Reum pipes: Difference between revisions

[[File:Reum Logo.jpg|alt=|thumb|Reum Pipes nomenclature: a stylized 'R' encircled by 'REUM PIPES USA.']]

[[File:Reum 2 pipe set.png|thumb|A special two pipe set made by Reum in 2023, encased in a fitted box made by Rachel Reum of Just Dande Creations. Image courtesy Sean & Rachel Reum.]]

Before making pipes, Reum was a restorer of vintage straight razors, which by chance led him to pipe smoking. As may be expected, there is a large degree of overlap between the pipe smoking and straight razor communities. Like smoking pipes, straight razors have a nostalgic quality to them, and have a strong appeal with collectors. But, perhaps more significantly, both smoking pipes and straight razors are precisely constructed instruments that, with the appropriate amount of care and upkeep, will reward their users with several lifetimes worth of service.  

As for the finishes themselves, Reum has gravitated towards a variety of techniques over the years, favouring certain of them at one time, and then focusing on others at the next. In the late 2010s, Reum produced many pipes with a signature sandblast/rustication hybrid he termed ‘Chipblast.’ In recent years, Reum has leaned more towards either conventional, full- or partial-sandblasting, as well as conventionally smooth pipes. At the time of writing, however, he has also been experimenting with what else can be achieved through differing levels of depth and intensity in sandblasting, leading to a novel, softly-blasted finish Reum has called ‘Eggshell.’

The majority of Reum’s pipes are made from briar and ebonite and similar resins, which are his preferred materials. He will occasionally work with olivewood and bog oak (morta), but only makes pipes with acrylic or lucite stems upon request.