A "Slant" Barlings

[hoppes]

Saw this on a website of Great Britain. Didn't look very promising but the price was right. The pipe was obviously poorly treated and uncared for. The rim was completely ruined and the back edge looked like it had been knocked against a saw blade.The cake hadn't been taken care of for decades. Other than those things it appeared to be a pretransition pipe probably from the 1940's!!?? There are very little markings: Barling's Make. the number 1903. on the opposite side S-M, and barely readable the crossed Barlings on the mouthpiece. Maybe the experts can lend a hand on when it was made. The dilemma was what to do with the chamber rim. In order to make it square and flat, I would have to remove at least 1/4 inch from the top of the bowl. It is a small pipe with quite thin walls so I didn't want to sacrifice that much of the top----so a new creation The Slant Barling !! It pained me to do that but at least it is a Barling and hopefully can continue to give great smoking pleasure. Any comments or critiques are appreciated. Thanks, Hoppes

 

[deathmetal]

Glorious. Also the Spitfire is good stuff. Or is it a Hurricane?

 

[sablebrush52]

That's a nice save! Great looking result! Your pipe is probably late 1930's thru early 1940's, based on the type of "Barling's Make" logo stamp. Did you look on the underside of the stem to see if there were the remains of a REG'd number? The model number indicates that it was made for the British market. "S-M" doesn't refer to sexual preferences, rather it indicates the size as small to medium.
The stem is interesting in that it looks to be in much better shape than the bowl, with very little wear on the button. The circumference of the stem is slightly larger than the circumference of the shank, which leads me to wonder if it's not the original stem. Could very well be a Barling stem from another pipe that was pressed into service as a replacement.

 

[hoppes]

Thanks Deathmetal. The model is actually a North American P-51D Mustang in British markings. The Brits were the ones to convert the 51 to the RollsRoyce engine that made it the ultimate fighter. Don't think the Brits flew the 51D in their colors though. I agree it should be a Spitfire but I don't have a small model!! Hoppes

 

[hoppes]

Thanks Sablebrush for the dating info. I scanned the pipe with high magnification and there are no other markings. The stem has the crossed Barlings but barely readable even with magnification. It certainly could be a replacement since at least one owner trashed the bowl and probably did the same to the original stem ! Hoppes

 

[mso489]

Kind of a brave move, and it looks great. One look in the bowl, and I'm not sure I would have continued, but I don't even build cake in my new pipes. Don't own a reamer. Boy, that was nasty.

 

[jpmcwjr]

That's a save and a half. Very nice work! Di you take the chamber down to briar?
I'll pull out a Barling today to celebrate the resurrection.

 

[stflorian]

That truly is a beautiful save! The slant came out very nicely.

 

[oldmansmoking]

Does not look the same pipe, excellent restoration. You should be proud.

Done a few myself, wonder why anyone would allow that much cake to build up.

Well done Sir!!

 

[agnosticpipe]

Great save! I like to see pipes like that get saved and made smokable again. I myself have a slant L J Peretti lovat. and even though it's not as high quality of pipe as yours, I still I enjoy smoking it from time to time. Have you tried smoking it yet?

 

[hoppes]

Smoked the "Slant" today. Very nice. Easy to hold in your teeth. I've had only one previous Barling from the 70's. This smokes much better. Would like to know the history of this little pipe. It could tell some stories I imagine ! Hoppes