Mountain Laurel & Manzanita Pipes

[RustiePyles CPG]

Anyone else collect WWII American made Mountain Laurel & Manzanita pipes?

A Sparta made Spartan Pipe, made from rhododendron with a maple stem. These were made by Dr G to be sent to the front in
C-Rats. Very few survived the war.
This display is full of all its original manzanita pipes all unsmoked. 1941-43ish

The Hesson Guard is a WDC made Manzanita pipe. The two with yellow bowl lining are from the Mountain Root Display.

 

[BarrelProof]

$1.50/ea! Tell ya what, I’ll give you the full asking price of $15.00 for the lot and throw in an extra $5.00 for the display. I’ll PM you my address.

Kidding aside - this is an incredible set. Very cool story and excellent piece of history!

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

$1.50/ea! Tell ya what, I’ll give you the full asking price of $15.00 for the lot and throw in an extra $5.00 for the display. I’ll PM you my address.

Kidding aside - this is an incredible set. Very cool story and excellent piece of history!

Well for actual pipe value $1.50 might be stretch even today for these... They are VERY poor quality and lined with what I've long suspected to be an asbestos concoction of some sort. I would definitely not smoke one. But historic value is another animal altogether. I doubt there are many other examples of these pipes around.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Here is a link to Patent No.2089519

US2089519A - Manufacture of wooden tobacco pipe - Google Patents

The short story is non briar woods were boiled in a 12% boric acid solution to increase thier resistance to burning.

 

[BarrelProof]

Well for actual pipe value $1.50 might be stretch even today for these... They are VERY poor quality and lined with what I've long suspected to be an asbestos concoction of some sort. I would definitely not smoke one. But historic value is another animal altogether. I doubt there are many other examples of these pipes around.

Sounds like a solid G&H topping to me.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

The finned pipe is a Weber CoolMore, made from Mountain Laurel. The tamper I made from a WDC Manzanita cigarette holder.

 

[Perimeter_Road]

My one and only WDC Manzanita pipe. Would you consider this unsafe to smoke? I’ve only used it a handful of times and didn’t notice much difference.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

My one and only WDC Manzanita pipe. Would you consider this unsafe to smoke? I’ve only used it a handful of times and didn’t notice much difference.
View attachment 207710

Those are perfectly safe to smoke. But they do have a propensity to burn out, so if you want to hang on to it I wouldn't smoke it much. A very nice example of a WDC Manzanita, I love the rustication they used on those.

 

[kcghost]

Never thought of these pipes as anything but war time curiosities. Who knew??

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Never thought of these pipes as anything but war time curiosities. Who knew??

Thats really all they are, I don't smoke em'. They can usually be had for no more than a few dollars, so collecting em' is pretty easy.

 

[Hillcrest]

American mountain Laurel is an endangered species today ... maybe this is why. Great post but I suspect I'll stick to briar and meerschaum for traditions sake !!

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

American mountain Laurel is an endangered species today ... maybe this is why. Great post but I suspect I'll stick to briar and meerschaum for traditions sake !!

Hmm, I don’t think it is. Kalmia Latifolia aka Mountain Laurel has an IUCN rating of LC (least concerned) and a NatureServe rating of GS (secure). Those are the least endangered ratings for plants.

But no it does not make great pipes.

 

[Hillcrest]

Hmm, I don’t think it is. Kalmia Latifolia aka Mountain Laurel has an IUCN rating of LC (least concerned) and a NatureServe rating of GS (secure). Those are the least endangered ratings for plants.

But no it does not make great pipes.

Maybe we're talking about different plants... I've been told (by multiple specialists) the one (American mountain Laurel) on my front lawn is a rare endangered species in my state. All the new laurels in my state are from asia. (???)