is this hole supposed to be here?

J

john019

Starting to Get Obsessed

Jul 19, 2018

140

39

• Dec 6, 2018

• #1

This is a Coronet "Foreign Made" bulldog, and was wondering if this hole is supposed to be here. There are several fill spots around the bowl, but this one is not. When looking at it through the chamber, it is right in the center of the chamber. So was this an intentional hole placement? If so, why? Thanks, John.

,

 

cosmicfolklore

Lifer

Aug 9, 2013

33,977

75,666

Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC

• Dec 6, 2018

• #2

Hmmm, maybe it is designed for smoking really wet SG Blends, and this is to allow the tobacco to drain while you smoke. ::

 

bnichols23

Lifer

Mar 13, 2018

4,131

9,554

SC Piedmont

• Dec 6, 2018

• #3

Wow, that's just weird.

 

timt

Lifer

Jul 19, 2018

2,844

22,730

• Dec 6, 2018

• #4

One of those fancy bulldogs with a carburetor.

 

cosmicfolklore

Lifer

Aug 9, 2013

33,977

75,666

Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC

• Dec 6, 2018

• #5

Did you notice the hole... before you bought it?

 

cortezattic

Lifer

Nov 19, 2009

15,147

7,638

Chicago, IL

• Dec 6, 2018

• #6

Looks like a place to insert a fuse.

 

J

john019

Starting to Get Obsessed

Jul 19, 2018

140

39

• Dec 6, 2018

• #7

I got this in a group of pipes on line, so no. I didn't know it was there before hand.

 

timt

Lifer

Jul 19, 2018

2,844

22,730

• Dec 6, 2018

• #8

Maybe it's one of Chasing Embers old planter pipes.

 

cosmicfolklore

Lifer

Aug 9, 2013

33,977

75,666

Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC

• Dec 6, 2018

• #9

I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think the hole factory standard, for any factory. ::

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed

Nov 27, 2018

270

24

• Dec 6, 2018

• #10

It certainly does seem like some previous owner's attempt at drainage, though I would expect it to cause more problems than it solve. It would definitely be strange if the pipe was manufactured that way, but the idea of an individual drilling it is much more probable.

 

bnichols23

Lifer

Mar 13, 2018

4,131

9,554

SC Piedmont

• Dec 6, 2018

• #11

Maybe it's one of Chasing Embers old planter pipes.

Click to expand...

Banz, er, I mean Bonsai!!
Bill

 

cosmicfolklore

Lifer

Aug 9, 2013

33,977

75,666

Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC

• Dec 6, 2018

• #12

I was thinking that it could have been sort of display pipe, and this was used to hold it on some sort of stand. I can't read the stamp on the pipe, but I am not sure whether being a big name or not would have mattered for whatever the purposes the display would have served. Heck, it could have even been some sort of art thing.

 

Civil War

Lifer

Mar 6, 2018

1,552

396

• Dec 6, 2018

• #13

It's a whistle pipe. It would entertain you while smoking, back before the days of radio, it would whistle while you smoked it.

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed

Nov 27, 2018

270

24

• Dec 6, 2018

• #14

I was thinking that it could have been sort of display pipe

Click to expand...

Yeah that seems equally probable, if not more. The drainage hole theory rests mostly on some ambitious yet uninformed previous owner becoming so tired of the gurgling that they took a drill to their pipe. The display pipe theory makes a lot more sense. But folks make stupid, rash decisions all the time, so I'm not closing the book on the mad driller.

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed

Nov 27, 2018

270

24

• Dec 6, 2018

• #15

Or, it's a whistle pipe. The plot thickens. :puffpipe:

 

J

john019

Starting to Get Obsessed

Jul 19, 2018

140

39

• Dec 6, 2018

• #16

Thanks for the replies. Here's the markings on the side of the pipe.

 

mau1

Lifer

Jan 5, 2018

1,124

837

Ontario, Canada

• Dec 6, 2018

• #17

The pipe could have had a carburetor that the owner removed. Possibly it was pried out; looks rough around the hole. I have a pipe with a carburetor in the same location.

 

Civil War

Lifer

Mar 6, 2018

1,552

396

• Dec 6, 2018

• #18

During the Civil War, soldiers would drill a small hole at the bottom of their pipes, it would serve as a small drain, and provide a nice whistle sound while smoking. Kind of fluty.

 

seldom

Lifer

Mar 11, 2018

1,035

940

• Dec 6, 2018

• #19

it would serve as a small drain, and provide a nice whistle sound while smoking. Kind of fluty.

Click to expand...

In German the word for pipe (Pfeife) is the same as the word for whistle.

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed

Nov 27, 2018

270

24

• Dec 6, 2018

• #20

During the Civil War, soldiers would drill a small hole at the bottom of their pipes, it would serve as a small drain, and provide a nice whistle sound while smoking. Kind of fluty.

Click to expand...

What a great historical reference! I'm absolutely obsessed with the War between the States, and have a whole bookshelf dedicated to the subject! Where did you read, hear, or discover this anecdote? I especially love to read first-hand accounts of folks who lived through that extraordinary time. There's something about that war, that time, that spirit of human experience which is so vivid and resonant, it just grips at my soul. Anyway, I just ask because I'm always on the lookout for any good material on the subject that I have yet to read/discover and am also just excited to run into a fellow enthusiast.