PAD strikes at B&M .... two Italian pipes !!!!

[rcstan]

I had a couple leftovers from a lot I got on the 'bay ( the one with the City DeLuxe Colossus if you remember that post ) that I cleaned up .... these guys didn't sell so yesterday I went to Pete's Tobacco here in Anchorage. I had bought a Preben Holm-era Ben Wade from them about a month ago that was awesome, and I remembered them having more 70's pipes ( must be a phase for me now ) so I went to do business.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, someone has quite cleaned them out in the last week or so, but the guy at the counter said he had some in the back that weren't yet ready to be put out. I snatched two of the three ( the third one was a Bari freehand that someone had made it into a P-lip by drilling a hole in the top of the mouthpiece ), traded my two "basket pipes" ( actually one basket and one run-of-the-mill ) and added $85.
Here they are
a Lorenzetti Silver

and
a Becker

There wasn't much cleaning to do, the usual light ream and alcohol scrubbing of the stem and airway.
They smoke GREAT, did a trial run with some leftover Pembroke ( I always break estates in with Lat-heavy blends, they seem to chase away all ghosts ). I took the Becker with when we went out for dinner ( wedding anniversary ) last night and it has this distinguished allure to it
How did I do?

 

[dervis]

Great looking pipes. Nice additions to any collection.

 

[kasbah]

I love that Lorenzetti but both together is just a great score. Well done and enjoy!

 

[bentmike]

Nice buy! Some gorgeous pipes being acquired by forum members lately. Sure is nice to see PAD thriving.

 

[captainprophesy]

That Becker is awesome and worth well over the $85... man you scored big time! :clap:

 

[papipeguy]

Very nice. Here's some info on Becker that may help you date the pipe.
http://www.beckerpipes.com/html/marks.html

 

[jah76]

Stan the man. Those are good looking pipes.

 

[fnord]

You did well, Romes. That's a swell haul.

 

[gnatjulio]

Nice score rcstan. Thats cool that you can trade in your pipes.

 

[hunter]

beauty! I'm going to wait for the new year before I start looking at some estates.

 

[rcstan]

Thanks guys for the feedback and input!
The asking price was 89 for the Lorenzetti and 49 for the Becker, he valued my pipes at 30, I offered him 85 and walked out of there with them.
I'm planning to email both makers with pictures to try to get an age on these guys, for my info. From what I have gathered so far, they aren't current production.
Really proud now of my Becker ::
gnatjulio this place is pretty cool like that, but they have to know you before doing any horse or pipe trading. We have two other B&M's in Anchorage ( not counting the head shops ). One is too small ( lady runs a sundry store downtown and has a section with pipes, baccy, cigars, snuff and cigs ), the other is too posh for me ( they sell cobs for $20, Pete Kapets for $110, Lane bulks @$5/oz, tins at Canadian prices even though our taxes aren't that high etc .... )
Next time I'm there ( Pete's Tobacco ) I'll ask if I can do a photo op .....

 

[mthanded]

Damn, those are great looking pipes but I really like the looks of that Lorenzetti Silver. For that one pipe alone, this was an excellent deal.

 

[rcstan]

Update! Update!
I went looking for more info on the Becker pipe on his site, and decided to email them the pics of the pipe to see if more info could be had.
Hello
I have recently acquired one of your pipes and need help determining its age. Attached are pictures of it.
It's a straight rusticated apple 153 mm long, the bowl is about 47 mm tall and 34 mm wide. The nomenclature is "Becker" in large script ( 5 mm tall on the capital letter ), "Handmade in Italy", there is a faint block letter capital P on the mortise close to the brass ring, and a yellow "b" on the stem. I do not see any playing card marks anywhere, I believe this would be a "club" since it is rusticated.
Thanks in advance,
Romeo Stan

in Anchorage, Alaska
This was sitting in my inbox this morning
Hello Romeo,
you are welcome!!
This pipe was made in 1980/83.

The P stamp was for small size (piccola-small).

P (piccole-small) M (media-medium) G (grande-giant) discontinued since 1983.
Rusticated pipes are Spade.Club for sandblast.

At that time, as you can see, I forgot to make spade on this pipe.
I wish you many and pleasant smokes!
Ciao,

Paolo

 

[lifeon2]

Love the becker.

 

[numbersix]

Nice pipes - congrats. Very cool he wrote you back too.

 

[rcstan]

It surely adds to the cool factor to know all this extra info, directly from the artist.
This Becker has become my "special occasion" pipe.

 

[batdemon]

You made out great on those. Really like the Becker. Congrats! :clap:

 

[gwtwdbss]

Looks like a great deal. I love Italian pipes. I have yet to smoke a Lorenzetti or Becker. What is the draw like on those two brands?

 

[rcstan]

gwtwdbss the draw on the Becker is perfect in my book, might be a bit too open for some. I have only smoked it 3 times since I bought it.

Still trying to figure out the Lorenzetti. It smokes fine with a fairly open draw but there's quite the accumulation of moisture in the shank. Could be the weather too, it was quite frigid today and both pipes I smoked ( the Lorenzetti and the Peterson African Meer ) seemed to run on the wet side with otherwise dry smoking baccy on previous occasion.

 

[flmason]

Congratulations on your new pipes. It was also special that your questions were answered by the maker of your pipe directly. I hope you have many years of enjoyment from them.