What is your "Grail" pipe??
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Yes, that looks pretty similar if not it. The ones I like some guy posted back around Halloween (go figure) but then when I went on the website the ones that were in the same vein weren’t quite as appealing so I never bought one.
This may not be the kind of answer the OP was looking for, but for me the “Grail” pipe would be a replacement for a large and incredibly light straight-grain Charatan I bought in the mid-80s. At $250, it was easily the most expensive pipe I’d ever bought. And I loved being able to own it.
On the very first smoke, the bowl burned out. And my heart broke.
On the very first smoke, the bowl burned out. And my heart broke.
My 'Saint Grial' pipe was the Ben Wade 'Bourchier' for several years, until I found two: one with amber stem and another with military mount. I believe @sablebrush52 has one as well?
My current "white whale" is a certain very rare Delacour Bros. pipe which appears only once on the internet. Hopefully one appears in the next thirty years or so.
My current "white whale" is a certain very rare Delacour Bros. pipe which appears only once on the internet. Hopefully one appears in the next thirty years or so.
11 years ago, when I started smoking a pipe, I quickly became fascinated with the classic British marque's I was determined to find. In particular, chubby Rhodesian shapes. A member of the old SmokersForums UK had developed a similar list which inspired me j(MIcheal Lankton). Originally, it was 10 shapes but later grew to 20. All were British save for two Castello's and one Kaywoodie.
Some shapes fell out of favor and were sold (Comoy's Extraordinares).
Others, I collected multiple finishes of the same shape (9242, 9438, Ashford, 999)
I always tried to upgrade to the top tier finish, or the oldest via silver hallmark.
Here's my list:
Some shapes fell out of favor and were sold (Comoy's Extraordinares).
Others, I collected multiple finishes of the same shape (9242, 9438, Ashford, 999)
I always tried to upgrade to the top tier finish, or the oldest via silver hallmark.
Here's my list:
| Maker | Shape # | Style | Note | Acquired |
| Sasieni | Ashford | Author | Natural (unsmoked) | 12/15 |
| Sasieni | Regent | Bent Billiard | Four Dot Patent | 10/19 |
| GBD | 9242 | Rhodesian | 1950 Silver hallmark | 8/18 |
| GBD | 9438 | Chubby Rhodesian | Virgin | 9/14 |
| Comoys | 499 | Rhodesian | Extraordinaire | 2/13 |
| Comoys | 498 | Bull Cap | Extraordinaire | 6/13 |
| Comoys | 256 | Author | Old Bruyere | 5/17 |
| Comoy's | 284 | Rhodesian | Tradition | 6/14 |
| Comoy's | 440 | Rhodesian | Tradition | 11/14 |
| Comoy's | 283 | Rhodesian | Grand Slam | 11/18 |
| Dunhill | CK | Author | Bruyere 1969 | 10/16 |
| Dunhill | 120 | Bent Billiard | Shell/1961(birth year) | 8/15 |
| Peterson | 9BC | Chubby Billiard | Premiere Selection | 4/15 |
| Peterson | 999 | Rhodesian | Deluxe | 11/15 |
| Castello | 65 | Bent Billiard | Sea Rock KK | 4/17 |
| Castello | 55 | Pot | Collection Occhio Di Pernice | 1/17 |
| Ashton | Taylor | Chubby Rhodesian | tapered restem by George Dibos | 8/15 |
| Kaywoodie | 5138B | Rhodesian | Super Grain/Drinkless | 11/14 |
| Charatan | Countryman | Freehand | Selected | 4/15 |
I did have another Grail pipe on the list, a Barling, which arrived yesterday. Definitely another off the bucket list!
It's like a Hallmark Christmas movie with a pipe, haha. I posted earlier in this thread about a nothing of a pipe I've been looking for on and off for a long time and is just never seen, and in the wee hours of this morning I did another search on a whim (Barney Fife says you can't question a whim, lol) and there was one on eBay. The stem is probably toast, the chamber is really dicey, and when I get it I'm sending it off to Rich at Briarville for a thorough going over and restoration, but what are the odds. Have always hoped I'd find one in good condition, but so what.
The one pipe I'd like to add to my collection is a Celius. Nothing particularly radical about them but they appeal to me. Other than that, I'm concentrated too much on TAD to examine my previous PAD "issues".
I got mine years ago but I’ve added a couple to the list that I’m patiently waiting to shake loose from a collection. The hunt is a big part of the fun of collecting pipes!
I'll post it once I've found it. Til then, discretion is the better part of a low hammer price.
haha I hear ya. just wanted to check it wasn't a spigot dog or billiard with saddle stem.I'll post it once I've found it. Til then, discretion is the better part of a low hammer price.
My grail pipes are usually models rather than shapes, but since they're almost always old British pipes they're generally classic shapes I enjoy. I guess I'm pretty glad Delacour didn't make a reverse calabash.
I'm very content with and grateful for my little accumulation of 20-something pipes I keep in personal rotation.
Each has a personal history with me -- a few were gifts, a few were antique store finds which I cleaned up, one had been the favorite of a guy who had to give up smoking for medical reasons, etc.
For me, the value of these pipes has a lot to do with these histories.
There are no other pipes that I feel a need to have (although the affordable option which most has my interest is a Ropp Vintage with horn stem).
I've never paid for a new artisan pipe, and never plan to, but I've wound up with a few affordable artisans, either as gifts or as inexpensive estate finds.
Having said all that, there is one high-end artisan whose work frequently grabs my attention when I window shop at SP -- Manduela Riger-Kusk. Her shapes, her lines, her use of color, often resonate with me uniquely.
One recent example which I liked was this:
Each has a personal history with me -- a few were gifts, a few were antique store finds which I cleaned up, one had been the favorite of a guy who had to give up smoking for medical reasons, etc.
For me, the value of these pipes has a lot to do with these histories.
There are no other pipes that I feel a need to have (although the affordable option which most has my interest is a Ropp Vintage with horn stem).
I've never paid for a new artisan pipe, and never plan to, but I've wound up with a few affordable artisans, either as gifts or as inexpensive estate finds.
Having said all that, there is one high-end artisan whose work frequently grabs my attention when I window shop at SP -- Manduela Riger-Kusk. Her shapes, her lines, her use of color, often resonate with me uniquely.
One recent example which I liked was this:
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