A Trip To The Antique Shop!

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
So I came up to my parents house with my daughter for a day visit in Salado, TX (about an hour drive north of Austin). My Stepfather needed some help with a dresser they needed to pick up from an antique shop so I came along to help out plus I love going to antique shops from time to time. After we put the dresser in the truck we went back in the shop to cool down as it’s one of the hottest days of the year. I come to this shop often to look around but they had a pipe on a shelf that really caught my eye, it was hidden away, I barely even noticed it was there.
To make long story short, I had mentioned the pipe to my Stepdad in passing and while I went off on my own to look around, he went behind my back to buy the pipe and surprised me with it on the ride back to the house! What a freakin score man! I am so stoked about this pipe and what a kind awesome man my stepfather is, I love that man! They were asking $125 for it but he talked them down to $95. It looks like it was smoked maybe once or twice. Not sure if that’s a steal or not but it is in my book as I wasn’t expecting to get a pipe today... let alone a free Mario Grandi pipe! It absolutely cheered up my day. :)


Here are some pics:

(Oh and it came with a nice
stand too!)

229B9B59-A876-4B89-A1F2-5A7E19BADBB9.jpeg
597D8D57-62FE-4367-A425-7B4DDBA6B9B8.jpeg
E67458DF-3FA9-40FF-8C43-D445E64D04E3.jpeg
E52DCBF8-B163-48DC-A490-0D80C97BE339.jpeg
5ACD05DC-09E4-44C6-A362-DF2AC8320F8D.jpeg
555892A6-BDEA-445F-8745-1D7E52A07ADB.jpeg

There was another huge... I mean HUGE Viprati Rhodesian pipe there as well, I might go back and buy that one if it’s still there by the time come back for another visit but that one was more of a gimmicky pipe but would make a great display piece.

Anyway, I just thought I would share with you all this nice find, I am tickled to death about it!
 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
Thanks guys! Yeah, I didn’t know much about the brand Mario Grandi either but I probably would have gone back to get it if my Stepdad hadn’t surprised me with it! Some of the other work they do isn’t really to my liking but this one just really grabbed my attention. I’m still thinking I’ll probably go back and get that Viprati pipe too! Antique shops are a great deal of fun. It’s funny, I used to hate them when I was a teenager, now I can’t stay way from them!
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
What an interesting design, with the smooth brim and top of the bowl, and the unusual square shank on a freehand. That's a winner, and your stepfather negotiating a better price tops off the enjoyment. That is a successful trip to the antique shop. As I always complain, not many pipes to be found in antique shops hereabouts; I guess this is/was cigarette country. Not even at yard sales and flea markets.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hawky454

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
I guess the true test will be once I smoke it! I’ll be smoking it later tonight when I drop my daughter off with her mother. It does pass a pipe cleaner and it has a nice open draw too so I imagine it will smoke just fine. It just feels like quality in the hand, it’s a nice solid piece, it’s pretty large but only weighs 60 grams and I love the thickness of the walls surrounding the chamber. I’m also a sucker for virgin briar as I love how they color over time.

I guess you all can tell it’s been well over a year since I’ve gotten a new pipe and it’s probably been well over 4 years since I bought anything outside of the Stanwell Brushed line (just can’t pass those up when they go for $20 a pipe!).

This must be my lucky week! I know I’ve got a generous surprise coming from someone who will remain nameless until I get his okay to post about it! I’ll definitely be posting more regarding that soon if he’s okay with being named (you know who you are) I fear it would be hard for me to post about it while keeping the member anonymous... I’m pretty sure the fine people here would be able to guess who the mystery man is immediately when they discover what the surprise is. :LOL:
 
  • Like
Reactions: ophiuchus

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
What an interesting design, with the smooth brim and top of the bowl, and the unusual square shank on a freehand. That's a winner, and your stepfather negotiating a better price tops off the enjoyment. That is a successful trip to the antique shop. As I always complain, not many pipes to be found in antique shops hereabouts; I guess this is/was cigarette country. Not even at yard sales and flea markets.
Thanks! Every now and then I will come across a winner but it is definitely rare, which I guess is what makes it so rewarding.

One of my best smoking pipes was found at an antique shop in Belton... I paid a dollar for it, I’m sure you’ve seen it in the WAYS thread but this is is it right here (another Italian pipe):

DBD96CF6-7B7B-4909-8CF7-B45A7C2BC997.jpeg

It definitely didn’t come from the antique shop looking like that however. That is the fine work of Anthony Cook.

There was also a very nice Grabow Regal Bulldog at the shop I was at yesterday but it would have definitely been a project restoring that one.
 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,268
4,261
I've found a Preben Holm two Ben Wades by Preben Holms, a Soren, an Ascorti, a Savinelli Giubileo de Oro and even a Dunhill Red Bark at "antique" shops. I've even passed on some Ardors a couple of years ago because he was trying to sell smoked pipes at new retail prices.
 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
I've found a Preben Holm two Ben Wades by Preben Holms, a Soren, an Ascorti, a Savinelli Giubileo de Oro and even a Dunhill Red Bark at "antique" shops. I've even passed on some Ardors a couple of years ago because he was trying to sell smoked pipes at new retail prices.
Dang! You’ve got quite the antique shops near you and those are some amazing pipes you’ve found, congrats on all those! Trouble is, it’s very hard to find real “scores” these days as anyone with an internet connection knows they have something of worth when they get something like a Dunhill in and a lot of times they’ll even overprice these things like you stated above... but the hunt is still fun!
 
  • Like
Reactions: BROBS

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,268
4,261
Dang! You’ve got quite the antique shops near you! Trouble is, it’s very hard to find real “scores” these days as anyone with an internet connection knows they have something of worth when they get something like a Dunhill in and a lot of times they’ll even overprice these things like you stated above.
Yep, but all the finds were not near me. I found the Savinelli Giubileo d'Oro ($3) at a street fair where I live in SE Louisiana, the Savinelli Non Pareil ($10) at a local antique shop about a year before that. The Ascorti was 45 miles away. The Soren was across the state line in Mississippi, the two Ben Wades and the Preben Holm were all in the same shop about 200 miles from me. The Dunhill Red Bark was in Tennessee. The wife and I make trips to antique shops/flea markets in SE Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee every year. The bigger problem is getting some of the pipes at fair prices as too many shops think all old pipes are antiques and valuable.
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: BROBS and hawky454
Status
Not open for further replies.