Four Ornsby Pipes And Counting

[Birddog66]

These are my Ornsby pipes in order of purchase top to bottom. They’ve become a bit of an obsession now. They were only produced in the 70’s and mainly sold in the north of England. The bowls are interchangeable and come in a multitude of finishes. However apart from the monogram on the top of the stem they’re unmarked so unless you’re familiar with it there’s little chance of knowing what they are, making them rather difficult to find as sellers don’t know how to list them.

 

[tobefrank]

Those are cool looking pipes. I haven't seen anything like them before.

 

[Birddog66]

Those are cool looking pipes. I haven't seen anything like them before.

Thank you, as soon as I saw the first one I had to have it, I have a thing for the weird designs that never quite made it. I’ve been picking up Dr Grabow CDL pipes recently too, that’s another one that bombed with the public.

 

[tobefrank]

Thank you, as soon as I saw the first one I had to have it, I have a thing for the weird designs that never quite made it. I’ve been picking up Dr Grabow CDL pipes recently too, that’s another one that bombed with the public.

How do they smoke? Some thinking must have gone into that design.

 

[Birddog66]

It was designed by a Naval Officer in the 70’s but was only produced between 76 & 80 when they went out of business. I love the draw, it’s open which is how I like it, the only issue I have is that because the draw hole is right at the bottom of the bowl small pieces of tobacco can get caught causing a hiss or gurgle. It’s easily fixed by either rotating the stem and blowing out the offending article or simply removing it and inserting a cleaner. I’ve overcome this problem by laying a piece of flake over the hole to prevent the little bits getting stuck. I think it’s demise was more due to the fact that pipe smoking was becoming unfashionable by 1980 than to its design.

 

[newbroom]

That's a really cool way to present a short stummel. The stinger looks perfectly workable, and like it would easily pass a cleaner. I would buy one at my usual price point; $20.00 or less. ( obviously, exceptions have been made )

 

[Birddog66]

That's a really cool way to present a short stummel. The stinger looks perfectly workable, and like it would easily pass a cleaner. I would buy one at my usual price point; $20.00 or less. ( obviously, exceptions have been made )

They’re getting more expensive every time I see them due to their scarcity. However the last one was a very kind gift from Geoff at Cambridge Pipe Repair, it looked like it’d been dragged behind a truck before he worked his magic, it’s the shiny one on the bottom.

 

[P!pe$moker]

I was lucky enough to find one at an Auction in Australia recently.
It's a fantastic pipe

 

[jaingorenard]

These often seem to crop up in joblots in the UK. I've seen a few but never bought one; maybe next time I will! I remember having the trouble of working out what they were by googling 'weird metal filter pipe', and various similar phrases. Interesting design.

 

[grimpeur]

Just for the record, should someone find this thread while looking for information about the Ornsby...

After years of wanting one, I picked up my first Ornsby this year. I would get a second, and a third...but it does have its issues as a smoker. The first, very minor depending upon the smoker, is the capacity is smaller than one might expect. Shouldn't be an issue for one who smokes strong flakes and the like.

A more serious issue is that it is, in effect, a system pipe with no reservoir, and, obviously, no briar shank to absorb a bit of the moisture. So, the tobacco had better be on the dry side, the smoker had better not be inclined to drool if clenching, and the pace of smoking should be slow. Otherwise, either a lot of pipe cleaners will be used, or the stem will be pulled out and cleared frequently. It's reminiscent of "The Pipe" in that regard, although not quite so bad.

And, like ever other gadget pipe I've tried that has the draught hole dead-centre, bottom of the bowl, it will clog up if it's looked at sideways. I might drill it out a little, to see if that helps. Of course, the Falcon pipe doesn't suffer from this as the draught hole is sized xxl.

Another issue is this: as I discovered, much to my surprise, the aluminum tenon can, over time, corrode and become quite stuck in the bowl. The tenon is a very good fit into the tapered hole, but a bit of moisture does seep out. The pipe I got had been very lightly used and put away for a few decades (?) without cleaning; I had to use brute force to unstick it. If an example is for sale on eBay, and pics don't show the stem separated from the pipe, ask the seller if it's stuck.

I think that the pipe is an answer to a question that only Mr. Ornsby asked. But, I sure like the looks of it.

 

[Birddog66]

Just for the record, should someone find this thread while looking for information about the Ornsby...

After years of wanting one, I picked up my first Ornsby this year. I would get a second, and a third...but it does have its issues as a smoker. The first, very minor depending upon the smoker, is the capacity is smaller than one might expect. Shouldn't be an issue for one who smokes strong flakes and the like.

A more serious issue is that it is, in effect, a system pipe with no reservoir, and, obviously, no briar shank to absorb a bit of the moisture. So, the tobacco had better be on the dry side, the smoker had better not be inclined to drool if clenching, and the pace of smoking should be slow. Otherwise, either a lot of pipe cleaners will be used, or the stem will be pulled out and cleared frequently. It's reminiscent of "The Pipe" in that regard, although not quite so bad.

And, like ever other gadget pipe I've tried that has the draught hole dead-centre, bottom of the bowl, it will clog up if it's looked at sideways. I might drill it out a little, to see if that helps. Of course, the Falcon pipe doesn't suffer from this as the draught hole is sized xxl.

Another issue is this: as I discovered, much to my surprise, the aluminum tenon can, over time, corrode and become quite stuck in the bowl. The tenon is a very good fit into the tapered hole, but a bit of moisture does seep out. The pipe I got had been very lightly used and put away for a few decades (?) without cleaning; I had to use brute force to unstick it. If an example is for sale on eBay, and pics don't show the stem separated from the pipe, ask the seller if it's stuck.

I think that the pipe is an answer to a question that only Mr. Ornsby asked. But, I sure like the looks of it.

I use a piece of flake in the base of the bowl to prevent clogging and have found it works for me. Your right about the aluminium tenon however and over polishing it can cause a loose fit which can allow that awful stinky tobacco juice to go all over your hand. I have fixed that issue on the one I have with that problem by folding a small piece of pipe cleaner into the slot on the bottom.

The last Ornsby I brought was a rare American patent which has the draught hole at an angle towards the stem and no slot on the base of the bowl. It’s definitely an improvement to the overall design but I don’t think it went into production. I’ve never seen another at least.
Here’s a picture.

 

[kcghost]

It is neat that the pipes can swap stems so easily!!

 

[grimpeur]

I use a piece of flake in the base of the bowl to prevent clogging and have found it works for me. Your right about the aluminium tenon however and over polishing it can cause a loose fit which can allow that awful stinky tobacco juice to go all over your hand. I have fixed that issue on the one I have with that problem by folding a small piece of pipe cleaner into the slot on the bottom.

The last Ornsby I brought was a rare American patent which has the draught hole at an angle towards the stem and no slot on the base of the bowl. It’s definitely an improvement to the overall design but I don’t think it went into production. I’ve never seen another at least.
Here’s a picture. View attachment 295954View attachment 295955

That's intriguing! I bet Tony Pringle, who runs smokingmetal.co.uk , would like to get those pictures to add to his Ornsby entry.