Jack H. Weinberger JHW Pipes....

[droy1958]

Hi David,

I meant to respond to you weeks ago, sorry for the delay.

Jack Weinberger handmade his bowls (not the stems) in New Jersey in the 1970s and 1980s. Mark Tinsky and Curt Rollar (American Smoking Pipe) apprenticed with him. The early American pipes looked a lot like Jack's although the boys turned more classic in shaping after I'd had a few drinks with them (and Mark remains a valued friend).

In the early 1980s we became Jack's top account. We had a show of his pipes in mid-1981 and sold 89 of them in one evening. Jack was shell-shocked (smile).

He used Grecian briar from Pepitas (not sure if that saw mill is still around). He made some interesting shapes like yours and while not a top tier craftsman, his pipes were good value and different. Your pipe was made from the outer edge of the burl, also called plateaux. I've seen and sold several like yours, it was a treatment that Jack did fairly often. Jack's showpiece was a set of pipes made to look like instruments that he displayed together.

If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them if I know the answer.

Regards,

Pete

P.S. (edit) David, looking at the pipe closely, I believe I sold it to an Attorney in Brooklyn NY, I could be wrong (he made this shape several times), but the carving on the shank and the repair are consistent with the pipe I sold him. Can I ask where you got the pipe?

Thanks for the reply Pete. My friend bought this pipe along with a GBD Lumberman and a Nording for $75 at his pawn shop. He decided he wanted me to sell them and split the money. I got $219.50 in the auction of this pipe....