JT Cooke 2002 Magnum Sandblasted Stack Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

J.T. Cooke is a Vermont-based American artisan carver with a number of impressive credentials under his belt. Cooke was originally based at Elliot Nachtwalter and Jeorg Jemelka’s The Briar Workshop, in a role which included making pipes for Wilke’s tobacconist in Philadelphia. After leaving the Workshop, Cooke collaborated with Barry Levin in establishing the estate pipes market as we know it, by restoring pipes for Levin’s outfit. During this time, Cooke would also begin to make pipes under his own name. Today, Cooke’s pipes are among the most sought after in the American artisan scene thanks to their distinct and often unparalleled shaping, engineering, and finishing. In 2024, Cooke retired from pipe-making.

It’s no secret that J.T. Cooke was greatly inspired by the Great British pipe-makers of the 20th and 21st centuries. In fact, if you’ve been following the recent news of his retirement, you’ll know that he also recently sold many of the pipes he had used for inspiration over the last 50 years. Unsurprisingly, this collection featured a good number of pipes from the likes of the family era Barling’s Make, patent era Dunhill, Charatan, and Ashton during the Bill Taylor years (surprisingly, it also featured early shapes from Stanwell and a number of Italian pieces, though that’s perhaps a conversation for another time). With this particular Cooke from 2002, it is more than evident where that British inspiration went. The pipe features some of the crispest, craggiest sandblasting I’ve had the pleasure to personally behold, and the fact that the pipe is a veritable magnum in size makes this feat even more impressive. If I didn’t know this was a Cooke, I might have guessed the stummel was strawberry wood. But, no, it’s just good old briar, finished in the way only someone like Cooke could deliver. The stem looks to be an example of Cooke’s own hand-poured acrylic, and complements the naked stain of the stummel nicely.

This Cooke is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

 

Details:

Length: 6.8″ / 172.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 2.51″ / 63.75mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 74g