Zhesong Pipes (Li Zhesong)

Zhesong Pipes is the handmade pipe workshop that Chinese maker Li Zhesong runs single-handedly in Suzhou, in Jiangsu province. Records give the maker as born in the northern coastal city of Yantai; after completing a master's degree in architecture and urban planning, he worked for about five years as an urban designer at an architectural institution, then left this career in 2012 to move into full-time pipe making. The workshop's output is counted among the works of the first generation of contemporary pipe makers to sign under their own name in China.

Formation of the Craft

The first source of Li Zhesong's aptitude for the work is described as habits picked up alongside his father, who was a wooden model-pattern maker. His relationship with the pipe itself began with buying and restoring secondhand (estate) pipes; the repair work gradually evolved into production from scratch. Making pipes part-time from around 2010, the maker turned the workshop into his sole occupation about two years later. By his own account, the names that shaped his direction include classic makers such as Sweden's Bo Nordh and Denmark's Jess Chonowitsch; he also notes receiving direct advice from Danish maker Tom Eltang during a visit to a pipe shop in Shanghai. Within China, the guidance of workshops around Leizhou and of master Li Bing is cited.

Material and Construction

Briar blocks used in the workshop are sourced via Italy; by the maker's own statement, these are drawn mostly from Calabria and Corsica. Li Zhesong states that he lets the blocks he buys rest a further two years or more in his own storage before beginning to work them. Mouthpieces are hand-cut and shaped from German-made ebonite (vulcanite), cumberland, and acrylic rods; naturally textured materials are preferred for decorative rings.

The shape approach proceeds along two lines: on one side, hand-shaped interpretations of the classic repertoire, and on the other, freehand pieces that develop according to the block's grain. The maker points to Suzhou's traditional handicraft heritage (Su work) as the source of his own style, and says he prioritizes measured volumes and an unpretentious, finely worked appearance.

Production and Stamping

The workshop is a small-scale operation turning out roughly 60-80 pipes a year; some sources give this figure as "fewer than eighty." Pipes are stamped with the year of production and a serial number. It is stated that the grading system used at the start was dropped in 2014, and stamping has since continued with only the year and number. In an environment of pipe production in China long dominated by serial manufacturing plants, this scale is taken as an example of the signed, single-maker pipe tradition beginning to establish itself as a separate lane.