Colossal/Colossals "Custom Made" Algerian Briar France

[Humblepipe]

Some years ago I had some Colossal "Custom Made" pipes (w/ 'C' encircled on stem) in my collection. I enjoyed them, but I am fickle and like to trade pipes out frequently. Recently, I stumbled on to a lot of 3 on eBay recently and purchased them. I would classify these as "middle of the road" pipes. Certainly not as collectible as Custom-Bilts or Kaywoodies... and no anywhere near sexy as, say, Peterson (@ashdigger). However, I have smoked these 3 a number of times over the past few weeks and have been very impressed. As per usual, I started poking around to see what I can find out about the background on these pipes. The background on these pipes is squishy!

First, here are the pipes I am speaking of... in this case the stamping, sans "Colossal/Colossals" (as will be seen, similar branded pipes have been stamped with the "Colossal" and others "Colossals"). Mine are all stamped "CUSTOM MADE" over "NATURAL GRAIN" on the left side of the shank. And, ""ALGERIAN BRIAR" over "FRANCE" right side of shank.

 

[Jwebb90]

Some years ago I had some Colossal "Custom Made" pipes (w/ 'C' encircled on stem) in my collection. I enjoyed them, but I am fickle and like to trade pipes out frequently. Recently, I stumbled on to a lot of 3 on eBay recently and purchased them. I would classify these as "middle of the road" pipes. Certainly not as collectible as Custom-Bilts or Kaywoodies... and no anywhere near sexy as, say, Peterson (@ashdigger). However, I have smoked these 3 a number of times over the past few weeks and have been very impressed. As per usual, I started poking around to see what I can find out about the background on these pipes. The background on these pipes is squishy!

First, here are the pipes I am speaking of... in this case the stamping, sans "Colossal/Colossals" (as will be seen, similar branded pipes have been stamped with the "Colossal" and others "Colossals"). Mine are all stamped "CUSTOM MADE" over "NATURAL GRAIN" on the left side of the shank. And, ""ALGERIAN BRIAR" over "FRANCE" right side of shank.

View attachment 406193
View attachment 406195View attachment 406194View attachment 406192View attachment 406191

That bent billiard is sharp!

 

[Humblepipe]

If memory serves correct (and I am getting older...), my original Colossals were stamped "COLOSSAL", like this old Etsy listing with a very similar looking pipe stamped with:




Pipedia has an entry on these pipes with this photo and the pipe stamped "Colossals":



From Pipedia:
“Colossals appears to be a name used by various manufacturers and importers. The following example was made in France, and therefor not likely the the ones made for M. Linkman & Co. by Cellini.” And to muck it up more, I found these images elsewhere that show an Italian made version (or at least the stem is Italian made?). Note the "C" on the stem is not encircled:

 

[Humblepipe]

That bent billiard is sharp!

And, it edges out the other two as best smoker of the lot.

 

[bootlegpipes]

Wow, that's a great set! How large are they?

 

[Humblepipe]

Wow, that's a great set! How large are they?

They are all about 6" long in overall length. Not too "Colossal" in my opinion, but a good size for me.

 

[Humblepipe]

Here's what WMTP offers:

 

[driftedshank1]

Colossals and Custom Made pipes were imported by Bernie Hochstein. He was, way back in the day, one of the biggest importers of pipes, especially from France, in the world. The Colossals and Custom Made pipes were often superb examples of classic French shapes made from Algerian briar (allegedly). I've had many of these over the years. I have no idea which factory in St. Claude made these pipes despite many inquiries. Just a word of caution- the best ones, in my view, are built using a traditional mortise/tenon configuration. You might find a great looking piece but the mortise may be drilled to accept stinger-like contraptions that have disappeared over the years. I think those tend to smoke less well than the traditionally drilled versions. Hochstein at one point had these shapes made in Italy. I have no opinion about these, never having smoked one. I surely would like to know which factory(ies) made these great shapes for Bernie. Is this a question for Jon Guss? If anyone knows, it's Jon.

 

[Humblepipe]

Bernie Hochstein was associated with Mastercraft, I believe. I found no mention anywhere about a connection to Mastercraft, but info is obviously sparse out there.

 

[bootlegpipes]

They are all about 6" long in overall length. Not too "Colossal" in my opinion, but a good size for me.

They look beefy for sure! I didn't have a size reference but I was imagining them to have an outer diameter of a coke can

 

[Sig]

I dont know about these pipes, but they look great.
And I know that someone will most likely stop by here to tell you all about the joys of Algerian briar.

 

[Humblepipe]

pipephil.eu (Co-Con -- Pipes : Logos & Markings - http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c6.html) differentiates French-made Colossals from Italian-made ones. They attribute the Italian-made ones to Linkman's, but offer no answers regarding the French-made ones, save connecting them to an American company. The branding/stamping on all of these are mostly very similar to my eyes. Pipe shapes not as much.

 

[driftedshank1]

Bernie Hochstein was associated with Mastercraft, I believe. I found no mention anywhere about a connection to Mastercraft, but info is obviously sparse out there.

Bernie owned the Mastercraft brand. He and his two sons owned the Shalom factory in Israel too. Most Mastercrafts were made in France but also in Italy. I wonder if the French Mastercrafts were made in the same factory(ies) as the Colossals/Custom Mades? Bernie sold his holdings to UST for a great deal of money. I've read that he was a very humble, religious man and used the vast majority of his fortune to establish a foundation which supports religious education and other charitable causes in Israel and the States.

I have a sense that the story of how Hochstein built his empire would be quite interesting. I've tried to locate his heirs , admittedly in a casual way, but I think one would need connections to Orthodox Jewish communities in NY f leads. Unfortunately, I don't. Of course, the family, even if contacted, might be completely uninterested in such a project.

 

[Humblepipe]

Bernie owned the Mastercraft brand. He and his two sons owned the Shalom factory in Israel too. Most Mastercrafts were made in France but also in Italy. I wonder if the French Mastercrafts were made in the same factory(ies) as the Colossals/Custom Mades? Bernie sold his holdings to UST for a great deal of money. I've read that he was a very humble, religious man and used the vast majority of his fortune to establish a foundation which supports religious education and other charitable causes in Israel and the States.

I have a sense that the story of how Hochstein built his empire would be quite interesting. I've tried to locate his heirs , admittedly in a casual way, but I think one would need connections to Orthodox Jewish communities in NY f leads. Unfortunately, I don't. Of course, the family, even if contacted, might be completely uninterested in such a project.

Thank you, driftedshank1. I very much appreciate the information. Bernie sounds like my kind of guy. Can I ask where you learned about Bernie's connection to Colossal Pipes? I only ask, because I can not find anything out there that collaborates. I also have taken a look at 'made in France' MasterCraft pipes currently available for sale and see no visual similarities whatsoever. Please know, I am excited to hear there's an answer to this "riddle". I was just hoping to learn more about how you learned about Bernies connection with these pipes. Thank you, sir!

 

[driftedshank1]

Thank you, driftedshank1. I very much appreciate the information. Bernie sounds like my kind of guy. Can I ask where you learned about Bernie's connection to Colossal Pipes? I only ask, because I can not find anything out there that collaborates. I also have taken a look at 'made in France' MasterCraft pipes currently available for sale and see no visual similarities whatsoever. Please know, I am excited to hear there's an answer to this "riddle". I was just hoping to learn more about how you learned about Bernies connection with these pipes. Thank you, sir!

Thank you, driftedshank1. I very much appreciate the information. Bernie sounds like my kind of guy. Can I ask where you learned about Bernie's connection to Colossal Pipes? I only ask, because I can not find anything out there that collaborates. I also have taken a look at 'made in France' MasterCraft pipes currently available for sale and see no visual similarities whatsoever. Please know, I am excited to hear there's an answer to this "riddle". I was just hoping to learn more about how you learned about Bernies connection with these pipes. Thank you, sir!

I've been around the "hobby" for a very long time and have known several people who were serious players in the business quite well. This is information I've had for many years ( pre-internet) and while I can't remember who was the source, I'm pretty sure it was one or more of my contacts in the business.
If you use an AI generated internet inquiry, I think you will see there is a connection between Mastercraft and these brands. That is some corroboration. Of course, I realize that AI is not always correct. Also over the years I've seen larger Mastercraft stamped pipes which were also stamped Custom Made or Colossal. These were shapes that looked just like pipes which didn't have the Mastercraft stamping but were stamped Custom Made or Colossal.

 

[Humblepipe]

I've been around the "hobby" for a very long time and have known several people who were serious players in the business quite well. This is information I've had for many years ( pre-internet) and while I can't remember who was the source, I'm pretty sure it was one or more of my contacts in the business.
If you use an AI generated internet inquiry, I think you will see there is a connection between Mastercraft and these brands. That is some corroboration. Of course, I realize that AI is not always correct. Also over the years I've seen larger Mastercraft stamped pipes which were also stamped Custom Made or Colossal. These were shapes that looked just like pipes which didn't have the Mastercraft stamping but were stamped Custom Made or Colossal.

OK. Thank you for the information. Much appreciated.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I would love to know more about this brand now that I have one.

@jguss

Is there something in your amazing archive that might shed some light on this brand?