This King’s Ransom pipe is another from my recent haul of estate pipes at a local antique market. It is stamped “King’s Ransom” over “London Made” on the top of the shank, and “604” on the bottom. Unfamiliar with this marque, and finding nothing online, I emailed Steve Laug of RebornPipes, who linked me to the Comoy’s of London pipe shape chart at Pipedia.org. According to the information there, 604 is a Comoy’s shape number for a 1/4 Bent Dublin pipe – timely information that quickly elevated this King’s Ransom from basket pipe to sub-brand of one of the UK’s best known pipe producers. This is the sort of discovery that makes estate pipe hunting so much fun!

I received the pipe in fairly good estate condition. The stummel was peppered with small “handling marks” – little dents and dings accumulated through use and storage in pockets, drawers and glove boxes…