I recently had the opportunity to chat with Glen Whelan, Director of Sales at Peterson in Dublin, Ireland, about Peterson's two new shapes, inspired by classic shapes from the 1920s catalog: the 411 and 3085.

[Andy Wike]: Hi everybody, I'm Andy Wike, and I'm here for a very special episode of "All Pipes Considered." As you guys probably noticed, the backdrop is a little different than what we normally do, and that's because we're actually on the bottom floor of the Peterson of Dublin shop on Nassau Street here in Dublin. And I'm joined by the very honorable special guest, Mr. Glen Whelan.

[Glen Whelan]: Hey everybody. It's great to have "All Pipes Considered" on a road show.

[AW]: We're super excited to be here. Thank you guys so much for all the hospitality, for showing us a good time, and for letting us shoot a little bit of footage here.

[GW]: It's been our pleasure, and I think you've brought some good weather with you guys as well.

[AW]: A little bit of South Carolina, you know? For folks who may not know you, tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do for Peterson, and how long you've worked here?

[GW]: I'm Glen Whelan, and I'm the Director of Sales at Peterson. My main job is selling the pipes that the factory produces, but also helping out in the design work, the implementation of new ideas. A little bit of everything. It's a way more rounded job than the title suggests. I've been with the company for almost 21 years. I worked in this location for six years, and then the previous location where we moved from for seven years before that.

[AW]: Yeah, that's awesome. So Peterson just released two new shapes into the classic range. And when I say new, I mean they're additions to the line, but these shapes are anything but new.

[GW]: Yeah, so one of my favorite parts of my job is trawling through old Peterson catalogs. And sometimes I get quite selfish, because I know what I like in terms of pipes. I hope that they feed through to the consumer. But these popped off the page for me. One thing I've always thought is that Peterson's missing a Panel. So I was super excited that we found this shape. And then any shape that has squat in the title is something that I'm going to jump all over. Super happy. These came from a 1920s catalog, and they kind of fell off the shape chart in about the 1970s. It's been 50 years or so since we've seen these in the Peterson portfolio.

[AW]: That's perfect, man. Yeah, I think that is one of the most interesting things about Peterson is that there's nearly 160 years of history to help inspire new ideas for shapes.

[GW]: 160 years next year, yeah. So when you're looking to innovate or come up with new ideas, there is so much inspiration.

[AW]: You can always do something new, but to do something new that's inspired or informed by the traditions that you have upheld, I think that's beautiful.

[GW]: The shape chart is so vast at Peterson, especially in the past.

[AW]: Totally, yeah. So the two new shapes that we're talking about, they're both straight shapes. So there's the 411, which is a squat Rhodesian shape, and the 3085, which is a Panel. They're both a little more slender than you would expect from the patent era. But this particular style of pipe was really common in the early 20th century, so it's sort of like the Juniors in a way.

[GW]: I like the Juniors, but I think it does still fit well into the classic shape chart.

[AW]: Totally, one hundred percent. They existed in the classic shape chart.

[GW]: They wouldn't have been classed as Specialty or Junior back then.

[AW]: No, not at all. I think the Panel is really cool. It's got this really nice Anglo-French inspiration, but done in the Peterson way. The shank is a little bit more stout than you would expect.

[GW]: It also has a decent-sized chamber for a small bowl.

[AW]: It totally does. And the same thing goes for the Rhodesian as well.

[GW]: Yeah, the Rhodesian screams Peterson to me.

[AW]: Yeah, totally. And the way you guys do the bead lines on the Rhodesians are so cool. I think that really works with so many of the finishes and stuff.

[GW]: Definitely, yeah. It just finishes the bowl.

[AW]: Yeah, and speaking of finishes, these are additions to the classic range, so these aren't limited-edition releases in a specific series, right?

[GW]: No, these will all fall into the existing lines and series that we carry available. Everything all the way up to maybe a Supreme or two if we get some luck on the grading.

[AW]: All right, well, yeah. Make sure to call me before.

[GW]: Oh, absolutely. That's if it leaves the factory before.

[AW]: If it leaves the factory. These are super cool. The ones that I saw all have P-Lips, is that going to be stated? Will there be some Fishtails too?

[GW]: We'll have P-Lips in the series where they would fit in with P-Lips, and then we have Fishtails. There's Irish Harp in a sandblasted finish and finished smooth, along with Aron smooth nickel mounted selections. So there's a variety; there's a pipe to suit everybody's tastes.

[AW]: And the same thing goes for vulcanite versus acrylic as well, right?

[GW]: Yeah, so there's acrylic in the Cumberland and Irish Harp series. Then, for the most part, the rest will have vulcanite stems.

[AW]: Okay, yeah, that's super cool. I think if you're looking for something that's within the classic range, that maybe hasn't existed previously, these are great additions to the classic line.

[GW]: These two shapes are so comfortable to smoke. One of the best parts of my job is doing some research and development on how a pipe will smoke. I think that's a good way to pivot into the production of these pipes as well. They don't come without their own challenges. Just because they're small pipes, they do pose challenges in production, particularly the Panel. People may also think that a Panel pipe is simple because you have a nice guide to follow with the papering wheels, but it's actually extremely difficult. And because it's obviously a Panel, the surface and the sides have to be flat.

[AW]: That's so true.

[GW]: And then you have to retain the lines and keep it uniform. The lines are the hardest part to maintain, especially when we get into our rustication and sandblasting processes as well.

[AW]: So the guys in the factory have done an excellent job retaining the integrity of the shape, particularly on the Panel.

[GW]: Yeah, the Rhodesian too, there's so much symmetry for a shape like that, especially with it being so squat. And especially going from such a slender shank into a kind of rotund shape, it flares out from the shank instantly.

[AW]: That's true. And I imagine too, even on the ones that are mounted, that's got to be a challenge on such a slender shank.

[GW]: Depending on who is papering the bowls or how much a shape is blasted, if the briar is softer, the mount size is going to be different for Jason to work with. So there's a lot of craft, even on such a small pipe. You need a lot of control and restraint. But then also we still want the sandblast to fit in with how we blast pipes as well, so maintaining the integrity of the shape is important as well.

[AW]: All the ones that I've seen have been really well executed.

[GW]: We're really proud of them.

[AW]: There's a lot of variation in the finishes that you could choose from, along with Peterson's adornments.

[GW]: It's a full addition to Peterson's catalog. These are not brand new shapes, but they're a revival of sorts. It's a very big step to reintroduce a shape that's not just a limited-edition release. These will be in the portfolio and it'll stay around. And I'm super happy because I love slender straight pipes.

[AW]: I'm really excited to see these added to the line and to see what you guys can do with it going forward too. Two new shapes, and I imagine we're only going to see them introduced to more and more series as time goes on.

[GW]: Exactly, yeah. We've also got 160 years of history to look through for more inspiration. We're super excited. Not just me personally, but everyone who works in the factory. We love customer feedback, and we love seeing people get excited about new releases. They get a great thrill out of that, and it gives them much deserved gratitude for the work they do.

[AW]: Yeah, totally. Once again, Glen, thank you so much for sitting with us.

[GW]: It's been a pleasure.