Help with Comoys Grand Slam

[hoppes]

Found this on EBay several days ago. Initial price was very low ! Watched it for 6 days-there was only one bid. Couldn't figure out why no other bids and extremely low starting price.Knowing nothing about Comoys pipes-- Went to the Internet to do some research. The usual websites revealed the Grand Slam patent was awarded in 1933 or 1935. The mouthpiece marked with the white-blue-white bar was also used from 1933 to 1945. The stamping Comoys without the apostrophe was also fairly early.Since I do not have any Comoys pipes in the stable I decided to take take a flyer.

I figured the box, sack and other accouterments are not only interesting but would add to the value of the pipe.The bid price stayed quite low until the last 30 seconds. I decided I wanted the pipe so probably paid too much especially if this turns out to be a so-so Comoys.Pipe is marked Comoys,Grand Slam,Patent on left side. *4, London Made on bottom. British, Patent No 405703, #47 on right side. Has the white-blue-white bar on top of mouthpiece All you experts weigh in !! Don't know if I got a bargain or not. Thanks, Hoppes

 

[jensen]

Yes, I think you got a bargain.It is just as the one I have in my unsmoked stock including the box and papers.

Does it still have the " metal tube" in the stem ?
Jørgen

 

[jguss]

Very nice. At the risk of saying the obvious, the enclosure clearly dates this particular pipe to WW2.

 

[jguss]

By the way, I believe the Grand Slam was introduced about September of 1933; at that time advertisements to the trade had the phrase "patent applied for" in very small type. At the beginning of 1935 this disappeared and the patent number was listed instead, suggesting that the patent was granted very late in 1934.

 

[voorhees]

From the pictures it appears to have been reamed with a knife(Not uncommon)as,the bowl looks out of round. I also can barely make out the draft hole but it seems it was enlarged.

 

[ssjones]

Richard Hacker mentions in his book that the blue/white logo is rare. I've never seen one myself! I think you found a pretty unique pipe. It didn't show up on my Comoy's Ebay search, so it stayed under the radar.
Does anyone know the date range where the blue/white logo was used? (versus the drilled C version)

 

[jensen]

By the way, I have a Comoy catalog from around 1975. Under the Mark - 2 grade is written.
This is Comoy

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s been

around since the early thirties as the world-famous " Grand Slam".

The system`s fluid-tight washer traps all moisture, tars and tobacco dust or ash etc.etc.etc

 

[jensen]

I do not know what happened,read Comoys true filter system pipe and still the most effective although it`s

has been around since the early thirties as.........

 

[achtman]

“Does anyone know the date range where the blue/white logo was used? (versus the drilled C version)”
The Grand Slam always had the three bars at first.

 

[achtman]

“

By the way, I have a Comoy catalog from around 1975.

“
Don’t get upset. There was a second versi9n called the Mark 2. You have a Mark 1 which looks very rare because it has the war picture. Very few pipes were made in England durable no WWI because the factories were building airplane parts. And there was no vulcanite. And Briar was difficult to obtain. So yours is very rare.
If there is a #4 stamped that is the size of the leather ring on the stinger. Does it still have the stinger?
Mark

 

[hoppes]

The stinger is present but I haven't had the time to take the pipe apart so I don't know what the internals looks like. GL Pease in his article states that the straight line Comoys without the apostrophe was used in the 40's--I gather that was the only time Comoy used that marking so it appears quite rare.The white bar logo was used from 1933 to 1945 on the Grand Slam pipes. It ended in 1945 when Comoys went with the 3 piece C. There appears to be three separate patent awards for the Grand Slam apparatus: British No. 405703, Canadian Ca 341422 and US 2001612. The Canadian patent was applied for in 1933 as was the British. Looks as if the final granting was in 1935 for both. The US patent was also applied for in June of 1933 but not granted likewise until May of 1935. Others have shown pipes with the Pat. pending or applied for markings so the Grand Slam line may have started in 1933 with the patent pipes marked starting in 1935.!!?? The other question on this pipe is the football-shaped London Made stamping. It appears according to GL Pease to have be used from the 20's until 1938. Taking all this together, it seems this pipe was made in the late 30's or early Forties. Complicating that scenario is the fact that pipes finished during the war may have used briars produced earlier in the thirties since briar was scarce during the war years. Sorry about the long expose. Just trying to gather all the data that I have read---don't know how much is true but is quite fascinating ! Isn't this hobby great !! Hope the experts can comment. Thanks, Hoppes

 

[ssjones]

The Grand Slam always had the three bars at first.

Huh, three bars????