L. Wood (Les Wood, of Ferndown) Smooth Straight Billiard Spigot Estate Briar Pipe [SOLD OUT]

Description

L. Wood pipes were made by the legendary British pipe-maker Leslie ‘Les’ John Wood, along with his wife Dolly. Both Les and Dolly previously worked for Dunhill, where Les developed his skills and reputation as Britain’s premier pipe silversmith, as well as one of its premier pipe carvers. While Wood sold his pipes in England and under the Ferndown name, in Europe these pipes were sold as L. Wood. Both are highly coveted by pipe-smokers due to their superlative craftsman(and woman!)ship, whose bowls are oil-cured and which typically feature beautiful silverwork. Sadly, Les and Dolly retired from pipe-making in 2019, making their pipes rather scarce – especially given how difficult it is to get their owners to part with them.

This L. Wood pipe is a wonderful reflection of Les and Dolly’s abilities with silver and with briar. It’s a muscular billiard with a true, sterling silver spigot joining its shank and its black ebonite stem.

There are some cosmetic issues with this pipe, which we will now list. The stem has some tooth marks, as well as a button whose top right side has been worn down or chipped. There is a small dent in the left side of the silver shank mount. And the rim has some charring and scratches, leaving the chamber a little out of round. After some discussion, we made the decision to list this pipe as is, so that the next owner can decide whether to simply smoke the pipe as is, or whether to modify the surface qualities of the pipe to make it more to their liking. As such, the pipe has been priced substantially lower than any Les Wood pipe of this grade would otherwise be.

Details:

Length: 6″

Bowl Width: 21.0mm

Bowl Depth: 1.8″

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g