African meer?
And is the stem quite short, or is that an artefact of the image?
And is the stem quite short, or is that an artefact of the image?
Pipes That Stopped You in Your Tracks
- Thread starter hauntedmyst
- Start date
I agree with Warren and Hoosier, appreciate the art, the creativity and the execution but wouldn't think of buying one of the showstoppers. The first pipe in the thread and the tokutomi however are really beautiful. Glad others like them but volcanos are probably by least favorite shape.
I'm fairly sure its block, around 100 years old. The stem is on the small side, but not like a nose warmer anything.
I should also add this one, which was available on that big auction last month. Sold for WAAAY over my budget.
There is a certain something about this pipe to me, the color, shape, patina, something.
There is a certain something about this pipe to me, the color, shape, patina, something.
I’m really a traditional shape guy. I don’t remember the carver but @Chasing Embers posted a pic a while back of a Strawberry wood pipe and I have saved the pic. Showstopper for me!!
The original (now closed) JB Hayes shop in Virginia had this unsmoked P-Grade James Upshall, with a Les Woods custom silver band in their pipe cabinet. Over a few years of shop visits, I looked at it every time, but their price was $350 and I balked. I guess that I picked it up often enough, that when the closing of the shop was imminent, John offered it to me for $225. Its gigantic, so it doesn't get smoked very often, and of course the stem oxidizes by just looking at it, but it still puts a smile on my face when it gets smoked. I'll have to take a better picture of it.
Definitely Rolando’s. I only have a factory version of one of his designs, but cherish it.
Now that is what I call a pipe. I am so tired of crazy ass pipes that look nothing like a pipe. The Pot above i as perfect a pot as I have ever seen. Just a feaking awesome classic.
I enjoy both functional and dysfunctional pipes. Having a collection of Paul Tatum pipes is doubly a joy, since, as an engineer he knew how to make the internals, and as an artist he could provide strangely whimsical designs in a style that is distinctly his.
A lot of the designs in the last big auction and the next one coming up are fantastic displays of carving skill that just seem like a thorough pain in the ass to use. They're like trophies, meant to be admired on the shelf. Some of those chamber and rim angles would require a contortionist to actually use them. No wonder so many of them are unsmoked.
Maybe it's partly a point in life sort of thing, but I don't want more clutter, and these are mostly clutter. I'm going to be dumping most of my collections after I retire. There's really no point to them.
A lot of the designs in the last big auction and the next one coming up are fantastic displays of carving skill that just seem like a thorough pain in the ass to use. They're like trophies, meant to be admired on the shelf. Some of those chamber and rim angles would require a contortionist to actually use them. No wonder so many of them are unsmoked.
Maybe it's partly a point in life sort of thing, but I don't want more clutter, and these are mostly clutter. I'm going to be dumping most of my collections after I retire. There's really no point to them.
I'm there too, though my collection is no where near as spectacular as your older British pipes (and as I've said before, yours belong in museums). I've gotten to the point of seeing the folly in collections. For years, I loved and built a collection of Dunhill group 6 and ODA billiards and apples. I got one in most of the finishes in them, some times two. I enjoyed them for a while but in the end they were just more expensive stuff on the wall. Having had to clear out a number of peoples houses after they pass, you get an appreciation for the sheer amount of crap people spend their lives obtaining only to see it tossed in a dumpster when their gone. That being said, I still love looking at wonderful pipes. Briar is an amazing wood and what some can do with it is pure art.
