Determining Age of Pipe

[mso489]

I could be wrong, but I believe the "Imported Briar" stamp widely used in the U.S. was a reflection of the scarcity of briar during World War II, hence is mostly used in the forties and ongoing even into today in some cases. It was a way of saying, this pipe isn't made of some substitute wood; it is really briar. I'm not sure the U.S. experienced the shortage before it entered the war, possibly coasting on inventories already in hand. For a while, Mountain Laurel was used as a substitute, which is quite good for the purpose, but I know only one carver who still works in that wood. And yes, I believe in the 1950's, Kaywoodie was the major premium pipe in the U.S. costing more than the Dunhills.

 

[sablebrush52]

I'll get some this evening. Should I move this discussion to a different forum page?
Perhaps "Pipe Talk" or "Show us your (fill in the blank) pipe"

This is a reasonable sub forum for the kind of info you are asking.

How would you proceed with trying to identify a pipe with no markings or with markings that are not found on some of the indexes online?

I'd start by posting some decent images here, thereby offering members the opportunity to help.

 

[sablebrush52]

I could be wrong, but I believe the "Imported Briar" stamp widely used in the U.S. was a reflection of the scarcity of briar during World War II, hence is mostly used in the forties and ongoing even into today in some cases. It was a way of saying, this pipe isn't made of some substitute wood; it is really briar. I'm not sure the U.S. experienced the shortage before it entered the war, possibly coasting on inventories already in hand. For a while, Mountain Laurel was used as a substitute, which is quite good for the purpose, but I know only one carver who still works in that wood. And yes, I believe in the 1950's, Kaywoodie was the major premium pipe in the U.S. costing more than the Dunhills.

Use of the "imported briar" stamp long pre-dates WW2. It's a marketing ploy, "imported" implying better quality.

 

[Jef]

Dunhills are fairly easy to date from the nomenclature. A lot of artisan made pipes have date codes. If the pipe has an orific bit it dates to the late 1920's and earlier. Hallmarks will give you a very close dating. Stingers have been around since the teens of the last century. Other than that it's a matter of knowing when specific nomenclature was used for a specific make.

What is an orific bit?

 

[sablebrush52]

What is an orific bit?

It's a bit where the airway terminates as a circle rather than widening out to a slot.

 

[JPremo]

Seconding pipephil.eu or pipedia.org for finding pipes with markings, but even then you're better off open sourcing it. I had a Cordoban that wasn't coming up in any searches until I stumbled across someone who had it in an old pipe advertisement book. I still don't have much on the history of the company or factory where it was made, but I suppose that's part of the allure for restoring estate pipes. Discovering the history is half the fun!

 

[Ahi Ka]

I’m hoping you haven’t googled ruff root by any chance...

 

[2ndSmoke]

I know this is an older post, but I'm hoping someone will notice this and can help. I'm new to pipe smoking. and by new I mean, I haven't even had my first smoke. Adding the pipe to add some variety to the daily cigars. I got a pipe from an antique store, and I'm just curious on the age. The only markings are some some carvings that look like leaves, text on the bowl that says "MEDICO Imported Briar", and then the stem has a sivler band where it connects to the bowl and a white spade just above that. I see earlier in this post the "imported Briar" could mean pre-WWII, which i find very fascinating. So, if anyone can provide me any more clues on a rough 5-10 year origin date I'd love to learn.

 

[bullet08]

Have you try reading the dottle? More accurate than reading the tea leaves for us smokers.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I know this is an older post, but I'm hoping someone will notice this and can help. I'm new to pipe smoking. and by new I mean, I haven't even had my first smoke. Adding the pipe to add some variety to the daily cigars. I got a pipe from an antique store, and I'm just curious on the age. The only markings are some some carvings that look like leaves, text on the bowl that says "MEDICO Imported Briar", and then the stem has a sivler band where it connects to the bowl and a white spade just above that. I see earlier in this post the "imported Briar" could mean pre-WWII, which i find very fascinating. So, if anyone can provide me any more clues on a rough 5-10 year origin date I'd love to learn.

Medico - Pipedia

pipedia.org

^this site will be most useful to you.

 

[mso489]

This is my cue to suggest that pipe makers, artisan and factory made, should put the year of manufacture on their work. A few pipe makers (Luciano for one), and some artisans do that (jerry Perry for one). Mostly, I guess, it will never be generally done because it is taken by new pipe smokers as a sell-by date rather than a helpful historical tag that will be valuable over the long, sometimes century-plus long, life of the pipes.

People could buy birthdate Savinelli's and anniversary date Chacom's and birth-of-children date Dr. Grabows, or choose your own important date and preferred brand.

 

[bullet08]

This is my cue to suggest that pipe makers, artisan and factory made, should put the year of manufacture on their work. A few pipe makers (Luciano for one), and some artisans do that (jerry Perry for one). Mostly, I guess, it will never be generally done because it is taken by new pipe smokers as a sell-by date rather than a helpful historical tag that will be valuable over the long, sometimes century-plus long, life of the pipes.

People could buy birthdate Savinelli's and anniversary date Chacom's and birth-of-children date Dr. Grabows, or choose your own important date and preferred brand.

For reference reasons, that would be a good idea. But other than few curious smokers and collectors, I don't think general public nor smokers care. And most factories might consider this additional minutes going into making pipes. Tho, skip the bowl coating that large amount of people seem to sand out could free the time. But they have to invest in year stamp per station. Hmm.. too much thinking for a day.

 

[peteguy]

It is difficult at best and both pipes mentioned in this thread are of low value. Nothing wrong with that of course, but the information finders and keepers of historical data, aren't documenting or scouring the net for a penny return.

 

[mso489]

So many threads on Forums are devoted to trying to date pipes. I suspect that many old style pipe smokers who don't get deeply into the lore would still appreciate knowing when their pipes were made. It satisfies an inmate curiosity that always comes up whether people are total newbies, or even if they are non-smokers just looking at grandpa's old pipes.

Maybe this is just my windmill to tilt at. But other people do endlessly ask for help dating their pipes. Changing the stamp annually would add so little to the cost of making a pipe, negligible. People associate pipes with the past, with history, with the passage of time. A dated pipe would make it more interesting as the years pass.

People say/think, no, no, not necessary, not practical. Then we'll have the next year with thirty or forty people with the same request to help date their pipes. Which means there are hundreds or thousands out there wondering the same thing about their pipes. Why not date these time capsules? What's the mystery?