Ferndown: Difference between revisions

<blockquote><q>Over the years I got to know a lot of retailers James Barber became good friends and he would buy most of my production in the early days, Eddy Kolpin in LA, I knew from his visits to Dunhill’s as a PPD, he contacted me and wanted to come over to the workshop to chat, within a week he came over and he became my USA agent, Dolly and I went to a lot of the RTDA’s in the USA and sales went through the roof. At times we were making 1200 pipes a year all handmade hand cut mouthpieces and as Dolly was so good at her job in finishing the result was the Ferndown that is sold today, after some time we decided to make all the pipes with Silver Bands, cap bands, spigots, and army mounts. That’s when I stopped making any work for other pipe makers, so we could concentrate on our own work.</q> Les Wood. Jan, 2020.</blockquote>

To many pipe dabsters, Les Wood's pipes embody the revival of great English pipe making initiated by Ashton in the early 1980s. The high grade Moroccan and Greek plateau he prefers is oil-cured in the tradition of both Dunhill and Ashton. The pipes are renowned for their pleasant, slightly nutty flavor and remarkable smoking characteristics. They feature impeccable craftsmanship extending to very good stem/bit work, though many pipes are often a bit heavier.