J. Davis Pipes (Jody Davis)

J. Davis Pipes is the brand under which American pipe master Jody Davis signs his handmade briar pipes with his own name. What sets Davis apart from his contemporaries is that he shares his bench with the touring schedule of being guitarist for the Christian rock band Newsboys; the brand's most notable trait, its scarcity, is largely a result of this double life.

His pipes are known for bringing classic English proportions together in the same body with the shape sense of the Danish school.

A Life Between Two Benches

Davis joined the band in 1992, left in 2003, and turned pipe making into his full-time occupation; during this period he settled with his family in Yuma, Arizona, setting up his workshop at the edge of the desert. His return to the lineup in early 2009 changed both his schedule and his production fundamentally; he moved to Nashville and went back on tour. He is said to have pared his workshop down to a portable setup that fits into two suitcases so he could work on the road, finishing tasks that need fixed machinery, such as sandblasting, once he is back home. Annual output stays around fifty pipes. An observation from spring 2014 notes that the brand holds strength not only as new pipes but on the secondary market too, because owners do not part with them.