Cooke, James T.: Difference between revisions

[[File:AMBER BARK Natural Standing Dublin.jpeg|thumb|The Standing Dublin, A Cooke Signature Shape]]

Vermont native James T. “J. T.” Cooke, (b. 1949) has variously been called “the Bo Nordh of the blast,” “the supreme master” and “the Tessla of Sandblasting.” <ref>Fred J. Hanna, ''The Perfect Smoke'' , 146; David M., “In A Class All His Own,” ''Tobacco Days,'' August 8, 2011. http://tobaccodays.com/2011/08/j-t-cooke-in-a-class-all-his-own/ accessed 1/4/2021; Chuck Stanion, “J. T. Cooke: The Tesla of Pipe Sandblasting,” https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/jt-cooke-the-tesla-pipe-sandblasting , accessed 1/4/2021.

</ref>  In 2022, he was awarded Doctor of Pipes by the Chicago Pipe Collectors Club, the equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscar for Lifetime Achievement Oscar. <ref>Chuck Stanion, “Doctors and Masters of Pipes: A Timeline,” https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/doctors-and-masters-pipes-timeline?utm_source=Smokingpipes.com&utm_campaign=18848e7cd7-Sun_Jun_12_2022_DailyReader&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0e8b6a473f-18848e7cd7-209228005 , accessed June 12, 2022.</ref>  He has made two pipes of the year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine, one in 1999 (in a run of 250) and a second (in a run of 50) in 2008. In 2005, he made an edition of 25 straight dublins for the NASPC club pipe. <ref>http://www.naspc.org/Pipe%20of%20the%20Year.htm, accessed 6/10/22.</ref>  His pipes are renowned for offering a tactile and visual experience unlike any others in the world.  His work is in such continuous demand that commissioned pipes have sometimes taken three to four years, resulting in a robust estate market where his pipes routinely sell for more than newly commissioned ones.  

J. T.’s design language can be understood as based in part on classic English shapes—particularly the Dunhill Shell and Barling Fossils—and in part on his own interpretations of current and past popular shapes, or what French pipe critic Erwin Van Hove calls “contemporary classicism.” <ref>Erwin Van Hove, “Go West!” reprinted in ''Pipes & Tobaccos,'' Spring 2004, 14-19.</ref>  It is perhaps convenient  to consider Cooke’s work as three organically evolving stages, similar to that routinely used by classical music critics.  

The Early Period runs from Cooke's departure as Art Director for WCAX-TV in 1976 through about 1999. He pursued both pipe repair and pipe making first with The Briar Workshop and then with Levin Pipes International.

In the transitional Middle Period, J. T. set up under his own name, abandoned repair work and hung up his shingle as an artisan increasingly dedicated to “the bastard child” of pipe making (as he called it), sandblasting. It ran from his first Pipe of the Year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine in 1999 until around the time of his second Pipe of the Year for that magazine in 2008.  

His work since then, the Late Period, demonstrates an increased dedication to executing his takes on classic shapes, the emergence of signature shapes, a growing affection for chubby shapes, all with perfection of engineering and a sandblast execution without parallel.

There have only been two shank stamps indicating the authenticity of a Cooke pipe: <blockquote>'''J.T. & D. Cooke'''—on pipes made before 1996; “D” refers to ex-wife Deb who teamed with Cooke as sander when they were making pipes for other American labels. <ref>“In A Class All His Own.”</ref> 

'''J. T. Cooke'''—on pipes after 1996.      </blockquote>

[[File:C004 Nomenclature JT&D 2008 stamp.jpg|left|thumb|Cooke's nomenclature shank stamp and the year stamp placement]]

Cooke has disavowed the authenticity of pipes with the LPI shank stamp as contract work, not genuine Cooke pipes. <ref>“Tesla.”</ref>  

In addition, Cooke pipes have always used the Chinese Yin and Yang symbol for stem identification.

[[File:Repro Stems.jpg|center|thumb|The wide range of J.T.'s hand-made reproduction stems]]

The transition to J. T.’s Middle Period is easily dated from the 1999 Pipe of the Year he agreed to make the first Pipe of the Year for ''Pipes & Tobaccos'' magazine, following on the heels of the important 1997 interview with editor Chuck Stanion in that magazine. By this time sandblasting had become Cooke’s métier as an artisan. As Stanion writes, <blockquote>J.T. designs his pipes to be sandblasted. That is, unlike those who try to make a smooth pipe and then sandblast it when necessary, he designs a pipe so the proportions will be correct after sandblasting. J.T. knows classic shapes and is a stickler. All that experience with Dunhill and Barling classics made him a devotee of traditional shapes. In my opinion, J.T. Cooke is nearly alone in his ability to make a perfectly proportioned, sandblasted Billiard . . . . His pipes can appear a little on the chunky side until you realize that you're just not accustomed to seeing sandblasted pipes with proper proportions. Generally, deep, craggy blasts are necessarily reduced from their original proportions. Not so with Cooke pipes. <ref>Stanion, “Tesla.”</ref></blockquote>Produced in an edition of 250 pipes, J. T. used the opportunity to “try to perfect his blasting technique” as Stanion recalls. “I learned something new with every pipe,” Cooke said. “Can you imagine what a perfect classroom that was? All the same classic Billiard shape, no confounding factors. I think I blasted all but six of those 250 pipes. That experience was like having the keys to the candy store. Total immersion in the blasting process. What an education.” <ref>Stanion, “Tesla.”</ref>  The overwhelming demand of creating this many pipes, however, led to severe carpal tunnel syndrome which required surgery in January of 2000. <ref>“In A Class All His Own”; the operation took place January 2^nd, 2000, per Cooke in an email to Mark Irwin, June 25, 2022.</ref>

'' “I average one pipe a week, and that is a a long week of work.” ''—J. T. Cooke <ref>Email to Mark Irwin, June 24, 2022.</ref>  

 

[[File:C18 stummel and rodP&T2008 08.jpg|thumb|Hand-poured acrylic rod and stummel for a standing dublin]]

Even with J. T.’s standard colors, however, no two mixed-color stems will ever be alike, as the poured “colors can end up in all different locations and patterns on the stem.” <ref>Email from J. T. Cooke to Mark Irwin, June 11, 2022.</ref> The uniqueness of such pipes is thus further enhanced, often strikingly so.  Because these are hand-poured acrylics, they require a little extra care. The buttons on his pipes can be chipped by hard clenching, so that  most devotees prefer to cradle their Cooke pipes rather than clench them.

Cooke was born in Vermont in 1949 and has one sister (a retired university professor) and two grown children. <ref>In A Class All His Own.”</ref>  His father was a biology teacher with exceptional DIY skills which the his son would inherit, later building his own house from scratch. <ref>“Tesla” and “In A Class All His Own.”</ref>  As a child, J. T. experienced recurring high fevers from severe bouts of strep throat. In the interview with David M., he attributes his sickliness not only with developing his imagination but with giving him a certain existential outlook on life: “I had a certain appreciation for trying to enjoy every day because I never knew if it was going to be my last [which] gave me a certain amount of license to experiment and live life and pursue what I wanted to pursue, because nobody is guaranteed tomorrow.” <ref>“In A Class All His Own.”</ref>  

On graduation, Cooke took a job with television station WCAX as its Art Director, where he worked through the mid-seventies. He decided he wanted to stop smoking cigarettes and his wife Deb bought him a carve-it-yourself pipe kit. “After I made the first one,” he recalls, “I knew that I finally found something that I was totally captivated with.” <ref>“In A Class All His Own.”</ref>  A year or two later, he took a job at The Briar Workshop working for Elliott Nachwalter and Jorg Jemelka. <ref>Stanion, “Tesla.”</ref>  The Briar Workshop laid the groundwork for American artisan pipe making and included Danish designer pipe maker Finn Meyan Andersen and Cooke’s good friend Brad Pohlmann. <ref>“Briar Workshop,” ''Pipedia,'' [[Briar Workshop|https://pipedia.org/wiki/Briar_Workshop]], accessed June 13, 2022.</ref>  

While Cooke’s earliest sandblasts involved a two-stage sandblasting process, as his career has progressed the blasting has evolved to three and then four or five stages, depending on the density of the wood and size of the bowl.  Since the 1990’s, J. T. has supported many pipe shows by taking a table and always has enjoyed talking to attendees and working with collectors.  Listening to his customers has led him to develop certain shapes like his classic bent bulldog. In 2010, working with Rich Esserman, Cooke utilized the lines of old Dunhill magnums and made his own style of Magnum bents and billiards. <ref>Rich Esserman, email to Doctor of Pipes, March 19, 2022.</ref>     

Cooke has undoubtedly been the catalyst in popularizing blasting so that the once lowly and “bastard son” of briar pipes is now seen on equal terms with smooth-finished pipes and by many smokers even preferred.  

== Bibliography ==

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