Quinton Wells

Quinton Wells is an American pipe maker working in Overland Park, Kansas. His bench yields only a handful of pieces a year, so pipes bearing his signature circulate not among serial work but among pieces treated one by one. His standing within the community, however, comes much less from the pipes he makes than from his work organizing club life around Kansas City and promoting American makers.

Bench and Learning Path

Wells learned the trade more through his own trial and error than from books or an apprenticeship system. Even so, he did not remain entirely on his own; he received guidance from several noted makers of his time. Lee von Erck, known for his freehand work; Michael Lindner, known for his chamber and bite-end solutions; and Tonni Nielsen, who came from the Danish tradition and settled in Kentucky, number among these names. On the repair side, he is said to have drawn on George Dibos, considered an expert in that field. Such a scattered education left room in his work for both measured classic shapes and the freehand approach that follows the grain of the briar.