TiPE Pipe is a Russell Makes product.

Russell Makes is a sole proprietor maker type - an artist cursed with an engineer's brain - who works with metal and shares his love for creativity in craftsmanship through video. For more info, please visit russellmakes.com/about

 

The TiPE Pipe Story

I was gifted my first glass piece in 2013. I do still have it, but it's in rough shape. I always kept it in an old Shadow Conspiracy half-link chain tin which helped, but after multiple off-road motorcycle camping trips, countless kayak explorations, and over 10 years of general use, the carb spout is mostly busted off and the bottom of the bowl is blown out.

Being a metal worker and machinist, over the years I turned out several "one-hitter" style pipes on my lathe. I tried aluminum, brass, and titanium. They were cool and all, but I always went back to my old glass pipe. It was just better, even in its half broken state, and I came to realize the reason why was because it had an inner cavity - volume. It wasn't just a bowl with a metal straw directing all that hot smoke straight to the back of my throat. The smoke can fill the pipe and cool down a bit first, and when the carb hole is uncovered, fresh air rushes in and mixes with the smoke making for a much more pleasant experience.

I dabble in CNC machining, so my initial thought was to start with a block of metal on the mill and carve out the shape I want. Titanium was my favorite choice for many reasons like heat resistance, bio-compatibility, strength to weight ratio, weldability, and anodizing potential to name a few. But a block of titanium is insanely expensive, especially if most of it is going to end up in the trash.

Eventually, it dawned on me to start with Titanium sheet stock. I knew if I could cleanly form the material the way I wanted, the idea had potential.

2 years of on & off development later, I present to you the TiPE Pipe! Finally, a worthy replacement to my old glass piece, which is at last living out its quiet days of retirement in my smoke drawer.

I hope you find your TiPE Pipe to be a trusty companion for many, many years to come. Thank you for choosing TiPE Pipe, and thank you for reading!

-Russell