It’s funny how the pipe smoking hobby can evolve. As I’ve said before, my return to pipe smoking was primarily down to watching a British television series from ITV called Maigret. Maigret stars Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) as a French detective. The character smokes a pipe and while watching this series it gave me a flashback from over 30 years back when I used to smoke a pipe during my Civil War re-enacting days. But to be perfectly honest, I really had no idea that a year later I would own more than one pipe, have a collection of over a dozen different tobaccos, actively write/blog and record video content for my YouTube channel and actively Tweet and post content to Instagram.
It’s George’s Fault
Yes, it’s George Bruno’s fault. The very first pipe smoking YouTube content creator I watched was George Bruno. George was instrumental in teaching me the fine art of pipe smoking. I learned how to pack my bowl, how to light my pipe (false light, then true light), how and when to tamp etc. etc. George introduced me to what is now my favorite pipe. The Savinelli Roma 673 KS. This was the first quality pipe I purchased and truly is my favorite pipe. (Message to my wife, remember…I want to be buried with this pipe).
Anyway, George recorded a video titled “What makes a tobacco pipe happy?” where he spoke about the joy he gets from collecting estate pipes. He went on to explain that “we’re the steward of our pipes, we only own them while we’re alive” and that our pipes will easily outlive us. Later in the video, George explained the happiness he feels when he sees an old caked up pipe bowl and how that pipe was used to comfort someone through the birth of children, death of parents, firing from a job, acquisition of new job, earning of college degree, the wedding of his daughter, birth of first grandson etc.
The Search
After watching George’s above mentioned video, I decided I would begin the search for a few estate pipes to add to my collection. My wife and I actually love visiting antique stores and we have several really nice ones near our house. A few weeks back, we hit the road to visit our favorites. At the first, I found a couple of really rough old pipes. Unfortunately, they were priced as if they had been fully restored and it was clear these had not. As for brands, these were so poorly cared for that I couldn’t even make out a brand or model. Nothing. Plus the price tag didn’t reflect any of this information either.
While visiting the second (and larger of the two) antique stores, I found one stall that was nothing but estate pipes. There were some really neat looking pipes and some reasonably priced. Unfortunately, the store was about to close and I haven’t had a chance to return.
eBay?
I’ve purchased (and sold) a lot of stuff on eBay over the years. While I’ve heard all the horror stories, I tend to do my research and will only purchase from sellers who are top rated and I do take the time to review their feedback ratings. I decided I would search through eBay to see what I could find. After all, I’m sure at any given time…one can find hundreds, if not thousands of pipes for sell on eBay. So I typed in “Estate Pipes” in the eBay search and narrowed my search down to the listings which were ending soon. I had many to choose from.
My Criteria
I had made the decision ahead of time that for my first estate pipe purchase, I wanted it to be an easy restoration project. While I’m a woodworker hobbyist and feel confident I could refinish the briar portion of a pipe, I don’t know much about working with plastics. So I was hoping I could find something with a descent looking stem. In other words, no chips and preferably minor to no tooth chatter. Oh…I also wanted to keep my budget as low as possible.
I found a Kaywoodie model 51 Standard, with original box and a pamphlet that was ending in just a few hours. From the description and photographs this appeared to meet all my criteria and then some. I plopped down my bid and managed to hold high bid until just a few minutes before the auction ended. As the timer reached the final few seconds I entered my final max bid of $21.00 and ended up winning the auction with a winning bid of $20.50. With shipping, I managed to acquire my very first estate pipe for under $30.00. I was happy. Now the wait for the package to arrive….
The Kaywoodie 51 Standard
And here’s my first estate pipe purchase complete with box and the brochure. From what I found online (Pipedia), the Kaywoodie 51 is a medium billiard with a short stem. These were produced between 1932 – 1966. I would have to think mine is from the later years and that’s OK with me. My birth year is 1966, so having a pipe that is as old as I am is pretty neat.
As hopefully the images show, the stem is in good shape. Just a bath and some cleaning/polishing is all I believe will need to be done. I’m pretty sure a non-clencher pipe smoker must have owned this pipe of the bowl and give it a salt bath. I’m undecided as what to do (if anything at all) to the rim. Yes there are some nicks, dings and scratches. But I may choose to leave these for character.
I will clean the cake out of the bowl and give it a salt bath. I’m undecided as what to do (if anything at all) to the rim. Yes there are some nicks, dings and scratches. But I may choose to leave these for character.
The exterior of the bowl is really not bad at all. Depending on what I decide to do with the rim, I’m really not sure it needs to be re-stained. Just buffed with some wax and I think it will shine up nicely.
To be Continued…
I’ll certainly provide an update on this project as I get started and throughout the process. I’ve been watching a ton of videos on pipe restoration and feel pretty confident with what I’ve learned to tackle this project. Regardless of the outcome, with this pipe being my first estate pipe purchase, it will be a keeper.
Thank you for reading and please don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and visit my YouTube channel. I’m really enjoying my participation in the YTPC (YouTube Pipe Community).
Until next time…
Happy Piping!
Jerry