Category Archives: Pipe Related Essays

Short and not so short essays on pipes and tobacciana

Reflecting on My Collection of Rad Davis Pipes

Blog by Steve Laug

In my ongoing cleanup of my pipes in the cupboard I decided to photograph and take time to revisit another group of pipes that I have. This group is made up of eight very unique and distinct shapes. They come from another American Pipe Maker that I have collected pipes from – Rad Davis. Rad is well-known to most people and is a very creative pipe maker who is also a great human being. I have spoken with Rad several times in Chicago when I have attended the pipe show there and had great conversations with him. He is a gentleman and a pleasure to talk with. I have a number of unique smooth finished pipes that Rad carved as well as sandblasts and one rusticated pipe. The shapes vary from classic shapes to some very uniquely Rad Davis pipes. I thought I would take time to show them here and give my history with these pipes and a few words on their finish and stamping.

The first pipe in the group is a classic Rad Davis shape – a squashed or flattened tomato. The finish is smooth and flawless. The bowl is proportionally quite large in comparison to the shank and stem. The grain is well laid out with birdseye on the bottom of the bowl and in the curve of the rim down to mid bowl and on the top and bottom of the shank. There is also some flame grain around the sides of the bowl and on the sides of the shank. The stem is a green Cumberland and is inset into the end of the shank. This is a very comfortable pipe to hold and to clench in the mouth while doing other things. It is very light weight.

This pipe was a gift to me from a friend of mine. It was one that I had admired over the years when we got together and traded stories and tobaccos. One day as we were visiting he was telling me he was downsizing his pipe collection. Not necessarily in terms of numbers but literally in terms of size. He was going for much smaller pipes – group 1 and 2 sized pipes. This Rad was too big for him so he handed it to me in its pipe bag. Each time I smoke it I remember the moment of its gifting and thank my friend as I light the bowl.

The stamping shows that it was made in 2006. It is stamped as follows:
RAD DAVIS
Hand Made
USA
06

The second pipe in my collection is another signature tomato shape. It is not as squashed and has a more rounded look to it. The finish is smooth and flawless. The bowl is proportionally quite large in comparison to the shank and stem. This one has a rounded shank rather than the flared shank in the above pipe. Again the grain is well laid out with birdseye on the bottom of the bowl and in the curve of the rim down to mid bowl and on the top and bottom of the shank. There is also some flame grain around the sides of the bowl and on the sides of the shank. The stem is a classic Cumberland and instead of an inset has more of a Danish style saddle look to it. Where the green one was straight from the saddle to the button this one has a definite flare. This is also very comfortable to hold and to clench in the mouth while doing other things. It is very light weight.

I bought this pipe from one of the tables at my first Chicago Pipe Show. I remember walking around the show floor, overwhelmed by the sheer number of pipes available and feeling in a daze when I saw this pipe on one of the sale tables as an estate I had to have it. I took out the cash I had brought with me and bought it. In doing so I had purchased my first Rad Davis pipe. Little did I know that I would purchase others over the years that followed. It is a great smoking pipe and the reason that I have added others to my collection.

This pipe does not have a date stamp on it. It is stamped as follows:
RAD DAVIS
Hand Made
USA

The third pipe in my collection is a nose warmer billiard. It has a definite cant to the bowl and is very Danish looking in terms of the execution of the billiard shape. The finish is the same colour brown as my other two smooth Rad pipes and is just as well done with no visible flaws. The grain on this one is different. If you put a pinpoint in the bottom of the bowl the grain flares out to all sides and along the shank flowing from that point on the bottom of the bowl. The rim is chamfered inward slightly and gives the pipe a classic look. The stem is a Cumberland taper and is straight from the sides of the shank to the end of the button. It is also light weight and is a great smoker.

I remember when this one came up on Briar Blues website. I received the email notice that Mike had posted new pipes and went to have a look. I was taken by this little pipe and quickly made the deal. I have smoked it quite a bit since I purchase it and still reach for it.

It is stamped as follows:
RAD DAVIS
Hand Made
USA
06

The fourth Rad pipe I purchase was one of my favourite shapes. It seems that the ball/apple or Rhodesian has a big place in my collection. This beauty is the only rusticated Rad pipe that I have. It has a smooth band around the end of the shank, on the underside of the shank for the stamping and a smooth rim. The rustication while tactile and pebbly is also smooth. The two colour stain gives it a great look. The grain on the band and the rim just pops with the staining job. This one has a vulcanite stem that is a taper and very comfortable in the mouth. When the bowl warms as it is smoked it feels great in the hand. I purchase this one from a fellow on one of the online forums that I frequent. It is larger than the previous three pipes and is like Mark Tinsky’s size 4 pipes.

It is stamped as follows:
RAD DAVIS
Hand Made
USA
06

The thing that drew me to purchase this next pipe was the unique shape and finish. The shape is almost bulbous like the old seaweed bulbs that we used to use as whips when walking the Pacific coast beaches. There is something about the shape that grabbed me. The bowl almost sits on top of the shank. There is a ridge on the bottom of the bowl that goes up into the shank. The shank itself is round and quite delicate. The finish on this pipe is also varied. The majority of the bowl is finished in similar brown tones as my other smooth Rad pipes. It has cross-cut grain running along the sides of the shank running into a beautiful weblike sandblast on the bottom of the bowl revealing rings and grain radiating from the centre of the bottom. The rest of the bowl has marvelous birdseye grain from the top of the blast to the tip of the rim. The stem is Cumberland with a tapered saddle bit with a flare toward the button. I believe I purchased this one on EBay for a decent price. Its style, though not for everyone, certainly grabbed my attention and still does. I can easily get lost in the grain and the sandblast as I am smoking it. Thanks Rad for making this unique beauty. I have not seen another one like it!

It is stamped as follows:
RAD DAVIS
Hand Made
USA
06

The next pipe is a classic shape – a chubby shank pot. It has a marvelous sandblast finish that has been stained in such a way that the vertical grains in the blast are variegated while at the same time showing a ring grain that is highlighted by the blast and the stain. The blast is vertical on the bowl and the shank radiating from a birdseye blast on the bottom of the bowl. The rim is smooth with a slight bevel inward and there is a smooth band around the end of the shank and a patch for the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stem is Cumberland with a taper flowing out of a saddle. Well cut and comfortable in the mouth. I bought this one online through EBay as well and have enjoyed handling and studying the blast since the day it arrived. It is fascinating to look at and again I can get lost in the grain and patterns of the blast.

It is stamped as follows:
RAD DAVIS
Hand Made
USA
07

I don’t know what to call the shape of the next pipe. On one hand it is a brandy with an arched/domed shaped shank. On the other hand it could be an egg of some sort. Whatever the shape is called this one is a beauty. The blast is similar to the blast on the pot I spoke of above. The bottom is birdseye grain that has been blasted and looks like many tiny eyes looking out at you from the bottom of the bowl. These radiate out into straight grain up the side of the bowl and the shank. The ring grain is also visible across the bowl giving the blast a multidimensional look incorporating both vertical and horizontal patterns in the blast. There is a cocobolo end cap on the end of the shank that highlights the arched shape of the shank. It is sunk so that the Cumberland stem is inset into the cap. It look and feel is a lot like the green Cumberland stem on the squashed tomato above though it flares out from the saddle to the button. I bought this one on Ebay as well and could not wait until it arrived. It is just my size of pipe. It is just over 5 and ¼ inches in length with a slight bend to the stem. It sits well on the desk or table while I am working but is light enough to have in my mouth. The bowl is a group 4 sized bowl and holds a good amount of tobacco.

It is stamped as follows:
RAD DAVIS
Hand Made
USA
07

The last of my Rad pipes is one I bought directly from Rad as the Smokers Forums Pipe of the Year for 2008. It is a Poker/sitter with an angled base that holds it upright on whatever surface it is left on. The stem is vulcanite. The pipe is well-balanced and though I rock it –it always returns to the upright position. The sandblast on this one is just as well done as the rest of my Rad blasts. The rim and the bottom of the bowl are a blast birdseye while the sides of the bowl and shank incorporate the vertical and horizontal look to the blast that Rad achieves. It is a well made pipe with the taper stem fitting tightly against the shank and snuggly in the mortise. It has a stain that gives a variegated appearance in the light – red and brown hues seem almost to move in the light.

The stamping on this one is unique as it is the Smokers Forum Pipe of the Year. It is stamped as follows:
Smokers Forums in an oval
RAD
USA
2008

I have enjoyed Rad’s pipes since I smoked the first one many years ago now at the Chicago Pipe Show. I have added them over the years and from what I can see, will continue to add them as I am able. The only pipe of Rad’s in my collection that needs more attention is the Smokers Forum Pipe of the Year 2008. I have not smoked it as much as it deserves as it is not even broken in. I am going to have to remedy that.

Reflecting on my Dunhill Collection

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am currently in the mode of cleaning up pipes in my collection. I have been polishing and giving them attention as well as taking the time to enjoy them by looking at them and handling each one. I have shown my John Calich and my Mark Tinsky pipes. This morning I am working through my Dunhills. As I went through them I have to say I am a bit surprised that I have so many of them. I figured there were a half-dozen or so but have never really looked at them all in one place. Laid out together there are eleven of them. I used to have a dozen I guess, but I sold one to a friend’s wife for her husband’s birthday – a 1973 Tanshell. So here are my eleven pipes.

The first group is the Shell or Shell Briars – I have five of them. They are beautiful sandblast pipes with a two-tone finish of dark and medium brown (or maybe dark brown with the high portions buffed lighter). The first of them is an old-timer. It is a bent billiard whose blast has been worn smooth over the years. I have had it dated to various times from mid 30’s to 1943.

The stamping is quite weak but under a bright light with a lense it reads as follows:
DUNHILL SHELL Made in England 3 (this three is the questionable issue – overstamped)
N52 PATENT NO. 417574/34

It is in good shape regardless of the age. The blast on the rim is worn but the stem is in good shape with minor tooth marks on the stem and the button surface. The white spot is darkened and appears to possibly be ivory though I am not sure.

The next two are Birth Year Pipes for me. They are both made in 1954. The first one is a Canadian that I picked up on EBay. I had been looking for a birth year pipe for quite a while and contacted Mike Hagley regarding one. I had heard he might have one that I could purchase. He sent me the link to this one on EBay. It was not in good shape and had a stem with a missing white spot. I bid and won the auction. I sent it to Dave Wolf at Walker Briarworks for cleaning and repair. Dave did a great job cleaning it up and repairing the stem for me. I have had it for quite a few years now and enjoyed smoking it on my birthday. The ultimate pleasure was smoking this 1954 Dunhill Canadian with some 1954 Dobie Four Square Green on my 54th birthday a few years ago.

The stamping on this one is:
EC F/T DUNHILL Made in England 4 with a 4 in a circle and an S
SHELL BRIAR Patent No. 417574/34

It is in great shape since Dave worked on it. The finish is beautiful and the blast has a mix of birdseye and cross grain. There are some deep craggy places in the blast and the blast on the oval shank is also well done. It is one of my favourite pipes in the collection.

The second birth year pipe is a billiard. I bought this one on EBay as well. Its condition is good. The finish on the bowl and shank is excellent and the blast is deep and craggy. Somewhere along the way I believe someone topped this pipe so it has a smooth, restained rim. One day I may send it out and have the rim reworked to match the rest of the pipe. Or maybe one day I will attempt it myself. The time just has not been right for me to do either one. The stem is in good shape with a few small tooth marks on the surface. It is also a pleasure to smoke. I find though that the smooth rim just makes me reach for it less than my other birth year pipe.

The stamping on this is:
K F/T DUNHILL SHELL Made in England 4 with a 4 in a circle
Patent No. 417574/34

The fourth Shell in my collection is moving into another decade. I have two Shells from the 1960 era. The first one is a Billiard that is in good shape. The finish on the bowl and shank is excellent though this pipe is nowhere near as craggy as the 1954 billiard. The blast is nice but not deep. Like the 1954 billiard this one has seen some work on the rim. It appears to have been lightly topped so much of the blast on the rim is gone leaving behind a few deeper spots. I found this pipe in a Value Village Thrift Shop (Rummage Shop) in a display case and bought it for the paltry sum of $12 CNDN. It has some ripples on the top of the vulcanite stem and some tooth marks on the underside.

The stamping on this one reads:
60 DUNHILL Made In 4 in a circle and S
SHELL BRIAR England 1

The last Shell is bent bulldog shaped pipe from 1966. It is actually one of my favourite Dunhill shapes. I have one in almost the exact shape that is stamped Parker. This pipe has an amazing deep blast that hearkens back to the earlier blasts on the Shells. The finish is in excellent shape with even the rim showing the blast. The diamond shank with a flattened bottom transitions nicely into the stem. The stem was in excellent shape, or at least I thought it was when I bought it off of Ebay. When I received it the top and sides of the stem were oxidized and there was a light tooth mark on top. When I turned it over there was a bite through on the underside next to the button. I cleaned it up and repaired it with a black superglue patch. The pipe stem looks quite clean and new now and there are not any bite through marks or tooth marks.

The stamping on this one reads:
P DUNHILL Made in 4 in a circle and S
SHELL BRIAR England 6

I have one Tan Shell in my collection. It is a little group 1 sized billiard with a saddle stem. I picked this up in an Antique Mall in Washington State. It was hidden stem down in a jar of old Dr. Grabows that were in rough shape and a few old corn cobs. I saw the sand blast and the shape and colour and could not believe it. I took the pipe out of the jar and sure enough it was a Dunhill. The price on it was $10 – an unbelievable deal. It was clean and the finish was slightly soiled. The rim had some darkening but the bowl was clean. The stem has a great fish tail look to it and was only oxidized. I have smoked this one quite a bit since the day I found it and it is a great smoking little pipe. It is on the small side for me but I reach for it for a quick smoke.

The stamping on it reads:
576 F/T DUNHILL Made in 1 in a circle and T
TAN SHELL England 3 and slightly lower and offset 4
The date stamping makes me think that the pipe was made in 1963 and stamped or issued in 1964. I am never sure about the meaning of the double date numbers. I remember reading though something along what I mentioned above.

I have two Root Briar pipes both from 1961. The first of those is a large billiard that I purchased on Ebay with a burned through in the bottom of the bowl. Because of the damage it was very cheap. When it arrived I drilled out the burn through and repaired it with a briar plug. I have written about that repair on the blog earlier. The finish other than that burn through was in good shape with some cross grain on the sides of the bowl and birdseye grain on the front and back sides. The stem was clean except for some tooth marks on the top and bottom of the stem near the button. The pipe cleaned up well and is a good smoking pipe.

The stamping is on both sides of the shank. It reads:
On the left side:
59 F/T DUNHILL
ROOT BRIAR
On the right side:
Made in 4 in a circle and R
England 1

The second Root Briar is a 1961 straight shank bulldog. I picked this one up in a trade. It is a beautifully executed pipe. Dunhill makes some stellar bulldogs. The finish on this one was in excellent shape when it arrived. It matches the finish on the billiard exactly. There was some rim darkening but no serious damage to the rim. It has a mix of grains with nothing that truly stands out. The stem was in excellent shape with slight oxidation but no tooth marks or chatter. It is another great smoking pipe.

The stamping is on both sides of the shank. It reads:
On the left side:
OXS F/T DUNHILL
ROOT BRIAR
On the right side:
Made in 4 in a circle and R
England 1

The next pipe is a bit of a mystery. It does not have any date stamping on the shank. The shank is also repaired at the factory as the stamping goes over the shank splice. The shank is a separate piece of briar from the bowl. A response by Jacek Rochacki on a post I wrote yesterday on the addition of a shank extension made me think that possibly this pipe was made during the war years when briar was hard to come by. The factory thus spliced together two pieces of briar to make this pipe. The omission of the date stamp is still a puzzle so I may never know when the pipe was made. I have written previously about this pipe on the blog. It is a straight stemmed prince shape. It is definitely not one of my favourite shapes. I picked it up at an Antique Mall in BC quite a few years ago now. The seller had it priced at $20 Cndn so I did not ask questions and bought it immediately. The bowl finish was worn and the rim was badly beaten. I steamed the rim, topped it lightly and reshaped the bowl accordingly. The stem was in excellent shape with little oxidation. There were minor tooth marks near the button on the top and bottom sides of the stem.

The stamping is deep and legible on both sides and reads:
On the left
FET DUNHILL
BRUYERE
On the right
Made in 4 in a circle A
England (no date stamp following the D in England)

The last two pipes in my Dunhill collection are more current production models. The first is a bent Rhodesian with a Shell finish. This one does not have the old characteristic rich contrasting stain on the blast. It is stained black. It is well executed and comfortable to hold. The shank and the stem are on the chunky side, which I like. It is a nicely made taper stem. I bought this from a pipe dealer in Washington who had close out stock that he was moving.

It is stamped:
3108 dunhill in an oval Shell Grain over Made in England 01
The stamping dates this pipe as a 2001. I smoked it quite a bit and it is a great size for putting in my jacket pocket when I am out on a walk about.

The last pipe is an Amber Root apple. I loved the finish on this one when I saw and had to have it. I purchased it from the same dealer as the little Rhodesian above. It has a reddish finish and some stellar grain. The sides of the bowl and shank have straight or flame grain. The rim, top of the shank and the underside of the bowl and shank have beautiful birdseye grain. The stem is well made and comfortable. This pipe is also a great size for the pocket and smokes well.

It is stamped on both sides of the shank.
On the left it reads:
3101 dunhill in an oval
On the right it reads:
AMBER ROOT
Made in England 05
The stamping makes this a pipe made in 2005. As such it is the newest Dunhill pipe in my collection.

That is my entire Dunhill collection as it stands today. It spans a large part of history from either 1937/1943 to 2005. It has pipes with a variety of Dunhill finishes – Shell, Shell Briar, Tan Shell, Root Briar, Bruyere and Amber Root. Each pipe in itself is a well made factory pipe. The earlier pipes have some stunning blasts and finishes while the two newer ones also have some beautiful finishes that are unique to the newer lines. I cannot say that I am a Dunhill fanatic but having these pipes in my collection make me a small time collector that is for sure. I think the thing I enjoy about the Dunhill pipes is that they can generally be dated to a period of history. As one who enjoys knowing that kind of detail regarding the pipes I smoke I have to say that I am drawn to them. To this day I continue to check the display cases at thrift shops and antique malls in hopes of finding yet another old Dunhill. But I guess that finding four of them that way is not to bad a record.

Reflecting on my collection of Tinsky Pipes

7 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I don’t recall when I bought my first Tinsky pipe. But I do know which one it was – a nice Coral finish Billiard with a taper stem. It has a contrast stain on it – a dark brown and a walnut combination. The rim and a band around the top of the bowl and the end of the shank are smooth and sport the walnut finish. I have had the pipe at least 15 years or more and have thoroughly enjoyed smoking it. In fact it was the pipe that got me buying Tinsky’s pipes over the years. I have bought maybe two of them directly from Mark and the others have come through EBay or from friends. I have fourteen of Mark’s pipes to date with one new one on the way. These all vary in shapes and styles but all are fine smoking machines. Only one of the pipes in this collection remains unsmoked. I really can’t tell you why, but I will break it in one day in the near future.

I thought it might be interesting to give a brief history of the brand for those on the blog who may still be unfamiliar with Mark’s work. Most of this material is taken from his website http://www.amsmoke.com/ and from Pipedia which has an article on the brand and quotes many of Mark’s own words.

The American Smoking Pipe Co. was formed in 1978 by Mark Tinsky and Curt Rollar. Both started making pipes for Jack Weinberger (JHW Pipes) while in high school and throughout college. Determined to blaze their own path, they formed their own company – its goal to create unique pipes, lightweight and comfortable, where attention to detail was the rule not the exception. Exulting in their new freedom, they carved out new shapes that were balanced between the radical freehand era of the 70’s and the board pipe look of other conservative companies. Hungry for recognition, they stormed the Eastern and Southern shops looking for markets to sell their pipes. Many hidebound retailers refused to try something new; preferring to sell, well, what has always sold before. However, their pipes did take root in many shops and the business thrived.

They continued expanding their pipe making capabilities, adding employees to help finish the pipes. In 1990, over a disagreement over how much to expand, Curt Rollar left the company. This put a break on expansion and coupled with a U.S. recession and rising anti-smoking fervor served to limit production to supplying existing retailers, thus ending a decade of growth. With pipes sales in decline, we turned to pipe repair as a way to supplement revenues. Finding that we liked fixing things, American concentrated on pipe repair. While working hard at repair and manufacture American is ready once again to expand its markets through its existing network of shops serviced by pipe repair.

With the advent of the Internet, we are exploring marketing pipes directly to consumers in markets not covered by retail accounts. Feel free to e-mail us at MT@MT.NET

Mark can also be reached by mail at:
American Smoking Pipe Co.
PO Box 13
Wolf Creek, MT 59648

Over the years I have collected quite a few Tinsky’s. I have pipes from the time he and Curt Rollar set off on their own and others that are singularly Mark’s from his time in New England and then newer ones from his workshop in Montana. All the pipes I have are made by Mark other than one that was a collaborative work of Mark and Curt. The rest of this article will be a short reflection on the Tinsky pipes in my collection. Looking them over this afternoon as I photographed them I am again struck by the workmanship in Mark’s pipes. They are all exceptionally well made with fits and finishes well done. From the Coral finishes, the Blasts, the Black and Tans and the Smooth finished pipes I have come to expect nothing but the best smoke. They are truly bread and butter pipes in my collection. They are well made utilitarian pipes that have provided many years of service to me and if the oldest in the collection (a 1984) is any reflection on the whole lot they will last far longer than I will.

The first part of the collection that I want to visit with you is the Cauldron and Dublin shaped pipes. I have three pipes in this lot. The first pictured below is from 1988 and is a smooth cauldron that is stamped American in an oval over Reg. No. 88.CR-MT over The Berkshire over the number 37. If my read of these stampings is correct the pipe was made in 1988 and is a collaborative effort between Mark and Curt. The Berkshire is the name of the finish on this pipe. The familiar logo on Mark’s pipe stems has always been a five point star – in this case it is white star surround by a briar circle set in a clear acrylic and inlaid in the stem.

The second cauldron is a slightly older pipe. It is from 1984. It is stamped Sandblast over American in an oval over Reg. No. 0184/*7 and a 5 in a circle. Interpreting these stampings the pipe is from possibly January of 1984. I am not sure of what the *7 means but the 5 in the circle is the size – thus a group 5. It is the same size as the Berkshire above. The blast covers the bowl and shank. The rim is smooth and circumscribed with a ring mid rim. There is a smooth band around the end of the shank and a smooth area for the stamping. The stem has a white five point star set in clear acrylic inlaid into the surface.

The third pipe in this lot is a Dublin and was the first Christmas pipe I was able to purchase. I believe I bought or traded it from a fellow on one of the online forums that I frequent. It is a nice sandblast pipe. The Dublin shape has an oval shank with a slight forward cant to the bowl and slight bend to the stem. It is a comfortable pipe to smoke. It is stamped Tan Blast over Christmas 2004 and a single star. This pipe has the customary metal inset star in a circle set in the stem.

The next group of Mark’s pipes in my collection are Coral finish pipes. In the photo below I have grouped this lot together. There are five Coral finish pipes and one with a Black and Tan finish.

The first of these is a Christmas pipe. It is a square shank billiard that is stamped with Mark’s signature (Mark Tinsky) on the smooth panel on the left side and on the underside smooth area Christmas 2005 over Coral. The stain on this one is a contrast between a dark brown deep in the grooves of the finish and a reddish stain on the high points of the finish. The contrast is well done. The smooth portions of the shank are also a dark brown in colour. It bears the same metal star in a circle inset into the stem as the logo. It is probably a Group 5 size pipe but does not have a size stamp.

The second Coral finished pipe in the above group photo is a thick shank apple. It is probably one of my favourite shapes that Mark makes. I have three of this shape – two Coral finished pipes and a Sandblast. It is stamped American in an oval over Coral with 5 in a circle. The finish feels great in the hand and as it heats up the tactile feel is comfortable. The smooth rim and band around the end of the shank are attractive additions. The underside of the shank is also smooth and provides a place for the stamping. The stain on this one is a combination of dark brown and walnut. The grooves are dark and the high points and smooth portions are a walnut stain.

The third Coral finish that I picked up was also my first Tinsky pipe. It is a beautiful group 4 sized billiard with a dark brown and walnut contrast stain. There is a smooth ring around the top of the bowl and a smooth rim. There is also a smooth band and area for the stamping at the end of the shank. It has been with me for a long time now and is one that I have smoked again and again. It never disappoints in delivering a great smoke. I use it for only Virginias and it literally makes them sing. It is stamped American in an oval over Coral over 4 in a circle. On the smooth left side of the shank it is stamped with the Mark Tinsky signature. The stem bears the metal star in a circle inset.

The fourth Coral finish is another thick shanked apple. I traded for this one and when it came the finish was virgin though it had begun to darken. Through the years the darkening has continued and it shows a lightening in the grooves and the high spots are darkening. It has a rusticated rim and the only smooth portion of the pipe is a thin band around the end of the shank and a smooth patch on the underside of the shank for the stamping. It bears the stamping Coral over Christmas 2003 and the customary metal star in a circle inset in the stem. There is a part of me that wants to give this bowl a good coat of stain to even things out a bit and make it look cleaner. I have restrained myself from doing that until now but who knows what the future holds in that regard.

The final Coral finish pipe is kind of a tadpole shaped pipe. It has the same stain combination on it as the first Coral Christmas 2005 pipe. It is the only pipe of Mark’s that I have that I have yet to smoke. I am not sure why but it sits in my pipe cupboard waiting for the right moment. It is stamped Mark Tinsky in script over Coral over American in an oval. It also bears a 5 in a circle for it size. It is quite a large pipe. The rim is smooth and crowned and there is a smooth band around the end of the shank and patch on the underside of the shank for the stamping. The stem bears the metal star in a circle inlay but it is slightly different from my other Tinsky’s in that the star is pewter coloured rather than the brass that is characteristic of the others.

The final pipe in the group photo above is the only Black and Tan finished pipe that I have of Mark’s. It has almost a Danish flair to the Rhodesian shape. The crowned bowl top is set apart by two concentric rings and the finish is a tan smooth. The rim is slightly rounded. There is also a thin smooth band around the shank end and a smooth plate on the bottom of the shank. It is stamped American in an oval over Black & Tan over Christmas 2000. The stem has the characteristic brass star in a circle inset.

The third group of pipes in my Tinsky collection is the Sandblast finished pipes. I have three Sandblasts. The first of these is probably my favourite Tinsky. I have carried it around the world with me on various trips. It has been smoked quite globally in all of my travels. It is a custom-made pipe that I bought as an estate from Mike Glukler of Briar Blues. It is a bent apple of sorts with a vulcanite ring on the end of the shank. The stem is a faux stick bit with a saddle. The grain on this one must have been a flame grain and the blast flares up evenly from birdseye on the bottom of the bowl. The rim is smooth as is a band around the end of the shank and a panel on the bottom of the shank for the stamping. It looks to me like Mark used a fine rustication pattern around the band and the panel to give it a more defined shape. It is stamped American in an oval over the Mark Tinsky signature over Blast with a 4 in a circle. Each line of the stamping is separated by a finely cut rustication. The stem does not have the typical star inlay as there is not a surface that would hold it.

The second Blast is a thin shank apple or ball. It has a deeper more craggy blast than the previous pipe. It is smaller in terms of the bowl and size though it is still a group 4 bearing the 4 in a circle stamping. The rest of the stamping reads Mark Tinsky in script over Tan Blast on the side of the smooth patch on the left side of the shank. On the underside of the shank it is stamped American in an oval over 4 in a circle. The bowl ascends to the rim leaving a thin rim that is also blasted. There is a smooth band around the end of the shank and a smooth patch that runs up both sides and on the underside of the shank. The stem bears the customary brass star in a circle inlay.

The third Blast is a Rhodesian that I also really like as it has become almost a signature shape for me. It is a thick shank Rhodesian with a dark and medium brown stain over the blast. The darker brown has settled into the grooves of the blast and the medium brown on the high parts of the blast. The majority of the bowl is covered with a blasted birdseye that is really interesting. There are a few spots where there are small portions of flame grain. The fascinating part of this blast is that you can also see the rings of grain under the top blast. It is a beautiful pipe. The twin concentric rings setting apart the crown on the bowl were cut before the blast and the centre between the rings also shows the blast well. The stamping on this one is on the smooth patch that runs up the sides and underside of the shank. It is stamped Mark Tinsky in script on the left side of the shank and on the underside it is stamped American over /6 in an oval over Blast and 5 in a circle.

The last two pipes in my Tinsky collection have smooth finishes. The first is a beautiful pipe that is by far the largest of my Tinsky pipes. I was gifted this by a good friend one evening while we were at his apartment in downtown Vancouver enjoying a fine cup of tea and smoking aged tobaccos together on his 7th floor balcony. It has some stunning straight grain all around the bowl and birdseye on the underside of the bowl and the shank. The medium brown stain really sets off the grain. The shape is a thick shank brandy. It is stamped on the left side of the shank with the Mark Tinsky signature. On the underside it is stamped with American 2/ in an oval over Sunrise over a 6 in a circle and a single five point star.

The second smooth finished pipe is an older Liverpool shape. I picked this one up on EBay for an amazingly low price as it did not have a stem on it. The bowl was in good shape but the finish was shot. It looked like it was not worth buying from the photos that the seller included in the advert. Because of that I got it for cheap. When it arrived I reamed and cleaned it. I polished the bowl and then called Mark to see if he would be willing to restem it for me. He agreed and I sent off for restemming. I expected Mark to use a current stem and brass star in a circle logo inset on the new stem but he did not. When it returned it had the appropriate aged inset of a star in a briar ring inset in acrylic. The difference between this inlay and my other early Tinsky is that the star inside the acrylic is brass in colour rather than white. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank American in an oval over Reg. No. over 7/93 – MT thus dating the pipe to July of 1993. The MT stamping differentiates it from the pipes made by Curt Rollar in that period which bore the stamping CR after the date stamp.

Looking over my collection of Tinsky pipes this afternoon I have been struck yet again by their beauty and by the good quality work that Mark does in his pipe making. My pipes cover a time period of thirty years and the quality remains impeccable. The finishes remain constant. The Coral finishes of the early years are almost identical to those of the more modern era pipes that I have. The sandblasts are consistently the same and the Black & Tans remain constant. The smooth finished pipes are consistent from the early 90’s pipe I have to the more modern 2000’s era Sunrise. I am impressed by that fact. It is not often that in the evolution of a craft that the craftsman maintains his signature finishes even as he progresses in his skill. Thank you Mark for creating these fine pipes that I have taken great pleasure in owning and smoking. I look forward to adding more to my collection.

Reflecting on My Collection of John Calich Pipes

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I don’t remember when I first became familiar with Calich pipes. They were not a brand that I had heard of or seen. I do remember that the first time I saw one of his pipes was when I was visiting Mike Glukler of Briar Blues and he had a John Calich pipe for sale. It had to have been before 2003 because of health issues that tied me up from 03-04. I know that I was immediately drawn to the rusticated finish it had and the two tone stain that Calich had used to accent the rustication and the smooth portions of the pipe. He used a dark brown stain as an under stain with an oxblood top stain. The contrast was well done. The pipe was a large Lumberman shape. The stem was vulcanite with a small tooth mark on the top of the stem. It was stamped CALICH 02 over Hand Made 4E over Made in Canada. I had no idea of the age of the pipe or the meaning of the stampings but I paid for it and it became mine. It smoked very well so I began to keep an eye open for John’s pipes.

From my research I found that John’s pipes are graded 3E – 8E. Retail prices range from$ 145.00 to $ 500.00. Each pipe is stamped “CALICH” and the E grade. His earlier pipes were graded from 3-14, and a single, tiny silver dot is applied to the top of the stem. http://pipedia.org/wiki/Calich Armed with that information I found that the first pipe I purchased was a newer pipe of John’s and was stamped 4E which made it a mid-grade pipe.

Soon after that I found two more of his pipes on EBay. This was a time when you could still pick up good deals on relatively unknown pipe makers. The first pipe I picked up was a nice billiard that obviously had seen some use and had a replacement stem. The fit of the stem was poor and the gap and space between stem and shank was large. The scratches in the vulcanite made the stem a real mess. The pipe had beautiful grain under the grime and was stamped CALICH EE over Hand Made. I bid on it and won. The EE stamping did not fit the grading information that I had found on the internet.

I wanted the seller to send it directly to John for a new stem. This put a bit of hurry into the equation so I hunted down John’s number to see if he would be willing to make a replacement stem for this pipe. I called him and we had a great conversation on the phone. We talked about all things pipe and pipe making. It was delightful to talk together and we did so for quite a while before I got around to asking him if he would make a stem for the old billiard.

I still remember the conversation. He asked about the stamping on the pipe and within a short few moments he told me when he had carved the pipe. For the life of me I wish I had written it down because today I cannot remember what he said. He said to go ahead and have the pipe sent to him and he would make a new stem for it. I emailed the EBay Seller and asked him to send it directly to John Calich in Mississauga, Ontario. He gladly did so and the pipe was on its way to John.

It was not too long before John called me and told me the pipe was finished. He packed it up and sent it to me. I was excited because I had not even seen the pipe in person yet. I had no idea about the real size of the pipe or the actual condition though it looked a bit rough in the photos. I couldn’t wait to see it. When it arrived in the mail I opened the package and unwrapped the pipe. John had not only restemmed the billiard but he had cleaned it up and polished it so that it shone like new. It did not even look like the same pipe. It was a cross cut piece of briar with stunning birdseye on the sides of the bowl and shank with cross grain on the front and the back of the bowl.

I did a bit more digging on the internet to find out some information on the dating of Calich pipes as the information on Pipedia was not complete. What I found was very helpful. His early pipes were graded with numbers from 3 – 14. By the late 1980’s Calich introduced 15, 16, and even one 17. In the mid-90’s the grade system changed employing a number of E’s. The more EE’s the higher the grade. This helped me understand the stamping on the billiard. Thus the pipe was a double EE grade and was made in the mid-90’s.

The last gradings that were used on the pipes were a number and an E. For example the stamping went 3E – 7E (10E was the top level but levels exceeding 7E or 8E seemed never to have been used). This information came from http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html and has been edited for my use.

The third Calich I bought was also on EBay. It is a Liverpool with a very nice flame grained tall bowl. This one is stamped CALICH 83 over Hand Made 10. It was dirty and the bowl was caked and the rim covered with tar and oils. The stem was original, bearing the silver dot on top. The vulcanite was oxidized and had small tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem. It cleaned up very nicely and is a great smoking pipe. From the information above it is clear that the pipe stamping means that the pipe is the earliest one I have – made in 1983 and a grade 10 pipe.

Thus the three pipes I have in my collection by John Calich come from the three different periods of his carving. The first I purchased, the Lumberman 4E, was the latest Calich. It was made in the third period of his classification numbers. The second one, the Billiard EE was from the middle period where the classifications were multiple E’s. The third pipe, the Liverpool 10 is the oldest pipe from the first period of stamping when Calich used just numbers 3-14. I had not realized that my pipes covered most of the years that he was carving.

Here are two photos of the threesome together. I took these photos to give an idea of what the size of the pipes were in comparison to one another.

I learned from my reading that John was a full time pipe maker for over 40 years. His pipes were mostly traditional shapes. His signature style was rustication and smooth on the same pipe along with a unique skill to stain a pipe in contrasting colors. He used only top quality Grecian and Calabrian briar. The mouthpieces are hand finished Vulcanite “A”. Each pipe was entirely made by hand. John Calich was featured in the summer 2005 issue of Pipes & Tobacco.

John Calich died in 2008. From my limited exposure to John I have to say that he was a gentleman and a great pipe maker. He was known as one of Canada’s finest carvers. I conclude this article about John’s pipes with a tribute written by Maxim Engle on John’s passing in 2008. Maxim says it very well in my opinion and his words match the various interactions I had with John over the phone.

John Calich – Pipemaker 1928-2008.

John passed away late last week as a result of cancer and heart failure. His cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos many years ago. John originally worked in the sheet metal and the air balance industries. In his early forties, he decided to become a pipe maker. He was largely self taught and developed his unique two tone staining on his own. He travelled widely in the US and Canada seeking pipe knowledge. He went to New Orleans to find out about the manufacture of Perique. He drove on his motorcycle to visit JT Cooke in Vermont. There his bike fell over in slow motion as the asphalt melted under the stand on a hot summers afternoon as he and Jim looked on and laughed. He continued to drive his bike into his late 60’s.

John shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with colleagues and member of the Burlington and Toronto pipe clubs. He was always encouraging to younger pipe makers and new pipe smokers. John’s pipes were mostly sold in and around Toronto. I was privileged to have been able to give John’s pipes a wider audience through the web site and always sold all he could supply me with. His pipes were extremely popular in Japan.

I will miss smoking a pipe with him in his workshop while he either showed some me restoration technique or we just sat and talked. During his brief illness, before he passed away, many of you conveyed to him your best; I knew he really appreciated that. The pipe smoking community will miss him.

If you own one of his pipes light it up with your favorite tobacco in memoriam. He would like that.
Be Well, Smoke Well
Maxim
http://www.pipes2smoke.com/

An Old envelope – empty, but still full of memories – Jacek A Rochacki

1 Reply

I see, that I have become more and more talkative, maybe it is caused by age, maybe I feel more and more at home with friends… So posting my comment below Steve’s story on the Fairhaven Smoke Shop I mentioned old envelope with address: Mr. Charles Rattray, Tobacco Blender, PERTH, Scotland. Encouraged by kind suggestion by Mark Domingues I am enclosing picture of this envelope.

Browsing on Steve’s blog I found with joy the publication of an old Rattray’s Booklet on Tobacco Blending https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/charles-rattrays-of-perth-catalogue/ So all the more I would like to continue with following story connected with Rattrays.

Rattray’s is known as a manufacturer of pipe tobaccos, which are now manufactured in Germany, but names of blends like Marlin Flake, Old Gowrie, Hal o’the Wynd remain the same. Beside this “tobacco aspect” Rattray is the family name of an old Scottish historical family, and their house is the Craighall Castle by the town of Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. The Craighall Castle like many other castles has a big clock in the castle’s tower. The clock demanded regular maintenance. In “my” time there this service was provided by clock and watch specialist – a watchmaker, whom I happen to know.

During one of my visits to Scotland this watch and clock specialist invited me to join him on his next visit to the castle. We entered the hall and I was surprised to see many photos of soldiers in uniforms with well known to me Polish distinctions and badges from the time of WWII. Soon I learned that the Craighall Castle, like many other locations in Scotland, was at the time of WWII converted to a hospital and convalescent centre for the Polish wounded soldiers. Many men in uniforms shown in photos were smoking short pipes – bulldogs or lovats, which, as I remember from stories, were popular with some military formations. On the wall there was a marble plate with the Polish Eagle, badges of some Polish military formations and words of gratitude to the people of Blairgowrie, Rattray and district, in commemoration of their hospitality.

Then our host – the Right Honorable Rattray appeared who, after complimenting my acquaintance for his clock service, kindly offered us a nice cup of tea. I was so surprised by seeing one more sign of Polish presence in Scotland that I simply forgot to ask our host, if his respectable family had any kind of connection with the well known tobacco brand.

One Man’s Trash….. by John Williams (Coastie)

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I have been reading about John’s work of rustication and restoration on pipe forums online for some time now. Recently he came to Pipe Smokers Unlimited and began to post some of his work there. I was taken by the beauty of his restorations and his rustication. He does great work. I decided to write him a note and ask if he would like to share some of his work with us on rebornpipes. What appears below is a piece John has written about his love of the hobby and his methodology for gathering pipes to work on. I thought that a before and after photo of one of John’s rustications would give an idea regarding the caliber of his work.

Before rustication

The process of rustication.

The finished pipe.

Welcome to rebornpipes, John it is a pleasure to be able to feature some of your writing and your work. Thank you for taking the time to send this to me.

Before I begin this let me tell you a little about myself, as it relates to the wonderful world of piping. After 40 years of smoking cigarettes, 20 of which were spent trying to find ways to quit smoking cigarettes, with no success, I stumbled into the wonderful world of pipe smoking. I had tried a pipe when I was in my 20’s and just didn’t find it satisfying or convenient. I decided to try it again, at the age of 58 so went to a local tobacco shop, picked up a basket pipe for $20.00, some Sir Walter Raleigh, and never picked up a cigarette again. I was smitten by the entire experience and quickly found myself lusting for more and more pipes.

After shopping on line and major on-line B&Ms I quickly realized that this new found love could get expensive, very quickly. So I turned to eBay, and starting amassing a pretty good size collection, but they were mostly oddball pipes that just caught my fancy and really were not enjoyable smokes. I started looking at higher end pipes on eBay and realized that again, this was going to get expensive. But I had this fascination with collecting pipes, and lacked the resources or desire to spend huge amounts of money. I had been cruising the net and stumbled upon Reborn Pipes and reading about Steve’s work breathing new life into old pipes. So I dove in and bought the few materials that I would need and started using my eBay acquisitions as practice material. In the process I found a new love, pipe restoration and rustification. It has been a fun journey since, and through the help of friends from forums I acquired more and more briar to work on, both mine and theirs, and just kept trying new techniques. There were highs and lows, and thankfully the lows were on my own pipes, and the highs were from seeing the reaction from pipe owners to my work on their pipes.

But alas, things took a turn. Suddenly this hobby of piping has gotten popular again, and with popularity came the inevitable increase in the cost of pipes on eBay. No more could I bid on nicely taken care of, quality briar, and win multiples to feed my new hobby, so activity on the workbench slowed down. Then one day I saw a beat up old pipe on eBay that was ugly, not taken care of, never cleaned, and appeared to have been used as a hammer or golf tee at one time. But it was cheap, no one wanted it due to the condition, and I won it for cheap, cheap. Before that day I would have never looked twice at this monstrosity. I would have immediately dismissed it, as I am sure many did.

Once I got it in the mail I applied the few skills I had learned about pipe rustification and produced a pipe that is now beautiful and serves me well, and will for years. I still buy a lot of pipes on eBay, but I now look for those pipes that appear to be structurally sound, but do not care about their cosmetic appearance. I learned to look past the ugly and envision what it could be with some work. And through this process I have continued to develop my hobby and abilities. I am always looking for new techniques, developing my own, and constantly striving to expand my abilities. And I am still managing to do it for less than I was spending on cigarettes when I was a cig smoker. That makes the wife happy, and therefore I am happy.

So what’s my point? If you are new to the world of pipes, or you wish you could expand your current collection, but just do not have the disposable income to buy those beautiful pipes that you often see, don’t fret, you can still have them. Simply lower your standards when shopping on eBay or in junktique stores. Learn to recognize those pipes that have beauty buried underneath neglect and abuse. Recognize those pipes that fall under “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. They are abundant on eBay and in junktique/antique stores, if you look. I will say however that you need to do some research. Teach yourself what is a desirable make, what is not; what is a good smoker, what may not be. Learn what to watch out for, what to avoid. I never buy pipes on eBay that only have one picture. I want to see both sides, the bowl, inside and the bottom, and the stem and tenon. Learn to recognize burn out, cracks in the shank or bowl, or other stem or briar damage that may be beyond your abilities to fix. If it is just ugly, dirty, dinged up, etc., and it catches your fancy….buy it and bring it back to beauty yourself. We are lucky enough that we have the internet and therefore a world of resources available to us as we develop our hobbies. Dive in my friend, dive in.

Join a forum, or multiple forums. There is a world of experience on those forums just waiting for your question or your plea for help. I have yet to encounter a pipe enthusiast on a forum who would not offer advice or help. There are a lot of us there whose passion is the restoration and/or rustification of pipes. Seek us out. And if you get a pipe that you feel is just beyond your ability to restore, many of us will gladly take care of it for you. I know I would, as working with briar is my passion. All you have to do is ask.

One other shopping technique that I use. I always have a pipe with me. Anytime I am talking with a stranger, outside, at a business, a yard sale, in the park, etc., I pull out the pipe and light it. More times than not it sparks a conversation, and many times you find that you are talking to a gentleman who will say “I used to smoke a pipe…..” but for one reason or another they quit. I will always follow up with “What did you do with your pipes?”, and a lot of times they will reply that they are in a box in the garage. You know where I go from there. I will just say that I have over the span of 1 year been gifted over 30 pipes from ex-pipers as a result of these conversations. Some pipes were beyond help, others were beautiful, and some just needed my attention. Ex-pipers are happy to give them to a fellow piper; you just have to let people know you smoke a pipe. It’s a brotherhood after all.

So happy hunting, happy cleaning/restoring, and happy piping. Now I am going to go hunt for old soldiers on eBay that need some attention.

Remembering My Trip to Frederick Tranter’s in Bath, England in 2002

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Blog by Steve Laug

Back in 2002 my wife and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and were gifted a trip to the United Kingdom. We traveled from Gatwick to Cambridge, York, up into Edinburgh, Oxford, Bath and then London. In each spot we stopped along the way to visit tobacco shops. I was pretty sure that many would disappear over the years and I was not sure when we would get back for another visit. One of my favourite shops was the Frederick Tranter shop in Bath. It was not a big shop but it was packed with pipes and tobacco. It smelled and looked like a proper tobacco shop.

I decided that I would buy a new pipe from the shop to commemorate our anniversary and the trip. I picked out a little bulldog with a coral like rustication. It is stamped Fredk Tranter over Pipe Shop Bath over Centurion and also shape #28. I purchased some Cigarummer from the shop to smoke while I was there. It is a nice blend of Cavendish, Dark Virginia spiced with Cigar leaf and laced with Jamaica Rum. I went outdoors and sat down and smoked a bowl of the tobacco in my new pipe. That was the beginning of a new relationship with this pipe. I smoked the rest of the Cigarummer throughout the trip and when I returned home. The pipe delivered a good smoke that was made better with the memory of having picked it out personally from the shop.

The interesting thing that I found when I bought the pipe was that it came with a printed guarantee that was folded and placed in the envelope that is pictured above. I have photographed that guarantee and included it below. The front side of the sheet contains a list of the various fine Tobaccos blended and sold exclusively by Frederick Tranter shops in Bath, Oxford and Cambridge.

On the other side of the sheet are a few notes “…intended to assist you to obtain the maximum pleasure and long service from your new pipe and are drawn from the personal pipe smoking experience and accumulated trade knowledge of successive generations of Guild Tradesmen.” With those words the page goes on to describe how to Break in a new pipe, Special care for block meerschaum and meerschaum lined pipes, Common Faults in Smoking and finally the Conditions of Guarantee.

The Common Faults listed are unique to this document as I have not seen them listed in this way elsewhere. They are as follows:
Burning
Cracking
Cleaning

I love the words of the Guarantee so I quote them here:

“Smokers must bear in mind that briar root is wood, and of its very nature combustible and cannot be absolutely guaranteed against burning. Our guarantee covers the bowl only of pipes for ninety days against faulty materials or workmanship also against cracking or burning – always provided reasonable care has been taken. This guarantee covers only one replacement and does not cover bowls burst by over carbonizing, bowls worn thin by constant scraping, or pipes which split or snap at the junction of bowl and stem. Such breakages are usually due to accidental damage.

WARNING. The most vulnerable part of a pipe is the spigot (or ‘peg’) joining bowl and stem. Always take care when separating: never attempt to separate them while the pipe is hot, and never ‘knock’ a pipe out – be patient and enjoy it, it could save you a repair!

This guarantee is offered in addition to the Consumer’s Statutory Rights, which it in no way affects.”
The words of instruction are even present in the guarantee. The almost tongue in cheek choice of words is well done and quite clear as to the limitations of the guarantee. The page ends with the name of the pipe, who sold it and the date of the sale – in this case 5 May 2002.

I continue to enjoy the pipe and it delivers a good smoke. It is well broken in and it is now dedicated to Virginia flakes. It is a good smoking flake pipe. I have not had to exercise the guarantee as the pipe is as good as new – only broken in and having a bit of tooth chatter. One day if I get back to Bath I will take the pipe with me and for old time sake pick up some more of the Cigarummer blend to run through it. If you are ever visiting in Bath why not stop by and visit the shop. Who knows, you might just find a pipe for the rack.

Don’t Despise Me Because of What You See

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I can see you looking down at me shaking your head and wondering why anyone would try to sell this piece of junk. You pick me up and turn me over in your hands. You shake your head when you see the cake so thick that you can barely squeeze your small finger let alone any more tobacco into my bowl, don’t misunderstand. You see the edges of my rim beat up from being knocked on my head to remove the dottle at the end of a smoke, don’t misunderstand. You see my finish worn and thin on the sides of the bowl and soiled with oil and grit, don’t misunderstand. You see the gap between my stem and my shank with the ooze bubbling out in the gap, please don’t misunderstand. You see the end of my stem chewed, gnawed and almost unrecognizable, don’t misunderstand.

You see, I know that you look at me and see the damage and wear on my person, but do not negate the value I have just because you cannot see through the grime and the damage. The value I have is irrespective of the appearance I have at this moment in time. I was the beloved pipe of my pipeman. In fact I was his only pipe for so many years. I think that as he grew older and I grew older he could not see or feel the subtle changes that were occurring in my person. I was like a worn shoe; I fit well in his hand and brought respite and comfort as the warmth radiated from the burning tobacco. I well remember his caress as he rubbed the sides of my bowl as he drew the smoke into his mouth. I remember the oils of his nose as he rubbed the warm bowl against his nose to oil my briar.

Yes, you see the damage and easily write me off as a pipe that has outlived its usefulness. As if, all that remained for me was the scrap heap or the fireplace. But don’t sell me short. I am not the abused waif of a careless piper who did not give a lick for his pipe. I am not a forgotten and despised pipe sitting discarded after hard use. No. I am the proud deliverer of many a grand smoke. I am the favourite pipe of the pipeman who called me his own. I have travelled with him around the globe on his business, providing him with repeatedly good smokes. You see, my state is not a reflection of neglect at all, but rather the reflection of love and affection. It is not a reflection of abuse but of jealous love.

I wish I could shout out to you to give me a chance. Clean out my bowl and shank. Polish my briar and replace my stem. Refurbish me and give me a new breath of life. I would tell you of the many good years that remain in my briar. I would speak of the fact that I will outlive you if you bring me back to life. I would deliver a well seasoned smoke from the first bowl you load and light. But alas, I cannot speak in words that most people can hear. Or maybe they are just deaf to my words or have not learned the language of the pipe. Yes that’s it. It is not my problem, as can you can no doubt see, I am not at a loss for words. It has to be the problem of the listener. Do you hear me as you hold me? Can you sense my presence?

Ah, I must be getting through to you. I see a change in your expression. The creases around your eyes and the upturned corners of your mouth show a different face than earlier looked down upon me. What is that you are doing? You twist off my stem and give my shank a look. You run your hands over the stem itself looking at the extent of the damage there and assessing what needs to be done. You hold me up to the light and look through the grease and grime at the briar of my sides and top. You nod as you look. You do hear me. You see the fine lines and the good grain. You see the rich colours under the grit. You look into my bowl and not only do you see the cake but you see the remnant of tobacco in the bottom of the bowl. You sniff the smell and the grin on your face spreads. You appreciate the tobacco smells that fill your nostrils. Oh my, will you rescue me and take me home? Will you restore me to my former state? Oh I do hope so.

What’s this? You don’t put me back on the shelf. You don’t set me down. You carry me to the front of the store and the antique dealer takes your payment for me. My, was the cost only $12? You must have some idea of what I originally cost. You just got a bargain my friend. I hear the seller ask if you would like to have me wrapped and put in a bag. I hear you say no. You would rather carry me out in your hand. I think this new relationship shows some promise. Now let’s get home and get to work on me. I can’t wait until I look like I used to and I am delivering a grand smoke to you my new friend.

Thank you for not despising me. Thank you for understanding that beneath the grime and age is a living pipe that has much life left in it. Thank you for knowing that with minimal effort, truly just minimal effort, I can be restored to a life of usefulness that will last longer than you do my friend. Ah, I can’t wait to show you what you have found.

Steve Laug 14 February 2014

When is a Pipe Not Worth Repairing?

6 Replies

This morning I am asking that question because sitting on my work table is an old Tinderbox Monza, made in Italy by Lorenzo. This old pipe has definitely seen better days. The bowl is over an inch in diameter and the cake in the bowl had choked it down to the point that I could not get my little finger in the bowl. The rim looked as if the pipe had been used as a hammer to the point that it had a chunk out the rear outside edge and a crack that went down the outside of the bowl with a visible fissure across the top of the rim and beginning to drop into the inner rim. The top half of the bowl looked like someone had carved at the cake with a knife and done a poor job of it. Fortunately the cake was as hard as rock so it did not do too much damage to the bowl. All of those issues are not enough for me to pitch a pipe and not work on it.

But the damage on this Monza did not stop there. The bottom of the bowl had been victimized by the self same knife wielder and he had carved over half of the bottom of the bowl away in his poor attempt at cake removal. The bottom of the bowl now flowed from the airway at a steep 30 degree angle with a jokerish gash along the front right bottom edge. At that point the bottom of the bowl is dangerously thin. You see the cake was all around the middle of the bowl like a girdle choking off the pipe but the top and bottom somehow had been miraculously purged of the cake by the knife wielding pipe abuser. This bottom of the bowl gives me pause – I could drill out the bottom of the bowl and insert a bowl plug or I could fill the bottom with a plaster of Paris fill to level it out and then coat the bottom with pipe mud. But would it be a waste of time? Would it be worth the effort?

I am not done enumerating the damage on this old pipe. The exterior of the bowl, the finish was ravaged. The front edge of the bowl was worn down like the heel on a hard playing boy’s pair of shoes. The angle and extent of the damage covered the entire front of the bowl. The striated finish, which was meant to look like tree bark was totally filled in with grit and grime to the point that it was almost smooth. It felt sticky to the touch and the smell was atrocious. I am surprised that my bride let me have it in the house. The striations on the shank were as filled in as those on the bowl so the true shape of the pipe and its finish were absolutely hidden.

But I am still not finished. The stem looked as if it was clean other than minimal oxidation… things were looking up. Maybe I would at least be able to cannibalize a stem out of this disaster. But no, it was not to be. I turned the stem over and it had a gaping hole – a chunk taken out of it that went back almost a half inch into the surface of the stem. The entire button was missing and the gap went from one side of the stem to the other – left to right. But that was not all of the damage to that poor stem – it looked as if the opening had been further opened with the self same knife. Yes the mad knife wielder had carved a slot into the airway at the bottom of the hole. The carving left the bottom of the airway paper thin. It looked as if after doing this “master” surgery the fellow had put a rubber bit protector on the stem as the calcification line on the stem was thick. Doing that after the surgery is like closing the door after the horses have left the barn!

All of these wonderful discoveries met my eye as I examined the pipe before I even considered working on it. I took the pipe apart at this point in my examination and put on the rubber gloves to probe the internals. I was pretty concerned at what would greet me when I took off the stem – if it would come off at all. With the goop that was all over this pipe it was a fair chance that the stem was “welded” in place. But to my great surprise it twisted off quite easily – no drama in this process. I peered down the shank with a penlight to see what creatures and mayhem awaited me inside the shank. I fully expected to see the interior carved by the knife wielder as he sought to make the pipe work “better” after his surgical excavations. But I literally had the wind knocked out of me when I saw a pristine shank. The shank was actually clean! The wood had a veritable glow to it as the light reflected back to me. It was not only clean but there were no tars and oils in it. This totally did not match what the condition of the bowl and externals had led me to expect. What an anomaly. Why was this so? What was going on here? These were just a few of the questions that ran through my mind as I held the bowl, sans stem in my hand.

With that discovery my thoughts regarding the fellow who had so drastically carved up this poor pipe and virtually ruined it took a turn. Rather than seeing him as some sadistically sick individual who took obvious evil delight in so ruining this old pipe to make it questionable if it could ever be restored; I began to soften in my assessment of him. I looked again at the externals of the pipe and stem. I looked at the carved and cracked bowl, the carved and ruined stem, the left over remnants of the rubber softie bit and I began to wonder if what was in my hands was the old pipe smoker’s favourite pipe. As it became harder and harder to smoke he took more drastic measures to make it last. Mind you they are not the same measures that you or I might take but they nonetheless obviously worked for him. Maybe rather than see the fellow as a pipe butcher I should see him as someone who loved this old pipe. He was going to smoke it until it truly gave up the ghost.

I began to wonder if he was not of the old school of pipe smokers who had one pipe and smoked it literally to death and threw it away and started on a new one. This one must have been a grand smoker to have been put through the trauma that it showed in it body. You can see now the tact that my mind was taking me. It would be inevitable that I clean up this old pipe – it would be an act of honouring the old briar and the old pipe smoker who had inflicted so much damage to just get the last bit of life out of his pipe. So it is with this in mind that I reamed the bowl, soaked it in an alcohol bath, scrubbed the finish with a wire brush and topped the bowl to begin the process of bringing it back to life. I have it sitting on my desk next to me now – I will need to fit a new stem on it and then refinish the bowl but it will once again deliver at least one smoke for me to explore my new theory.

So you might ask me, “When is a pipe not worth repairing?” I honestly don’t know the answer to that question. Even an hour ago I would have said this one was a goner. But now, I have “heard” the story of the pipe as I examined it looking at all of the abuse that had been inflicted on it. Now I see with different eyes. You see, that is the problem with pipe refurbishing. When others see a pipe as irreparable there is something that catches my eye that says to give it a try. I guess I have only met a very few pipes that were so damaged that they could not be brought back to life for a new season. And to be honest I still have several of them in my cupboard “seasoning”. I guess I truly don’t know the answer to the question I posed in the title.

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