Mystery Pipe Made of Mystery Wood - Pics

[agnosticpipe]

This is one of the pipes that my wife brought back from California about a week ago. I was going to show them all at once when I restored them, but this is such an oddball pipe I thought I'd post it separately. It had been smoked rather heavily, and the only thing stamped on it is Vest Pokit. Nothing else anywhere. It's just short of 5" long and the chamber is 1" by 5/8". I don't have any idea what the wood is. I don't think its briar as it's pretty light, it even floated when I put it in an alcohol bath for a short time to loosen the crap inside and out. Briar is heavier and usually sinks to the bottom. I left the finish the original color, except it's lighter now that it's clean and polished. I was thinking maybe walnut? The other odd thing is that the stem had a gunked up stinger in the tenon. So I soaked the end in alcohol and tried to remove it with some pliers, and the thing just fell apart. WHT! Why would it just split up like that? Then I looked with a magnifier and saw it was made of wood! Never seen one that small with a little ball on the end made of wood. I don't know what the stem is either, as it wasn't oxidized like vulcanite, micro-mesh came away black, and it cleaned up easily, but it doesn't feel like plastic or acrylic either.
Any ideas from someone with some experience with a pipe like this, or knows something about different woods?

 

[weezell]

Don't know what it is, but it is a nice lookin smoker Orley!...

 

[Chasing Embers]

Was it found in Roswell by chance? :mrgreen: The stem could be rubber, but that wood stinger and unusual swirl of the grain is interesting.

 

[pagan]

 

[okiebrad]

I think it could be a maple.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I think it could be a maple.

I was thinking the same thing. Burl maple.

 

[ejames]

Looks to me to be a WW2 era pipe made of Mt. Laurel. Can't tell you who made but several companies used Mt. Laurel and Manzanita during WW2. The grain on your pipe looks a lot like a Smokemaster(Briarcraft) that I had until recently.

Mt. Laurel is lighter and less dense than briar and the bowls tend to get hot but smoke just fine. I've had a D&P Mt. Laurel pipe in my rotation for about a year.

 

[Sjmiller CPG]

Wooden stingers were used in WWII pipes. I have one of the same shape that is stamped "Army and Navy" made by Weber. It is obviously mission briar (Manzanita)and has a wooden stinger.

 

[agnosticpipe]

I think that ejames and sjmiller got it right. I looked up Manzanita and Mountain Laurel, and the wood in my pipe looks the most like the Mt. Laurel compared to other pipes I've seen using that wood. Didn't mso say he smoked a pipe made of Mt. Laurel? Maybe he'll see this and chime in. I get it now why the stinger was made of wood, as I'm sure aluminum was in short supply as well as the briar from overseas during the war. Thanks for the interesting info gents.
The pipe is a pretty good smoker too, nice open draw (without the stinger), and is very light weight at 18g. So easy for clenching, but I doubt I'll be putting it in a vest pocket or any pocket for that matter. Just not my thing... ::

 

[shaintiques]

And the old rubber stems clean up like that. They will turn your rag black but not oxidize.