Identify a pipe

[ravkesef]

I have a bent billiard with Exemplar on the shank, with Lou's Pipe Bar on the other side. I googled both terms and drew blanks. Ditto for looking them up on PM. Anybody have any knowledge of either term? Pipe smokes just fine, by the way.

thanks,

 

[cajunguy]

Dave hit the nail on the head. It's a contracted pipe for a tobacconist. If you could post a picture, I might be able to get close to the ballpark on what company made it.

 

[ravkesef]

Here's a pic of the pipe in question. On the shank you may be able to make out the word: "Exemplar." on the reverse is "Lou's Tobacco Bar 12" and "made in England." I'm also pretty sure that it's a contract pipe, but I was wondering if anyone here has any recollection of Lou's Tobacco Bar, or of the Exemplar brand.

 

[ravkesef]

That last shot was a bit small. let's try something bigger, as requested in a private message. First is the left side of the pipe, full view, with the word Exemplar sort of visible. (pipe is a bit worn, taken w/iPhone, etc. etc.)

The second is a close up (given above disclaimers) of the "Made in England" with Lou's Tobacco Bar.

 

[tokerpipes]

Its a sharp pipe.

 

[cajunguy]

I was thinking that perhaps it was a Britannia or Mountbatten (Charatan Second) because those English companies are known for doing contract pipes. Now I'm starting to think differently. If I'm seeing the picture properly, the "Made in England" stamp is circular, more like a football. At one time, Comoy used that style stamp in their nomenclature; a product line called "Extraordinaire" comes to mind.
Extraordinaire and Exemplar are loosely synonymous, both mean "great." I'm thinking that your pipe is an Extraordinaire refashioned a bit for the Pipe Pub. It has the stamp, the name of the pipe shop, and the pipe line. All it is missing is the Comoy "C" -- which it wouldn't have if it were a contract pipe.
And yes, Comoy did contract work before they were bought-out, resold, dissolved and reconstituted. So Comoy is where I'm putting my money. If I'm right, that's a very nice grab. The rugby football-shaped "made in..." stamp puts it at about 1950.

 

[ravkesef]

Wow! Thanks for all that info, Cajunguy. A cousin who gave up the habit gave me a bunch of his pipes--they haven't been smoked in 25 years. I've cleaned them up, polished them, and now I'm trying them out. This was one of them, and I knew somebody had made it, but your ability to pull out the details and arrive at what seems to be a reasonable solution was outstanding. And back in those days, Comoy was making some very decent pipes, so I made out for the price. I've smoked one bowl of Sutliffe's Great Outdoors in it, and was remarkably pleased with the smoke, and that's what led me to the query.

Now here's the thing--one of the pipes in that batch was a Savinelli Punto Oro, and I had that one figured for a really fine smoke. this morning I tried it with a bowl of Dunhill EMP, and about half way through I thought I was going to hurl. I put it down for a bit, smoked the rest, (didn't enjoy it,) and then thoroughly cleaned it again. It's going to air out for a few days, and then I'll try it with something else. The point of course is that the smart money would have bet on the Punto Oro for a really great smoke over something bearing the label of Lou's Tobacco Bar. Go figure.

 

[troostman]

Lou's Tobacco Bar was the pipe shop in Madison Wisconsin. Downtown on State Street in it's better days. A favorite place in college. I'm always on the lookout for their pipes to add to my collection.
Nice example.... possibly a Comoy.
-ds

 

[ravkesef]

A bit of time has passed, but thanks to all of you for the good advice.
Incidentally, I took rothnh's good advice, gave the Punto Oro a thorough cleaning, and this morning I smoked a bowl of Black House in it, for a perfect, relaxing, and most importantly--flavorful smoke. The pipe is now in my regular rotation, along with the Exemplar, my Comoy in disguise.
Incidentally, I smoked the pipe while sitting outside on my deck, the first time it has been mild enough to do that in this most vigorous of New England winters that we've been experiencing.
And, for a little tidbit of info, I had two pipes that were ghosting rather badly, and I tried the Ghosts be Gone method on them, and it worked like a charm.