Barling's info help.

[crossedaxephoto]

Hey everyone. I'm brand new to the forums and was hoping I could get some help on a Barling's pipe I bought at an antique store today. I've searched the web but couldn't find much info and stayed confused on pre,post transition etc. On one side it says "Made in England EXEXEL" and the other side "Barling's Make Ye Olde Wood 292 TFV". I'll try and add some pictures to help. I'm looking for any kind of dating info and possible worth point of the pipe. Thanks!

 

[dmcmtk]

That's a winner! Pre-Transition. Dating info post WWII, roughly 1945-61. You will get some more detailed answers from the excellent article here,
http://pipedia.org/wiki/Barling

 

[sablebrush52]

Family Era/Pre_Transition:
Barling's Make in block lettering with the word "Barling's" arched over the word, "Make". Size stamps run from SS to EXEXEL. If there is a model number it is either a 1, 2, or 3 digit number for the American market or a 4 digit number beginning with the number 1 for the British market.

The exceptions to the block lettered Logo are the Guinea Grain, which has a script "Barling's" with an apostrophe and an "s", and early filtered pipes like the "Pipelet" and the "Cyg-Smoker" which have a script logo.
There is also a short run "Barling's Make" block lettered logo with four digit numbers whose first digit ranges from 2 thru 6, that was produced for a few months in 1962.
Corporate Era/Transition-Post Transition:

The log is a script "Barling" no apostrophe and no "s". Initially the model numbers are all four digits with the first digit ranging from 2 thru 6, and the occasional 7. Later the number 1 comes into use.
You have a Family Era Barling, probably post WW2. If there is a reg'd number stamped on the underside of the stem it was made between 1939 and 1950. The EXEXEL size didn't exist before 1939 and the patent ran out in 1950. If the stem has the words "Barling Design" on the underside, then the pipe dates from 1950-1962.
The pipe appears to have been spared the tender ministrations of a buffing machine. The rim is in rough shape. The logo stamps on the stem appear to have been worn off or barely visible. Value is around $200, more or less, in its current condition. Restored it could be worth a bit more.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Very nice find. Too bad the previous smoker banged out the dottle on a glass ashtray or something equally hard.
I am guessing that topping would reduce the value. (?)
Hope it smokes great for you.

 

[sablebrush52]

I am guessing that topping would reduce the value. (?)

Not necessarily.

 

[crossedaxephoto]

Thanks for the info everyone! I've been smoking a pipe for about 3-4 geaea now. I've never really paid attention to what I was smoking, just grabbed up a few cheap antique store finds and cleaned them up. Some smoked fine, others not so much. But lately I've had some buddies anting me to clean them up Some pipes so I started paying attention to what I was buying.A LOT of old pipes at the antique stores around me and almost all are around $6-$10. I picked this one up for $8 gotta say I came out pretty good on this one! Can't wait to lean it up and give it a smoke. It'll definitely stay in my collection.
Thanks again for all the help. Other than digging through these forums and Wikipedia.com are there any books or magazines I can pick up to learn more about collector's pipes?

 

[crossedaxephoto]

Oh and it only says Barling's Design under the stem. Its pretty visible. I'll try and get a picture of it after work.

 

[dmcmtk]

Oh and it only says Barling's Design under the stem. Its pretty visible. I'll try and get a picture of it after work.

That narrows down the dating quite a bit, 1950-61. There can be some great finds in antique stores, your Barling's certainly was one! The best way to learn is ask questions, ask questions, and then......ask more questions! There are plenty of folks here who can give you answers.

 

[sablebrush52]

Thanks again for all the help. Other than digging through these forums and Wikipedia.com are there any books or magazines I can pick up to learn more about collector's pipes?

Start with Richard Carlton Hacker's books, Rare Smoke, and The Ultimate Pipe Book. They offer an excellent overview and he covers a lot of ground. Just don't accept everything that you read there as he wrote these many years ago and his information is a bit outdated in spots, and inaccurate. That said, his work is still indispensable reading and the best intro currently available.
Another useful book is José Manual Lopes' book, Pipes - Artisans and Trademarks. It was a limited printing and is in the hard to find category though copies do turn up from time to time. Just be prepared to open your wallet WIDE when a copy surfaces.
You can also check out the offerings at Briar Books
And you can subscribe to Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine
Online check out Pipedia and Pipephil. These are all good places to start. Pipedia will give you links to many other sites as you peruse its many entries.
There are a great many sites on the web. I keep finding new ones. Just don't buy into what you read uncritically. A lot of opinion is presented as facts in the pipe world. But, as you continue read and examine, the facts emerge through the bullshit.

 

[crossedaxephoto]

Thanks. I understand the "opinion as fact" issue. I collect old axes and opinions fly in that community.
Really do appreciate the help. I know it can get frustration when new folks show up asking the same questions.

 

[sablebrush52]

I never mind people asking for ways to become knowledgeable, except when it's something that can be easily found with a simple search, like, how to clean a pipe.
All I've done is point to the beginning of the yellow brick road. The journey's yours.

 

[dmcmtk]

I know it can get frustration when new folks show up asking the same questions.

Not in the least, it's exciting to see a pipe like the one you found! As an aside, it kind of has that Dunhill LBS shape look to it, count me officially envious!

 

[crossedaxephoto]

To be honest I had no idea what it was in the store, I didn't even look. I just liked that it has such a large bowl. I'm 6'4" with big hands so I like those bowls that yet kind of got and this one did. It wasn't until I got home I decided to look at the mark. I usually don't get lucky finds. Kind of excited I finally got a lucky purchase!
I probably won't be selling it anytime but would definitely like to get it cleaned up so I can smoke it. Any worries about using a pipe that is considered a "collectable"?

 

[dmcmtk]

Any worries about using a pipe that is considered a "collectable"?

I'd say smoke it and enjoy it. You may want to have it professionally restored/cleaned. Given what you paid for it, I think it is something to consider...

 

[jguss]

I agree with Dave; if it was me, I'd send it off to one of the reputable pipe clean/repair guys. It's a beauty and worth the effort. You'll be shocked when it returns; it ought to look pretty much brand new.
As for the 292 on your pipe, it's an example of the so-called Nichols numbering system, named after the guy retained by Barling to handle its sales in the US. In other words your pipe was made for sale in America, and as the other guys have said probably dates from the fifties. What your specific number signifies is a giant (i.e. EXEXEL size), straight billiard, with a tapered bit of between 2 and 2 3/4 inches in length.

 

[crossedaxephoto]

I was wrong about the marking on the stem. It says Barling's Barling's in a cross.
Any suggestions of where to send it? I've restored some pipes myself in the past but none of much significance. Wouldn't wanna mess it up.

 

[dmcmtk]

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