Much Grief.

Out of the many pipes I have to lose or break it would definitely be the last Dunhill 1962 Shell Briar my grandfather purchased and gave to me in 1969 on my Birthday. Sadly four and a half months later my grandfather pasedd away from a sudden heart attack at age 76, I still remember the day my Dad took me out of my high school class and said “ your Mom is in the car and we need to go to Brooklyn “. Even though it was my father’s Dad my Mom was extremely shook up! That trip to Brooklyn seemed to take an eternity and when we arrived my grandfather was still on the couch....my Dad lost it and started yelling at an NYPD cop that said the body can’t be moved until a doctor signs the death certificate. I had no idea and was never told that my grandfather had a heart condition. I was devastated and annoyed both at the same time! It was a tough year there after!!
I only smoke this pipe on special occasions and still is in pristine condition. This is the only photo I have in my cloud service. This pipe is kept in my gun safe and one day will be leaving with me on a long journey, for if NOT with me it would surely be sold!!!

This stack, because it's the first pipe I made, and it turns out it smokes better than all my other pipes.
Quite coincidently, the first pipe I ever bought is my second best smoker, a Jarl.

Don't have a photo (and too lazy to make one), my choice would be my Longchamp prince. Made in France, they were (as far as I know) the first to make leather-covered pipes. They were popular for a decade or so because of the insulating quality of the leather over the briar. A few other manufacturers followed suit for a while. They ceased manufacture in 1978, but continued to deliver pre-ordered stock until 1980. Now a *luxury* brand, they currently make handbags and leather goods.

I wonder if this doesn't mirror the path Dunhill is taking?

Mine is a mid-seventies example, in excellent condition, with fully intact tan, saddle-like leather cover and an original Vulcanite (now referred to as Ebonite) stem with logo.

I have a lot of pipes, some great smokers and some highly collectible ones...some of them excel in both regards.
But the loss of any, would not bring me grief.
The pipe is a luxury, one I truly enjoy, but hard to put it on a level where the loss of one would bring me grief.

I do not say this flippantly, I actually looked at my my pipes before i offered a response, and that is as honest of an answer I could come up with.

I feel a bit like trailboss here, cos my pipes don't really have much sentimental value to me. I'm not a terribly sentimental man.

However, the pipe below was my first mm Legend. It was my second pipe. My first pipe was a basket pipe that didn't smoke great - such a gurgler - so I bought this mm Legend and I rusticated it with a dremel and painted it so it looked less like a corn cob pipe. The only reason I'd feel bad losing it is because it was my 'training pipe' and I got it in my 40th year. Still, I wouldn't lose sleep over it...I'd just get another Legend and fix it up again and I'll be happy.

Don't have a picture and don't have a 3rd party image hosting site, but my absolute best smoking pipe is a Yello-bole Canadian from the 50's. Got it in junk shop for $1.25. Smokes anything down to white ash in the bottom. Amazing!

This is an easy answer for me. I would be sad if anything happened to any of my grandfather’s pipes. I inherited his collection of about 50 pipes. He’s the reason for my passion in this hobby. He gave me a Grabow Silver Duke from his collection when I turned 18 and my enthusiasm for our wonderful hobby has only grown stronger over the years.

Here’s one of many of my grandfather’s pipes.



A picture of my grandfather, Don from 1973. I miss his sense of humor and infinite wisdom.

Sorry should have specified. The pipe above is a Savinelli Capri. Although I do have some old Grabow’s that would make an S Bang jealous. 😁