Hi all i have a nebie question, i am starting to look at estate pipes and have seen a listing thst says unsmoked but when i read a little further there is a desciption that tells me the pipe has been smoked before i am now confused can someone explain the business of estate pipes to me please
Estate Pipes Unsmoked/Smoked
- Thread starter tbone
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I'm going to assume you saw that pipe on e bay in which case I would be very cautious. E bay has some great sellers and a whole lot of scammers or people who don't know what there selling. You would be safer shopping estates on one of our sponsored websites, they all have a number you can call and ask specifics about the pipes 
@tbone
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Thanks for posting.
Please capitalize your thread titles, and please use your Shift key for proper punctuation. (I fixed the thread title).
Please read the Forum Rules
I personally thought estate pipes were always smoked. Is this correct? Basically they are used pipes?
The quality of vendors is all over the place. Some are pros with great knowledge and others might be folks selling the "junk" they come across. So, it ranges from Antique Roadshow grade experts to a guy running his version of a yard sale. The best buys come about when people don't know what they are talking about and improperly describe or misspell their title (Kevin can point at them here.)
I have bought a number of estate pipes that were new. Some of the vendors do that because it gets them off the hook as to scratches, condition, whatever. There is a lot of NOS (New Old Stock) floating around. I picked up a half-dozen or so Sidney P. Ram pipes last spring that evidently came from an estate and were in the hands of a Pawn Broker in California. The shop had closed in the mid-40's and their catalog said they only sold Algerian briar pipes. Had he had better info, he might have gotten a better price. My average cost was in the mid-teens.
I have bought a number of estate pipes that were new. Some of the vendors do that because it gets them off the hook as to scratches, condition, whatever. There is a lot of NOS (New Old Stock) floating around. I picked up a half-dozen or so Sidney P. Ram pipes last spring that evidently came from an estate and were in the hands of a Pawn Broker in California. The shop had closed in the mid-40's and their catalog said they only sold Algerian briar pipes. Had he had better info, he might have gotten a better price. My average cost was in the mid-teens.
Tbone here is a link to a older forum discussing estate sellers. The five at the top that Harris referenced are great to deal with offer a great selection of pipes.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/ebay-dealers-and-on-line-dealers-of-pristine-pipes#post-408018
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/ebay-dealers-and-on-line-dealers-of-pristine-pipes#post-408018
A fairly recent purchase of mine was an unsmoked Savinelli Oscar KS 413. It was an estate -not brand new- but it was certainly unsmoked. I believe it may have been in a cabinet display because the stem was pretty well oxidized.
Some pipes go unsmoked because the pipe smoker bought more pipes than he could use or gave
up smoking, or was gifted with a pipe he didn't want to smoke, etc. Some people collect pipes and
don't smoke them. Buy from the reputable online dealers, and with estate pipes, always give a call
and discuss the pipe in question, and ask questions, to make sure you understand what you are getting.
The good pipe retail sites will be honest to a flaw and tell you exactly where the pipe shows wear and
all about it. They want to sell it; they don't want it back.
up smoking, or was gifted with a pipe he didn't want to smoke, etc. Some people collect pipes and
don't smoke them. Buy from the reputable online dealers, and with estate pipes, always give a call
and discuss the pipe in question, and ask questions, to make sure you understand what you are getting.
The good pipe retail sites will be honest to a flaw and tell you exactly where the pipe shows wear and
all about it. They want to sell it; they don't want it back.
tbone, welcome to the site. Since you are new I would recommend you stick to buying estate pipes from online sellers and not ebay. Buying from ebay can be great if you know what you are doing.
I would stick to these sellers as they sell quality pipes for good prices. Sometimes you will find estate pipes that are unsmoked that can have dings or scratches. They may have just been handled poorly by their owners but will smoke fine. Some estate pipes are better than others because of how much they were previously smoked. Some estate pipes were barely smoked and those are like brand new. If you see descriptions like over reamed bowls, spider webbing in the bowl stay away from them. They could be a headache down the road so no reason to take a chance on those. You can call any of the dealers I listed below and talk to someone to help you in your purchase.
http://www.mkelaw-pipes.com/ ...site sponsor
www.smokingpipes.com ....site sponsor
http://www.smokershaven.com/ ...site sponsor
www.briarblues.com great guy to do business with.
I would stick to these sellers as they sell quality pipes for good prices. Sometimes you will find estate pipes that are unsmoked that can have dings or scratches. They may have just been handled poorly by their owners but will smoke fine. Some estate pipes are better than others because of how much they were previously smoked. Some estate pipes were barely smoked and those are like brand new. If you see descriptions like over reamed bowls, spider webbing in the bowl stay away from them. They could be a headache down the road so no reason to take a chance on those. You can call any of the dealers I listed below and talk to someone to help you in your purchase.
http://www.mkelaw-pipes.com/ ...site sponsor
www.smokingpipes.com ....site sponsor
http://www.smokershaven.com/ ...site sponsor
www.briarblues.com great guy to do business with.
@ tbone : sometimes our unsmoked estates, whilst still never smoked, might have had something happen to them ( such as a broken tenon that was replaced ) which will detract from the 5/5 rating that an unsmoked estate gets. Sometimes they have noticeable "shop wear", and that takes away fractions of points from our grading system. All in all though, unsmoked means no one has ever burned tobacco in that pioe.
As for auction sites, I have seen listings where the pipe had been obviously used, but the seller was listing it as "unsmoked", because, well, he/she didn't smoke it 8O
Hi Tbone,
Welcome to the forums. You have been given excellent advice. An unsmoked estate is a secondhand pipe that has never been smoked, not a single load of tobacco has ever been fired up in that pipe. Nothing. Nada.
When I first got into the hobby, ebay did not exist. The internet was something used only by large institutions.
I bought my pipes from brick and mortar stores, where I could learn about pipes and tobacco. Since then I've bought from B&M's, online dealers, and ebay. You can do well, or get suckered badly on ebay. Someone is about to pay $3650 or more for what is probably a fake Bo Nordh (a topic of another thread).
What I tell anyone who is contemplating buying on ebay is this. For the first several months, buy nothing. Pick out auctions and follow them to see how the marketplace operates, what prices are like for specific brands, shapes and finishes. Sure some cool pipes will come and go. So what? There will be more.
Don't out much faith in high percentage feedback ratings. A couple of the biggest swindlers I've encountered on ebay have 100% ratings. It's the bunk.
Wherever you turn to build your collection, always ask questions. A reputable seller will respond. If you don't like the pictures on an ebay listing, ask for better pictures. If the seller doesn't respond, walk away. You need to be knowledgeable, and even then, be prepared for the occasional unwelcome surprise.
Welcome to the forums. You have been given excellent advice. An unsmoked estate is a secondhand pipe that has never been smoked, not a single load of tobacco has ever been fired up in that pipe. Nothing. Nada.
When I first got into the hobby, ebay did not exist. The internet was something used only by large institutions.
I bought my pipes from brick and mortar stores, where I could learn about pipes and tobacco. Since then I've bought from B&M's, online dealers, and ebay. You can do well, or get suckered badly on ebay. Someone is about to pay $3650 or more for what is probably a fake Bo Nordh (a topic of another thread).
What I tell anyone who is contemplating buying on ebay is this. For the first several months, buy nothing. Pick out auctions and follow them to see how the marketplace operates, what prices are like for specific brands, shapes and finishes. Sure some cool pipes will come and go. So what? There will be more.
Don't out much faith in high percentage feedback ratings. A couple of the biggest swindlers I've encountered on ebay have 100% ratings. It's the bunk.
Wherever you turn to build your collection, always ask questions. A reputable seller will respond. If you don't like the pictures on an ebay listing, ask for better pictures. If the seller doesn't respond, walk away. You need to be knowledgeable, and even then, be prepared for the occasional unwelcome surprise.
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