Wally Frank "Shipmate"

[gmwolford]

Sunday afternoon we went to an antique store about an hour away. My wife was looking for, uh, something, and I was looking for old pipes. I found several, mostly way over priced, at least for my budget. And she bought some stuff.
Anyway, I did locate a dirty, grimy Wally Frank Shipmate in a Rhodesian shape. It wasn't too expensive or in too bad shape so I brought her home with me. A good cleaning and some oxidation work on the stem was all it really needed. It was not even broken in yet, with bare briar showing in most of the bowl. It smoked really well, kind of felt like I had a piece of NOS except to my surprise I got no gurgle or dampness, except in the dottle.

I think she's a keeper. ::

 

[tbradsim1]

Love that shape Greg, I have only one Wally Frank and it is a good smoker, if you ever decide to get rid of it, please give me first shot. The old cajun

 

[brewshooter]

Cleaned up nice!

 

[papipeguy]

Great find. I remember buying pipe tobacco at the Wally Frank store in Paramus, NJ when I was in college during the early 1970's.

 

[shawn]

Looks good. Nice and clean.

 

[tjameson]

Cleaned up beautifully! Glad it's a good smoker for you too!

 

[gmwolford]

Noted Bradley and Roth. :lol:
Thanks guys!

 

[ace57]

It's a looker for sure. I like it.

 

[mthanded]

Nice looking pipe! You did a great job cleaning it up and I hope it smokes well for you.

 

[numbersix]

Congrats - great clean up job!

 

[philobeddoe]

Nice job bringing her back. She's a beauty.

 

[wildcat]

Good find, well done!!

 

[bvbriar]

Cleaned up nicely! One of my favorite smokers is a little Wally Frank short-break pipe. I call it my "commuter". The chamber is small and despite being only about 4 inches long, offers exactly 40 minutes of cool, dry smoke.
Nice find, Greg.

 

[fnord]

Greg:
There was a time when Wally Frank moved as many pipes, on a monthly basis, in this country as DG or Medico. The differentiator was that Wally Frank's pipes were mostly over runs from Charatan, GBD, Comoy, etc. You weren't guaranteed the prettiest burner, but it was always going to be a good smoke.
I hope your new Shipmate smokes as good as it looks. Your resto work just keeps getting better and better and this Rhodesian is a beauty.
Well done, friend-o.
Fnord

 

[irish]

Good looking pipe. Have a few Wally Franks . Several different shapes . I like all of them . Congrats and good job on resto !

 

[eaglerico]

As always Greg, another great restoration.

 

[seakayak]

I found two Wally Frank pipes under similar circumstances. Great smokers all, but I especially like the shape of your little beauty. Nice work in cleaning it up. It should bring you many years of pleasure. Enjoy.