I had a stem issue with a cob I bought in a store. Emailed them and they sent me out a new one. Good company to deal with.
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I had a stem issue with a cob I bought in a store. Emailed them and they sent me out a new one. Good company to deal with.
Bought this early 1960s Barling King tonight on eBay. I believe the pipe was made in (early) 1963 and that the bowl and stem are handmade. If I'm correct then it's of similar quality to the legendary Barlings of their Family Era. It's my shape and the right size. I'll update
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-BARL...vip=true&rt=nc
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/jkcAAO...00/r.jpg?rt=nc
This era of Barling is a treasure hunt for me. I couldn't see the end (air hole) of the bit so I judged handmade by the shaping on the flat of the bit and the length of the saddle (longer than machine molded bits). The shaping of the pipe says handmade but Barling's precision with handmade shapes can be confusing. The serial number, 7 series with 4 digits, that I've seen or owned have been pipes that were made, or at least released for sale, between early 1961 through early 1963 but with the Barling name in script they must be from late 1962 into 1963. This particular Barling script stamp I only know from 1963 or a bit later. So it's a 1963 regardless of the manufacture and it if is handmade then it was made with Barling's famed briar. I bid on the pipe as if it was a machine made pipe. We'll see if I was a wanker or not :).
I think you look for specific markers in the Custombilts that you buy? Small details that tell a lot about the pipe.
Now I have too many pipes to restore plus one.
Regards,
Pete
I do indeed like certain era's of Custombilts. I really hunt for the pre-1960s and am always a sucker for the 30s-40s Mincer era pipes. Treasure hunt is indeed a good term to use!
And congrats. The correct amount of pipes to work on and restore is always "too many plus one." :D
Scored my first Custom Bilt off the bay today.