Yunus Carved Vikings

[skaukatt]

In 1985 I purchased a Yunus carved Viking figural from a local shop here in Queens, NYC. Being a Minnesota Vikings fan it was a must have and I've been smoking it each Sunday during the games.
Thirty five years later Mr. Yunus Ege made me another Viking carved meerschaum which was brokered by, friend, David Peterson after I saw his article in the Aug. 2015 Pipe Collector about him going to Turkey to visit his friends Yunus and Sadik Yanik in Eskishir. Turkey for the Holiday Season. He spoke to Yunus who made me this pipe, companion to my original from 1985, 35 years ago.
A must have for any Minnesota Vikings fan. This pipe keeps me company and comforts me as I watch and agonize over my team Sunday after Sunday.
And just yesterday, after "watching" ebay for years I finally found another Yunus masterpiece! Here it is:


Here's the one Yunus carved for me in 2016 thanks to friend Dave Peterson:


...and my original from 1985:

 

[cortezattic]

Magnificent coloring. Carving is 1st rate too! :clap:

 

[prairiedruid]

Skol!

 

[brian64]

Those are fantastic meers! The '85 is well smoked!
I enjoyed watching the Vikings as a kid during the Tarkenton years. Is the NFL still around?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Beautiful pipe and patina!

 

[vokaa]

Love the pipes! Fantastic carvings, really makes it look realistic.

 

[mikethompson]

Really nice colouring on that older one. That's a keeper for sure, and I'm not even a figural meer guy either.

 

[skaukatt]

I love Yunis' interpretation of the the Norse Viking which, IMHO, departs from other traditional carvers versions seen in other Viking figurals. He really does keep to the realism of Norse features in the face of the carvings.
I really wish I could date the ebay pipe. I would guess it is close to my original 1985 (that's when I purchased it, who knows when it was actually carved) pipe. It's very similar in features as well as the stem shape.
So glad to have found another and in pretty decent shape. I can't wait to get it and clean it up. Some reaming and a fresh application of bee's wax and a polish should do it and then fire it up.
My original pipe is vacationing (LOL!) in Florida with Ric of Briarville as it needs a new stem. The almost 90 degree bend causes the pipe cleaner to gouge a hole through the stem - I must be more careful and I will. I've gone through two stems since '85. You can see the extreme bend in the ebay pipe which has the same angle as my original - almost 90. This makes it very tough to get the cleaner through the stem, especially with the fitment inside the stem. It's a design flaw IMHO, saying so without any disrespect for Mr. Ege, of course. Ric is making a new stem. I think I posted about the stem issue recently.

 

[kcghost]

Very nice meerschaum. You must have a knack for smoking them. Nice color without the hand/finger prints that go with it.

 

[skaukatt]

You must have a knack for smoking them. Nice color without the hand/finger prints that go with it.

Honestly, I smoke them the same way I do my briar, no special handling. I just make sure that my hands are clean. I run a cleaner through and then a twisted paper towel inside the bowl after I'm finished. I also do not let any cake form and ream once a month depending on how often I smoke it.
The original 1985 pipe pictured is the one I've been smoking. The ebay Viking has not arrived yet. I have a few other meerschaum's but do not smoke them with any regularity as I really try to get that original Yunus to color up (in my lifetime). Now I have another to rotate in!

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Beautiful pipes! The coloring is fantastic on your original Viking. Nicely done!

 

[jonasclark]

Beautiful! Yunus and Erdogan (brothers, I believe) both carve wonderful mens' faces for SMS; Yunus, in my opinion, carves the best vikings, while Erdogan carved the best Turkish-carved Bacchus I've ever seen, which I'm holding right now. That 2016 one is especially grand!

 

[skaukatt]

Well the ebay Yunus Viking arrived last evening and I could not be more happy with it.
The pipe is basically in brand new condition. It looks like it was smoked only a few times as the bowl was barley charred; looks like it was never smoked to completion previously (bowl interior still had unspoiled areas of basically clean meerschaum), showed no signs of prior reaming (from my examination) and there was minimal cleaning necessary.
When I disassembled the two piece tenon, they were not at all filthy and cleaned easily with the Spiritus. I cleaned, reamed (there was barely any residue inside the bowl), reassembled and fired it up, twice!
The pipe performed wonderfully. I wonder why the original owner chose to part with it? I cannot find a single issue. It should color up nicely in time. I am so happy to have found the elusive Yunus carved Viking figural after so many years of ebay searching!

 

[ssjones]

Congratulations on that elusive find! (I had a sneak peak via Facebook earlier today) That Viking's emotion looks like a NFL Viking fan. Perhaps this will be your year and the horn will sound often, good luck!

 

[skaukatt]

Thank you, Al, I sure do hope so!