Montgomery Handmade Pipes

Montgomery Handmade Pipes is a small-scale American pipe bench founded by American Jeremiah W. Montgomery in Pennsylvania in the mid-2000s. The brand is remembered in collector sources not so much for the number of pipes it produced as for its two-stage development line, recorded in the maker's own account, and its consistent marking system.

Like many American benches of its era, this one too was born out of a basement workshop; a similar origin story appears in the article on J.L. Thompson.

From the Southmont Period to Montgomery

By the maker's own account, the venture's beginning goes back to years spent in Southmont, part of Johnstown. Montgomery, who had been smoking a pipe for about two years, tried his hand at making his own pipes together with a friend; this enthusiasm grew into a small venture called Southmont Pipe Company. This first workshop, set up in the garage of the basement floor of a house, is said to have operated until the beginning of 2006. Pipes from this period carry a stylized mark combining the letters "S" and "P."

Later the same year, having moved to Hollidaysburg, Montgomery chose to give the brand his own surname, since he was now working alone. He states that he also reviewed his production methods along with the new workshop; however, what these changes covered is not detailed in the sources. For a broader picture of the American handmade pipe scene during these years, see the Go West article.