J.L. Thompson: American Pipes From a Basement Workshop

J.L. Thompson is a one-man pipe workshop operating in the town of Parkville, Maryland, in a suburb just north of Baltimore, in the United States. The name behind the brand is Jason Thompson; he makes his pipes at a small bench set up in his home's basement, and earns his living not from pipe making but from a landscape architecture job at a firm in the area.

Founding the Bench

The workshop was not originally set up for pipes. When Thompson got a small lathe for his bench, his intention was to make wooden ornaments and similar gift items; the pipe is a change of direction that emerged from within that lathe pursuit. His first attempt is dated 2013, carved not from briar but from a piece of osage orange he had on hand. This was followed by a self-taught period spanning years and many pipes; the technical knowledge circulating in the online forums where makers gather, along with critiques of his early work, were the defining factors of this period. For the basic steps of the craft, see the pipe making entry.