Fishy New Brebbia?

jaq6q · Jun 7, 2017

I have heard lots of good things about Brebbia and I FINALLY found one that caught my eye.

Just a simple apple pipe.

It got here today from Italy. However, there are few things I find odd.
1) There is Brebbia's logo on the stem but no stampings on the briar. All my pipes have some form of stamping which indicates who made it, what is the model number, and where it was made. I've seen other Brebbias and they had stamping on the shank. But this one has none.
2) Inside the bowl, there is black stain, which I have never seen in any new pipe. I have seen that black stain only in the pipes I had smoked. And some drilling mistake?

3) Stem has strange powder (?)

Do these things seem odd to you too?

lightmybriar · Jun 7, 2017

The marks inside the bowl are normal...I've seen them on Savinellis as well. It's from the machine the briar is on when they're shaping it, I believe. The "black stain" is just a bowl coating, it's very common and is supposed to ease the "break-in" period. The stem gunk might be buffing wax / compound, although I personally have never seen a new pipe with that on it before. The lack of bowl stamping sounds weird to me, but I'm no Brebbia expert. Did you buy it from a reputable source? Pictures of the pipe as a whole would probably be beneficial to those who know Brebbias as to whether or not the bowl portion is authentic, although I wouldn't be too worried if I were you.

jaq6q · Jun 7, 2017

Thank you for your thoughts!
I have got it from eBay, however, the seller seemed to be reputable. The seller's rating was 99.1% (28102 ratings) and was handling lots of Italian pipes (Savinelli, Brebbia, Molina, Gigi, etc.) The pipe can be returned in 14 days. However, the seller is not as reputable as Smokingpipes, P&C, 4Noggins, etc.
Here are some pictures of pipe as a whole

The series is Rombo and the model number, I believe, is 2002.

didimauw · Jun 7, 2017

The only thing that would bother me, is the gunk in the stem. It would be an easy clean up, but then again, why buy a new pipe that you have to clean right away before smoking?

mso489 · Jun 7, 2017

The stamping of pipes has never been authoritative, and it seems to be becoming less so every year. If it had all the appropriate information, would you believe it? This is a problem, but it is not distinct to this pipe. I don't recognize this as a typical Brebbia, the very traditional shape and finish, but I think I've seen some along those lines, just not the typical Brebbia they market in the U.S. See how it smokes, if you decide to keep it. I hope you didn't pay a premium price for it, but it looks okay.

mikestanley · Jun 7, 2017

I see the stain around the shank where it meets the stem

Is lighter. Conspiracy theory me sees that as an attempt to match a shank and a stem after the pipe was made. I can't imagine a Brebbia would not have some sort of shank nomenclature. None of

This means the seller did anything wrong. This is just an observation.

Mike

jaq6q · Jun 7, 2017

didimauw - I agree that new pipe should be hassle-free. Should I clean it with Salt & Alcohol?

jaq6q · Jun 7, 2017

mso489 - I see. If there were stamping, I would have felt "safer(?)" because that was the norm for me so far. All my new pipes had the stamping. However, every pipe is different. There are different kinds of pipes with different customs. As you pointed out, since stamping has never been authoritative, this pipe could allow me to learn to not fear the absence of stamping.

It seems like this particular model is only available in Italy. I could not find any information but only in Brebbia's catalog. The pipe was about $50 including shipping.
I appreciate your opinion.

cosmicfolklore · Jun 7, 2017

I would never suspect a Brebbia to be a fake. The name always suggests to me the name of a company that would make new designs in potato peelers and fancy spatulas more than pipes. If someone had made this to pass off as a fake, they would probably get more money by just selling it as a handmade. Just my $0.02.

didimauw · Jun 7, 2017

I would clean it with a pipe cleaner. You may need to take the end of the cleaner and use it as a scraper first, to dig that stuff out.

pitchfork · Jun 7, 2017

From what I can gather, the Rombo is a pretty inexpensive line and I couldn't find any pictures of nomenclature/stamping -- it's possible that Brebbia just doesn't bother stamping them. In any case, I can't imagine why anyone would bother trying to fake an inexpensive Brebbia.

woodsroad · Jun 7, 2017

Brebbia stem on a basket pipe? Does Brebbia even make their pipes?
Either way, if it smokes well for $50, then you are good to go.

balkisobrains · Jun 7, 2017

Their '16 catalog lists the Rombo as being within the MPB line. The MBPs are claimed to be hand-picked briar, hand finished, something like that. It's most likely a rejected MPB, that's probably why it's missing stampings. Looks like the when they drilled the shank, the drill bit might have gone across the chamber into the opposing chamber wall. Are there any fills on the outside? Looks like it might have been on it's way to being a good one until they drilled too far across. The bowl coating is a bit weird, usually I don't see that on their euro pipes, and the coatings on their US pipes are much smoother and very thin. Also the joint between the stem and shank looks weird, like someone buffed it too much. That seller's shady and personally caused me some agg, so cannot recommend! :puffpipe:

alexnc · Jun 7, 2017

I'm no expert, but Brebbia does stamp their newer pipes. The coating will come off with a tooth brush and a little sweetener

mso489 · Jun 8, 2017

For $50 for a new pipe, you're probably okay. You can pay that for a no-name basket pipe at many shops. If it smokes well, it's a good deal.

jaq6q · Jun 9, 2017

Thank you all for your thoughts. I was told that Rombo series is seconds. So that explains the issues. As you said, maybe it was going good until they had the drilling issue. I haven't smoked it yet, however, as many of you said, if it smokes well, I am good to go! : puffy

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