Meet an old friend, Nørding

I've already put the wife on notice: "If there's a fire I'm taking the dog and the Nørding. You're on your own."
I bought this pipe sometime around 1967, and it's been a faithful companion, comforter, and object of my affection for over 40 years. Lighting it up, therefore, is something special. More than just a reliable smoker, it is a contact point with my history. Or should I say our history.

















It's stamped with a "B", which probably represents Nørding's grading system, that ran from low to high: A B C D & extra at the time this pipe was purchased. Afterwards an F grade was added which, I believe, was/is inferior to the A.
Okay, so the grain is mixed; and not terribly pretty. Neither am I. I suppose that's one of the reasons we've gotten along so well all these years.

Thanks Brandon,

I heard that Nørding is quite an inventor too. I have another Nørding that is machine made, with a shellac-like finish; but it smokes very nicely. The shape is a ¼-bent Author.
The conventional wisdom is that pipes with finishes such as shellac, paint, etc., should be avoided because they don't allow the briar to "breathe." But I have five such pipes and I don't notice any difference from the naturally finished pipes. Perhaps my rotation is large enough to rest them sufficiently. It is also possible that, thru the miracle of modern chemistry, pipemakers have found a coating that allows the pipe to breathe. The alternative conjecture is that such pipes are condemned to a relatively short life (whatever that may be.)
Does anyone have experiences or opinions regarding pipes with non-natural finishes?

Would such a finish deter you from buying a pipe that appealed to you in all other respects?

Kevin said

Keep in mind there is a difference between shellac and stain

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Right. The pipe pictured above has only stain and carnauba wax.
The other pipes to which I subsequently referred were shellac'd (or varnished, whatever,) and a couple of them were "clear," not blasted. I really don't think I would have purchased them if I had known that, but they were online purchases. I tried them, they seemed to be OK, and they're smoking as sweetly as any other pipe I own.
I was wondering if others had similar reservations and experiences with, shall we say, "coated" pipes.