Whilst browsing a certain British based pipe seller on Ebay last week I spied two interesting looking unsmoked pipes with low start prices. Not being overly confident of winning I placed low bids on both pipes. One was a hand made Munalli 'freehand' sandblasted pipe and the other a hand made smooth Butz Choquin sort of round bulldog. Lo and behold I won both auctions and my pipes arrived yesterday.
Here is the Butz Choquin which is stamped 'Butz Choquin Collection Supra' on one side and 'Fait Main St. Claude France' on the other. I did much digging on the internet but could find no information on the 'Supra' line though I did find some 'Collection' series and these appear to be higher grade than their ordinary stock pipes.
Not mentioned in the advert and not shown in any of the photos were the small dings on the bottom of the bowl. I e-mailed the seller and sent her a photo and she immediately offered to fully refund the pipe or give me a partial refund if I chose to keep the pipe. As I was smoking the pipe at the time I opted for the latter and got a very fair reduction. BTW, this particular seller has a pretty bad reputation on here but this being my second transaction I have no complaints personally.
I'm on my second bowl of FVF with this pipe and I can just tell it's going to be a favourite. It is quite large, last night I got well over two hours out of it whilst watching the snooker :
:
The dings are clearly visible in pic 4. I tried steaming them out last night and though much reduced I need to do so again.
As can be seen, there is beautiful flame grain all around the bowl with some stunning bird's eye around the rim...a very pretty pipe indeed.
If anyone knows anything about the 'Supra' series of pipes then please shout, I would love to know what other shapes might be available. I have e-mailed BC but am not holding my breath for a response.
Regards,
Jay.
Here is the Butz Choquin which is stamped 'Butz Choquin Collection Supra' on one side and 'Fait Main St. Claude France' on the other. I did much digging on the internet but could find no information on the 'Supra' line though I did find some 'Collection' series and these appear to be higher grade than their ordinary stock pipes.
Not mentioned in the advert and not shown in any of the photos were the small dings on the bottom of the bowl. I e-mailed the seller and sent her a photo and she immediately offered to fully refund the pipe or give me a partial refund if I chose to keep the pipe. As I was smoking the pipe at the time I opted for the latter and got a very fair reduction. BTW, this particular seller has a pretty bad reputation on here but this being my second transaction I have no complaints personally.
I'm on my second bowl of FVF with this pipe and I can just tell it's going to be a favourite. It is quite large, last night I got well over two hours out of it whilst watching the snooker :
:The dings are clearly visible in pic 4. I tried steaming them out last night and though much reduced I need to do so again.
As can be seen, there is beautiful flame grain all around the bowl with some stunning bird's eye around the rim...a very pretty pipe indeed.
If anyone knows anything about the 'Supra' series of pipes then please shout, I would love to know what other shapes might be available. I have e-mailed BC but am not holding my breath for a response.
Regards,
Jay.
