Is my new Unsmoked Wally Frank a decent deal? New guy asking for honest opinions.

[/Adam\]

What’s up guys and gals, waiting on the mail because this pipe is coming today. The seller was asking $74.99. I offered $40 and he countered with $50. It’s unsmoked and the fit and finish seems to be pretty darn nice. I haven’t done any research to try and find the age or anything but it looks to have only minor flaws on the rim and a few almost unnoticeable dents and dings on the stummel. If any of you veteran guys know anything about Ben Wade pipes and feel like educating a newer guy please do. Anything you can tell me would be of great value to me. I’d also like to know for future reference and when I’m looking to buy again if what I paid is too high or not. Thanks guys.

 

[Grangerous]

Wally Frank - Pipedia

pipedia.org

 

[sablebrush52]

Nice looking pipe. I like the bowling ball stem.
Certainly looks like a lot more than $50 worth.
You’ll know if it is worth it when you smoke it.

 

[Auxsender]

I don’t know shit about it but that pipe looks pretty good to me.

 

[Scottmi]

Lovely find! I'd say you found a great deal!

 

[anotherbob]

50 dollars is a fine price for a decent pipe period. It doesn't matter if it's the only pipe some guy made and has no stamping or anything. Also nice pipe so yeah I think you'll be able to get a good amount of satisfaction from that amount of money. Compare that not to a pipe but a meal, these days you could spend more then that on a dinner that was pretty good and still owe a tip.

 

[keith929]

You have chosen well grasshopper.

 

[coming to_falling too]

Hard to beat a good looking billiard. May it smoke as good as it looks.

 

[LeafErikson]

I’ve almost bought this pipe multiple times myself. You’ll know about 2/3 through the first bowl if it was worth the money. Enjoy the beautiful pipe my friend.

 

[AroEnglish]

From the looks and condition alone I'd be very happy with that purchase. Looks exactly like the size I prefer. What's the weight?

 

[newbroom]

Considering that a pre-drilled and stemmed briar block goes for about the same dough, how can you go wrong? The stem is worth that. I suspect you knew this.

 

[Bbailey324]

Good looking pipe. Should be a good addition.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Nice looking pipe, I'd call it a very nice deal.

 

[BlueRidge]

Looks nice, you did well in my opinion

 

[dd57chevy]

That wood looks very nice . Cool stem , too .
I'd say you got more than your money's worth !

 

[/Adam\]

From the looks and condition alone I'd be very happy with that purchase. Looks exactly like the size I prefer. What's the weight?

Here’s some info from the eBay listing. On my little kitchen/coffee scale it says 28.9 grams. My Savinelli 673 KS lucite says 51.9 grams but online they’re listed as weighing 51 grams. So if my scale is off it’s by .5 to .9 grams. The Wally frank is here so I took a few more photos for size reference if you’re interested. It’s smaller than I expected. The bowl is the smallest of any of my pipes. These are a Sav. 673 KS and a Peterson Killarney red 01 fishtail. The Savinelli is the only pipe I own that was new when purchased. I got the Killarney red from a member who had it listed for sale here. You might remember seeing the FS post. I do really like this Wally Frank though. It looks just as good in person and is drilled perfectly.

 

[/Adam\]

Considering that a pre-drilled and stemmed briar block goes for about the same dough, how can you go wrong? The stem is worth that. I suspect you knew this.

I wouldn’t have known haha. I’m still learning. But I do appreciate the info sir. Thank you

 

[johnnyflake]

That is a very nice-looking pipe. It's beautiful! The thing that caught my attention is that it is made from Wine Root Bruyere, not normal briar. I had to check it out as I am not familiar with the Wine Root. I found a brief article about it and it's all good. I would have paid $50 in a heartbeat! This a caption:

Wine Root Bruyere smoking pipes are considered very good. The wood, known as briar root or French Bruyere is extremely hard and heat- resistant. It is used for making pipes and knife handles.

 

[AroEnglish]

Here’s some info from the eBay listing. On my little kitchen/coffee scale it says 28.9 grams. My Savinelli 673 KS lucite says 51.9 grams but online they’re listed as weighing 51 grams. So if my scale is off it’s by .5 to .9 grams. The Wally frank is here so I took a few more photos for size reference if you’re interested. It’s smaller than I expected. The bowl is the smallest of any of my pipes. These are a Sav. 673 KS and a Peterson Killarney red 01 fishtail. The Savinelli is the only pipe I own that was new when purchased. I got the Killarney red from a member who had it listed for sale here. You might remember seeing the FS post. I do really like this Wally Frank though. It looks just as good in person and is drilled perfectly.

View attachment 357482View attachment 357483View attachment 357484

Yeah that’s going to be a primo clencher. It’ll be a great pocket pipe and/or quick smoke (or two).

 

[Sobrbiker]

Very nice score.