Was Gifted My Grandfather's Pipe Collection

[kylemaxwell]

Hey everyone,
First time poster here, but I've been a reader for a while. To begin with a little backstory, I have freshly graduated high school and bought my first pipe, a Hercules 316EX, on my 18th birthday. Upon purchasing it from my local B&M, I had not known of anyone who smoked a pipe. After sharing my new purchase with my mother, she then shared with me that my grandfather had smoked a pipe for close to thirty years, all day, every day. To make a long story short, and after being quite surprised, I ended up giving him a call about it and how I had recently picked up the hobby. He wasn't thrilled with the idea, but wasn't against it either.
Fast forward six months later, and he decided he would like to "gift" his collection to me. It is a total of 24 pipes, five estate pipe racks, and a pretty awesome matchbook collection. He had put it all away in a box after quitting on January 30, 1983 (he dated the box). I have done a little bit of researching on what I now have, but was still wanting to know more about them, and bringing them to usable condition.
On to the pipes. You can probably see that they are in pretty rough shape. It's apparent that my grandfather was not the most caring pipe owner, considering that mostly all the bowls have hideous cake and charred rims. Some even have cracks on the outsides of the bowl. Also, mostly all the stems are oxidized with some having holes bitten through. Some pipes even had baccy in them!
Here's the list: Please correct me if I was wrong on any
1. Weber Shellbrooke #295

- Sandblast

- Metal logo inlayed in side of stem
2. Weber Golden Walnut #295

- Smooth

- Metal logo inlayed in side of stem
3. Mastercraft Meerschaum Lined

- Smooth

- Imported briar, Italy
4. Earl of Essex Meer Lined

- Smooth

- Algerian briar, France

- Crown logo on top of stem
5. Medico Rogue

- Smooth

- Imported briar
6. Mastercraft Hand Carved

- Sandblast

- Algerian briar

- Oval-shaped bowl
7. Yello-Bole

- Sandblast

- Honey-cured briar

- Yellow "O" logo on top of stem
8. Unknown Apple

- Smooth

- Aged Imported briar on side of shank

- Silver band between stem and shank

- Dot inside ring logo on side of stem
9. Amphora X-tra 728-628

- Sandblast

- Genuine briar, Holland
10. Jobey Stromboli #420

- Sandblast

- Acrylic stem with Jobey logo on bottom
11. Hilson Bolero #17

- Sandblast

- Made in Belgium
12. Kings Cross Featherweight #204A

- Sandblast

- Italy
13. Mount Batten #828

- Sandblast

- Made in England
14. Unknown Bent Whitehall

- Sandblast
15. Ropp Supreme

- Made in France

- Ropp logo on side of stem
16. Aldo Velani #108

- Smooth

- Acrylic stem with briar trim band and cursive "A" logo

- Italy
17. Unknown Meerschaum

- Naked lady carving on front
18. The Tinder Box Bent Apple

- Smooth

- Imported Briar
19. Hiland's Micro-Flo

- Smooth

- Israel

- Acrylic stem
20. Unknown Antique brand

- Sandblast

- Imported briar

- Lion on shield logo on shank
21. Courtley Supreme

- Sandblast

- Imported briar
22. Kaywoodie Hand Made

- Sandblast

-Imported briar
23. Alpha Full Bent

- Flat bottom for standing
24. Unknown El Dorado brand

- Smooth

- Imported briar, Italy
Here are a few quick shots, I will take more detailed ones if necessary.





Thank you to those who read this, I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.
- Kyle

 

[pruss]

Welcome to the forums and thank you so much for sharing your collection with us.
What a rich way to build your rotation. My father continually mourns the fact that he threw out his collection when he quit. I wish he hadn't, but as a person who quit smoking cigarettes I totally understand his motivation for doing so. Temptation is a cruel b%&ch.
That meerschaum is lovely. I hope you share her with us as she darkens with use.
Best,
-- Pat

 

[kylemaxwell]

Thank you for the responses guys. I am beyond thrilled.
Sam, you're correct. That is the Amphora.

 

[mso489]

kaylmaxwell, welcome to Forums and thank you for sharing such a careful inventory and photographs

of your pipes gifted to you from your grandfather. I have a lovely walnut pipe rack (ten pipes) with a

tobacco jar in the center that I inherited from my dad, earlier owned by his dad, but no pipes from either.

What struck me right away was what good taste your grandfather has in pipes. He has a strong preference

for traditional shapes, but also an eye for superior design within the tradition. It's a really nice collection,

and a family heirloom as a collection. You have a complete pipe rotation. If you are inclined, you can

do the refurbishing yourself, or if you decide to have it done by a pipe repairman, it shouldn't be expensive.

You can do a few a year, and smoke the ones in best shape in the meantime. You can fill in with a few

Missouri Meerschaum cobs if you need to, but I think with this many pipes, you won't. Congratulations on

such a gift, and on knowing what you have their, both literally pipe by pipe, and in a larger sense as a family

treasure. Compliments to your grandfather on such a discerning eye for his briars.

 

[allan]

Kyle

Welcome to the forum
I think it is a wonderful thing to have your grandfathers pipes and be able to talk with him about each one; where and how he purchased each one and all of the history behind them
Don't fail to reach out to him while he is still with you
Best of luck

 

[nightmarejones]

Amazing. That is fantastic that they were able to be passed down. Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing this gift with us.

 

[snagstangl]

Courtley Supreme is a Custombilt second line.

 

[trailspike48]

Welcome to the forum, what a great personal collection. I think Roth had a great suggestion, have your Grandfather share the history of his pipes.

 

[fnord]

Kyle:
You were blessed to receive those pipes and you're doubly blessed that your grandfather is still here to give you the backstory. Please spend some time with him for two reasons: you can enjoy his piping memories and, selfishly, because you can. Most of us don't have those older family members around anymore.
He smoked good pipes, Kyle. Most are U.S. machine made burners but they're as solid as tomorrow. A little - maybe a lot - of TLC will give you and your children many years of smoking enjoyment. He also put those pipes away almost thirty years ago and I'm sure several of them were pretty long in the tooth when he sealed the box. You're sitting on some vintage briar and vintage briar smokes very, very well.
What a gift, pal. Enjoy them and treasure him.
Fnord
P.S. Welcome to the forum.

 

[mso489]

kyle, be very careful and cautious about reaming these pipes. I think you might want to have a repairman do that

part, unless your grandfather is expert at this. Reamers are widely available for cutting the carbon layer down

in pipe bowls, but done wrong, it can ruin a pipe in few minutes. I had an older friend who trusted another friend

to ream his pipes. This guy had probably just bought a reamer and wanted to put it to use, and he ruined basically

the whole collection, most of a lifetime of pipes. Some things are best left to the experts. Someone could teach

you to do this, but be sure it is a pro.

 

[kylemaxwell]

It has been really nice reading all your comments. I do plan on getting in touch with him soon, it sometimes can be difficult since he's in Long Beach while I'm in Sacramento. I'm so interested in finding out more about certain ones. It's also pretty neat knowing my mother bought him the Meer. I also plan on taking them to a pro to have a good looking over. Any of you folks from the Sac area have any suggestions?
I plan on making a good size baccy order from P&C soon as well, so hopefully I will be putting these babies to use ::

 

[brian64]

That is a wonderful and special thing...thanks for sharing the story and pics. Congrats on inheriting those, and welcome to the forum.

 

[mlyvers]

Congratulations Kyle. Welcome to our forum, it is a great place with great people. You will get all the info you need right here.
Mike.

 

[judcole]

Congrats, welcome to the forum, and thanks.

I've got a big old Alpha. Probably got it in the late 70's. That was originally an Isreali company. It's a pretty decent smoker.

 

[bentmike]

Welcome Kyle. Very cool to see an oldtimer's intact pipe collection. Thanks!

 

[smeigs]

great gift! And welcome

 

[tamer291]

That's a great gift. Congrats.

 

[numbersix]

Congrats Kyle - that's an amazing collection, even better that it was your grandfather's.

 

[plateauguy]

Welcome Kyle! When you are an old man you will understand just how wonderful a gift this is. I'd give almost anything for my Grandfather's pipe.

 

[brdavidson]

My Grandmother is pretty certain she still has a box somewhere with all my Grandfather's pipes in them, he passed away 13 years ago. I hope she's right but her memory is going (she'll be 98 this fall) so I can only hope they are kicking around. Make sure you get the back story on each of those pipes, those will be the thing you cherish the most years from now. The memories of you Grandfather as you smoke one of his pipes.
And welcome to the forums!