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The shank reads Prince of wales, stamped plainly with no model number and no country mark beside it.
This is a smooth briar, bent volcano in a sitter base, carrying a vulcanite saddle stem cut with a fishtail slot. A 9mm filter chamber runs from the bit through the shank. An aftermarket metal band is fitted at the shank end.
Bowl: briar
Stem: vulcanite
Mouthpiece: fishtail
Filter: 9mm
Stamped: \"Prince of wales\"
The volcano is one of the fuller bowl shapes in the briar catalogue: the wall swells outward from the shank before narrowing again toward the rim, giving the bowl a rounded, almost spherical profile rather than the straight or gently flared wall of a billiard. A sitter base is simply a bowl cut flat on the bottom so the pipe stands upright on a table or shelf without a rack. Bending the shank and stem changes the geometry of the smoke path without changing the chamber itself: the same volume of tobacco sits in the bowl, but the route the smoke travels to the mouth is longer and curved, which some smokers find cools the smoke slightly before it reaches the bit.
The saddle stem is cut so the profile steps down from the round taper of the shank to a flatter, oval section at the bite - a shape many smokers find easier to hold steady in the teeth than a fully tapered stem. The fishtail slot at the button flares outward in a shallow V, spreading the draw evenly across the tongue rather than directing it to one side, which is what a P-lip does instead. The bore is sized to take a 9mm filter, a removable cylinder fitted into the stem or shank that changes the resistance of the draw; some smokers run it, others pull it and smoke the pipe open.
At 20mm across and 40mm deep, the chamber is a full, deep bowl - enough tobacco for a long sitting, and deep enough that the lower portion stays insulated by unburned tobacco well into the smoke.
Metal bands turn up on estate pipes for several reasons: to reinforce a shank that has developed a crack, to dress a shank that has been shortened after a repair, or simply as a decorative addition chosen by a later owner. Without removing this one, the reason cannot be read from the outside. Vulcanite itself is a hardened rubber; with age and UV exposure it can oxidize to a brownish or greenish cast, which is corrected by light sanding and repolishing.
THE MARKS
- \"Prince of wales\" stamped on the shank
Finish and grain: see the photographs. A smooth finish leaves the briar\'s natural grain exposed under stain and wax, in contrast to a sandblasted or rusticated surface, which is cut or blasted away to raise the grain in relief. A smooth finish is generally chosen when the block has clean, presentable grain worth showing rather than concealing.
Condition: an aftermarket metal band is fitted at the shank end. The band covers the briar beneath it, and no crack is visible at its edges.
THE MEASUREMENTS
Length 131mm (5.2\") - bowl height 47mm (1.9\") - bowl width 41mm (1.6\") - chamber diameter 20mm (0.8\") - chamber depth 40mm (1.6\") - weight 59g (2.1oz)
Ships from the Faridunhill / Pipe Collectors Encyclopedia archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe.
SKU: 179
