Rainer Barbi

Rainer Barbi is a fiery and effusive man, passionate about all things related to pipes and pipe making. In only a few minutes with him holding court about briar and the thermodynamics of pipe-smoking, this point will be driven home with authority. At one show, we discussed briar until the birds were singing, and he had just begun to delve into his encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject. In addition to a wonderful grasp of the technical aspects of his craft, he has the soul of a true artist, and this is readily apparent in his beautiful pipes. He works beautifully with the wood, always seeking to find the true essence, the spirit of the pipe that a block contains within it. The sandblast pictured below was my first experience with a truly high-grade pipe, and I'm afraid that very pipe was the catalyst for me embarking on this never-ending journey of collecting beautiful pieces from the pipe making artists of the world. His pipes are as eloquent as Rainer himself is, and deliver a nearly poetic smoking experience. It's an honor to have a few of his pipes in my posession, and a great pleasure to have had the opportunity to spend time with their creator. To top it off, he shares my love for ridiculously spicy foods, but that's another story entirely...