20 Jun 2026
Lothar Heim runs the last traditional clay pipe workshop in Hilgert and the entire Kannenbäckerland region of the Westerwald, where pipe making was once a major trade alongside the area’s well known salt glazed stoneware. This video follows the full process from start to finish, beginning with the preparation of pipe clay in the cellar, where raw clay is soaked, mixed by hand, and run through a clay mill to form thick rolls. These rolls are later extruded into thin clay rods on a press, then cut into portions and shaped using two part metal molds, tampers, and bore wires, the same methods used in the trade for generations.
The video also shows the more demanding hand rolling technique, still practiced by Heim’s 80 year old mother, used for pipes with stems too long for the press. You will see how pilgrimage pipes, Saint Nicholas pipes, socket pipes known as Jacob’s pipes, and clay cuckoo whistle figures were made, cleaned, and prepared for drying. Each step, from cutting and trimming to smoothing and boring, is done with tools and techniques that have changed little since the craft began in the region.

Original source material:
Die Tonpfeifenbäckerei. Teil 1: Zubereiten des Pfeifentons und Ausformen der Ware
Published by Alltagskulturen im Rheinland
© LVR-Institut für Landeskunde und Regionalgeschichte
CC BY 4.0

[…]