Behold! The Buttner Pipe! 1930s British Innovative/Gimmicky

[Humblepipe]

Sometimes, the countless hours I spend surfing the web for pipes pays off... sometimes LOL. I love the old odd balls. Gimicky, innovative, out of the box, vintage pieces are just so fun. I bought this super-cool number just because it looked interesting. I did not research it ahead of time or anything. When it arrived, it was obvious it had not been smoked much, but inactivity for perhaps 1/2 century led to some issues that I had to address. Evidently, manufactured in the 1930s, I found a Youtube video created by a British guy...

The video pays homage to the Buttner pipe and details how it works. Funny enough, it is not "my style". Nevertheless, I am so glad to have had the opportunity to redeemed this little piece of pipe making history and put it back in service.

 

[verporchting]

How does that work? Is it just a cap with a cork for storage? With a removable briar bowl insert? Fascinating piece but looks terribly unpractical. But like you said it’s just a cool piece of history! Thanks for sharing.

 

[kurtbob]

Pretty cool in its own way! Kinda reminds me of a “reverse Falcon”?

 

[Humblepipe]

How does that work? Is it just a cap with a cork for storage? With a removable briar bowl insert? Fascinating piece but looks terribly unpractical. But like you said it’s just a cool piece of history! Thanks for sharing.

It's a bakelite pipe equiped with a removable porcelain insert. Evidently, the idea (was it a good idea?) was that the porcelain insert was supposed to serve as a filter. Purportedly, you only need to put heat to it, as in throw it on an open fire, when it gets gunked up and 'voila'... it is cleaned and after it cools you insert back into the pipe. The British guy (Youtube video) swears by it and says he's been smoking it for years.

 

[jpmcwjr]

How many now have an open fire even in the dead of winter?
Still, very cool, and nicely illustrated. I suppose if you had an open fire, and several of the inserts, it'd work, uh, O.K..

 

[Merton]

Thanks for sharing. Loved the music on the video. Pipedia has a bit on them. Not my cup of tea but liked learning about the pipe. Has a Captain Warren aspect to it.

 

[Humblepipe]

Thanks for sharing. Loved the music on the video. Pipedia has a bit on them. Not my cup of tea but liked learning about the pipe. Has a Captain Warren aspect to it.

I agree... Captain Warren look for sure.

 

[Humblepipe]

How many now have an open fire even in the dead of winter?
Still, very cool, and nicely illustrated. I suppose if you had an open fire, and several of the inserts, it'd work, uh, O.K..

The British guy used a workshop propane torch to "clean" the insert. More practical than an open fire for sure. The 1930s ads recommended an open fire though. Maybe better ambiance? Hahaha

 

[Humblepipe]

Wait! In the 1930s an open flame was probably your only option...

 

[jpmcwjr]

The British guy used a workshop propane torch to "clean" the insert. More practical than an open fire for sure. The 1930s ads recommended an open fire though. Maybe better ambiance? Hahaha

Well, if you had an open fire going anyway, it'd be wasteful to burn propane.

Indeed the ambiance in front of a fireplace in the LR has more of the good stuff than a chilly garage, or wherever you do your torching.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Now that begs the question, which I will not effn google: When was the first propane torch available?

 

[karam]

Now that begs the question, which I will not effn google: When was the first propane torch available?

Hah I did just now. They have existed in one form or another for nearly 150 years, but in their current form since the 1950s

 

[condorlover1]

I think the fellow narrating the YouTube film is excellent right down to the 1930s glasses.....life was so much simpler in those days. Someone should track him down and get him to join our little group...

 

[jpmcwjr]

Hah I did just now. They have existed in one form or another for nearly 150 years, but in their current form since the 1950s

Thanks! A perfect answer, indeed.

 

[OzPiper]

You should post that one in the "Pipe Innovations" thread
Thanks for sharing this intriguing number.

 

[romaso]

I think the fellow narrating the YouTube film is excellent right down to the 1930s glasses.....life was so much simpler in those days. Someone should track him down and get him to join our little group...

He also did this one, pretty funny:

 

[simong]

I think the fellow narrating the YouTube film is excellent right down to the 1930s glasses.....life was so much simpler in those days. Someone should track him down and get him to join our little group...

That's Mr. Swing King! A real 'Cholmondley Warner' he is. Lol
If you're back in England in time for this years pipe show at Nottingham, chances are you'll get to meet him yourself. He's not hard to spot....dressed like a cross between Noel Coward & Our Eli.

 

[FurCoat]

Thank you for sharing this interesting pipe. I never would have known it existed.

 

[aquadoc]

How many now have an open fire even in the dead of winter?
Still, very cool, and nicely illustrated. I suppose if you had an open fire, and several of the inserts, it'd work, uh, O.K..

Do woodstoves count as open fires? If so, just about every house in New England.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Do woodstoves count as open fires? If so, just about every house in New England.

Perhaps, but most are very awkward to safely deposit and retrieve a bowl or pipe. And no one is going to start a fire just to clean pipes when heat is not needed for the house.

Back when people cooked over wood or coal fire it would have been pretty easy.