BBB Hand Made

[Jo L.S.]

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.

 

[Jo L.S.]

Here is the document sent by Steve Laug on the patent for my Billiard and its year of manufacture.

 

[ashdigger]

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.

 

[Jo L.S.]

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

 

[orlandofurioso]

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

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.

 

[Jo L.S.]

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.

 

[orlandofurioso]

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".

 

[orlandofurioso]

I yet need to work on my BBB patent, the stem looks to be a little twisted.
Very odd.

 

[Jo L.S.]

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.

 

[Jo L.S.]

I yet need to work on my BBB patent, the stem looks to be a little twisted.
Very odd.

It's probably due to his old age, don't you think?

 

[orlandofurioso]

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.

Yes, it is tiny.
Silly question.
I can see the lines in the stem inlay of some of my older Castello pipes clearly though.

 

[orlandofurioso]

It's probably due to his old age, don't you think?

Could be, but never encountered a so twisted stem before.
Maybe exposed to extreme heat, but not from smoking?

 

[ssjones]

I'd like to see a close of of that small stem logo (camera phone zoomed in, no flash, under a light, works well)

 

[Jo L.S.]

Could be, but never encountered a so twisted stem before.
Maybe exposed to extreme heat, but not from smoking?

I don't think it will influence a bad draw.

 

[Jo L.S.]

I'd like to see a close of of that small stem logo (camera phone zoomed in, no flash, under a light, works well)

I tried to zoom in as much as I could.

 

[ssjones]

I tried to zoom in as much as I could.

View attachment 425755That sure looks old! I've never seen that BBB logo previously, thanks for the photo effort!

 

[ashdigger]

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.

 

[greeneyes]

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.

 

[Jo L.S.]

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.]

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.