Thomas James

Thomas James is one of the most interesting and enigmatic characters in the pipe industry.  Many rumors constantly surface about his time in the Australian Navy, work at NASA, a tragically short career as a professional wrestler, and his considerable efforts and contributions to the discovery of cold fusion processes.  We can't confirm anything, but we know the truth of his considerable skill in the workshop - crafting some of the finest pipes made today.

Thomas has been carving pipes since 2006.  He has spent time is some of the best workshops in the country, swapping ideas and honing a craft that is second to none.  A long time cigar smoker and a restorer of old corvettes, it was an insert in a magazine for a carve your own briar kit that brought the love of briar shaping to Thomas.  Having extensive experience with wood and wood restoration, he took to pipe making like he was born from the briar itself.

Creating a body of work that transcends any one school of design, much of the work Thomas creates requires the gifts that can only be improved but never taught.  His eye for detail and form reveals itself in different ways.  Sometimes slim and elegant and other times muscular and strong - though always understated and pure in function, all of Thomas's pipes are a testament to the beauty of briar and other exotic woods that compliment each other.