BBB Own Make Warwick Sandblasted Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

‘BBB’ originally stood for ‘Blumfeld’s Best Briars’, so named after Louis Blumfeld after he took over the historic Alfred Frankenau Company in 1856. Later, the pipes came to be known as ‘Britain’s Best Briars’. Though the name might have changed, the quality of the pipes did not – they really were fantastic pipes, made in the classic style of the English-French shape chart. Like GBD, Dunhill, and Barling’s, BBB are pipes with a rich history behind them, proudly holding the title of “the oldest trade mark in the [pipe] industry.”

Here’s a curious BBB: an Own Make “Warwick” model. For those wondering, Warwick is a town in England, and also served as the namesake of a Sasieni shape, back in the day. In this case, Warwick was BBB’s sandblast finish for a time, with this one in particular showing off some remarkably craggy ring grain, reminiscent of a 1980s Ashton. On the other hand, the shape is indeed reminiscent of a Sasieni—not the Warwick, but the diamond shank billiard, the Perth. As I said, curious.

The condition is fair. Rim darkening and a few handling marks.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.90 / 22.86mm

Bowl Depth: 1.51″ / 38.35mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g