Buffing, by the God's it shall be shiny!!

[seldom]

I've a BBB Own Make that I picked up for 20 bucks. The hallmarks date it to 1899. Not so pretty, it has been used, and in fact I continue to use it. Just smoked it today while taking the dogs for a walk in some wind that made it smoke a bit on the hot side. It doesn't compare to Sable's outstanding set. I like smoking it, contemplating its history, but also because it is simply an excellent smoker.

 

[fordm60]

Seldom, I agree that is a cool old smoker. May have been carried in the Spanish America war. Has seen, electricity replace gas, phones, diesel replace steam power, two world wars, end of imperialism, civil rights movement, women voting, prohibition, man on the moon, computers, the list goes on lol.

 

[ashdigger]

I'll post a pic of my 1888 meer. Its smoked. Well, it wasn't until I got my grubby hands on it.

 

[fordm60]

Tried to post a pic of my 1903 Meerschaum Cutty and failed. Mods please delete, thank you.

 

[seldom]

That BBB was picked up here in Germany. I've no idea about the previous owner(s) but I think it was laying around unused for a good chunk of time. It had some very old paper to make the tenon fit the mortise better. I can imagine all kinds of scenarios but whoever had it was likely strongly impacted by World War I if they lived where I got it (near to France in Germany). Perhaps it even saw combat.

When that pipe was made Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch were robbing trains.

 

[trouttimes]

I agree that those are some of the nicest pipes I've seen and I agree the owner can do with things any way they choose. That's a big part of the good old USA. That being said, I would smoke them a lot. I had, before the boating accident, several firearms that were over 100 years old that I shot regularly and greatly enjoyed them partly because of the age. That was before I lost them all in the boating accident. I still stand that with a few exceptions, pipes are crafted to be smoked not just admired but to each his own.

 

[fordm60]

Seldom, thank you reminding me there is more history than my USA. I sometimes forget that lol. I was lucky enough to be stationed with the 3/325 Airborne Combat Team (ABCT), 1/508 ABCT in Italy. Which meant I saw a lot of Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels, a bit of Frankfurt ummm the Army should tell brand new Cherry's from Idaho about the area directly in front of the main train station lmao!!
But it is interesting how different nationalities see the same event different. I am history buff so everywhere I went it was fun to listen to people from other countries. I was talking about the Tirpiz with a Norwegian. I see an amazing job taking out a high value target. He sees reparations and bad things. A German sees many, almost all of the crew, die again not a great thing. Funny thing, in a movie I heard "I think how smart you are really depends on where you currently standing" I think he was right lol.
trout, sorry to hear about those weapons, and glad you came through ok!

 

[trouttimes]

Ford, it was touch and go. Guess I'm just not coordinated enough for a canoe.

 

[mso489]

The buffer man probably enjoyed the process as much as the smoking. Other people can't smoke a bowl without reaming a pipe. Most of the upkeep can be done with little of each, or neither, by hand, but you can't tell people what they enjoy doing.

 

[danielplainview]

Shiny sells. There’s plenty of shiny shapeless blobs relieved of their nomenclature and buttons on eBay. My only wish is that every Tom Dick and Harry with a buffer only crank up the volume until all the rare classics have been restored to ruination. Am I bitter? Yes. Get off my lawn

 

[seldom]

Seldom, thank you reminding me there is more history than my USA.

I'm also American, just happened to marry a German lady I met in Africa. The ancestry from whence I get my surname goes back to around 1630 in North America. They were dutch settlers in New Amsterdam. When my granddad died a couple of years ago among his possessions was the old deed for the farm on a big piece of parchment. It starts "In the reign of King George the II...".
In 1899 when this pipe was made the USA was engaged in the Philippine War which seems to be one of our most forgotten wars.
I agree that it is interesting to see history from different perspectives. My family fought for the USA in World War II, including my Grandmother's brother who was a bomber pilot and killed in action. The area I am living in now was very heavily bombed during the war.