Visit to Blakemar Briars January 2019

[@aiarch]

You gave me an excellent idea Simon. Mixed Erinmore Flake with Dark Birds eye and it's a beautiful Scandinavian Lakeland mix 😀

[@erniecurl3344]

A true craftsman loved watching as I do simons

[@dunblanepiper4755]

Simon, this was such a great video of your visit. Well done to you for showing people too far to visit themselves what a labour of love businesses such as this are. And thanks of course to Mike for his time, what a quietly competent and unassuming gentlemen he is, and such expertise, wonderful stuff. I’ve been toying with a new pipe from one of the big European companies but after seeing this I’m emailing Mike because we need to support craftsmanship like this. And, you never know, the unboxing of it may encourage me to turn on my phones video function!

[@tonynapoli5549]

Lovely video A true gentleman Had the pleasure of visiting Mikes work shop and purchased two lovely pipes from him. Thanks you Simon

[@papaj316]

Simon fascinating video. You did an incredible job. That could be a BBC documentary. What a privilege to watch a master at work. Thank you so much. God bless

[@theartfulcodger]

That was excellent. He's a quiet fella, but a veritable font of knowledge. Thank you Simon, and thank you Mike. My Blakemar lovat, gifted by Eric, has become a very dear favorite of mine, and getting a great extended peek behind the curtain where and by whom it was made was a very special opportunity.

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

The Artful Codger it sure was, glad you enjoyed it

[@lucasspiros]

Awesome, piece of art , real experience good job,📽️👍🔛🔝

[@kaiserhog]

Master Craftsman does not do Mike justice, he is simply the best at his craft. Bar none. I wouldn't want any pipe other than a Blakemar Briar.

[@dalepiper6693]

That was amazing Simon...a wonderful insight to Mike’s work and skills and the processes involved in creating pipes. I look forward to seeing more of your journey into pipe making.

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

Dale Piper cheers Dale

[@Dustwheel]

Awfully nice of this man to educate and inform a potential competitor in his own shop.

[@RichardLWhite]

Very interesting..thanks for taking us along to see a master at work..

[@davefrancis4970]

Mike recently did me an absolutely fantastic replacement stem for a pipe: I couldn't be happier with the result and can thoroughly recommend his work. Cheers, Mike !

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

Dave Francis I’ve to visit Mike twice and had a wonderful time each time. Mike’s a real gentleman.

[@happygoluckypiper2375]

Great video Simon, thank you so much for sharing. Mike is truly an amazing person to give up his time like that and share his trade secrets . I hope the next time I am in the UK to visit Blakemore. Good luck with your pipe making !

[@AndrewCirigliano]

Hello Simon! Thanks so much for taking us with you on this fantastic experience/visit! Very enjoyable to watch and to listen to a master Craftsmen like this. Awesome shop too, great selection of bacco. My TAD was going crazy. Some beautiful pipes too. Thanks again and best wishes.

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

Andrew Cirigliano it was a great afternoon

[@ericthebluecollarpipesmoke3656]

FANTASTIC!!!! Watched the entire video! So awesome! I’ll be watching this one again and again

[@JordanThePrairiePipeShop]

Agreed this is a re-watch for sure!! I would love to hang out with this guy for hours.

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

Eric The Bluecollarpipesmoker cheers Eric, I forged your entry into the visitors book, coz you were there in spirit, instead of teaching your charges

[@steamgent4592]

Wow that was fun! Never seen pipes made before that was really special. What a work shop. That gent has some real talent. I'm going to check out his website now he had some really nice pipes! Thanks for showing that Simon.

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

SteamGent pleasure, he can’t be beaten on value for money for pipes that will last a lifetime and beyond.

[@thesmoovepiper4356]

Simon This was awesome i enjoyed watching this video took me two days to watch but well worth it. Its just amazing how the briar block Turns into a masterpiece and the Grain and birdseye is magnificent simon thank you for taking us along i can see the passion. And enjoyment you get when your carving and shaping. A piece of briar into a work of Art. Its a beautiful trade to learn and in mike case it was passed down to him. To keep the family trade going i hope there is some one after him to carry on this great lagacy thanks for sharing simon happy smokes😃😃😃😃😃👍👍👍👍👍best regards peter. The smooooove piper.

[@vikingpiper6693]

Wonderful film! Thanks Simon!

[@pipingandcamping]

What an amazing time that must have been, certainly enjoyed watching the master craftsman at work. Thank you for taking the time and effort to record this to share with us all. Happy piping brother.

[@bonapiper5827]

I love those visits! Thanks for sharing.

[@duncansillars7416]

What a great video- I recently sent a couple of pipes for some magic to be performed on to Mike. Great to see the operation in action.

[@MagickYoga]

I'm only 20 minutes in so far and such a wonderful video Simon. It would be great to see a series of "Simons' Travels" visiting other pipe makers 👌🏼👍🏼

[@tonynapoli5549]

Great video thank you ever so much

[@grandpacavendish4422]

Hi Simon: Great video. Many thanks, also, to Mike at Blakemar Briars, for taking the time to demonstrate his skills, and show off his workshop. That was fun. Take Care. Ed

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

GrandpaCavendish hi Ed. Good to hear from you. Looking forward to your next video.

[@stevgnyc]

Wonderful video, Thank you Simon.

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

stevgnyc cheers Steve

[@kc0axe]

Hi Simon.Great Video as allways My Friend.I will be Watching For your next video. I hope all is well with you and the family to. And Allway's Take Care And God Bless You Briar Blade Sweet Smokes

[@fk80189]

Just a little trick: When I have filter chambers that are too wide for the filter, I sometimes wrap 1 or 2 layers of small strips of toilet or kitchen paper around the filter to make it fit in right. But what I mostly do because I can do it on the go and I can do it with just the Stem of a pipe as my "tool" and don't need paper on hand for this is a bit hard to describe for me but I will try. I always use the Vauen 9mm ac filters and with them the nice thing is I can push the plastic cap in a little bit with something like the stem and then I press the filter with this side against something like the stem and twist while pressing to widen out the paper of the filter paper on one end. So I funnel the one end out or how you call it in English. That is enough to get a good seal and good hold for the filter. Hope that helps. I love it when the filter chamber is drilled conical at the end like what most Peterson pipes and I guess all Vauen pipes have so that the filter seals and holds nice when pushed in. But sadly not all 9mm pipes are like that so you need to help yourself to get a good seal and hold. Because when the filter sits loose in the chamber then the filter doesn't make much sense because then a lot of the smoke doesn't even get through the filter.

[@FreedomFist]

Loved this Simon, thanks for taking the time to make it!

[@JordanThePrairiePipeShop]

Awesome! Thanks to you for the vid and him for letting you!

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

Jordan Betcher it was very generous of him

[@artiesplace8608]

Great video interesting thank you Simon

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

Pipes & spirits cheers Art

[@afitzgerald9717]

Interesting Mike mixes his Erinmore with the Broken Flake.I mix Erinmore with Condor Ready Rubbed very tasty and powerful puffing.

[@snakesintheroad]

Great Video

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

snakesintheroad cheers Snakes

[@ozgurozturk1409]

🤚🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@dennytyson6262]

Simon, first thanks for taking us along, I may have missed it but did you pose the question to Mike of who will continue the operations at Blakemar, does he have someone to pass the business on to? Thanks, Denny from the United States

[@amseymceown9430]

Enjoyed this immensely. You should go check out high grade pipe repairs it's a channel on KZbin the guy uses a drill press for number of stem operations. He is a professional repairman for pipes.

[@barrywebber100]

Very interesting film, what a true gentleman Mike is! Slight problem with the screen aspect from about 49 minutes - went 4:3 for some reason. Thanks for posting Simon and best wishes.

[@londoncallingwithsimon6817]

Barry Webber yes, not sure why that happened but decided not to fiddle with it and risk anything happening to the clip.