Antique Score For The Day!

[randelli]

I visited an antique store in the next town over; and walked out with an Excelsior Canadian and a Cook's reamer for $8.

How did I do?

 

[aldecaker]

Hell, I'd pay 8 bucks for the reamer alone! I'd say you did pretty good. The pipe looks good; don't forget to follow up with pics of it all cleaned up.

 

[jacks6]

Nice!!!

 

[randelli]

They had two more, one was an Irwin, maybe both were - I don't remember now. All three were on the large size.
I don't know anything about Excelsior. I like the shape and finish. Is it a blast? Relief grain? Rustication?

 

[aldecaker]

It almost looks like a blast with rustication laid over the top of it. Overall, it has a blast-like texture, but the cross-wise marks on the top of the shank look carved in.

 

[pagan]

How did I do?

You bombed, send that pipe to me and try again till you get it right, are you kidding me, I should have that kinda luck, great score, need pix when you get it cleaned up

 

[torque]

I have a Cook's, it's a fantastic reamer. Shame they don't make them anymore. They do a perfect ream with no chance of damage to rim or sidewall.

 

[mso489]

The pipe looks pretty cruddy, so should make a great before and after picture, both stem and briar. The reamer on the other hand -- for practical purposes looks new. You made out like a bandit; did you wear a mask?

 

[randelli]

No mask.
This cake is really hard. I may have to soften it up a bit with some whisky. Now that I think about it; I may have to soften myself up a little too.
@aldecaker- I blasted, well, blasted; and rustication carved?

 

[randelli]

I cleaned it up a bit. The cake took a while but the rest cleaned up pretty easily. I used a knife edge, like a plane, to scrape the crust off of the bit. Then I used a lighter, sandpaper, and micro mesh to finish the stem. A little polish and Bob's your uncle - whatever that means.
There are no markings other than "EXCELSIOR" on the bottom. The pipe is 6.25 long, 2 high, 1.375 wide. The bowl is .875 wide and 1.375 deep. Anyone know more about this make?
Here are some after photos:

 

[jpmcwjr]

Nice find, nice work!

 

[pagan]

Very nice, still think you should send it to me

 

[huntertrw]

"I don't know anything about Excelsior."
According to Jose Manuel Lopes in his book titled "Pipes - Artisans and Trademarks" Excelsior was a, "French brand (1930) from the Au Narghileh company in Montlucon. Tom Colwell, op. cit., says that a brand with this name was sold by the North American company Hudson Universal Pipes and by the English firms M. McDougall and Hall & Fitzgerald."
Under Mr. Lopes' listing for Hudson Universal Pipes he notes that their brands included Eagle, Excelsior, Harrington Park, and Hilex.
I hope that this information is helpful to you.
Incidentally, I purchased at an antique store some years ago reamer almost identical to your Cook's, but mine was manufactured in Hong Kong by a company called Bryco.

 

[aldecaker]

Yeah, blasted is just where they basically sandblast the thing to get the desired effect, but of course the blast media can be any number of things from sand to plastic media to ground walnut shells. It usually follows the grain pattern pretty closely (but doesn't have to), which is why the marks running perpendicular to the shank look like they've been added mechanically. Rustication is usually taken to mean some other mechanical means of carving a texture onto the pipe, such as a hand chisel, rotary tool, wire wheel, broken-off Phillips screwdriver bit, something like that.
It's cleaned up nicely so far, by the way. Oh, and Pipedia says Excelsior was an Oldenkott sub-brand, and that's about it. Could be an un-related house brand, too, I suppose; the stamping doesn't look very distinctive.
EDIT: The Oldenkott thing is in addition to the stuff Hunter dug up. I'm not trying to supersede the info he found!

 

[randelli]

It needs some work on the bite mark. I also need to fet some obsidian oil and proper waxes and polishes. There is only so much you can expect from maguiers car polish
Thanks for the info. So it is either french from the 30's or german from who knows when. I think I will go try it out now...

 

[cobguy]

Nice score and good job on the clean-up ... congrats! :clap:

 

[randelli]

 

[mayfair70]

Nice find! Congrats! Good job on the clean up.

 

[fnord]

Randelli:
You scored big time. The Cook's reamer is one of my favorite tools and I'm a sucker for Canadians with nice thick walls.
You might want to backtrack and pick up that Irwin's. It was a very well made "second" for GBD and mine smoke every bit as well as my GBDs from the early 70's. (Resale value on GBD seconds isn't anywhere near the prices commanded for DH, Comoy's or Sasieni seconds, but you're still going to get a quality smoke from a slightly imperfect chunk of briar.)
You did well, pal. And thanks for the before and after pix.
Fnord

 

[jerwynn]

Here here!, say I with cousin fnord!!! What an adventure with excellent results/acquisitions!!