Wally Frank Pipe Stem????

[Humblepipe]

Hello Friends,

Just restored a Wally Frank (photos below... Before 1st and then AFTER). I understand it's impossible to date these or even establish who manufactured it. What is the stem made of? Prior to restoring it, I assumed it was just super oxidized and that it would return to the typical black stem (ebonite, bakelite, etc,) after restoration.

Any info about the pipe or best guesses appreciated.

Grateful,
Steve


BEFORE


AFTER

 

[weezell]

Looks to be briar to me. FWIW...

 

[weezell]

Nice...

 

[Humblepipe]

Nice...

weezell, the stem is made of briar?

 

[dmcmtk]

I would also say briar. Where's Piffyr, he knows a lot about Wally Frank pipes.

 

[piffyr]

The stem is definitely briar. The idea, at least as they were sold, was that briar was both sweeter and more resistant to bite-throughs than other common stem materials.

Wally Frank sold a few different all-briar lines over the years. Early incarnations were called Carpathian All Briars, but the screw fitting on yours indicates that it's a later model; sometime post-1960 or thereabout. I can't recall what the line name of those pipes might have been at that time. Hope that helps.

 

[Humblepipe]

The stem is definitely briar. The idea, at least as they were sold, was that briar was both sweeter and more resistant to bite-throughs than other common stem materials.

Wally Frank sold a few different all-briar lines over the years. Early incarnations were called Carpathian All Briars, but the screw fitting on yours indicates that it's a later model; sometime post-1960 or thereabout. I can't recall what the line name of those pipes might have been at that time. Hope that helps.

That helps a lot, piffyr. Thanks so much. I understand these were inexpensive mass produced pipes, but I smoked this one last night and I found it worth keeping in my collection. I'm newer to this, but to me this piped was as good as my Petersons (and I really like my Petersons). Fun to stumble on to something unique like this pipe.

 

[piffyr]

I understand these were inexpensive mass produced pipes, but I smoked this one last night and I found it worth keeping in my collection.

I own an embarrassing number of Wally Frank pipes and I can tell you that it's impossible to make a blanket statement concerning their quality. For example, this flawless Collector rivals the quality of many of the higher end factory pipes I've had my hands on.

However, I think it's safe to say that the quality of the brand declined over its roughly 60 years of existence. I tend to think of the brand in terms of "eras," such as London era, pre-WWII era, post-WWII era, pre-Hollco-Rohr era and post-Hollco-Rohr era. Each successive era saw a noticeable degradation in the quality of Wally Frank branded pipes. The post-Hollco-Rohr era, in particular, took quite a sharp nosedive. It seems like those guys were willing to sell practically anything at that point.

That's not to say that you can't get a good Wally Frank pipe from the later days of the brand. You most certainly can, but the pickings got slimmer as the brand got older.

 

[Humblepipe]

I own an embarrassing number of Wally Frank pipes and I can tell you that it's impossible to make a blanket statement concerning their quality. For example, this flawless Collector rivals the quality of many of the higher end factory pipes I've had my hands on.

However, I think it's safe to say that the quality of the brand declined over its roughly 60 years of existence. I tend to think of the brand in terms of "eras," such as London era, pre-WWII era, post-WWII era, pre-Hollco-Rohr era and post-Hollco-Rohr era. Each successive era saw a noticeable degradation in the quality of Wally Frank branded pipes. The post-Hollco-Rohr era, in particular, took quite a sharp nosedive. It seems like those guys were willing to sell practically anything at that point.

That's not to say that you can't get a good Wally Frank pipe from the later days of the brand. You most certainly can, but the pickings got slimmer as the brand got older.

I am a convert based on my experience with a pipe on the least optimal era of WF production. I am definitely going to be scouring the planet for some earlier era WFs. I understand it is not super-easy to tell some of the eras apart. Maybe I can PM you if I stumble onto something I am unsure of?

Thanks for all the info. Grateful!

 

[piffyr]

I am a convert based on my experience with a pipe on the least optimal era of WF production. I am definitely going to be scouring the planet for some earlier era WFs. I understand it is not super-easy to tell some of the eras apart. Maybe I can PM you if I stumble onto something I am unsure of?

Thanks for all the info. Grateful!

Sure. You're more than welcome to give a shout whenever you like. I'm happy to help if I can. Just understand that I'm still collecting Wally Frank pipes, particularly the older ones. So, there may be a potential for a conflict of interest from time to time.

 

[Humblepipe]

Sure. You're more than welcome to give a shout whenever you like. I'm happy to help if I can. Just understand that I'm still collecting Wally Frank pipes, particularly the older ones. So, there may be a potential for a conflict of interest from time to time.

I'll take your leftovers. That would be a very good deal for me.