GBD Virgin 549 Bulldog (Unsmoked!)

[ssjones]

I smoked all of my pipes, so that isn't even a thought in my head. Last year, I did find two unsmoked pipes, an Ashton Old Church (Taylor)and a James Upshall. Rare treats, and both are now nicely broken in!

 

[topd]

Wow, nice pipe. Congrats...!

 

[pipejunky]

That's a handsome piece of briar, and being a bulldog only makes me like it more. Rub some up and break her in.

 

[eastwoodaudio]

One of my favorite shapes ever! Does that have a stain or wax on it? Looks very natural.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Sweet bulldog. Sorry I missed that auction.

 

[ssjones]

One of my favorite shapes ever! Does that have a stain or wax on it? Looks very natural.

GBD "Virgin" finish pipes had a very light stain and were known for not having any fills (lower grade GBD's had fills). Typically, they are seem with the clear "Perspex" stem but I prefer the vulcanite. Some even had stems stamped "Handcut", I still aspire to add one of those pipes. Now that I think about it, I've never seen an unsmoked Virgin grade pipe and didn't realize they were that light in finish.
I have one other Virgin, a 9438 with a Perspex stem, it is a terrific smoker. You can see how use and age have darkened the briar.

 

[dolomite128]

GBDs are my personal favorite English made pipe. I have several examples of 9438 and the tapered version 9242 or is it 9424? Anyway, the bulldog in the opening post is a beauty. Do you plan on smoking it?

 

[ssjones]

The pipe was delivered today (super-fast shipping via Pipestud!). I was pleased to find that it is drilled nicely (one Ebay pix looked like the bowl was off-center) and passes a cleaner nicely. The stem was mildly oxidized, so I gave it a polish and polished the draft hole as well (well, finer sand with a needle file). It still is showing some oxidation, so I'll have to hit again this weekend. The pipe will most definitely be smoked this weekend.