1915-1917 KBB Kaywoodie Smooth Bent Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, American Estates

Description

Kaywoodie pipes are as American as apple pie. Starting in 1919 as a pipe brand for KB&B, a pipe shop dating all the way back to 1851, Kaywoodie has since then been a staple of American-made pipes. In the present, many Kaywoodies are collectors’ items, in addition to being fantastic smokers.

This is not your average Kaywoodie. In fact, it’s different even from the pre-1936, four-digit shape code Kaywoodie’s we’ve had recently. That’s because, from what I can discern, this isn’t really a Kaywoodie pipe. It’s a KB&B pipe. The difference is that, for other pipes, Kaywoodie is the make (or brand) and KB&B is the parent company. With this one, on the other hand, KB&B is the brand, and Kaywoodie is something more like a subdivision of that brand. Such was the case between around 1915, when the Kaywoodie pipe debuted, and 1917/1917, when Kaywoodie became the brand proper. So, that would make this pipe over a century old, which is really something.

For its age, the condition is good. It is a 100+ year old pipe, so it does display an appropriate amount of wear. The rim shows some darkening, the chamber has been over-reamed and pushed a little out of round, and there are handling marks, but it’s still far better than most pipes of a comparable age that I’ve encountered (and that’s only counting the ones that have survived that long!).

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 1.04 / 26.41mm

Bowl Depth: 1.76″ / 44.70mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 56g