Found an UNSMOKED Pair of 1918 GBD XTra’s in Scotland!

[White_Rice]

Just returned home from backpacking around Scotland and visiting distilleries for the past 6 weeks, last day there I walking around Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland (after visiting the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Vaults) and stopped in a *former* pipe shop turning head shop. They only had a few pipes left on the shelf with most of the space being taken up by glass “pipes”. I asked the guy behind the counter if they had any estate pipes from the pipe shop days, he brought out a small box with 20 or so nameless basket pipes with these at the bottom of the box. I love GBDs and smoke them more than any other pipes in my rotation, I was almost speechless to see these! I checked the inside of the bowls and couldn’t believe they were unsmoked and not a scratch on the pipes. I checked the silver hallmarks and found they were made in 1918 in London, you can tell by the discoloration of the purple felt that they have been in the case their long life. The price tag… £70 (approx $80 USD), again almost speechless, I paid without even putting the pipes down so if you ever see an old pipe shop that is “transitioning” to a head shop, it never hurts to ask if they have any estate pipes hidden away.

I would love more information from other GBD lovers who might know more about them… I couldn’t find too much on the GBD “wiki” on the older pipes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Be careful smoking them. I had an unsmoked KB&B from 1912 that the shank split on the first time I smoked it.

 

[White_Rice]

Thanks for the warning! I would be pretty devastated!

Be careful smoking them. I had an unsmoked KB&B from 1912 that the shank split on the first time I smoked it.

 

[sablebrush52]

Just returned home from backpacking around Scotland and visiting distilleries for the past 6 weeks, last day there I walking around Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland (after visiting the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Vaults) and stopped in a *former* pipe shop turning head shop. They only had a few pipes left on the shelf with most of the space being taken up by glass “pipes”. I asked the guy behind the counter if they had any estate pipes from the pipe shop days, he brought out a small box with 20 or so nameless basket pipes with these at the bottom of the box. I love GBDs and smoke them more than any other pipes in my rotation, I was almost speechless to see these! I checked the inside of the bowls and couldn’t believe they were unsmoked and not a scratch on the pipes. I checked the silver hallmarks and found they were made in 1918 in London, you can tell by the discoloration of the purple felt that they have been in the case their long life. The price tag… £70 (approx $80 USD), again almost speechless, I paid without even putting the pipes down so if you ever see an old pipe shop that is “transitioning” to a head shop, it never hurts to ask if they have any estate pipes hidden away.

I would love more information from other GBD lovers who might know more about them… I couldn’t find too much on the GBD “wiki” on the older pipes.

The briar of unsmoked pipes of this vintage may be very dry and more subject to cracking from the heat and moisture. Before smoking them, coat the chamber walls with a silicate mixture to act as an insulator. Then smoke very slowly, keeping the bowl from getting warm, until you build up some cake.

You can find information about how to coat the chamber walls in one of George Dibos' pipe restoration videos on YouTube.

This set was on display for a long enough period of time to cause the lining to fade from exposure to sunlight. You can see what the original color was like in the recess under the pipe, that was protected from exposure to light.

Quite an extraordinary find!

Here's an article on GBD that you might find informative:

GBD - Pipedia

pipedia.org

 

[georged]

The briar of unsmoked pipes of this vintage may be very dry and more subject to cracking from the heat and moisture. Before smoking them, coat the chamber walls with a silicate mixture to act as an insulator. Then smoke very slowly, keeping the bowl from getting warm, until you build up some cake.

This ^^^^

Excessive dryness can definitely be the case with century old unsmoked briar.

The sucky part is there's no rewind button if you decide to roll the dice and lose.

Here's the info that Jesse referred to. Works like a champ:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW_jhhLVqCgaQNWswcXKMDlQ

 

[OzPiper]

A serendipitous find
Congratulations on your score

I had a cracked shank (pretty much along the whole length of the shank) on smoking a 1921 Loewe the 1st time
Luckily it already had a silver band
I have since smoked it on a few occasions with no problems

 

[Ahi Ka]

Awesome! The guys at the shop are probably getting a good laugh about how they sold some old pipes to a tourist for £70.

 

[Briar Lee]

I smoke quite a few new seventy plus year old Lees without any sad stories so far.

But I’ve found any attempt to keep a very old pipe the same natural color as found is doomed. As you smoke them they get darker.

Were those mine, before I smoked the first bowl I’d take a silver polish and restore the mounts, and grapeseed oil to replenish the sheen they had when new.

It wouldn’t hurt to wipe them first with a wet paper towel, to rehydrate them a little. Use a low moisture “drugstore” blend and coat the chamber with honey for break in.

Go easy, and they ought to be fine.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Just returned home from backpacking around Scotland and visiting distilleries for the past 6 weeks, last day there I walking around Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland (after visiting the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Vaults) and stopped in a *former* pipe shop turning head shop. They only had a few pipes left on the shelf with most of the space being taken up by glass “pipes”. I asked the guy behind the counter if they had any estate pipes from the pipe shop days, he brought out a small box with 20 or so nameless basket pipes with these at the bottom of the box. I love GBDs and smoke them more than any other pipes in my rotation, I was almost speechless to see these! I checked the inside of the bowls and couldn’t believe they were unsmoked and not a scratch on the pipes. I checked the silver hallmarks and found they were made in 1918 in London, you can tell by the discoloration of the purple felt that they have been in the case their long life. The price tag… £70 (approx $80 USD), again almost speechless, I paid without even putting the pipes down so if you ever see an old pipe shop that is “transitioning” to a head shop, it never hurts to ask if they have any estate pipes hidden away.

I would love more information from other GBD lovers who might know more about them… I couldn’t find too much on the GBD “wiki” on the older pipes.

Wonderful, good show. Well done Sir, congrats !
I much recommend to follow George's advice.
He's ( almost ) never wrong

 

[ssjones]

First - incredible opportunistic find!

Can you post some close-up shots of the nomenclature/Hallmarks?

We have a pretty active GBD Facebook page - would you mind if I posted them there? (or join/post yourself!) Mike Hagley, sometimes member here, is a pretty regular contributor on the FB page. He's likely the best GBD resource we have available to brand fans.

 

[ARTOPUT]

This ^^^^

Excessive dryness can definitely be the case with century old unsmoked briar.

The sucky part is there's no rewind button if you decide to roll the dice and lose.

Here's the info that Jesse referred to. Works like a champ:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFwwtvtKlXW_jhhLVqCgaQNWswcXKMDlQ

nice resource on his videos thanks for sharing the link

 

[White_Rice]

First - incredible opportunistic find!

Can you post some close-up shots of the nomenclature/Hallmarks?

We have a pretty active GBD Facebook page - would you mind if I posted them there? (or join/post yourself!) Mike Hagley, sometimes member here, is a pretty regular contributor on the FB page. He's likely the best GBD resource we have available to brand fans.

Thank you!

I don’t have Facebook so please feel free to post them there, I’ll send you some closeup shots as well as some more pictures of the pipes.

 

[simong]

Happy find indeed!
Sad to hear the tobacconists in leith has turned into a ‘head shop’ though.

 

[mso489]

What a find at what a price. Since there are two, perhaps you should smoke one, taking all precautions, and keep the other strictly as a collection piece. Or just keep them both unsmoked ... for luck.

You also lucked out on the weakness of the pound, so your whole trip was at significant savings except for air fare.

 

[edger]

Be careful smoking them. I had an unsmoked KB&B from 1912 that the shank split on the first time I smoked it.

Especially if they travel from humid Scotland to dry Az!!

 

[alaskanpiper]

WOW!!!! What a score!

 

[PipeIT]

What a find, Congrats, enjoy!

 

[J. B. Deller]

Just returned home from backpacking around Scotland and visiting distilleries for the past 6 weeks, last day there I walking around Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland (after visiting the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Vaults) and stopped in a *former* pipe shop turning head shop. They only had a few pipes left on the shelf with most of the space being taken up by glass “pipes”. I asked the guy behind the counter if they had any estate pipes from the pipe shop days, he brought out a small box with 20 or so nameless basket pipes with these at the bottom of the box. I love GBDs and smoke them more than any other pipes in my rotation, I was almost speechless to see these! I checked the inside of the bowls and couldn’t believe they were unsmoked and not a scratch on the pipes. I checked the silver hallmarks and found they were made in 1918 in London, you can tell by the discoloration of the purple felt that they have been in the case their long life. The price tag… £70 (approx $80 USD), again almost speechless, I paid without even putting the pipes down so if you ever see an old pipe shop that is “transitioning” to a head shop, it never hurts to ask if they have any estate pipes hidden away.

I would love more information from other GBD lovers who might know more about them… I couldn’t find too much on the GBD “wiki” on the older pipes.

My recommendation would be to keep them both in the condition you purchased them in. You can get other pipes to smoke.