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Jo L.S.

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 20, 2025
215
2,120
Belgium
I purchased a BBB Hand Made pipe. It was patented, and I searched for an answer to determine its year of manufacture, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. So I contacted Steve Laug of the "Reborn Pipes" website, and he was kind enough to send me a document on Hand Made pipes. I thank him and I'm sharing it with you.

20250824 (2).jpg
20250823 x.jpg
20250824 ( BBB ).jpg
 

Jo L.S.

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 20, 2025
215
2,120
Belgium
Those were made in New York during the 20’s and 30’s by the American Division of BBB. Most were Ultonia.

You can spot them instantly by the white diamond, although yellow and red diamonds were made as well.

The stinger looks like the inner workings of a suppressor.
Thanks for your response.

Absolutely, the diamond is made of ivory like the pipe presented on the Pipephil website:

BBB -- Pipes: Logos & Estampilles - http://pipephil.eu/logos/fr/logo-bbb.html
 
Dec 10, 2013
2,801
3,612
Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Jo L.S.

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 20, 2025
215
2,120
Belgium
Beautiful pipe showing a nice, gnarly blast. Congrats !
I wonder if the stem inlay is real ivory ?
I own a smooth one showing stunning grain. The quality of the ebonite reminds me
of the amazing fine Dunhill ebonite from the Patent years.

Thank you, yes the diamond is ivory, it was very yellowed, it looked like plastic but I let it soak in milk and the ivory regained its beautiful original color. I sincerely hope that your pipe gives you great satisfaction.
 
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Dec 10, 2013
2,801
3,612
Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Thank you my friend.
Is soaking in milk an ivory/not ivory test, or a reknown method to regain its original colour ?
The early Dunhill dot was not ivory, but celluloid.
Are the Schreger lines visible ?
I'd much like to see a picture of the cleaned "diamond".
 
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Jo L.S.

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 20, 2025
215
2,120
Belgium
Thank you my friend.
Is soaking in milk an ivory/not ivory test, or a reknown method to regain its original colour ?
The early Dunhill dot was not ivory, but celluloid.
Are the Schreger lines visible ?
I'd much like to see a picture of the cleaned "diamond".

You would have to look with a magnifying glass, the diamond is really tiny, I would say that the surface is a little more than two millimeters.
 
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ashdigger

Lifer
Jul 30, 2016
12,093
82,130
62
Vegas Baby!!!
I’ve owned several of those pipes. I think the logo is celluloid.

I also think ivory is a color, not the actual material.

I could be wrong proving it would destroy it.

BBB in America was not exactly a high end pipe company.
 
Last edited:
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Jo L.S.

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 20, 2025
215
2,120
Belgium
That Photo is interesting. The diamond appears to have no pixels and seems to be all one RGB color, as if it were saturated of colored in.

It's probably the poor quality of the photo that produces this effect, I don't have a high-end smartphone.
 

Jo L.S.

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 20, 2025
215
2,120
Belgium
I’ve owned several of those pipes. I think the logo is celluloid.

I also think ivory is a color, not the actual material.

I could be wrong proving it would destroy it.

BBB in America was not exactly a high end pipe company.
I like English pipes and BBB is not really my favorite, I prefer Sasieni for the superior smoking quality. Dunhill also used celluloid which tended to yellow like ivory over time. You see from one continent to another, the trends are different, in Europe currently the BBB is a pipe very appreciated by pipe smokers.
 
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