Heart breaker

[Pugsley]

For some years now I've been collecting pipes made by John Bessai, a little known American craftsman from Cleveland who produced pipes in his shop from the early 1900's until he passed away in the 1960's. I don't collect them for their aesthetic value, as many have large fills, some quite ugly, but for their smoking qualities. The drilling is always spot on and the airways are more open than most pipes of that era giving them an easy draw. the hand cut vulcanite stems are comfortable and seem to resist the ugly discoloring common with British pipes of that era and are more easily cleaned. The most coveted pipes he carved are the "Special", with the holy grail being the "Special X". These are pipes he was especially pleased with and may have exceptional grain with a minimum of flaws, (all pipes have flaws), or may have been experimental shapes, some of which resemble those made by Danish pipe makers of a later generation. These "Special" pipes are exceptionally rare, which is why seeing one in the condition of this example listed on Ebay is such a heart breaker. That the seller describes it as "gently smoked" just adds insult to injury.

JB Special Imported Briar W06 | eBay

[Haebar]

For some years now I've been collecting pipes made by John Bessai, a little known American craftsman from Cleveland who produced pipes in his shop from the early 1900's until he passed away in the 1960's. I don't collect them for their esthetic value, as many have large fills, some quite ugly, but for their smoking qualities. The drilling is always spot on and the airways are more open than most pipes of that era giving them an easy draw. the hand cut vulcanite stems are comfortable and seem to resist the ugly discoloring common with British pipes of that era and are more easily cleaned. The most coveted pipes he carved are the "Special", with the holy grail being the "Special X". These are pipes he was especially pleased with and may have exceptional grain with a minimum of flaws, (all pipes have flaws), or may have been experimental shapes, some of which resemble those made by Danish pipe makers of a later generation. These "Special" pipes are exceptionally rare, which is why seeing one in the condition of this example listed on Ebay is such a heart breaker. That the seller describes it as "gently smoked" just adds insult to injury.

JB Special Imported Briar W06 | eBay

How did you get interested in collecting these? It's an interesting story about the JB pipes. Are you going to make an offer on that one and restore it?

[Pugsley]

How did you get interested in collecting these? It's an interesting story about the JB pipes. Are you going to make an offer on that one and restore it?

Some years back I bought a Bessai Special X on Ebay because I liked the shape. It reminded me of some of the Sixten Ivarsson pipes produced in the early 60's. At the time I was smoking mostly machine made pipes from Savinelli, Stanwell and others. The smoking qualities of that Bessai were so far beyond anything I had at the time that I decided to seek out more of his pipes. I now own half a dozen of them, and though some are painfully unattractive, they are all terrific smokers. That said, I have purchased a few that turned out to be made, or at least finished, by his son Herb after the old man passed. Many of those were purchased as unfinished bowls from European manufacturers and they are not nearly the same quality as pipes made by John. To my knowledge, none of them were marked "Special" although for a time Herb continued to use the original "John Bessai" stamps on them. I won't be bidding on the pipe I linked to as it's far beyond my skill level to restore a pipe in such condition. This one, however, I will be bidding on.

John Bessai Square Shanked Billiard Shaped Pipe Pipestud | eBay

[Lostmason]

Warren,,just what are you seeing in the first one that will require an indepth restore ?

[Pugsley]

Warren,,just what are you seeing in the first one that will require an indepth restore ?

The main thing is the condition of the rim. It looks as though someone had been breaking rocks with it. There is also the discolored area on the shank near the stem. It would probably need to be stripped, re-stained, and polished. The obvious sloppy sanding job on the mouthpiece also makes me nervous. Cleaning I can do, restoring something with that kind of abuse is far beyond my skill level.

[Lostmason]

I noticed the chips and the dark spots, I was thinking the spots were (hopefully) tar stains or from finger oils and clean out.The rim would need to be sanded down and restained,, but that is beyond my abilities.Oh well,,,there's BBK I have my eye on.

[Alligator Gar]

I noticed the chips and the dark spots, I was thinking the spots were (hopefully) tar stains or from finger oils and clean out.The rim would need to be sanded down and restained,, but that is beyond my abilities.Oh well,,,there's BBK I have my eye on.

Warren,
Win it and send it to me. It's not too far gone. This is a Dr. G Dublin I did for someone last weekend.

Before






After






If you get it for a fair price I can restore it for you and you can keep and enjoy it.

[Branzig]

Cleaning I can do, restoring something with that kind of abuse is far beyond my skill level.

I think you may be surprised how easy it is. A little sanding, a little prep work, some leather dye and Q-tips...you're off to the races.

There is something off with that stem though...Are they usually vulcinite on these pipes or acrylic?

[Pugsley]

There is something off with that stem though...Are they usually vulcinite on these pipes or acrylic?

To the best of my knowledge, John Bessai used vulcanite exclusively for his stems. His son Herb later sold pipes made in France and England with acrylic stems. Though some of those pipes still had the "John Bessai" stamp, they were produced and sold after he passed away.

[Branzig]

To the best of my knowledge, John Bessai used vulcanite exclusively for his stems. His son Herb later sold pipes made in France and England with acrylic stems. Though some of those pipes still had the "John Bessai" stamp, they were produced and sold after he passed away.

If it is just vulcanite, should be able to sand and buff out with a little elbow grease.

I say if you like the pipe, pull the trigger and get your feet wet in doing some more heavy duty resto work on it