Wilmer Sandblasted Ring Grain Faux Cavalier Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates [SOLD OUT]

Description

Willmer and Sons was an English pipe workshop founded at some point in the mid-20th century and closed in the mid-2000s. Harold Willmer himself was the brother of Dan Tennyson, one of Charatan’s freehand carvers, and would, according to Ken Barnes, often buy bowls from Charatan’s freehand workshop, which would be subsequently finished by Willmer’s craftsmen. In addition to these pipes, Willmer also manufactured more traditional briars, which were also made by hand.

This Willmer’s a real beaut. It’s a sort of plateau-rim cavalier shape without the capped foot, but it’s also a perfectly balanced sitter (which, having known a few artisans in my time, is not easy, especially if you’re doing it freehand, as this one was). It’s also sandblasted exquisitely, in a way that has brought out the natural ring grain of the briar not just all around the bowl, but at the base of the stem too.

There is a tiny bit of rim darkening – and I mean tiny – but aside from that, this pipe is immaculately preserved. It’s a work of art, and it should be a fantastic smoker too.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″

Bowl Width: 23.4mm

Bowl Depth: 2″

Weight: 1.9oz / 56g