Basil Meadows Bing Crosby
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Got the "Trinsky Bing" today. Think I'm gonna like it. It's longer than any other pipe I own, in fact a standard pipecleaner just reaches the bowl with about 1mm left sticking out the bit end...may need a hemostat or tweezer :D
Also on the Trinsky the band is stamped 926 Sterling and has just a tad of tarnish on it so I know it's legit silver. According to Basil's website, his Bings have a polished aluminum band. Considering the Trinsky estate was $15 less than a new Basil, I think I got a nice pipe. But I decided to get a Basil Bing also. YOLO right?
Also on the Trinsky the band is stamped 926 Sterling and has just a tad of tarnish on it so I know it's legit silver. According to Basil's website, his Bings have a polished aluminum band. Considering the Trinsky estate was $15 less than a new Basil, I think I got a nice pipe. But I decided to get a Basil Bing also. YOLO right?
I put the order in. Funny thing is, now that I searched through Google images, it seems Bing was photographed with a plethora of different pipe styles. How did this one come to be the definitive Bing pipe?
Bing smokes a Merchant Service in Here Comes the Groom, but in one scene, he's smoking a bulldog (Peterson?) that gets knocked out of his mouth by Jane Wyman. I always thought it was interesting that he switched pipes for that scene. Bing smokes a paneled pipe in Holiday Inn, but mostly, pictures of Bing with a pipe after WW2 show him with a Merchant Service, which I think became his style of choice, and certainly the one he's most identified with. TWHunter would know more.
JimInks:
I recall reading or hearing (although at this time I cannot find the source) that, due to the delicacy of his beloved Merchant Service Special pipe, Mr. Crosby was afraid that it might be broken in that particular scene, hence the brief substitution of the sturdier pipe.
I recall reading or hearing (although at this time I cannot find the source) that, due to the delicacy of his beloved Merchant Service Special pipe, Mr. Crosby was afraid that it might be broken in that particular scene, hence the brief substitution of the sturdier pipe.
Hunter: That's what I was telling a friend of mine when we watched the movie together a few weeks back. Of course, he must have known that even the one he was smoking might get broken. I wonder if the studio paid for that pipe?
I don't think I see Bing smoke anything but a Merchant Service after that movie. Do you? Also, any thoughts about whether Bing occasionally smoked a Merchant Service with a longer stem? I ask because Xrundog's picture of his MS seems to be longer than the model Bing smoked. I wonder how many models they made?
I don't think I see Bing smoke anything but a Merchant Service after that movie. Do you? Also, any thoughts about whether Bing occasionally smoked a Merchant Service with a longer stem? I ask because Xrundog's picture of his MS seems to be longer than the model Bing smoked. I wonder how many models they made?
After reading this thread and seeing Jim's pipe I contacted Mr. Meadows last night and asked him to make a Merchant for me. I'm really looking forward to getting this pipe.
Papipeguy: glad to be your enabler!!! :D
Here's mine, which is the first one Basil made, in case it helps enable anybody else! I like seeing people are smoking a Bing. Keeps the legend of the man going and fellow pipers get a good smoking pipe.
Here's mine, which is the first one Basil made, in case it helps enable anybody else! I like seeing people are smoking a Bing. Keeps the legend of the man going and fellow pipers get a good smoking pipe.
Hey I ordered my Bing first so you guys just back off and wait your turns
I smoked my first bowl in my new-estate Trinsky Bing tonight, and wow what a great smoker it is. The full sweetness of Dunhill Flake came through in all its glory, cooler than in any of my Dunhill pipes.
The only negatives were 1) I find it just a bit heavy to clench for any length of time; and 2) A standard pipe cleaner with even 1mm sticking out the bit to grab with tweezers still doesn't reach quite to where the draught hole meets the bowl, and as of yet I don't have any long cleaners, or anyplace local to buy them, so it'll have to wait for my next tobacco order...aka tomorrow :D . I believe Basil's Bing should not have those issues, because it is about a cm shorter, therefore a tad lighter as well, and will have an ebonite stem vs the Trinsky's acrylic.
I do have to say though, Jim, I'm not as big a fan of Bing as of Eddie G. I think it has to do with having read of Bing's off-screen life, his alcoholism and the way he treated his first family. The same thing happened to me about Lou Costello. His off-screen personna was far from the lovable character he portrayed.
I smoked my first bowl in my new-estate Trinsky Bing tonight, and wow what a great smoker it is. The full sweetness of Dunhill Flake came through in all its glory, cooler than in any of my Dunhill pipes.
The only negatives were 1) I find it just a bit heavy to clench for any length of time; and 2) A standard pipe cleaner with even 1mm sticking out the bit to grab with tweezers still doesn't reach quite to where the draught hole meets the bowl, and as of yet I don't have any long cleaners, or anyplace local to buy them, so it'll have to wait for my next tobacco order...aka tomorrow :D . I believe Basil's Bing should not have those issues, because it is about a cm shorter, therefore a tad lighter as well, and will have an ebonite stem vs the Trinsky's acrylic.
I do have to say though, Jim, I'm not as big a fan of Bing as of Eddie G. I think it has to do with having read of Bing's off-screen life, his alcoholism and the way he treated his first family. The same thing happened to me about Lou Costello. His off-screen personna was far from the lovable character he portrayed.
Shutterbugg: I am a greater fan of Eddie G. than I am of Bing, too. But, in Bing's defense, he mostly gave up drinking by the mid-30s, and his treatment of his children from his first marriage was exaggerated by his alcoholic son Gary Crosby in that awful, awful book. He was very jealous and angry of his father, and I think he was a real piece of work. Ruining Bing's rep to get revenge and make a few bucks was despicable.
Lou Costello, I never liked.
It's too bad Robinson didn't settle on a particular pipe style. If he had, I'd have one... or two.
Basil's Bing pipes are clenchers. I never have a problem with that. Thanks to Hunter, Basil had the correct specs for Bing's favorite style.
Lou Costello, I never liked.
It's too bad Robinson didn't settle on a particular pipe style. If he had, I'd have one... or two.
Basil's Bing pipes are clenchers. I never have a problem with that. Thanks to Hunter, Basil had the correct specs for Bing's favorite style.
" don't think I see Bing smoke anything but a Merchant Service after that movie (Here Comes The Groom). Do you? Also, any thoughts about whether Bing occasionally smoked a Merchant Service with a longer stem?"
Based upon the rough dates of the still photographs which I have seen of Mr. Crosby, I believe that you are correct. It would appear that he adopted the Merchant Service Special as his primary pipe sometime around 1950. To the best of my knowledge Merchant Service did not manufacture a Special with a longer stem, but I may be wrong.
Based upon the rough dates of the still photographs which I have seen of Mr. Crosby, I believe that you are correct. It would appear that he adopted the Merchant Service Special as his primary pipe sometime around 1950. To the best of my knowledge Merchant Service did not manufacture a Special with a longer stem, but I may be wrong.
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