Ok…., lets be specific
A smoking pipe that is specifically made to smoke tobacco typically consists of a chamber (the bowl) for the combustion of material followed by a short tube (the shank), ending in a mouthpiece (the bit). Pipes can range from the very simple machine-made briar pipe to highly prized handmade and artful implements created by renowned pipemakers, which are often very expensive collector's items. "Estate pipes" are previously owned pipes that are sold to new owners.
For those who are new to the hobby the idea is rather strange… But once the new piper starts to rub elbows with more practice pipe smokers, he or she will notice that many times that’s the way to go. Why? Because it’s also a collectors hobby… Pipe smokers swap stories they swap, trade, sell and some times barter services for a pipe.
And what would a seasoned pipe smoker be looking for in an “Estate Pipe”?
First of all if it has been thoroughly reamed, cleaned, sweetened and polished. Swapping or buying an estate pipe that looks like what ever is in residence in there could kill your pet hamster is not a great idea.
Even though clean, as a used pipe it still should have a “dime’s” thick wall of carbon. Which was created by all the tobacco it smoked.
Second, the obvious, what was smoked in there? No… not the wacky weed! What type of tobacco? English? Aromatic? And so on. If you are a staunch defender of the Aromatic tobacco you should buy a pipe that smoked Aromatic tobaccos… If you smoke English, or you wish to get an estate pipe to smoke English, your new/old pipe should have smoked English tobaccos. Think about it… If you smoke Aromatics in a pipe that puffed on English tobaccos, like: Latakia, Perique, etc, it is going to taste awful and the aroma is going to be something out of a grisly novel! That is why the smart pipe smoker has several pipes. Pipes for the Aromatic tobaccos, for the English and the non-Aromatics ( many times they have no casing, aromas, and the blend is mostly burleys).
Make sure it has a new bit, also called a stem. New bits are changed by the hand full; the best pipes will have rubber, also known as Vulcanite or something fancy like acrylic. Dunhill pipes for example, only uses Vulcanite (because of the use of their branding mark, the white dot). You don’t really want a bit with someone else’s teeth marks on it…Yuck… lol (laughing out loud) just making sure.
And lastly, who made it, what company…, pipe maker…., is it of briar or a different wood? And when was it made? You could have found a treasure!
Below is a short description of what you can expect to find as pipes and their stems: (Pulled from Wikipedia)
The bowls of tobacco pipes are commonly made of briar, meershaum, corncob or clay. Less common are cherry wood, olive wood, maple, mesquite, oak, and bogwood. Generally a dense-grained wood is ideal. Minerals such as catlinite and soapstone have also been used. Pipe bowls of all these materials are sometimes carved with a great deal of artistry.
Unusual, but still noteworthy pipe bowl materials include gourds, as in the famous Calabash pipe (lined with Meershaum), and pyrolytic graphite. Metal and glass are uncommon materials for tobacco pipes, but are common for pipes intended for other substances, such as… Naah…
The stem needs a long channel of constant position and diameter running through it, although filter pipes have varying diameters and can be successfully smoked even without filters or adapters. Because it is molded rather than carved, clay may make up the entire pipe or just the bowl, but most other materials have stems made separately and detachable. Stems and bits of tobacco pipes are usually made of moldable materials like vulcanite, Lucite, Bakelite, and soft plastic. Less common are stems made of reeds, bamboo, or hollowed out pieces of wood. Expensive pipes once had stems made of amber, though this is rare now.
So where do you go for used pipes? For starters, Benningtons, we buy and trade old pipes. As well as, new of course. If you find a pipe that you really like, we can look at it for you and tell you if there is anything that needs done to get it ship shape. Many times there are great finds out there. And if you have old pipes you don’t care for anymore we can take a look and see if we can do business….
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