Funny because I would have consider the poker a 'classic' shape.
I've been calling this pipe the "Troll Poker" but it's probably as wild as it gets before you can't call it a poker anymore...
In Praise of the Poker
- Thread starter SmokingInTheWind
- Start date
Funny because I would have consider the poker a 'classic' shape.
I've been calling this pipe the "Troll Poker" but it's probably as wild as it gets before you can't call it a poker anymore...
Funny because I would have consider the poker a 'classic' shape.
I've been calling this pipe the "Troll Poker" but it's probably as wild as it gets before you can't call it a poker anymore...
I understand what you’re saying. I’m not an expert and use terms loosely.
That pipe makes me nervous
They look like they could be twins.It was a complimentI love those bits. I find them to be the most comfortable for clenching. I bite down when clenching and they fit and feel good on my teeth. They hold up well with just minor tooth chatter. Those pipes look like some good workhorses.
The rustication is nearly identical.
They are both made in Italy, around the same time. The Poker is a LaStrada, the Cherrywood is a Vendome. But most likely made in the same factory in the 1970s or 1980s. I got them from a small cigar shop on a guys front porch....seriously. He got these pipes NOS from a news shop, Urban Town News, in Jamestown NY. Urban Town closed in the mid 1980s, so the pipes are at least that old. There were about 20 pipes in a cardboard box somewhere in the guys house. When I told him I was into pipes, he said, "I got some pipes somewhere around here". He disappeared into his house, coming back 20 minutes later with the box. He wanted $10 a piece, but when I said I wanted them all, he sold them to me for $150.
Besides these 2 pipes I got 2 more of my favorite pipes. An equally ugly rusticated GBD.....and another generic basket pipe. The rest I sold over the years.....I think....maybe there are more around here. I really need to thin the herd.
From my understanding a Poker has a flat bottom and straight stem.Funny because I would have consider the poker a 'classic' shape.
I've been calling this pipe the "Troll Poker" but it's probably as wild as it gets before you can't call it a poker anymore...
An angled bottom and bent or angled stem is a Cherrywood shape.
But some makers use artistic license with their shapes.
I used to have a pipe made by a random guy in the early 2000s. It was very clearly an Apple shape.
But he called it a Squat Billiard.
That was the first and only time I've ever heard of a Squat Billiard.
I keep thinking about this pipe. Does it have a model (shape) number on it? It looks like a handy sized pipe. I would like to find that model in a lower priced version.
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I think the closest you will find (in a wider availability and a lower price) is the longer, slimmer 701.
The Burren setter/tankard got its own shape number within the line (from what I can find, see Peterson Pipe Notes #102). PPN has it as a D18, which is a odd choice since Peterson has a D18 already that is a tall bent billiard System Deluxe from the little looking I could do.
Regardless, I think that Burren setter/tankard is a shape I’d prefer over the 701. Here’s my Donegal Rocky 701:
I figured you would have this scoped out by now.
I could be wrong, but the Burren appears to have the shank lower on the bowl than the 701, like my Ben Wade which is a very stable sitter. I like the appearance and stability of the low shank. How stable is the 701? Will it sit flat on the bottom of the bowl or does it tip down onto the stem? My main attraction to the poker is the convenience of a very stable sitter pipe. Is a poker with a low shank more appropriately called a tankard? I want to add a Peterson to my collection and that Burren looked like a good candidate. Oh well, on to the next distraction ha, ha.Edit…I looked at some specimens on SP and the shank on the 701 is pretty low on the bowl. Not as low as my Ben Wade which is almost flush with the bottom of the bowl. It looks pretty stable. It might be a good, smaller companion to my Ben Wade.
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@SmokingInTheWind, my 701 uses the stem as a kickstand, do it’s not a true setter in my opinion. Very light though (<1oz).
I like the design of this Savinelli, but it is bigger than my Ben Wade which has a .80x1.6 chamber. I want something smaller. The 701 is the right size but not quite what I am looking for. I’ll keep an eye on estates and see if something catches my eye.
Here is a comparison between the Mark Twain set and the Burren after it was cleaned up:
Thanks for sharing this. The Burren is a sweet pipe, but unobtainable. The 701 is growing on me. Blasted finish with a vulcanite, army mount, fishtail stem might work. It would be light enough to clench.
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