Unsmoking A Vintage Pipe

[fluffie666]

How do you do it? I get stuck on semantics sometimes. When the months get cold and I don't feel like jumping into my car to go on pipe hunts as often as usual, EBay starts to fill my PAD void. I keep seeing the words "vintage" regarding used and "unsmoked" to explain the pipe has not been used. Anyone else find this as funny as I do?

 

[seanv]

the over use of the word "vintage" and "rare" on ebay can be tiresome

 

[Briar Baron]

Vintage can be an old pipe that has not been smoked I think (Vintage can be made say 20-40 years ago?). Same as New Old Stock is used to describe some ebay listings also.

 

[saltedplug]

previously loved-yech!

 

[fluffie666]

"Previously loved" makes me throw up a little bit too. "New old stock" I can deal with but it's still in now way new... if it's old. Semantics... what makes this stuff jive with us? "Rare" is another turn off. I would rather just see a nice clear picture of the nomenclature instead of seeing "rare" in a description.

 

[mikethompson]

'Rare' is a term thrown around way too much. Almost anything can be rare. I've never held a cob in my hand, but that doesn't make them rare. 'Vintage' just means old, but I am guilty of over using that one from many a kijiji ad. But 'vintage' appeals to hipsters more than 'old'.

 

[madox07]

Vintage usually denotes that the seller hasn't the slightest clue on what he is selling, and knows little to nothing about pipes. We have a local auction website, based on the same engine and concept as ebay, and when it comes to pipes you see the most outlandish descriptions, to utmost ridiculous. I have seen meerschaum called ivory, the sellers over here prefer vintage less and collectible more, the word rare is used a lot usually associated with st. claud pipes - pipes that are rare as hairs on a lynx, and so on ... I still take a look when I see sale adds like these, in hope that I may catch a break.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yeah, vintage just means it has some age on it. Got an unsmoked KB&B a couple of years ago made before 1920 listed as vintage.

 

[fluffie666]

20's KB&B. Very nice find. Very cool.
Has anyone ever unsmoked a cigarette or unused a tissue before? What are the dynamics behind that?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm confused, what words would better fit; virginal, old, old-virgin, aged, mature, pristine, non-burned?

 

[pipehunter]

^yep. Unsmoked seems fine. We say unleavened bread rather than non-leavened bread. That doesn't mean we leaven the bread and then unleaven it.
Vintage is a bit tired, but I mean do we really expect a seller to just say old-ish? :D

 

[cosmicfolklore]

And, when I see a pipe that has remained unsmoked for 60 years, 20 years, or even 100 years, it runs through my mind that this pipe has been rejected by people for all of that time, for whatever reason... maybe the Powers that Be, don't want that pipe to be used.
Has it always set on shelves next to more attractive pipes? Did it get set aside in its box and forgotten? Dropped behind some furniture? Was it kept by a collector that thought it more cerebral than functional? Was it part of a shipment that got hijacked and then remained in its box and spent a few years in the closet of a crackhead? Or, did a smart shop owner set it back, because he realized that there was a problem with that pipe, and he couldn't ethically bring himself to sale it?
How does a pipe go that long without being smoked?

 

[jpmcwjr]

"New old stock" is clear in its meaning. You can have an unsmoked pipe that's an estate pipe but not vintage; you can have a vintage pipe that's smoked or unsmoked.
Vintage-time will vary on the object- some think 5 or 10 year old clothes styles are "vintage". But a vintage shotgun would have no plastic and be upwards of 50-100 years old or more. Same with cars. Wine? The all show a vintage date, so who knows? A 1960 Beychevelle is a nice vintage, and is also a vintage wine due to its age and quality, not that year specifically.
I fear I have gone on too much on language, which I love.

 

[fluffie666]

The use of words and language is amusing. I do love language. It certainly gets my mind wandering sometimes, especially when we're trying to describe things.

Cosmic has me wondering about unsmoked pipes with some age behind them. Brings up an interesting point. What kept them out of faces all those years? Hopefully not being squirreled away in the closet of a crack head.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I have a couple of unsmoked pipes bordering on "vintage" (whatever that means!). One of them is a Mastro de Paja, and there it sits in the rack that's in a cupboard, so I don't see it every day. I have so many others that I am not sure I will ever smoke this one. Also have a meer from the WCPS I haven't initiated yet. OTOH, the two Ken Barnes beauties I received a while ago got fired up immediately.

 

[crashthegrey]

what words would better fit; virginal

Nope, that means no stain or finish. Lol. I love how misconstrued all of these descriptors can get, especially when considering the sellers who likely do not smoke.

 

[ashdigger]

Quite a few of these describe my X. Definitely not virginal though.

 

[judcasper]

I'm confused

Me too. Why can't a pipe be vintage AND unsmoked? If the pipe dates from 1912 and has never been smoked, then it's a vintage unsmoked pipe.... yes?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

"unsmoked" sounds like something you do... not, having not done.

And, vintage... Vintage refers to a yearly batch of something or just the year in which something was done, as in a "vintage of wine." And, the word has changed meanings over the years of discussing old wines, "is this vintage" and then later to be used on things that just seem odd to call "antique" as in video games. But, everybody now knows what is meant by the misuse of the word, so it is common to hear it misused. So, it is in the common use for the word. So, I am not sure what other problem there is for the "vintage."

 

[davet]

I have several vintage unsmoked pipes....and I'm not a crackhead :nana: