Kaywoodie/KBB/Yello Bole Collectors Thread
- Thread starter buroak
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That Heritage looks in fantastic shape, quite a grain pattern too! Is that your first Heritage?
After my pipe sock folly earlier today I needed a project I felt competent to do, so I rummaged through the box in which I put estate pipes needing cleaning. Out I pulled a lightly smoked but dinged up Kaywoodie White Briar with some carving on the front of the bowl, the clover on top of the stem, and a four-hole stinger. The pipe just needed sanitizing and removal of rim buildup. The pipe has seemed odd since I bought it in a lot. It has no nomenclature on the shank and the carving looks like something on a 60s Yello Bole or Medico. As I started in on cleaning the airway I thought more about the oddity of the pipe. I put down the stem, picked up the bowl, and shone my penlight into the tobacco chamber. That is when "it" hit me - this pipe is not a White Briar, it is a Kaywoodie Meerschaum.
I needed a bit of a pick-me-up. Finding a Kaywoodie meer I did not know I had will more than suffice.
I sanded down the carbon in the bowl and finished a light cleaning. Here is the pipe. Sorry for the low quality of the photos.
I needed a bit of a pick-me-up. Finding a Kaywoodie meer I did not know I had will more than suffice.
I sanded down the carbon in the bowl and finished a light cleaning. Here is the pipe. Sorry for the low quality of the photos.
xrundog, Do you know when Kaywoodie first made Drinkless meerschaum pipes in traditional shapes? I have occasionally seen Kaywoodie meers with the old-style long stingers and the plain clover logo inlaid in the stem.
1930s I believe. The catalogs mention meerschaum pipes but don't show much in the way of shapes or stems. Everything I know about them is based on pipes I've had or seen for sale on ebay. There is probably some old timer out there who has 200 of them. Ever seen a Kaywoodie Figural meerschaum? I haven't. But I know they made them. Someone has them.
xrundog, Thanks. That looks like some of the oldies I have seen, though I have seen more of them with vulcanite stems. I have never seen a figural.
gambit88, The stain looks darker than the Connoisseurs I have seen, but it may have be re-stained by a previous owner. In any case, Kaywoodie made great-looking classic bulldog shapes.
buroak I'm not sure if its a connoisseur or not. It has some kind of clear coat or varnish on it. I guessed connoisseur because that was the style and bowl number listed on pipephil. There is nothing saying it is anywhere on the pipe though. Either way I just finished the cleaning and cant wait to break it in.
gambit88, I hope the bulldog will be a good smoker for you. If your experience with lacquered Kaywoodies is similar to mine, you may want to sand off that finish. I only have had one Kaywoodie with a lacquer finish, but it smoked hotter than any of my other Kaywoodies.
An English-made Relief Grain is a nice pipe to have. How does it smoke for you?
An English-made Relief Grain is a nice pipe to have. How does it smoke for you?
I probably wont mess with the finish too much. I've refinished a few pipes and they haven't turned out the way I hoped they would. I don't have a buffer either so that could be part of the issue. The Relief grain is very light and smokes well I have gotten a few gurggles on it but that was probably operator error.. I found it at a junk shop and it looked like it had only been smoked a couple of times. I'm more of a bulldog guy so I think I may let the relief go somewhere down the line.
Perhaps I should sell my four-digit push stem Super Grain. http://www.ebay.com/itm/WAR-TIME-KAYWOODIE-PIPE-WITH-4-DIGIT-SHAPE-NUMBER-AND-PUSH-STEM-/400874196740?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=20BfhLYn6wIH64NOYuAEyqM%252Fq4c%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#
That seller lately has been able to sell quite a few unremarkable pieces for remarkable prices. I am not saying that this Super Grain is unremarkable, it just is not that remarkable. I am also not sure of his/her tobacco chamber refurbishment.
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