Buying Estate Pipes on eBay

[Alligator Gar]

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

[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

[fastnbulbous]

I have been spending a lot of time on ebay searching for estate pipe lots.

Thinking about diving in.

[NeverBend]

I have been spending a lot of time on ebay searching for estate pipe lots.

Thinking about diving in.

Hi Adam,

(My son's name is Adam too).

I'd suggest taking it slow, setting limits and so forth. If you like I'd be happy to evaluate pipes that you're interested in.

Pete

[Aguineapig]

I too look in on the estate pipes on ebay from time to time. The problem is, with everything else in life right now, I don't have the time or energy to put into learning about the ins and outs-- for someone like me, I wouldn't know a good deal if I saw one, which defeats the point of looking for deals in the first place. I can't tell if nobody has bid on it because it's crap, or if I'm looking at the deal of a lifetime because I accidentally spelled "Sasieni", "Sassinei" and nobody else found it, or something.

That, and I really "don't need" more pipes. Although, like with antique tools (another hobby of mine), that really isn't the right philosophy. I don't like 5 draw knives, or 60 axes, but I'm glad I have them anyway. So a few more pipes someday, in some favorite shapes, will be what I'll settle on.

[NeverBend]

I too look in on the estate pipes on ebay from time to time. The problem is, with everything else in life right now, I don't have the time or energy to put into learning about the ins and outs-- for someone like me, I wouldn't know a good deal if I saw one, which defeats the point of looking for deals in the first place. I can't tell if nobody has bid on it because it's crap, or if I'm looking at the deal of a lifetime because I accidentally spelled "Sasieni", "Sassinei" and nobody else found it, or something.

That, and I really "don't need" more pipes. Although, like with antique tools (another hobby of mine), that really isn't the right philosophy. I don't like 5 draw knives, or 60 axes, but I'm glad I have them anyway. So a few more pipes someday, in some favorite shapes, will be what I'll settle on.

You make a very good point about the difficulty in isolating a good value or, put another way, a pipe that has a good chance to smoke well at a price point that one wants to afford. As I've mentioned elsewhere, briar is the best material to make superior smoking pipes, but it's also inconsistent and no one can guarantee performance of any given piece.

There's a lot of mythology surrounding brand in pipes but I've never read any posts on the Internet (or elsewhere) that have (even) a fundamental understanding of what gives one (briar) pipe better opportunity to be an excellent smoker compared to another, and it has nothing to do with brand other than some companies do it better than others. Many smokers incorrectly interpret fancy shaping as the mark of a superior pipe and buy them on aesthetics, whim and hope.

The best smoking pipes are made that way by using superior materials and craftsmanship. It's not an accident that Barling has maintained a brilliant reputation for superior smoking pipes even though it's been over 50 years since they made pipes that way.

The best that anyone can do is to learn how the best pipes are made and select from that pool. I've picked up a steady stream of high quality pipes at reasonable prices (~$10 to ~$100) but not all pass muster for me. When they do, there’s great satisfaction and your taste buds will know the difference.

Regarding your excellent example of Sasieni, the question should be when the pipe was made because they changed processes over time. Collectors may purchase Sasieni pipes from the late Family Era (roughly 1950-1980) and some may be fine smokers but they made their best pipes before the mid 1930s. I recently picked up a damaged, but smokeable, little Sasieni from the 1920s for $6.00 (shipped) and though it’s not really my shape, it’s a very good smoker. The nomenclature is fun for collecting but if your goal is to get serious smoking pipes then there are other considerations and knowing what to look for is the key.

[Aguineapig]

The nomenclature is fun for collecting but if your goal is to get serious smoking pipes then there are other considerations and knowing what to look for is the key.

That is what I more or less guessed at, and that it'd be more work than just learning brand names. With axes, for example, I can probably do what you do with pipes-- pick out ideal candidates for putting to use, independent of the "big names" that fetch ten or twenty times despite no guarantee they they will be geometrically or metalurgically as sound as the ones that are ten or twenty times cheaper, with no bids. But it took me years to get to that point!

Right now, I am an avowed cob smoker of D&R and C&D blends. Plain, good, consistent and no nonsense smokes. I'm happy with that, and down the road in life I'll enjoy the more attuned side of it (that one blend, in that one pipe that just sing, made in that one factory, etc) when I have nothing better to do (which is a wonderful thing to look forward to!)

[Alligator Gar]

That is what I more or less guessed at, and that it'd be more work than just learning brand names. With axes, for example, I can probably do what you do with pipes-- pick out ideal candidates for putting to use, independent of the "big names" that fetch ten or twenty times despite no guarantee they they will be geometrically or metalurgically as sound as the ones that are ten or twenty times cheaper, with no bids. But it took me years to get to that point!

Right now, I am an avowed cob smoker of D&R and C&D blends. Plain, good, consistent and no nonsense smokes. I'm happy with that, and down the road in life I'll enjoy the more attuned side of it (that one blend, in that one pipe that just sing, made in that one factory, etc) when I have nothing better to do (which is a wonderful thing to look forward to!)

Let me give you something to think about. You can buy lots (as in groups) of estate pipes for less than a new pipe would cost. Sometimes people know what they're selling, sometimes they don't. More importantly, sometimes I know what they're selling and sometimes I don't. I have enjoyed finding the kernel of wheat in the barrel of rat shit. Some don't. I never let my ignorance of any given pursuit stay me from participating in that pursuit. I've found and restored and now enjoy "that one pipe" many times over because I didn't wait to get attuned... I just dove in. Not trying to make money, not even trying very hard to avoid getting screwed or overpaying. Just trying to have some fun and learn some stuff. If you're moderately handy, and I imagine an axman would be, make it happen! Just don't bid on my lots!