what is your latest pipe purchase

[Lostmason]

@Bruck 's next pipe

[Bruck]

@Bruck 's next pipe

LOL, meanwhile the woman on the left is saying, ahem, let me show you how it's done

[GWBowman]

LOL, meanwhile the woman on the left is saying, ahem, let me show you how it's done

I'm going to turn away before the Daughters & Ryan jokes start.

[NeverBend]

The seller called this a Ben Wade Reject although it doesn't appear to branded. I'll be better able to tell more precisely what this pipe is when I see it in hand but it's definitely a Charatan handmade pipe. If it's branded then it probably dates from the early 1960s, soon after Lane acquired Ben Wade. If it's not branded (Ben Wade) then it's probably a little older (1950-1962) but I'll need to see the work to the bit and button to (hopefully) be more precise in dating it.

In their earlier history, Charatan (pre and early Lane era) made exclusively handmade bowls in smooth finishes. To my knowledge, Charatan discontinued selling Rejects sometime in the 1960s and began to, partially or completely, sandblast or rusticate (most) of the former Rejects and sold them as either lower end Charatan Handmade models (still costly) and as the Ben Wade Handmade series. Some City deLuxe pipes that I’ve seen are Charatan smooth handmade 2nds but I don’t know if this was a brand that they owned but by shaping they appear to be mid to later Lane era (late 1960s into the 1970s).

These Reject pipes were made from the same exceptional briar as Charatan firsts and are 2nds only because of naturally occurring blemish(es). James Upshall followed the same culture as pre-Lane Charatan in making only smooth firsts and their eponymous Tilshead (2nds) pipes. I coined the Upshall motto as an homage, The Tradition Continues...

The seller had three of these pipes, (Ben Wade) Rejects but I found them only minutes before the auction closed. My apologies because I would have mentioned them on the forum. I paid $19.97 + $4.54 shipping. I would have bought all three (one other sold for the same price) if they were billiards. I assume the marks on the bowl to be scratches, perhaps some dilwit etched around a flaw. The rim is in excellent shape and the wall thickness and this pipes mass (given the era that it was made) insure that it was handmade.

I'll post about these pipes and the seller in my ongoing eBay commentary thread in more detail.

[NeverBend]

Pipe arrived in excellent shape save the dilwit scratch that was the flaw. It's not marked Ben Wade so it's a Charatan handmade second. Stem dates this pipe to the early 1960s, so I'll call it a 1962. Bottom half of the bowl has a dense carbon cake that will take some elbow grease to get out.

Scratching the flaw in a pipe is like digging out the knot on a wooden table. Knots are part of the wood and I'm not sure what possesses someone to do this other than ignorance, boredom and stupidity.

I recommend looking for pipes like these to get some of the best made bowls with wonderful briar at great prices. Ask me if you have any questions about a pipe that you're looking at and I'll be glad to help (and salivate) if I can.