A Pipe by an Unusual Carver

thebadgerpiper

Last month, I won a contest from the Maple City Pipe Cast (an excellent podcast well worth checking out), with the prize being an Oom Paul pipe. Now, I've never had an Oom Paul before, so I was excited to win a pipe with a unique shape. It just arrived last Saturday, and it's massive! It's easily one of the largest pipes in my collection.

Normally I wouldn't make a thread just about a new pipe, but after learning some history about this pipe, I thought I'd share it. This is a Tom Howard pipe. Now, as a young whippersnapper, I wasn't familiar with the name, so when Maple City told me it was a Tom Howard pipe, I didn't understand the significance. Turns out Tom was an interesting guy, based on his pipedia page.

From Pipedia:

"Tom Howard was a popular comedian and personality in the 1940s/50s, known for vaudeville stage and radio work. But he also was a skilled pipe maker."

So Tom carved pipes as a hobby. I can't think of too many pipe carvers with an acting background. You can find his pipes on ebay for a decent price. I haven't smoked it yet, but the craftsmanship is there.

Bloodhound61

Congrats on the win, @thebadgerpiper. Haven’t tried an Oom Paul myself either, but that’s great to have obtained a pipe with such an interesting background story. 

PappyJoe

Congrats on the win. I have a Savinelli 9604 Oom Paul and have enjoyed many a good smokes in it. Just be aware that it's not going to pass a pipe cleaner so you have to let it cool down after smoking so you can remove the stem and wipe out the moisture in the shank. I always insert a pipe cleaner into the draft hole from the bowl just to keep it clear. 

motie2

Restoring a Tom Howard Rhodesian Scoop

https://rebornpipes.com/2016/07/09/restoring-a-tom-howard-rhodesian-scoop/

Pipepal

Have an s&r oom Paul that smokes like a champ

motie2

Qualifications for membership in the Oom Paul Society (Memebership is closed at present.....)

<<You must have at one point in your lifetime smoked an Oompaul shaped pipe, and you must have enjoyed said experience. You must be old enough to do so as well as old enough to legally captain a transport animal over rough terrain when transport animal is six hands or more.

You must consider yourself eccentric and have noticed that others consider you to be so. If all of these things are right and square, please submit a photo of you sporting an Oompaul shaped pipe, wearing some sort of tie (for the men) or dressings considered to be firmly established in the fancy category at least in your mind (for the women).

Additional points given in no specific game in reality for those who happen to be tattooed, enjoy snuff and can clear a bar by word or might should the need arise.>>  ~ http://oompaul.com/oompaul-society/

Woodsman

@motie2 Hi Motie, how are you doing? I finally am back on my feet.

ChaplainCorey

Cool win. I’ve always wanted a huge bend like that. But I find I need shorter smokes now as my little ones don’t allow me much grown up time in a day for pipe smoking. 

motie2

@Woodsman -- Good to see you posting again. I went back to the urologist yesterday. Catheter has now been in for three months. 

It's staying in for at least another month, dammit, but at least I'm well enough to post again. 

But the discomfort is unreal.

thebadgerpiper

@Woodsman Glad to have you back on the forum!

@motie2 I forgot OomPaul Society had a club for Oom Paul owners. It's a shame Ollie isn't doing all that much these days, as I loved his podcast.

@PappyJoe I will keep that in mind. I have a few pipes that wont normally pass a cleaner, so I'll adjust for the OomPaul. I'm hoping the slant of the stem will at least get it through to the shank.

PappyJoe

@thebadgerpiper From the look of the photo it should pass a pipe cleaner from the bit to the bottom of the shank with no problem. Mine has a bigger bend in the stem and still passes into the shank.