Reasonably priced pipes on Ebay
wbradk
Apprentice
Any particular favorite brands on Ebay for those who are looking for pipes on a budget? I have had some good luck with ROAD TOWN pipes on Ebay, and I have saved that search on my favorite search list. Any thoughts?
Comments
BTW, my lone non-Carey is a Duncan Hill Aerosphere, marketed originally by EA Carey.
I thought you had a nice Charatan as well?
You looking at new pipes only, or “estate” pipes as well?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OLD-BRIAR-A-Book-About-Refurbishing-Pipes-Minimizing-Cost-of-Pipe-Smoking/392134981792?hash=item5b4d10f8a0:g:u6QAAMXQROxRF99x
Buying a Tobacco Pipe on eBay? BE CAREFUL!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JNnjSS4x64Alternative views have been posted here previously:
Buying Pipes on eBay
There are two main categories of pipes offered for sale on eBay: new and estate.
New pipes are just that: un-smoked and never sold before. On the other hand, estate pipes are pre-owned and offer a great opportunity to get a very good pipe for half or less of the normal price at retail. These estate pipes can be smoked or un-smoked. Pre-smoked pipes offer the greatest chance at an excellent bargain and, when properly cleaned and sterilized with any potable alcohol, can be truly marvelous acquisitions.
Often you can find exquisite handcrafted pipes made by some of the finest pipe makers in the world at a small fraction of the price on eBay. The standard rule of thumb is that if you have no issues with using restaurant silver and glassware, you should have no problem smoking an estate pipe once it has been properly cleaned and sterilized with alcohol.
The internet is a great boon to the pipe smoking enthusiast hoping to purchase an excellent pipe or locate some rare tobacco. At any given time, there are literally tens of thousands of items under “ pipes” on eBay. However, a huge percentage of them are, if not junk, then at least not to be recommended. Purchasing pipes or anything on eBay can be fun, and the possibilities of finding a bargain on a jewel are frequent, but such purchases are best made with strategy and wisdom.
Here some tips to purchasing pipes on eBay:
1. There are no great pipes for a dollar or two. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Most of the Made-in-China pipes that say “quality” are pure junk.
3. A pipe advertised as "genuine wood" is not a "briar" (see tip #5)
4. Stick with reputable pipe makers if you’re not pipe-savvy. Brands like Savinelli, Peterson, Dunhill, Stanwell and Davidoff will always offer you a great smoking experience if it’s authentic and the pipe is in good condition. Even less expensive brands like Dr. Grabow offer a good introduction to pipe smoking.
5. Look for pipes made from Briar and Meerschaum only.
6. Before buying or bidding, you might be able to research the pipe on various pipe forums and Facebook groups to see reviews and information.
7. There is such thing as counterfeit pipes so be sure you examine the photographs, read the description and determine whether the seller is reputable.
8. Examine the photos and descriptions carefully; look for cracks, charring, teeth marks, discolored stems, etc.
9, When in doubt, ask one of the TPL forum members.
10. Use the eBay search function to narrow down your search.
How to Buy an Estate Pipe for Less
Pipe smoking or collecting elicits images of dark libraries, curling smoke and aged whiskey. Regardless of if you are a collector or are toying with the idea of pipe smoking, there are a few ways to get a great piece for less to capture the nostalgia of this masculine accessory.
There are two main categories of pipes offered for sale: new and estate.
New pipes are just that: un-smoked and never sold before. On the other hand, estate pipes are pre-owned and offer a great opportunity to get a very good pipe for half or less of the normal price at retail. Estate pipes can be smoked or un-smoked. Pre-smoked pipes offer the greatest chance at an excellent bargain and, when properly cleaned and sterilized with any potable alcohol, can be truly marvelous acquisitions.
Estate pipes represent such an opportunity. If you have no issues with using restaurant silver and glassware, you should have no problem smoking an estate pipe once it has been properly cleaned and sterilized with alcohol.
eBay is a great boon to the pipe smoking enthusiast hoping to purchase an excellent estate pipe. There are literally tens of thousands of items under “pipes” on eBay. However, a large percentage of them are, if not junk, then at least not to be recommended. Purchasing pipes or anything on eBay can be fun and the possibilities of finding a bargain on a jewel are frequent, but such purchases are best postponed until one has gained the experience to be a savvy buyer.
I gather the guy posting that and the other pipe videos is someone’s son or favorite brother,,,,but still I think pay some attention to the background.
Also you said everything that needed to be known in a much better fashion, lot less words,,,, though you did repeat yourself......and you are much better looking....
You also wrote: <<you are much better looking....>>
I'm getting three more pipes ready to go on eBay but the starting price is $20 each. They are from smaller Danish and Italian carvers.
The three I'm working on now will probably having a starting price of $25 each. I have some I haven't started on that will be slightly cheaper on the starting price.
I'll post some photos on here in the next day or two and before I put them on eBay.
Two are Bjarne pipes. They were carved by Bjarne Nielsen (1941 - † 2008) distributed his own "Bjarne" brand and pipes carved by Danish pipemakers (Mogens Johansen, Tonni Nielsen or Ph. Vigen). Both are stamped "Handmade in Denmark)
The other is a Karl Erik. Brand created in 1965-66 by Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942 - 2004 †). In the best years he employed up to 15 craftsmen among which Bent Nielsen (see Benner) and Peder Christian Jeppesen.
I understand your concern about buying estate pipes on eBay because you never know how the pipes were cleaned or even if they really were. In private discussions, I have recommended that anyone buying an estate pipe take steps to sanitize it before smoking.
Take the stem off the pipe and wipe it down with 91% denatured alcohol and running a pipe cleaner through the airway is a good start. Once that's done, just rinse it under warm running water and it's ready to smoke. If it's a vulcanite stem, you may have to spend some time polishing the stem afterwards. The alcohol is usually stocked at all drug stores. You can also use high proof drinking alcohol but you have to remember that the proof is double what the actual alcohol content is. For example, 150 Proof rum is 75% alcohol by volume. 190 Proof Grain Alcohol is 95% alcohol by volume (and is drinkable which makes it a better choice for pipe cleaning since it doesn't need to be rinsed.)
I would also use the pipe cleaner dipped in alcohol and give the airway in the shank a good cleaning also. Just keep repeating with clean pipe cleaner until they are no longer coming out black. I would just clean the bowl the way you normally would to remove cake and ghosting. The bowl chamber obviously gets very hot during smoking and will kill anything hazardous.
Your concern is something to take serious but the problem is not one that can't be alleviated by taking the effort to sterilze the estate pipe.
You can actually drink 190% Grain alcohol like Everclear. (I speak from the experience of my youth). You may regret it the next day, but you can drink it.
I know I have mentioned this before, but be very careful with high proof alcohol around Real Amber, Acrylic, Bakelite stems, and their ilk. It can and will haze them or even soften or melt them. Been there done that. I had an old Yello-Bole estate that had a yellow (amber) looking stem. I knew it was not real amber, but Bakelite or Amberoid?, it was disgusting. I popped it in the everclear for a quick soak while I cleaned the rest of the pipe. By the time I had got back to it, an hour or so, it had softened and the stem logo fell out and the stem was ruined. Luckily it was a POS stem on an inexpensive pipe anyway, so it was not a big loss. II think it had the bit chewed off. I just made another amber acrylic stem for it. It looks good and functions perfectly fine, it's just not original. I try to keep pipes as original as possible when I refurbish/restore them.
Correct.
My first Everclear experience was in August 1972 when the icebreaker I was on had liberty in Nome, Alaska. I was with some of the other guys from the engineering department and we were drinking in one of the bars. You know what a boilermaker is? A shot of bourbon in a glass of beer. We were introduced to a train wreck, which was a shot of Everclear in a glass of beer.
By the way, to get ashore, we had to climb down a ladder and board a landing craft. To get back aboard we had to climb up either the ladder or a cargo net. Don't remember how I got back aboard.
I’ve bought most of my pipes on eBay and have thouroughly cleaned them before smoking, even ones that supposedly were cleaned for sale.