Buying Estate Pipes on eBay

[NeverBend]

That Quaint is truly amazing. Am I correct in believing my NB Barling is pre-transition?

Hi Jim,

The seller has a billiard listed that he likes better but I, too, prefer the Quaint.

All of the Barlings that I've given away are post-transition (> 1962). The post-trans pipes are comparable in quality to the better lines of GBD from the same era. The pre-transition pipes were (generally) better quality and are more expensive as estates.

If I give a pipe as a gift it's either a good smoker or I've never smoked it. If a pipe smokes poorly I will sell it or trade it accompanied by my opinion of it. Of course I've had guys take this as a challenge, believing that they can make my pipe smoke better than me. :yawn:

Pete

[Alligator Gar]

I'm really enjoying it now that I've got it smoking right. Getting the mouse turd out of the stem was a huge break through.

[NeverBend]

I'm really enjoying it now that I've got it smoking right. Getting the mouse turd out of the stem was a huge break through.

Hi Jim,

Sorry about the mouse turd, I usually have small mice so that the turd just sucks into the mouth like a little missile. Guess I need a smaller mouse?

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Please feel free to post pipes here that have some problems or concerns. This thread isn't meant to be my personal rant.
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When you see a rim that looks like this, these things have occurred:

• The pipe was smoked (very) hot over an extended period of time.
• There was damage to the rim surface that was sanded smooth. Pipes with this much use don't have crisp rims any longer.
• The cracks at the rim will extend, to a greater or lesser degree, into the bowl.
• The condition of the chamber should be assumed to be in the same (or worse) poor state of the rim.
• From this view you see a classic case of "being out of round". Some loss of round can happen to older pipes as they're reamed and used but if it's a result of charring or this extreme, don't buy it. Ragged rims indicate mistreatment.
• Yes, it's a Barling