Whilst smoking my new (well new to me) Mastro De Paja I rummaged yet again through the box of pipes from Germany. I was looking for something that was more than just dirty, I wanted to tackle something that required a bit of lateral thinking as well. I found this F&T (in a horizontal diamond) that was also stamped REJECT...I wonder why!
Despite the LARGE hole in the side of the bowl this pipe has obviously been smoked heavily. Just goes to show what an amazing wood briar is. As you can see from the photo below this pipe was made from quality briar. Love the birdseye.
I was originally thinking of just chopping off the top and making a pot. A pretty easy thing to do and I would have a nice bit of briar to use for something else in future. But, the more I looked the more I thought, "I want to keep that birdseye intact". Here is a side view of the pipe, it is a very comfortable shape in the hand.
So, a few flicks of the wrist with my Rotring 600 (look it up, great pencil) and I came up with an adaption of a Danish freehand style that still leaves at least a 30min smoke in the bowl. Something like...
This would also allow me to bend the stem (I found one in the box that I can make fit) slightly so that the pipe can be smoked at about 45 degrees to horizontal (an angle I find very comfortable) without getting gook all over the rim. Also, this should give a very pleasing sweep of birdseye along the entire rim.
More updates to follow!
PS> F&T stands for Fribourg & Treyer. They were an old British tobacconist based in London originally. Prior to the War they had a well-respected market in tobacco and pipes. Some sources say the pipes were made for them by BBB. They were bought out (like MANY companies at the time) by the Imperial Tobacco Company (ITC) and disappeared. Today there are still tobaccos made with their name attached (made in Germany). It might be fun to get a tin to smoke in this pipe if it turns out well!
Despite the LARGE hole in the side of the bowl this pipe has obviously been smoked heavily. Just goes to show what an amazing wood briar is. As you can see from the photo below this pipe was made from quality briar. Love the birdseye.
I was originally thinking of just chopping off the top and making a pot. A pretty easy thing to do and I would have a nice bit of briar to use for something else in future. But, the more I looked the more I thought, "I want to keep that birdseye intact". Here is a side view of the pipe, it is a very comfortable shape in the hand.
So, a few flicks of the wrist with my Rotring 600 (look it up, great pencil) and I came up with an adaption of a Danish freehand style that still leaves at least a 30min smoke in the bowl. Something like...
This would also allow me to bend the stem (I found one in the box that I can make fit) slightly so that the pipe can be smoked at about 45 degrees to horizontal (an angle I find very comfortable) without getting gook all over the rim. Also, this should give a very pleasing sweep of birdseye along the entire rim.
More updates to follow!
PS> F&T stands for Fribourg & Treyer. They were an old British tobacconist based in London originally. Prior to the War they had a well-respected market in tobacco and pipes. Some sources say the pipes were made for them by BBB. They were bought out (like MANY companies at the time) by the Imperial Tobacco Company (ITC) and disappeared. Today there are still tobaccos made with their name attached (made in Germany). It might be fun to get a tin to smoke in this pipe if it turns out well!
Great idea yes it has nice Birdseye
ReplyDeleteA nice project to work on good luck.