Inexpensive Morta pipes

May be crude..but at that price...how can you go wrong? Nice pipe by the way!

I acquired a pipe on eBay that was supposed to be from Ukraine and it actually a shipped from China. Oleg Oner is brand. I realized that it was taking too long to get here and in checking on it I found the problem. It was $50 at the time and I thought it was too good to be true and it was. When I got it, I thought the grain didn't look right so I wiped it out with Everclear and the black came off, not to morta brown, but all the way to a nice new hardwood. I complained and got a full refund no question asked. I complained to ebay and they didn't do anything about it. They are now selling them for $79, but they are no bargain at any price. It's really a shame because the carving and stem are excellent. If they had just been honest and finished it normally it would probably be a 70 dollar pipe. As it is I dare not smoke it.

Beware.

My true morta Don Warren and Davorin Denovic pipes are well worth the money.

I highly doubt this is bog oak

The guy shipped the pipes from Poland.The address and postage stamps are a clear indication that this is true.

I have not seen any Chinese clones look like these. I also bought a few of a given style for comparison. One can clearly see the variations in the shape and. in a few, slight variations in the color, not a sign of the mass produced pipes from China. It looks like a somewhat primitive cut Bog Oak pipe not fine sanded, but fairly rough/rustic....They have the feel, primitive as they might be, and weight I expect from a Bog pipe as well. The pipe's color texture is also consistent throughout a given pipe.. no sign of a stain cover up job typical of Chinese "Morta" fakes. With that said there are pictures of these pipes that appear darker(The pipe pictured above is not the sole example and is one of the darker pipes offered that I have seen.). Is this the result of stain or a difference in the wood? I cannot say without a sample. With this I make no claims about the quality of the wood used nor am I stating the pipe is top quality. My report is also based on handling the real pipe not examining a pic and throwing in a word or two. There are many inexpensive pipes coming from Poland as to make this not so surprising.


One can debate the merits. I simply present a few observations for others to read. If you are an expert in Bog Oak from around the world please write. In the end, one can buy one and see one for themselves. They can be purchased for around the cost of a good cob.

I will do so. Yes I agree Morta comes in the color ranges you described. The pipes I purchased can be thought of as a lighter shade of black with hints of brown(and dark olive green under bright lights). One can see the variation in color in the pipes offered online, though perhaps not the hints of brown etc. I see in my lighter colored pipes. I noticed that fakes use a dark stain/paint which is easily detected. So I ran a test with 99percent Isopropyl alcohol no stain or coloring came off (not in the slightest), even with a bit of rubbing against a cloth. I will let you know what I find out about the smoking characteristics.

I bought this morta pipe from Mr. Brog a few years ago. It works fine, but I usually pick up a smaller pipe recently.


www.mrbrog.com/collections/morta-wood/products/mr-brog-billard-tobacco-pipe-model-no-112-morta-morta-wood-hand-made-1

I have a bunch of Mr. Brog pipes and I consider them a brand name. They all smoke great. I bought them when they first showed up on eBay and I was running point for the herd. I was buying higher end pipes by the time they started selling morta pipes.
I just put in a bid for one of these. Just what I need, pipe #193. 💩💩💩🤠

Boggoke sounds like it might be polish...

Most Morta pipes, I have seen, are made by individual carvers or boutique businesses whose prices are typically higher than the companies with more of a bulk buying, production line, machining approach. This is one clear reason for the higher price point.

I do not know anything about Poland's ability to supply Morta. However, the country is located within Europe, a continent where Morta is largely farmed, so to speak. It follows that access and cost would be cheaper there then importing Bog Oak to the states.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog-wood

bogoakdesign.com/origin/

Though not cheap, Morta is not out of the park expensive either.

Still one has to be cautious. I took the plunge, because at the price point, it was worth the risk. If these are made from a different wood, all I can say is it sure looks and feels like Bog Wood (making no claim as to quality etc., these are rustic pipes). I smoke briars to a large extent and look to these pipes for trying new blends(lack of ghosting with Morta), outdoor adventures, a few for heavy aromatics etc.

I should have said that all of my Mr Brog pipes are pear wood. I see the only drawback is that they won't last a hundred years of heavy smoking like briar. But I am just guessing.

I have two Mortas from Davorin. One is a black Morta and the other is a transitional copper to brown. He is an exceptional carver, and Morta is supposed to be very hard to work with (maybe you carvers out there can comment). Bog oak is basically semi petrified oak recovered from peat bogs. Where you have peat bogs and oak trees, you probably have Morta. In any case the oak does range from 2000 to 8000 years old. It takes that long to get to the point where the oak can become petrified. Both of mine are beautiful smokers. Morta pipes are not stained in any way. That's just a natural color. However you should see the ring grain in the pipe. A good carver will ensure the grain runs symmetrically across the shank and bowl.

You're sensible not to chase...

I agree...I only bid so far and stopped typically around the price in the link, maybe a few dollars more if the pipe really interested me. They might be picking up in price or just going through the up and down swing that occurs on bidding sites.
I believe bidding is for those willing to walk away and come back when conditions are favorable. I would check every week if one is interested.

PS The pokers on average sell for a bit more than the others. I plan on smoking my second pipe tonight.

They've obviously caught your eye. I hope you find one that slips past others' eyes.