He is a man of nature: Karl-Heinz (Karlo) Joura lives in the city of Bremen in northern Germany where he likes to ramble the pathways of city parks or walk along the river, watching the ever-changing colors of the foliage as one season goes into the next.

The flowing designs of Karlo’s shapes, and the soft and natural beauty of his stains reflect the closeness he feels to the natural beauty which surrounds him.

He is a quiet man: Karlo much prefers to spend his time in crafting pipes rather than talking about them. He is truly at home in his workshop, trees rustling softly outside the window, creating a new pipe or working for ever softer shades of color. Unlike some (perhaps most) he does not go to shows or shops to sell his wares; his clients, instead, come to him. And over coffee, and a pipe or two of tobacco, the client will choose pipes for his shop.

He is a man of precision: Karlo, in his youth, was a world-class diver. As one may imagine, diving at this top level requires both highly developed physical skills and exquisite discipline. One can see on examining his pipes that Karlo has carried both his physical skill and his mental discipline over to the crafting of his creations. In boring both the tobacco chamber and the smoke chamber Karlo uses the freehand method, depending only on eyesight and steadiness of hand rather than mechanized procedures. The hand-cut vulcanite mouthpiece is perfection itself, with a dazzling sheen and unmatched comfort level in the mouth.

What does all this mean? Karlo Joura’s pipes are beautiful, to be sure. But there is something more, and this goes far beyond beauty. There is an unmatched smoking quality in the pipes he crafts. Why this is one can not say, but one can truly shout that it is so. Many (including myself) have tried to discover this secret, but have been unsuccessful. In the end one can only be thankful that such pipes exist.