BBB Own Make

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Mar 30, 2014
2,853
78
wv
I cleaned this up last weekend. I've put a few bowls of Maltese Falcon through it and it's a great burner. Super light and a nice clencher.
Q3Rz0jPl.jpg

OPkt9Ntl.jpg

Rl76FVtl.jpg


 

mayfair70

Lifer
Sep 14, 2015
1,968
2
Very nice birdseye. Mine's a Thorneycroft sandblast and frankly resembles a turd compared to this lovely specimen. I like the bend, shape and the smooth finish. I hope to get one closely resembling this design in the near future. Nice work ! :)

 
Mar 30, 2014
2,853
78
wv
I've had a couple BBB's for a while but latley I've taken a real liking to the older ones. I'm keeping an eye out for a smooth finish silver band.
I'm not up to par with the timeline of BBB. Does anyone know roughly when this Own Make was made?

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,443
11,352
Maryland
postimg.cc
Now THAT is a classic British bent billiard - Bravo!
I immediately wondered about the date/era of your pipe. I've always avoided BBB pipes because I've never seen a definitive method for dating the various eras. The Pipedia entry, link below while interesting, assigns no dates to the various era's (Own Make, Best Make, etc.) Google wasn't of much help either, folks just constantly reference this article.
https://pipedia.org/wiki/BBB

 

londonmake

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 11, 2016
138
11
Well done!

I think the motto here should be "if you win it, you restore it"
enjoy ye old wood!

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,426
7,369
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
"I've always avoided BBB pipes because I've never seen a definitive method for dating the various eras."
Al, with all due respect that is hardly a basis for dismissing a particular manufacturer is it?
I suspect your pipe collecting head has overruled your pipe smoking head here :puffy:
Regards,
Jay.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
606
"Own Make" was coined in the 1870s or 80s (I'd have to check my references), but it was meant to indicate a pipe manufactured from scratch in London (i.e., rather than in France or Germany).
Most BBB pipes (not all) up until the late 20s or so had silver bands with hallmarks, so those are easily dateable. Shape numbers weren't used until the late 20s or 30s. I'm not sure when the brass BBB stem emblems were first used, but somewhere around mid-century, I think -- someone would know more exactly. But if it says "Own Make" and has no shape number it's almost certainly 1920s or earlier.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
606
OK, "Own Make" was started sometime between 1886 and 1888:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/1905-barling-pipe#post-930204

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,443
11,352
Maryland
postimg.cc
Jay: I guess that I mean to say was that I didn't know enough about which models to buy, so rather than make an uninformed purchase, I just didn't. BBB is definitely a brand I rarely encounter in shops, etc. (actually, I've never ran across a BBB in my travel circle). Not a knock against the brand, just my ignorance.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
606
I have to admit, once you get into the 30s and after, I don't know how to date them very well, either. My focus as a BBB collector is solely on pipes made before the Oppenheimer takeover and shortly thereafter (i.e. mid-1920s at the latest).

 
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