Help me identify a pipe I just bought

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

michaelmirza

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 21, 2015
638
0
Chicago, IL
While browsing Etsy, I came across a NOS (new old stock) vintage estate pipe in unsmoked condition. Seller claimed that it's unstamped, but supposedly from the 60s, from Germany, made of "Cyprian briar." It was only $12 so I figured, heck, why not chance it and see. So I just ordered. Anybody know anything that might help me identify this pipe more specifically? Here are a few blurry pictures from the seller; I'll upload my own once it arrives in the mail.
il_fullxfull.865403599_n8d4.jpg

il_fullxfull.865403625_6j3s.jpg

il_fullxfull.865403629_n7gu.jpg


 
Run, don't walk away from this. That is a pipe that has been so reamed out that the walls will combust into a burnout on the first smoke, fifth smoke if you're lucky. If that was truly NOS, the bowl would not be so light in color. And, look at how thin those walls are. It has liar liar written all over it. I would put $50 on it having been heavily smoked, and the guy who cleaned it up, went overboard. That's what I get from these pictures anyways. YMMV

 

michaelmirza

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 21, 2015
638
0
Chicago, IL
Run, don't walk away from this. That is a pipe that has been so reamed out that the walls will combust into a burnout on the first smoke, fifth smoke if you're lucky. If that was truly NOS, the bowl would not be so light in color. And, look at how thin those walls are. It has liar liar written all over it. I would put $50 on it having been heavily smoked, and the guy who cleaned it up, went overboard. That's what I get from these pictures anyways. YMMV

Oh no! Should I cancel the order?

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,859
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Buyer's remorse is not an accepted reason to cancel the sale as far as eBay is concerned. If the item is not as described, then you can return it for a refund, less shipping.
It might be exactly as described. Not all chambers darken with age, and NOS doesn't necessarily mean ancient stock.
I agree that the walls are thin, but so what? Want to learn to smoke a pipe and enjoy tobacco as much as possible? Train with a thin walled pipe. When you can enjoy a smoke without getting the bowl hot, your technique is good. And good technique leads to more flavorful results. Tobaccos deliver flavor when simmered, not superheated.
On another note, the time to ask if it's a good idea is before you leap out of the plane without a parachute.

 
^^ Sable makes a good point, even if the chambers are little out of my comfort zone, even for a slow smoker. But, you could play the Cyprian briar card. Report that an expert told you that it was most definitely NOT Cyprian briar, and it was listed as such.

But, I also like Sable's points.

Worst case scenario, you have a funnel.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
I do not claim to be an expert, but something about it just doesn't look right. Simply a gut feeling, though, so I could be totally off-base.

 

lonestar

Lifer
Mar 22, 2011
2,854
161
Edgewood Texas
What you have here was meant to be a meerschaum lined pipe. For whatever reason they never got around to adding the meerschaum insert into the bowl. That explains why it is NOS, just sat in a box all these years waiting to be finished. I would say how the airway meets the bowl is going to determine whether or not its a smokable pipe. If the bottom of the chamber is way low to the airway, you're going to have issues. Otherwise, the walls are super thin but with care they should be fine.

You can actually find the old meerschaum plug inserts on Ebay from time to time, so I suppose that might be an option too.

 

michaelmirza

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 21, 2015
638
0
Chicago, IL
My lucky day: The seller was willing to cancel and refund my order since he hadn't shipped it yet. Good guy! Thanks for the input, all. I'll make sure to ask first, buy second next time!

 

stvalentine

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 13, 2015
808
13
Northern Germany
Cool down guys! These pipes are presumably from the old Heibe factory. Your pipe hasn´t been reamed but it is new old stock. I bought several of those pipes and they were new, some of them even not finished or without a drafthole.

The walls of the bowl are very thin, this is true but that´s how they made them in the day. Just smoke a cool burning tobacco like Latakia and keep it easy.

 

stvalentine

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 13, 2015
808
13
Northern Germany
I am not sure if these pipes are good smokers as I haven´t smoked one yet. The thing is that back in the day German pipe smokers seemed to prefer pipes like this with smallish chambers and thin walls. After all these are vintage pipes....

 

hawke

Lifer
Feb 1, 2014
1,346
4
Augusta, Ga
I don't know enough about pipes to make any judgement on this. I have gravitated more to a thicker pipe. I once removed the meer from a meer-lined pipe where the meer was quite damaged and ended up with a very thin pipe bowl. It seemed to get hot real quick. The up side might be that it dried out quick too.

 
I am just going by the proportions on my pipes. I have several thin walled pipes (.25" wide walls), but they are .72" to .6" diameter chambers. That one looks much more wide in chamber size, which would mean a larger mass of combustion, with higher temperatures. Admittedly, it wouldn't be but a hundred or so degrees of difference, but... It is a fine line between breathsmoking it slow enough to keep it cool to going out.
But, if it was really made for a meerschaum insert, then lone star is probably right. The drill would probably offset for the insert, and might be a bother when smoking.
Eh, it just set off my spider senses. It's just fun to overreact. It burns more calories than being cool calm and collected. I'm on a new psychological diet. It's all about heart rates. Ha!

 
Status
Not open for further replies.