Savinelli Triomphe?

[cwarmouth]

Hey Folks. I just made an impulse buy on eBay. I noticed it with 10 minutes left, placed a bid and won. Does anyone know anything about a Savinelli Triomphe? It has a stitched leather wrapped bowl and is meerschaum lined. I got it for $18? Deal or dud?
Here are a couple of the listing photos:

 

[Chasing Embers]

You got a Savinelli for $18? Deal! Any pics of the meer lining?

 

[cwarmouth]

Yep. Well, $18.50. Here is a pic of the win. The meer has a chip in it but I am pretty sure I can fix it. I have a broken meer pipe that I think I can whittle a piece from and superglue in. I messaged the seller after the purchase to ask about any other damage. She said she looked at it with a magnifying glass and it looks that that chip is the only issue other than being dirty. I asked her to pack a napkin or piece of paper towel in the bowl to protect it, which she said she would. Yeah, I am pretty pleased to say that I have gotten some great deals off eBay. I have a decent collection of nice pipes, Petersons, Velani, another Savinelli along with a bunch of Dr. Grabows and a Royal Demuth and I have never spent more than $30 on any of them. Several have been in the $2-$5 range. The most expensive pipe I ever bought was a Peterson System Standard 315 in the original box with pouch and paperwork for $30.
This is my first meer lined or leather wrapped pipe though. There is not much coming up on Google about it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I personally wouldn't use super glue in the bowl. If there are no cracks spanning from the chip, I'd just clean it up and smoke it. Looks like a winner for more than what you paid!

 

[cwarmouth]

Thanks! It appears to be a pretty easy cleanup, but we shall see. Hopefully the chip is the only issue. Thanks for the advice.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Deal or dud?"
Only you can answer that after you've smoked a few bowls in it. Leather clad, meer lined pipes were quite the thing in the 1970's and were popular in Europe. I have a few that were made with meerschaum from Africa. I did find on one of mine that the meer lining wasn't a one piece affair, it was at least two rings of meer presumably sat upon a meer cup at the bottom of the bowl.
If it turns out to be a good smoker then for the outlay yes, a good deal.
I would take Duane's advice onboard regards using superglue in the bowl...likely very toxic indeed.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[mso489]

Boy, those leather wrapped pipes, many with Meerschaum liners, were the ultimate pipe on commuter platforms across urban America in the late 1950's and early 1960's. If you got a good aro going in one of those and let the aroma waft around in the smoking car, you were making a favorable impression. I'm saying this because I was a kid at the time who rode the train to downtown Chicago with my dad around the holidays to hang out at his office in the Field Building. He wouldn't have splurged on such a pipe or tobacco; he was a plain briar guy who only smoked Granger, one pipe at a time with no rotation. But I know the pipes well. They were "it."

 

[cwarmouth]

^

My favorite post ever.
If I could just find a train to smoke on now, I would be "it".

 

[cwarmouth]

Well, this pipe arrived in the mail today. I have two first impressions:
First, it is the cleanest estate pipe I have ever purchased. This thing is going to be a breeze to clean up. The chip in the meerschaum is miniscule. Not nearly what it looks like in the pic. Maybe the size of the head of a pin. Overall a good name pipe in pretty much excellent condition.
Second, while it is in great condition, I am underwhelmed by the leather cover. I mean, it's neat, and I will be happy to have it occupying a spot on a rack, but I like the look of briar better. I'm not going to start collecting leather covered pipes or anything.
I am very excited to clean it up and fire it up and see how it smokes. That will be the real test of "deal or dud", but so far the scales are tipped in the "deal" direction.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I bet it smokes like a champ. That chip doesn't look like it would be an issue from the photos. I think I'd just clean it up and smoke it. Let us know how it smokes! :clap:

 

[cwarmouth]

Well, she cleaned up pretty nicely, as I suspected. Perhaps a little dirtier than I had anticipated, but better than average, I would say. The stem had light chatter but no bite marks. The typical buffing, polishing, obsidian oil treatment had her looking like new. Inside the stem, it only took a few alcohol soaked pipe cleaners before they were coming out white. It fit nice and tight in the shank. The shank seemed to be the most neglected part of the pipe and required a fair amount of elbow grease, Q-Tips, and pipe cleaners. I cleaned the rim starting with alcohol dampened pipe cleaners followed by a very light touch with a Magic Eraser, being careful to preserve that beveled Meerschaum edge. After cleaning a very light cake out of the bowl with some 220 sandpaper and alcohol dampened Q-Tips, I applied some Decatur Pipe Wax to the briar rim. The leather really grew on me as I cleaned it up with Murphy's Oil Soap and also buffed it with Decatur Pipe Wax. The stitching is intact, tight, and very nicely done. I haven't stoked her up yet but I already have a feeling this pipe might become my new fly fishing companion this fall.

 

[didimauw]

Hmm...I'm kind of intrigued by this pipe. Does anyone know the purpose of the leather? Flaws? Heat protection?

 

[doctorbob]

Purely aesthetic.
Doc

 

[uperepik]

I don't like leather wrapped pipes, but that thing looks good.

 

[dochudson]

Would love to find nice Sav leather wrapped.

Anyone got one for sale?

PM me.

 

[cwarmouth]

I finally fired this thing up last night, and wow, it was a fantastic smoke. Loaded it up with some Dunhill Nightcap and it burned drier than any pipe I have smoked so far. And more completely. In fact, the last puff I took resulted in a mouthful of ash. No dottle left at all. Once the pipe cooled down I cleaned it out and found that there was a fair amount of condensation (and mixed with the ash was a bit of a mess) but it never affected the smoke. No gurgling and such.
Most importantly, my wife loved the pipe. She was fond of the leather and the meerschaum lining and kept saying, "wow Carl" during the smoke we shared. I have a feeling that this is the pipe she is going to start reaching for when we smoke together.

 

[mso489]

What's the utility of the leather wrapping? First appearance hence selling the pipe. At just about this time (late '50's early '60's) English sports cars and others made their appearance widely on American roads with leather wrapped steering wheels and shift levers and boots, and the pipes echoed that. Purely related to smoking, I think it was claimed that these offered insulation from the bowl, and they have an appealing feel, if you are into that. They impart a look of luxury.

 

[cwarmouth]

Ahh... I can totally see that. ^
How I wish I still had my British Racing Green MGB now.

 

[fnord]

Cwarmouth:
Yeoman's job on that clean up. The leather is gorgeous.
I was warned years ago that alcohol is no friend to meerschaum. However, my experience with meers is just about non-existent. (Had a few and they didn't work for me.)
Best of luck.
Fnord

 

[crashthegrey]

I finally picked up a couple leather pipes, and I have to say, it is not just for looks. First, it keeps the outside of the pipe even cooler. Additionally, like rustication, it makes you a little less afraid of bumping the pipe and leaving a ding in it. I find it makes a great driving pipe, which back when they were popular made sense as everything was being wrapped in leather in cars. But, to my point, I smoke and drive, so the wind can heat up the pipe more than when I am smoking calmly, so the leather cools my hand when that happens, and I don't get as upset when the pipe falls off of the dashboard.