Fairchild, Ron
From Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by Jose Manuel Lopés'
Ron Fairchild (Fairchild Pipe Company), who has also registered the brand TexasPipes.
Ron is the son of a carpenter who started making pipes and doing stem repair work in 1978, first as a hobby, and then professionally after 1981. He works with brair from Greece, and vulcanite and lucite stems, making no more than 100 pipes each year, manly classic shapes.
Pipes are stamped: Ron Fairchild. Symbol is three white spots.
“My name is Ron Fairchild and I live in the greater Houston, Texas, area. With over 25 years in creating Fairchild handmade smoking pipes, My annual production is only 80 pipes due to the attention to detail I give to each creation throughout the pipe making process. I personally select the finest Greek and Italian briar for my pipes. I then determine the best design for each block of briar and work it to achieve the highest quality possible. There are no fills in my pipes. In fact, there are not even sandpits as I discard the briar if the finishing process does not eliminate them. Also, there is no charcoal coating to the interior of the bowl as I want my customers to know exactly what they are buying. My pipes are hand sanded to 400 - 500 grit. For the smooth finishes, 3 to 4 different stains are applied and then taken off. The final stain application is buffed and waxed. Each pipe is finished with carnauba wax, no lacquers or chemicals. This ensures that the pipe breathes naturally and thus gives the best smoking experience possible. Canadians are a specialty of mine. Their average shank length is 3 inches. 4-inch lengths are really good pieces. Rare lengths of 5 to 6 inches sometimes require that even part of the briar tree trunk is included. I enjoy traveling and, when possible, tours of pipe factories are on my itinerary. I have visited Charatan, Mill Ville, Ferndown, and James Upshall in England. Of course, I always strive to pick up a trick or two during these tours!” Courtesy Bob Taylor
Contact Information:
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/biz4/fairchildpipes/