I've been at this pipe thing for a long time,and one thing still irks me.Pipes that are stamped imported briar.So please tell me.Am I wrong in thinking that All briar in the usa is imported.
Imported Briar
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The "imported briar" is a weird throw-back. Why it is still used is a bit of a mystery. It goes back to World War II
when the countries that had the heath root briar we all know and love were embroiled in the war and could no
longer regularly export it. Various efforts were made to use other related trees and shrubs, including some
from the U.S. None were as good as briar. Some, rightly or wrongly, got the reputation for being toxic. None
were as good. So as soon as the war was over and regular heath briar from the Mediterranean became available,
pipes were stamped "Imported Briar." And the promotional value of those words is still valued today, rightly or
wrongly.
when the countries that had the heath root briar we all know and love were embroiled in the war and could no
longer regularly export it. Various efforts were made to use other related trees and shrubs, including some
from the U.S. None were as good as briar. Some, rightly or wrongly, got the reputation for being toxic. None
were as good. So as soon as the war was over and regular heath briar from the Mediterranean became available,
pipes were stamped "Imported Briar." And the promotional value of those words is still valued today, rightly or
wrongly.
My Mom told me once that my granddad bought a pipe off the wall at the Western Auto... He got home with it and a new can of Sir Walter Raleigh when he found the stamp "Imported Brier". He said "Must have come from Japan" and threw it in the fireplace. Then rolled his tobacco in some paper he tore off an air mail envelope and smoked it...
He was ignorant and predigest, but I loved him anyway.
He was ignorant and predigest, but I loved him anyway.
TopD, yes, there was of course a strong reaction to Japan after Pearl Harbor, to indulge in
understatement. When as a young child, my family moved into a "new" house, that was
already more than 50 years old, in about 1951, there was an area where Japanese themed
wallpaper had been stripped off the walls in fury. Wars leave their mark. In that regard,
your grandfather was not unusual for his time. We don't love our relatives less because
they couldn't see beyond their own era. I guess we'll all be remembered for our backward
ideas in one way or another.
understatement. When as a young child, my family moved into a "new" house, that was
already more than 50 years old, in about 1951, there was an area where Japanese themed
wallpaper had been stripped off the walls in fury. Wars leave their mark. In that regard,
your grandfather was not unusual for his time. We don't love our relatives less because
they couldn't see beyond their own era. I guess we'll all be remembered for our backward
ideas in one way or another.
I grew up during WWII. There certainly was a a hatred towards the Japanese. My uncles were in the service and they used to bring me anti japanese racist cartoon postcards. I had almost a whole shoebox of them. Eventually I tossed them out for being racist. I bet they would be worth a fortune today.
I worked at Exxon with a WWll vet,Col in Army,veteran of the Pacific, hated the Japenese with a passion, old KOBA nickname stood for kiss old Bob's ass, finer man I"'ve never known. One day my boss said Bradley take old KOBA tomorrow morning out to the unit and pretend you have meter trouble, we have Japenese officials touring the unit. Well I did and he found out later and for a long time he didn't let me live it down,that man was Robert Crais"s father the author, yes we have to live out the hatereds rightly so sometime, I know this is not on topic but it struck a chord with me and reminded me of that day.
As I've heard it, Kaywoodie started the use of the term "imported briar" around 1936-7 so that they could simplify their stamping. Before this they stamped "Grecian Briar" or "Aged Bruyere" depending on the source of the briar. Calling it "imported" had the surprising effect of making the pipes more desirable and setting off the trend of similar stampings on other makes to be used as a marketing tool. Kind of like Paris fashion. Of course the wood was imported, it always had been.
Briar grows only in the Mediterranean Basin, so, if the pipe is made of briar, of course it's imported. Of course, in Europe they don't have to say that. Wonder why there are so many foreign cars over there? In general, imported briar is stamped onto cheap pipes, to convince the uninformed person that he's getting something really top shelf. Can you imagine a Claudio Cavicchi or a Nanna Ivarsson bearing that stamp? Mark Tinskey doesn't tell you that. He just signs his name on the pipe--and you know that you're holding a quality item in your hand.
My dad was in WWII (the oft-mentiioned minesweeper skipper in the Pacific). In my early growing up, he often referred to Japanese as "the Japs." Then there was a long cessation of that language. My mom had a wild and unpredictable fury of anti-prejudice, so we all took heed of that, both folks having hot tempers. In his seventies and eighties, my dad developed a friendship with a Japanese couple, and they invited him over from time to time, once for a Japanese tea ceremony, in which he participated with interest. He had a cultivated meditative side himself. He came around to a different point of view on many of the prejudices of his childhood and young adult years. It was educational for me to observe.
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