This one has been with me for a looooong time. Have absolutely no clue what it is exactly, who made it, or when.
It is a nice smoker with very respectable straight grain throughout. No fills or defects except for a couple man-made dings over the years.
At some point it had a screw in stinger, i.e. was not made for filters. The pipe is not ancient, as the bit is not orific. The stem is vulcanite. Still, my gut says it’s on the older side.
For stamps we have:
1) J.M.F. initials in block script, in a circle, on the stem - if it had colour I’d never seen it;
2) Made in France in tiny faded block letters on the neck underside, just below the stem, but I can just about make out FRANCE, otherwise I’d have zero clue the pipe was indeed French;
3) 33 shape code on the neck;
4) REAL BRIAR / FISCHER / EXTRA in block letters one under the other, with Fischer being rendered in a cool grill kind of pattern; To be precise, the letters are not stamped, but the background around them is, creating an oval shaped grille and the appearance of the name being embedded in it.
I presume that Mr J.M.F. was indeed a Fischer. Also, given the sheer amount of English on this French-made pipe, this may have been an export model, or a model made in France for some non-French company.
I am aware of the U.S. Fischer lineages from Boston/Orchard Park, but AFAIK they did make their pipes in America, their stamps looked quite different, and they never had a grade labelled Extra. Oh, and both father and son were Gustavs, and there was also Poul Fischer, so not a J.M. in sight...
Any aficionados out there with some idea what this is?
It is a nice smoker with very respectable straight grain throughout. No fills or defects except for a couple man-made dings over the years.
At some point it had a screw in stinger, i.e. was not made for filters. The pipe is not ancient, as the bit is not orific. The stem is vulcanite. Still, my gut says it’s on the older side.
For stamps we have:
1) J.M.F. initials in block script, in a circle, on the stem - if it had colour I’d never seen it;
2) Made in France in tiny faded block letters on the neck underside, just below the stem, but I can just about make out FRANCE, otherwise I’d have zero clue the pipe was indeed French;
3) 33 shape code on the neck;
4) REAL BRIAR / FISCHER / EXTRA in block letters one under the other, with Fischer being rendered in a cool grill kind of pattern; To be precise, the letters are not stamped, but the background around them is, creating an oval shaped grille and the appearance of the name being embedded in it.
I presume that Mr J.M.F. was indeed a Fischer. Also, given the sheer amount of English on this French-made pipe, this may have been an export model, or a model made in France for some non-French company.
I am aware of the U.S. Fischer lineages from Boston/Orchard Park, but AFAIK they did make their pipes in America, their stamps looked quite different, and they never had a grade labelled Extra. Oh, and both father and son were Gustavs, and there was also Poul Fischer, so not a J.M. in sight...
Any aficionados out there with some idea what this is?
