Larrysson Pipes (Paul Hubartt)

Larrysson Pipes is the brand of the workshop Paul Larrysson Hubartt runs alone in Cornwall, at England's southwestern tip. This small operation, set up by a maker born in Iceland and raised in Indiana after he settled in Britain, is counted among the examples of artisan-scale production: every step passes through one hand, and there is no quality grade in the catalog.

The Name and the Entry into the Craft

The brand name comes from the maker's middle name; it is the equivalent of the Scandinavian patronymic naming tradition, meaning "son of Larry." Hubartt settled in Cornwall after marrying in the summer of 2002. His involvement with pipes began two years earlier, in 2000, when he joined Indiana's Tri State Pipe and Tobacco Club (TSPTC) and began regularly attending the Chicago pipe show the club's circle frequented.

He recounts that after moving to Britain he got his basic grounding in making from Marco Janzen, a pipe repairer in Hamburg: it was during this period that he learned to drill briar, turn a mouthpiece, and set up a workshop's tool arrangement on a Myford-brand lathe. After selling his first ten pipes, TSPTC's 2004 club pipe order came in; records show the club's 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 pipes also came from his hand.

The Workshop in Pensilva

The family moved to Pensilva on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall's highest village, in February 2006. At the end of the garden stood a long-unused pig shed built in the same year as the house — 1820; expanding and converting the structure into a pipe workshop took about eighteen months. The brand has operated from there ever since. Because production has run with long gaps, it is hard to find a clear record of the maker's current activity.

Stamps, Grading, and Dating

Larrysson pipes carry no quality grade; by the maker's own account, every piece is worked with the same care, so grading was never felt necessary. The one exception is the crown stamp he applies to pipes he considers special. Two separate stamp sets are said to be used depending on body shape. Dating follows a simple logic: the pipe's number is followed by the last two digits of the production year, so pipe number 100 made in 2008 carries the stamp "100-08."

Briar and Making

The workshop's wood comes from the Romeo Briar mill in Taggia, Italy; the maker says he selects extra-quality plateau and cross-cut briar blocks himself on site. Since no filler putty is used, the wood itself determines the surface finish: if a block shows only a few pinhead sand pits and the grain is appealing, the piece is finished smooth; if the pitting is heavy or the grain dull, sandblasting or rustication takes over. The general framework of this distinction is discussed in the surface treatments entry.

The chamber, the mortise (the socket the mouthpiece seats into), and the air channel are all drilled on a lathe. By the maker's description, the four-millimeter channel ends right at the center and bottom of the chamber; a small gap is left between the tip of the tenon (the mouthpiece's end that enters the shank) and the bottom of the mortise to allow for the wood's expansion, and this edge is chamfered so it doesn't disturb airflow. The chamber interior is not stained; it is only lightly sanded by hand so the carbon layer (cake) built up in use can take hold. Rough shaping is done with a disc sander, fine detail with files and rasps.

Finishing uses alcohol- or water-based stains and carnauba wax. Acrylic is the priority for mouthpieces; brand materials also mention pieces fitted with ebonite (vulcanite) and Cumberland mouthpieces. Tenons are made of Delrin. Bands ranging from silver to boxwood, bark-like rustication, and sandblasted surfaces are frequently cited traits of the brand; a copper dot is inlaid into the mouthpiece as the logo.