Charatans Make 654DC Sandblasted Skater Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

While Dunhill may be Britain’s most famous pipe brand, Charatan is not only older, but has the honor of being the first to have made its pipes entirely in-house. ‘Charatan’s Make’ referred to the fact that, at a time when other pipe companies were sourcing stummels and stems carved from other companies before assembling them in their factories and workshops, Charatan made every part of their pipes on the Charatan premises. So began a legacy of high-quality pipe-making under the Charatan name, one whose employees, at one time or another, included Joel Sasieni, and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall fame.

The skater is one of those shapes that you don’t see so much of anymore, but back in the heyday of Anglo-French pipe making, it was a genuine staple. And of all the skaters, Charatan’s was, at least in my humble opinion, the most iconic. It almost seems like a shape before its time, with its signature pointed heel and trumpeting bowl gesturing toward the freehand designs that would later come out of Denmark. This one is dressed in a nicely craggy, ruby red sandblast, giving it an extra edge.

The condition is fair. Some finish discoloration and a professionally made replacement stem.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.69″ / 42.92mm

Weight: 1.1oz / 34g