Reid Robertson (Robertson Pipes)

Reid Robertson is the American pipe maker behind the Robertson Pipes brand that bears his own name. He made his first pipes in 2021 in Asheville, North Carolina, and later moved his workshop to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although he came to the bench relatively late, he has, in a short time, become one of the names recognized within the contemporary American artisan pipe scene.

The Road to the Workshop

Pipe making is not Robertson's first pursuit. By the records he was born in 1981 and grew up in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Also by the records, he studied music at Furman University in South Carolina, graduating in 2004; but he did not go on to make music his profession. Instead he spent a long period teaching English in various East Asian countries; his marriage to his wife Kelsey took place in Thailand during these years, and the couple returned to the United States in 2018.

His interest in the pipe, however, reaches back much further, to his childhood; having a pipe-smoking elder in the family fed this interest. He began smoking a pipe at eighteen; by the records, the first pipe to come into his hands was a Sasieni 4-Dot brandy given to him by his family. His interest in woodworking turned into an active pursuit in 2020, with a lathe his wife gave him, and his first pipes appeared the following year.

Learning and Mentors

Like many solo makers of his generation, Robertson began with online video tutorials and written guides. He also counts the verbal support he received from experienced names as part of his career during this period; Jason Patrick, Sean Reum, and Kadesh Swanson are among the makers he cites in this context.

The turning point was the opportunity to work alongside American maker David S. Huber in North Carolina in the fall of 2022. Following this stint he rebuilt his bench with new machinery and hand tools, largely changing the method he had followed up to then. In the following period he also spent time at Chheda Pipes, broadening his range further.

Formal Language and Material

Robertson's first point of orientation, alongside Huber, was the freehand designs of makers such as Jeff Gracik, Alex Florov, Kei Gotoh, and Hiroyuki Tokutomi. Rather than diving straight into these complex shapes, he chose to start with basic patterns; he concluded that mastering Anglo-French shapes like the billiard and the Dublin was a precondition for moving on to modern designs. His current repertoire moves between both poles: alongside established patterns such as the lovat, volcano, bulldog, apple, and Danish prince, there are also original shapes of his own naming.

Bodies use Grecian, Italian, and Moroccan-sourced briar as well as Italian olive wood. Stems feature ebonite, acrylic, and cast resins, as well as unusual materials such as fordite, made from layers of automotive paint, and faux horn.