Burak Connoisseur—Shape ID?

[OldWill]

I love toppers like that. Beautiful!!!
Don't let naysayers tell you that they're hard to smoke. Bone dry, I like to pack light, tamp after lighting, and just keep it clenched till it has gone out. I love the last little bit in these. They'll stove a Virginia to a super sweetness.

Enjoy!!!

Absolutely true. Fine virginias, when smoked to the very bottom reveal whole new depths of flavor. Beautiful pipe!

 

[bowrocker]

Ahhh, sorry. I have a Tsuge and Dan Pipe... it may just be the Tsuge trade name for them. I assumed because they were tall like a tophat, which were sometimes referred to as toppers as well.

No need to apologize, great info, thanks!

And true enough about the tophat reference. Also brings to mind a certain Vermont IPA, Heady Topper, though I have no idea what the origin of that name is, and it's likely totally unrelated.

 

[bowrocker]

Absolutely true. Fine virginias, when smoked to the very bottom reveal whole new depths of flavor. Beautiful pipe!

Thank you both! I never even thought about this, I will definitely try it.

 

[bowrocker]

... it may just be the Tsuge trade name for them.

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Oh man now you've done it @cosmicfolklore -- another case of PAS...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Tsuge Topper Smooth Stack | Buy Tsuge Tobacco Pipes at Smokingpipes.com

Smokingpipes.com is your one stop shop for Tsuge Topper Smooth Stack Tobacco Pipes and all your tobacco smoking needs. From new tobacco pipes and estate tobacco pipes to tin pipe tobacco and bulk pipe tobacco, we have everything you need

www.smokingpipes.com

Oh man now you've done it @cosmicfolklore -- another case of PAS...

I love my Tsuge. When I am driving the 6 hour trip to NC, I pack all of my stacks and toppers for the trip.

 

[denholrl]

Title edited for caps and brevity.

I bought this from Ed some time in the early 90s. His shapes were always fanciful, sometimes he went too far, but I've always thought it was a good balance. But for the life of me I can't remember what he told me he called it. Maybe it's a freehand?


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View attachment 143573View attachment 143574 Yells

Title edited for caps and brevity.

I bought this from Ed some time in the early 90s. His shapes were always fanciful, sometimes he went too far, but I've always thought it was a good balance. But for the life of me I can't remember what he told me he called it. Maybe it's a freehand?


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Yes, this is a freehand. Burak had a small self-published catalog in which he illustrated his Classics, Standards, Irregulars, Desktops, the Original, and Featherweights. He told me that anything not in this catalog is a "freehand." This label was applied even to one-off Classics and other pipes that we would not ordinarily think as "Freehdands." The term covered a lot of ground. Your pipe is a beauty. Just before the shop's closing a freehand like this would have sold for high hundreds if not over $1,000. I have the catalog and will send you a copy if you like. Email me at robdenholtz@gmail.com.

 

[denholrl]

That’s a beauty! I have seen that shape before (kind of looks like an Alpha Citation) but never for sale. The closest I have to it is this Connoisseur:
View attachment 143576

That pipe illustrated is one of eight shapes in Burak's "Featherweight" line. These pipes were made from the same quality briar as the Classics. They also were offered in a textured finish. None of his pipes were sand-blasted. Some were blasted by their new owners after having been purchased in the shop. Same for stained Connoisseurs . . . only done after-market. BTW, Burak told me that a friend of his owned Alpha and had asked him to design a line of pipes that could be made simply (I don't recall if they have to be fraze-able. He showed me the brochure illustrating all the shapes. I don't remember if Alpha had called them Citation but most of the Alpha Citations I've seen on eBay have looked an awful lot like pipes Ed might have designed.

 

[bowrocker]

Yes, this is a freehand. Burak had a small self-published catalog in which he illustrated his Classics, Standards, Irregulars, Desktops, the Original, and Featherweights. He told me that anything not in this catalog is a "freehand." This label was applied even to one-off Classics and other pipes that we would not ordinarily think as "Freehdands." The term covered a lot of ground. Your pipe is a beauty. Just before the shop's closing a freehand like this would have sold for high hundreds if not over $1,000. I have the catalog and will send you a copy if you like. Email me at robdenholtz@gmail.com.

@denholrl Thank you! And thank you for all that great information! Fascinating, I do remember some of those categories. I don't remember seeing his catalog, did he distribute it to customers?

I'll never forget the way he had of announcing a pipe's shape with sort of theatrical flourish. He was the consummate salesman that's for sure.

One time I commented on the nice grain on a pipe I was looking at, and he said "if you look closely, there is a whole world in there" with conspiratorial smile, and a wink!

 

[gamzultovah]

That pipe illustrated is one of eight shapes in Burak's "Featherweight" line.

Yes, I know. I bought it from you. ?

 

[anotherbob]

vase?

 

[jaygreen55]

That pipe illustrated is one of eight shapes in Burak's "Featherweight" line. These pipes were made from the same quality briar as the Classics. They also were offered in a textured finish. None of his pipes were sand-blasted. Some were blasted by their new owners after having been purchased in the shop. Same for stained Connoisseurs . . . only done after-market. BTW, Burak told me that a friend of his owned Alpha and had asked him to design a line of pipes that could be made simply (I don't recall if they have to be fraze-able. He showed me the brochure illustrating all the shapes. I don't remember if Alpha had called them Citation but most of the Alpha Citations I've seen on eBay have looked an awful lot like pipes Ed might have designed.

That pipe illustrated is one of eight shapes in Burak's "Featherweight" line. These pipes were made from the same quality briar as the Classics. They also were offered in a textured finish. None of his pipes were sand-blasted. Some were blasted by their new owners after having been purchased in the shop. Same for stained Connoisseurs . . . only done after-market. BTW, Burak told me that a friend of his owned Alpha and had asked him to design a line of pipes that could be made simply (I don't recall if they have to be fraze-able. He showed me the brochure illustrating all the shapes. I don't remember if Alpha had called them Citation but most of the Alpha Citations I've seen on eBay have looked an awful lot like pipes Ed might have designed.

That's not true about Ed not selling any sand blasted pipes. I've got a couple that I purchased in his store. My business was located around the corner from his original shop on 46th street and between 1974 and 1995 when I quit smoking for 20 years I was in his shop several times a month and, bought almost all my pipes and tobacco from him and knew him very well. I bought over a hundred pies from him and still have close to fifty. Blasts were a rare exception but not nonexistent