Unbranded Pipes

[Hillcrest]

It really surprised me. The specifications listed at SPC reflected its size but seeing it was still something else altogether. They listed it with AKB pipes because they had no other listings for meerschaums other than IMP but those have the brand insignia on their stems. SPC had no idea who made it and something that large with that much detail more often than not bears its carver's signature. It is a bit of a mystery.

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Chasing Embers, Did you get a box with those pipes ? I don't believe meerschaum pipes are signed or stamped. Some meerschaum come with a signed slip in the box with the carvers signature and name and date. If you really want to pursue it I would send a phot and e-mail to Sadik Yanik who is a master carver and seems to be the only person that I could find that carves pipes that large and ask him if its one of his pipes. His are frequently museum quality like yours. Here's a link:

SMS Pipes - Smoking Pipe - Imported Pipes from Turkey and Italy - https://www.smspipes.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/learn.about_Sadik_Yanik for more info.

The link shows some intricate carvings like yours ! Worth a shot ! Good Luck !

 

[Chasing Embers]

I don't believe meerschaum pipes are signed or stamped.

All artisan pieces like Baki, Yanik, Kenan, etc. have their name carved into the pipe.

 

[Hillcrest]

All artisan pieces like Baki, Yanik, Kenan, etc. have their name carved into the pipe.

Well then, I am also at a loss ! Maybe get a more powerful magnifying glass and look carefully at the carving for a mark or signature. Just trying to help. Or write to the place you bought it and ask them to check their inventory records to see where they acquired it and from whom. Or just say you had it custom made and leave it at that. ... That's it ... I'm out of ideas ... yet again !

 

[anotherbob]

It really surprised me. The specifications listed at SPC reflected its size but seeing it was still something else altogether. They listed it with AKB pipes because they had no other listings for meerschaums other than IMP but those have the brand insignia on their stems. SPC had no idea who made it and something that large with that much detail more often than not bears its carver's signature. It is a bit of a mystery.

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I think you got lucky. I think this carver is going to have some things with his name soon and at a more expected price point. Beautiful pipe one of the few I am genuinely jealous of. Glad it's in a good home.

 

[anotherbob]

If you're a collector it'd make a ton of difference. There aren't any collectors among the new folks, so my statement stands.

Are you a collector?

I honestly doubt most pipe smokers out on the street even care about brands.

 

[craig61a]

There are a lot fewer pipe manufacturing factories around than there were a generation ago...

Back then it was common practice to private label a portion of the manufacturing in order to achieve economies of scale.

More recently, consolidation, where a smaller number of factories take on the production of other brands has been the trend. A portion of the production that does not meet certain criteria at a point in the manufacturing process can be offered at a lower rate in order to recoup costs.

For obvious reasons, these items are not branded as items would be had they met the criteria to be marketed in a higher price category.

Aesthetic quality of the grain, sand pits, imperfections, manufacturing errors, etc. are usually the hallmarks of these pipes. That does not necessarily translate to inferior smoking qualities.

These are just sound business management practices in manufacturing.

 

[anotherbob]

There are a lot fewer pipe manufacturing factories around than there were a generation ago...

Back then it was common practice to private label a portion of the manufacturing in order to achieve economies of scale.

More recently, consolidation, where a smaller number of factories take on the production of other brands has been the trend. A portion of the production that does not meet certain criteria at a point in the manufacturing process can be offered at a lower rate in order to recoup costs.

For obvious reasons, these items are not branded as items would be had they met the criteria to be marketed in a higher price category.

Aesthetic quality of the grain, sand pits, imperfections, manufacturing errors, etc. are usually the hallmarks of these pipes. That does not necessarily translate to inferior smoking qualities.

These are just sound business management practices in manufacturing.

nor or these standards set in stone across brands. Some brands consider certain grain inferior that others consider top notch. I consider it less about quality and more about brand identity. This pipe might be a totally fine pipe but it's not what people expect from a PeterhillNordbow or whatever.

 

[Sharp_tungsten]

I b

I think you got lucky. I think this carver is going to have some things with his name soon and at a more expected price point. Beautiful pipe one of the few I am genuinely jealous of. Glad it's in a good home.

I believe alot of the masters have apprentices carve for them too. Not sure that's the case in this pipe. I also know there are hundreds if not thousands of men in eskisehir carving and I don't see that many brands...so I'm assuming a guy carves a bunch and takes them to the guys with brands and sees if they want them to fill the demand for pipes. If you looked at how many tekins or yaniks are on ebay at one time it's mind boggling to think they made every one of them? Also IMP never says who their carvers are?

 

[anotherbob]

I b

I believe alot of the masters have apprentices carve for them too. Not sure that's the case in this pipe. I also know there are hundreds if not thousands of men in eskisehir carving and I don't see that many brands...so I'm assuming a guy carves a bunch and takes them to the guys with brands and sees if they want them to fill the demand for pipes. If you looked at how many tekins or yaniks are on ebay at one time it's mind boggling to think they made every one of them? Also IMP never says who their carvers are?

I forget which brand said that they have apprentices carve and the masters finish the pipe. But that's on one of the companies web sites. To my mind I don't care nearly as much how it's done as what the final product looks like.

 

[Hillcrest]

I just discovered that my unbranded Algerian briar sitter, which I thought was a GBD second, is most likely a hand carved Jean Waille second. He carved Algrian Briar pipes. It has three small fills on the backside and does not have his signature but the stem and fleur de lis symbol match the Pipier de Lunel sitter on pipephil.eu :
Mine is a half bent and a bit taller and wider at top than bottom (opposite below pic). So no, it doesn't have his signature but I knew there was something exceptional about its quality. His extended family has been making pipes since 1860 and one of his relatives was President of the Society in St. Claude ... not bad for a sub-$50 pipe I bought in the mid 1980s. Its always been a perfect smoker. There is an article in French about him at the end.

Le Pipier de Lunel​

▲ J Waille (No "Lunel" mark )

Artisan : Jean Waille. He is the son of André Waille (†, pipe carver in St Claude), and nephew of Michel Waille (EWA).
Probable second brand: Captain Patty

► Chez le pipier Jean Waille

pour les fumeurs de pipe

www.pipegazette.com

 

[mso489]

If you window shop a lot at pipe shops and pipe shows, you can develop a good eye for better quality pipes. They just stand out in terms of fit and finish, and materials. That is, by looking at a lot of better quality marked pipes you can spot their qualities when looking at unmarked pipes in groups of other lower quality briars. They'll just jump out at you. Like, what's this doing here?

 

[Hillcrest]

If you window shop a lot at pipe shops and pipe shows, you can develop a good eye for better quality pipes. They just stand out in terms of fit and finish, and materials. That is, by looking at a lot of better quality marked pipes you can spot their qualities when looking at unmarked pipes in groups of other lower quality briars. They'll just jump out at you. Like, what's this doing here?

Yes, now. But I was in my early 20s when I bought it for the size and shape. Sheerluck >:

 

[sablebrush52]

A no name pipe is simply a pipe that doesn't have a company or maker's name stamped on it. I own some no names and they're great smokers. People get some level of comfort "knowing" the pedigree of the pipe they're smoking, so mystery pipes get automatically lumped as low level.

 

[Hillcrest]

A no name pipe is simply a pipe that doesn't have a company or maker's name stamped on it. I own some no names and they're great smokers. People get some level of comfort "knowing" the pedigree of the pipe they're smoking, so mystery pipes get automatically lumped as low level.

My interest and current curiosity was sparked by this thread and a few others... I wondered if any of my pipes were "hand made" or "hand carved" as opposed to factory pipes. I can't prove anything one way or another to this forum's or a collector's satisfaction, only to my own somewhat research supported belief. So far I have identified four pipes I believe are hand carved ... an E. Burak bent brandy, a Barontini bent billiard, the Jean Waille Lunel large sitter, and a BC calabash Junior. They smoked better than my other pipes before I started my search and I suspect that is why. My private research is a direct result of this forum's Enableization Syndrome ! The rest of my pipes are Petersons and Savinellis which I presume are factory pipes. All good !

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Jeppesen doesn't stamp his Neerup line of pipes, but of course they are his factory line, not his handmades. They are very cheap, but of course not as cheap as bucket pipes usually are.

 

[anotherbob]

I just realized that it's like any other seconds on the planet. We had a store that sold seconds and you just had to look at them to see why. It could be that one cosmetic stitch was out of place or that a shirt had an even number of arm holes. People would always talk about how ridiculous it was. Until you asked them if they'd be happy spending full price on something with a minor and ultimately unimportant defect.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have never bought a no name pipe. I always knew who made my pipes and I also knew their reputations for making a quality pipe. I had no interest in no name pipes.

 

[Hillcrest]

I just realized that it's like any other seconds on the planet. We had a store that sold seconds and you just had to look at them to see why. It could be that one cosmetic stitch was out of place or that a shirt had an even number of arm holes. People would always talk about how ridiculous it was. Until you asked them if they'd be happy spending full price on something with a minor and ultimately unimportant defect.

There used to be a fabric store in New Haven, Ct. (I think closed now) that used to sell shirts and clothes seconds upstairs ... you could get Ralph Lauren rugby shirts ($65-70 normally) for $5.00 and American Eagle Oxfords for $10.00 ... I could never find the "wrong" stitch ... I wore those all through high school and college. I still have the leather motorcycle jacket I got for $50.00. The good ol' days ! Like good ol' pipes !

 

[anotherbob]

There used to be a fabric store in New Haven, Ct. (I think closed now) that used to sell shirts and clothes seconds upstairs ... you could get Ralph Lauren rugby shirts ($65-70 normally) for $5.00 and American Eagle Oxfords for $10.00 ... I could never find the "wrong" stitch ... I wore those all through high school and college. I still have the leather motorcycle jacket I got for $50.00. The good ol' days ! Like good ol' pipes !

you know what I am talking about. And sometimes to even catch it you'd have to compare it to none seconds with a fine tooth comb. Like the label is off center and only a person with a lot of time and patience and the right tools would catch it. Yeah I've been that person, boredom can lead to discovery.

 

[Searock Fan]

If a maker didn't think enough of his pipe to name it, I figure there has to be a reason and I pass.