HUGE! Old KB&B Billiard Pipe - How Old Is It? (pic heavy)

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agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,412
In the sticks in Mississippi
I came across this big pipe on eBay and it looked interesting. The seller said it was 9" long! Somehow I didn't think an old KB&B could be that big, but for $14.99 with free shipping I took a chance. Well, it was indeed that big and it looks rather old too. I believe it pre-dates the Kaywoodie pipes, and it has an orifice button, which I believe was on earlier pipes. I can't seem to find anything about this pipe as it has no name. It just has the KB&B in the clover stamping on the shank and band, and it is also stamped French Briar, and Nickel Plated on the band, and that's all.

It took some doing to clean it up, but I didn't want to get carried away and refinish it, just give a good cleaning and polish. There was a fill, right by the nomenclature of course, that had partially fallen out. I fixed it up a little but just to make it less noticeable. There are a few dings here and there, and the inside front of the bowl top was badly charred. I didn't want to top the bowl to get rid of it, so I just cleaned and polished it as good as I felt it needed. This thing is a monster appearance wise, but outside of it's length, it's just a large billiard. Weighs in at only 58g! Still, you're not going to be clenching this pipe, not with the tiny button and all the weight at the other end of 9".
So the question remains, why would they make a pipe like this? I've seen the giant Wellington pipes, but this seems older and why a straight pipe? It's not really a churchwarden. Any KB&B or Kaywoodie scholars out there care to comment?
Before:

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After:

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ashdigger

Lifer
Jul 30, 2016
11,378
70,055
60
Vegas Baby!!!
The KB&B family was large and the number of pipe family names was quite vast. It was until approximately 1924 that they finally consolidated all the brands. So, I'd say your pipe is from between 1900 and 1924. I'm sure is more than likely from 1915-1919 because of the orific stem and style of stamp.

 

pagan

Lifer
May 6, 2016
5,963
28
West Texas
Great find, hears some resources for you
http://pipepages.com/kwg-13.htm
https://rebornpipes.com/2016/05/07/kaywoodie-yello-bole-shape-numbers/
http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-kbb.html

 

weezell

Lifer
Oct 12, 2011
13,653
49,163
Orley, you can find em can't you? Nice,Nice pipe and good gentle clean up. You are to be commended...

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,343
That is a great restore Orley. The logo and orific airway in the stem does seem to date it to the early 1900's much like the unsmoked amber stemmed KB&B I grabbed last year.
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agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,412
In the sticks in Mississippi
Thanks for the comments all. Looks like it may be older than I figured.

Duane, I totally forgot about your pipe. I remember that it was unsmoked, and you decided to try it but with some unpleasant result? I didn't even think about it's age when I went ahead and fired mine up. So far no problems and it smokes great, no issue other than not being able to clench it. It kind of feels like smoking a churchwarden, but not quite as long.

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
Probably war-era and perhaps just a few years before. It's in remarkable condition. Congrats.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
That's a piece of history for $14.99, and it cleaned up beautifully. Nice find and excellent restoration. If the seller had gotten to the same point, and done a little research, he/she could have gotten much more, I think. Nice reading pipe. I have a Big Ben Lectura about that length, also straight, but doesn't have the wealth of history.

 

snagstangl

Lifer
Jul 1, 2013
1,606
768
Iowa, United States
I have WDC that looks the same, rubber stem, same kind of found it for under $20 on ebay. I haven't cleaned it up yet i was a little concerned about when I read that pure rubber doesn't like alcohol.

 
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