands" occasionally, however they are rare from my shop. Most of my designs are twists or tweaks of the more traditional shapes or designs which I see in the block of wood.

WCPS: How do you view the people who smoke your pipes? Do you have a picture in your mind of the customer who will smoke your pipe?

BS: Pipesmokers are for the most part friendlier, we are trustworthy, Ethical, with Honesty and Integrity. Pipe smokers live longer. Pipe smokers are calm and for the most part, easy going. We are pleasant to be around and courteous of others. I was in a Boulder Colorado pipe shop many years ago and there was a T-shirt "Pipe smokers make better lovers", we are steady thinkers, and we form a strong "brotherhood of the briar". WCPS: Who would you love to see, smoking your pipe, in their mouth? BS: Bing Crosby or Gerald Ford

WCPS: Is there a trait that you think all pipe carvers have?

BS: I think for the most part we are all "Artists", and you know what they say about artists! So I guess that tells you enough about "one way to view the World"? Or one approach to an issue, tell that to Picasso!

WCPS: Are you aware of any differences between American Pipe Culture and European Pipe Culture?

BS: As a pipe carver I believe many of the pipes I make are on average larger than most European made pipes. I do not make filtered pipes as do some made in Euro countries. My shapes are mostly traditional or traditional with my own "artistic" twists. Many Euro pipes are made with the "new" Danish influence and are in general, smaller. I find many Euro finishes different from the norm of American made pipes. Also I personally see a difference in the finishing and grain displays. I interact constantly with Euro carvers. I have made several good friends from the Euro pipe culture, England, Germany, Italy, Denmark and more, and appreciate each of them as a member of the "brotherhood of the briar".

WCPS: Whats the strangest material you have worked with, perhaps out of fun or just to experiment? What were the results?

BS: Peter Heeschen was coming to my home for a stay before a Chicago show a few years ago. We had talked about fishing together for a few days. He wrote me before the trip and asked if there was some way he could see real, live, alligators even if it replaced being able to fish. Well!... alligators in Florida? We live 90 miles north of the Everglades National Park, the U.S. protected "River of Grass". So our plans were changed and we went to the park for a look at Peter's first live alligators. In the park, you can get "up close and personal" with gator's. A few days after Peter arrived we packed a few sandwiches and a few beers in a cooler, threw it in the back of my pick up and headed for the park. After a one mile walk through a gator trail, Peter had seen his alligators and had many photo's to prove it. We were hot from the sun and hungry so I opened the back of the pick up, dropped the gate for a table and place to sit and pulled out the cooler. I opened the cooler, pulled out two beers and the sandwiches, popped the caps and turned to hand Peter one, he was gone? I looked around and saw he was walking slowly in circles with his head to the ground, kind of stooped over, and had something in his hands. Not paying attention to an open beer and acting like this, I thought maybe he had too much sun? After some time, Peter came over to join me, threw his "catch" on the bed of the truck and sat to eat his lunch. He showed me a shell like object he had in his hand and asked what it was? I told Peter they were nutshells from the mahogany tree ( some say Monkey tree) which grows native in the Florida keys. The actual nut is large and round and when ready to spend it's seeds from inside it's pod, it "explodes" and drops to the ground in several small leaf shaped pieces which appear reddish and/or golden and are about 1/4 to 3/8 thick. Peter showing me the one in his hands said, when we get back to your home we will go to your shop and see if we can use this wood to make an extension on a pipe. He then broke the piece open to show me the beautiful pattern of the "wood" inside. When we tried working the pieces in the shop, Peter used the sanding belt to shape it, and decided the wood was too soft and unstable, which it was, to drill and work for an extension. We were both disappointed our new discovery did not turn out as we wished. Peter, however, took some pieces home to Denmark to give to his daughter who makes jewelry. He thought she could use them in her work, and she did. Months later, in Richmond, Peter came to see me in my room, it was days before the show. He showed me a pipe with a beautiful bit extension that was "spotted" kind of white with golden spots through the wood. Peter had found a way to "stabilize" the nutshell, a process he shared with me. The moral of the story, keep at it... to this day Peter and I are, to my knowledge, the only pipe makers in the World, using Mahogany nutshell wood for bit extensions on our pipes, and virtually the only place the mahogany nutshell grows is in South Florida and the Keys.

WCPS: Do you fight with a balance between high production and high quality? Or do you not have that problem? If so, why?

BS: No, I do not have that problem. I was raised by a father who always always drilled into our heads, when it comes to your work, quality before quantity. I always want to do a job to the best of my ability and feel confirmed in my doing just that. So this transcends to my pipe making, it is my work ethic. Also since I started making pipes and even when refurbishing estates for sale, it has always been a labor of love. I have never been under the delusion I would make a living making pipes. I strive to make a high quality pipe for a more than reasonable price given the current market. As I said earlier, I like to think I am making a piece of functional art in which some pipe smoker will find his ideal collectors piece, and will enjoy holding, looking at, and smoking it as much as I enjoyed making it.

WCPS: If you would use one or two words (or any number of words) to describe your pipe design style, what would it be?

BS: Charatanesque (is that a word?)

WCPS: Do you smoke? What do you smoke?

BS: Yes I do, I smoke pipes. My main stay tobacco is Dunhill Night Cap and yes I have enough of it cellared to last many years. I have most recently begun to appreciate Virginia as opposed to my usual English/Latkia. I do have many pounds of cellared and vintage tobacco. True to a pipe smoker, I do not inhale, and I smoke about 1 to 2 bowls mostly in the evening, each day. The exception would be when I have a visiting pipe smoker to join me on the porch or during football season when I smoke starting right after church each Sunday, and through each game for the afternoon and evening.

IMPORTANT WEBSITE AND INFORMATION NUMBERS

For special West Coast Pipe Show room rates call the Palace Station Hotel & Casino: (800) 634-3101

For Palace Station Hotel & Casino information and amenities please visit the hotel's website at: www.palacestation.com

For table reservations or for any other information, please contact:

 Steve O'Neill:
P.O. Box 2258
Kapaa, HI 96746
steve@westcoastpipeshow.com
http://www.westcoastpipeshow.com
Telephone: (435)760-2411

We're looking forward to seeing you at the West Coast Pipe Show and we hope you'll  join us in making this an annual event!

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