http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/10/24/n-legende.html

Great photo.

Ahhhh!!! He ain't smoking a Jan Pietenpauw & Son pipe!!!!
He must be from Botswana

Ummm! Bub said "Do any f you guys in South Africa know"

I know, I know it's just a typo, I do it all the time. But its still funny! Isn't it Piet, Mudd, BlueD?

Yea we do know!!
These are members of the South African community that go unnoticed by the pipe lore in South Africa!
They are all characters.
I have just returned from Xhosa Country in the former Transkei, now the eastern cape. This is Mandela country. Part of the local culture is pipe smoking, woman more than the men. I was fortunate to smoke a bowl or two around these wonderful people.
They are poor, pipes are hand crafted or hand me down basket pipes. At a stage I wished I had a hand full of cobs to hand out.
A pitty I did not have my camera around at the time.
None of these people knew I smoked a pipe and the morning I broke out my sav. 3613 up on the hill with OJK for breakfast, my social status climbed 5 fold.
Two gardeners in the museum complex scored a bowl off OJK from me. In turn I was offered something they call BB. Real cheap low grade otc baccy.
Both agreed that it was HO and did not like it much!
These are basic people, they smoke what they smoke and the pipe becomes an extension of their personalities.
The Xhosa people are by fare the greatest pipe smokers in our country. They appreciated my passion for it!

The old man in the picture is smoking a Keyser system pipe. They are exclusively mand for the RSA market in the UK and are robust and strong to withstand outdoor use. No mess no fuss kinda pipes. The white farming community are all smokers too and I am sure this is where this pipe came from as a hand me down.
This is a typical Keyser, in for refirb.


A pic of a local carved Xhosa "Dublin" blackwood bowl, wooden stem.


Smoking OJK for breakfast in Xhosa Country! note the rural village in the valley.

100% spot on Piet. The pipes are certainly an extension of their personality. One of the guys who works for Mandy (My wife) in her workshop saw me smoking my pipe the other day and asked if I had a pipe for his elderly dad who lives back in the homeland as he was traveling up there to see him in a months time. I gave him my first briar billiard I owned along with some baccy for his dad. I'm sure his dad will thoroughly enjoy the gift as they are very simple and poor folk who appreciate the smallest gesture.

Piet & BD --

Thanks for that. You just made my day.

What a brilliant image. I was hunting in the Karoo - the area this man hails from - a few years back. They have a rich heritage of pipe smoking (not all of it tobacco). Of course my pipe made me instantly popular with the local farm hands, one of whom asked if I had a spare pipe for her (yes, her). Of course I did. On another hunt, in another part of the country, I came across an old man who was smoking a Keyser which had burnt through & which he had repaired with duct tape. Said it smoked just fine. I offered him one of my pipes but he refused saying he only smoked Keysers (which, by the way are really bad pipes) & since he could not afford a new one, this one would do. Well, I have a Keyser sitting here at home waiting for my next trip into that area.

Pipe smoking is very much part of the SA history. I remember seeing a picture of a young Nelson Mandela with a pipe in his mouth. Sadly, I did not save the picture & have been unable to find it. Our previous president, Thabo Mbeki, is a pipe smoker. Guess we're in good company.

Mudd, I just love that story man!!
And yes, I second the fact that Keyser pipes are really crap smokers!!!! but hey the entire RSA population love them so there must be something wrong with us!!!!!

Cool stuff guys!

you just can't buy that kind of brand loyalty!

Seeing people who love their pipes so much almost make me feel like a phony sometimes. I love my pipes, but I can't say any of them really are an extension of me.

Fascinating Piet!

I really appreciate this thread a lot. It is great to hear about South Africa, but......

I spent a month getting permission to post this photo on my blog from the photographer. It is posted here without permission and it took me awhile to get the photographer to let me use it. It was conditional, that it not be reproduced and that I give her credit and link to her website.

Now I find the photo here after writing on my post "Please be respectful of her image and property and don’t download or use this image without her permission. You can see more of her work or contact her by going to this link."

Maybe permission has been secured, if so, I stand corrected.

Just so you know, the posting of copyrighted work without permission creates a significant liability for this board and for the poster. Both can be sued severally and jointly. Significant as in $25,000 to $100,000 or more in potential damages.

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but this is why it is so difficult to get people to let these images be used legitimately.