Michel Smooth Prince Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Michel pipes were store-brand pipes made for Maison Michel, a North Carolina (USA) tobacconist run by Michel J. Mitchell between 1951 and 1980. Over the years, several prominent pipe-makers made pipes for Maison Michel, such as Charatan, Barling, and others.

A while back, we bought a few dozen Michel pipes from a tobacconist that had gone out of business and was in the unfortunate position of liquidating stock. In those sorts of situations, you don’t get too much time to look over inventory, so buying the pipes was a gamble. If I could go back in time and buy every single Michel pipe that store had, or if I could go back even further and get them from Mr Michel himself, oh boy, I would. They’re well made, the grain is nice, and I can’t put them on the site fast enough to keep up with demand. This one is a traditional, lightweight prince and, as sure as anything, it is princely.

The pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. I notice a tiny sandspot on the bowl’s left side, but nothing major at all.

 

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.10″ / 27.94mm

Weight: 1.2oz / 36g