Vintage American Pipes

[Briar Lee]

A good briar pipe is a man’s accessory which like a good pen, a mechanical watch, or pair of leather shoes can be made anywhere on earth, and if cared for is a lifetime purchase.

All briar pipes of quality have been made of selected burls of the roots of heath trees grown along the rim of the Mediterranean for nearly two centuries. Usually they have a hard rubber stem fitted, and some have acrylic stems.

For small, fashionably sized pipes the best American factory pipes ever, were high grade Kaywoodies made during the 1930s.

After WW2 the best small American factory pipes were Lee Star Grades, the more stars the better.

But for just the flat out finest American factory pipes, I think the giant sized WDC Wellington series was the finest American pipes ever commercially sold as factory pipes.

This 10 inch “Special” is as good as any pipe can ever be made, bar none. It has perfect construction, highly figured briar, and smokes like a dream. Only $40, as new condition, a few months ago.

 

[cigrmaster]

I maybe have missed it it but Peretti made some awesome pipes. I don't knew who made them as they could have done them themselves, but I have a Straight Billiard that is old and it has some of the finest grain I have ever seen on a pipe.
I had it refinished years ago as I wanted a Boston made pipe since I grew up there. I will try and get my care giver to take some good pics of it. It is impressive as hell and looks like the grain could be froma a Castello or a Former or many other high end pipes. I think I paid 70 bucks on Ebay.

 

[Red Leader]

I like lists, and I like rankings, even though I know they are flawed, opinionated, highly subjective, and limited to the sample size at hand. That being said, some interesting peculiarities present themselves...

1. Kaywoodie eras matter less than I (we?) think

I took the deep dive on Kaywoodie and while I do not have any 1920s (push tenon) KWs, I've got some from the early 30s, mid/late 30s, 40s, 60s, and modern. I've got an example of 3 different ball sizes -



Before I got these, I didn't even know that they came in 3 sizes. Out of the 3 I have the most memorable smoke out of the bottom one, the smallest. Is it at all related to the quality of the smoke? Honestly, probably not. It was my very first Kaywoodie, and the '4 digit, 4 hole' allure had completely entranced me to the point that I convinced myself that it absolutely must smoke incredible. Don't get me wrong, this pipe makes that thought easy. But I had similar thoughts going into the top one as well, and it really surprised me with how hot it smoked...as in too hot to handle! I have to be more mindful with that one, but if I'm conscientious, it rewards me.



Out of these two below, what would you guess about the smoking qualities?



A Kaywoodie Centennial, and a lowly late 60s Custom Grain, with a fill nonetheless.

I far prefer smoking the Custom Grain! So much so that it surprises me. It is one of my most reliable pipes...one that I can count on to deliver a great smoke no matter the tobacco. It just always seems to deliver, and with few to no relights.

Is this more a condemnation of the Centennial, or a praise of the Custom Grain? I think the latter. And it probably has way more to do with me than it does the pipes anyway. The Centennial, while bent, is a bit too big for me to safely (i.e. not losing it out of my teeth, sending it crashing to the floor) clench, and I don't just sit around as much with pipes, I move around.

I do think expectations play a role. If a Centennial is built up as the pinnacle of Kaywoodies (if you believe the old adverts), and we are already talking about pipes that have a reputation of using the finest briar ever found in the 1st half of the 20th century, then expectations are sky high. I'm here to report it is a piece of briar and a bit of metal and rubber, and smokes accordingly. None of this I consider a loss.

I am enjoying this journey. I look forward to trying more and more pipes....pipes of questionable or dubious reputation, or of exceedingly high cost and stature, to add to the data points.

So far, my (very limited) experience tells me that great experiences can be found in the unlikeliest of places, and I'm appreciating that.

I just won another auction for an early/mid 30s KW, and I'm excited because it may be the first one that has a stem I won't have to repair. Scooooore!!!

 

[anotherbob]

They turn up on eBay with regularity.

I almost never check e-bay. I guess there is a reason people complain about it and then still buy stuff there.

My understanding is that Barling, under Finlay's management, struck a deal to make Flacons at the Barling foactories, around 1962, though it might have been early in Imperial's taking over of Finlay, which would have been 1963.

I wonder how much changed under those moves? And how much stayed the same. They certainly have maintained a certain aesthetic over the decades. The we were ready for steam punk before it was a thing look.

 

[bullet08]

I was gonna say pecan pie. Reading again, it's "pipe". Must be the season.

 

[Red Leader]

A good briar pipe is a man’s accessory which like a good pen, a mechanical watch, or pair of leather shoes can be made anywhere on earth, and if cared for is a lifetime purchase.

All briar pipes of quality have been made of selected burls of the roots of heath trees grown along the rim of the Mediterranean for nearly two centuries. Usually they have a hard rubber stem fitted, and some have acrylic stems.

For small, fashionably sized pipes the best American factory pipes ever, were high grade Kaywoodies made during the 1930s.

After WW2 the best small American factory pipes were Lee Star Grades, the more stars the better.

But for just the flat out finest American factory pipes, I think the giant sized WDC Wellington series was the finest American pipes ever commercially sold as factory pipes.

This 10 inch “Special” is as good as any pipe can ever be made, bar none. It has perfect construction, highly figured briar, and smokes like a dream. Only $40, as new condition, a few months ago.

View attachment 182211View attachment 182212View attachment 182213

A WDC/Wellington is on the list. I'm also a fan of their '1934' stamped pipes that are a bit more dainty in size but very classy and probably clench like a dream, as does my small 'F' stamped F. Medico.

 

[Red Leader]

I maybe have missed it it but Peretti made some awesome pipes. I don't knew who made them as they could have done them themselves, but I have a Straight Billiard that is old and it has some of the finest grain I have ever seen on a pipe.
I had it refinished years ago as I wanted a Boston made pipe since I grew up there. I will try and get my care giver to take some good pics of it. It is impressive as hell and looks like the grain could be froma a Castello or a Former or many other high end pipes. I think I paid 70 bucks on Ebay.

Speaking of Boston pipes, I will have my first Ehrlich coming my way. I had loosely been keeping an eye on them, and then last night this one popped up and I couldn't stop looking at the grain. The price was right, and I had to do it...

 

[cigrmaster]

Speaking of Boston pipes, I will have my first Ehrlich coming my way. I had loosely been keeping an eye on them, and then last night this one popped up and I couldn't stop looking at the grain. The price was right, and I had to do it...

View attachment 183131

Cool pipe. I also used to go to Ehrlich's with my dad when he went there instead of Peretti's.

 

[Red Leader]

Well, that new Kaywoodie came in, and it was a nice and quick 'sympathetic' restoration - more cleaning than anything else, removing years of gunk and grime, but without the need to do any heavy repairs on the stem, it was a quicker-than-expected process.

Before -





After:

 

[Briar Lee]

Well, that new Kaywoodie came in, and it was a nice and quick 'sympathetic' restoration - more cleaning than anything else, removing years of gunk and grime, but without the need to do any heavy repairs on the stem, it was a quicker-than-expected process.

Before -

View attachment 184201
View attachment 184202


After:


View attachment 184203
View attachment 184204

Why I love Lee pipes is because a late 1940s $10 Lee Star Grade might come close to something like that middle 1930s $3.50 Kaywoodie and Lee didn’t hit the same bottoms of quality that Kaywoodie plumbed, there are more higher condition Lees to be found, and a Lee is almost always cheaper


Depression era thirties Kaywoodies are truly the finest factory pipes ever made.

If it said AGED BUYERE on it it’s a masterpiece.

 

[Briar Lee]

My last eBay score, a high condition 6 1/2” Marxman Jumbo, only $30 delivered.

I have other Marxman Jumbos, and they came in different sizes, the same as WDC Wellingtons did. This one looks like it’s in between the smallest and largest. It appears like it should clean right up.

That’s a lot of Algerian briar for thirty bucks.