Hatfields & McCoys and the Devil Anse Pipe
In 2012 the History Channel aired a three part miniseries titled, “Hatfields & McCoys“, staring Kevin Costner as William Anderson, leader of the Hatfields. In this series, Kevin smoked a small pipe that has been given the name of the Devil Anse. It’s certainly not the most elegant of pipes, as should probably be expected for the role it has to fill, but the frequent appearance of this pipe, most likely paired with Kevin’s stellar performances, has made the shape a bit of a buzz in the pipe world.
Since I’ve been making pipes, I’ve had more requests for this shape than any other in my repertoire. The thing I’ve found most interesting about it is that most folks have their own take on what the pipe actually is. A common theme seems to be that the Devil Anse pipe is a nosewarmer, meaning extremely short. I’ve always held that Kevin probably isn’t clenching this pipe at the tip of the bit, leaving most of the pipe showing outside. I’ve thought that he stuck a good bit of the pipe bit and stem into his mouth. While I’ve doubted the nosewarmer theory, I of course do my best to make the pipe the customer wants, which is why there are some variations on my site.
But still, I wanted to know just what the pipe actually was, so after a little research I’ve found that my initial thoughts of this pipe were true. This is a very small pipe indeed, but it’s a good deal longer than most people tend to think. While I can’t seem to find a true profile of this little mystery, this still show it fairly clear.
So, until Kevin calls me up some day and sets up a time to go smoke a pipe, this is the closest I’ll probably come to knowing for sure exactly what the Devil Anse pipe should look like.
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