446. Nate Lynn’s Really Amazing “Rack ‘Em Up!” Celebration
Howdy and a continued Happy IPSD 2025 to my fellow pipe smokers and Pete Geeks! If you’ve read my last story for PPN, “There and Back Again a Pete Geeks Tale,” you’ll know that I’m still a relative newbie to this amazing hobby we all share, and how quickly my Peterson collection has grown. One quandary that I think we all face as our collections expand is what to do with all our pipes. Do we keep them hidden in their boxes, display them proudly, or leave them in their socks at the office? (I’m looking at you, Timothy O). As a collector at heart, I enjoy displaying the things I collect. My office is a wild mix of Star Wars and Marvel movie props, posters, books, toys, pipes, and other random items. Since I love themes, I decided that after creating my first rack, all of my future pipe racks should have some kind of theme, if possible. After all, necessity is the mother of invention—and let me tell you, I’ve got plenty of necessity. As my collection grew, I started building new racks—ones that not only serve the practical purpose of holding my precious pipes but also help reinforce the theme of each pipe or, at the very least, highlight the hobby in a fun way. So, here are the racks I’ve made, or bought, over the last year. I hope you enjoy them. My first rack I bought on Amazon. I told my youngest daughter that once it was filled I would not buy another pipe. I really believed that when I said it, but now here I am with a ridiculous number of pipes and am always trying to find places to put them. My second rack, but the first one I made. I crafted it from Mahogany. While trying to find a creative way to hide the screw on the stem rest, I thought I’d add a unique element. After all, bourbon and pipe smoking pair quite nicely, so I found the Blanton’s stopper to be the perfect addition. This rack holds part of my ever growing Peterson POTY’s. This was the second rack I made, and it’s when I started asking myself: other than a cool bottle stopper, what else could I add to make the rack more fun? That’s when I decided to craft a pipe to hold up the stem rest. I made it from granadillo wood, which, after Mahogany, is my favorite and used my other favorite medium, leather, as the bowl rest pads. I’ve included some progress photos to show how it came to life. My third rack: a themed, celebratory display for my ever-growing St. Patrick's Day collection. I thought it only fitting to make it in the shape of a clover, with Irish flag colors and a St Patty’s day pin on top. The fourth and fifth pipe holders/racks were made for two friends. I crafted the five-pipe rack from an end piece…