Chacom Centenaire 184, Smooth Bent Apple Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Chacom is one of France’s most historic and iconic makes. Its founders, the Comoy family, began their career as boxwood pipe-makers in the early 1800s, before briar had even been discovered, with Henri Comoy (of Comoy’s fame) emigrating to England in 1879 and founding the country’s first briar pipe factory. In 1922, Henri and his nephews, the Chapuis, founded the Chapuis Comoy pipe factory in Saint-Claude, France, which shortly after began producing pipes bearing the partnered families’ names – ‘Cha’ for Chapuis, and ‘Com’ for Comoy. Chacom has been the biggest name in French pipes ever since.

Given that ‘centenaire’ is French for ‘centenary,’ and given that the Chacom make itself only turned 100 in 2022, I don’t think this pipe was made to mark a century of Chacom pipes per se. It is certainly an older model, as evinced by the style of its box. I wonder, then, whether the Centenaire was produced to celebrate the birth of the Comoy venture writ large. That would make this pipe a 1979 manufacture, which makes sense to me. Anyway, ponderings aside, it’s a great, classically-inclined pipe. It’s an approximately group 3-size bent apple, with a contrast red-black stain and a hand cut stem. At 40 grams, it will hang from the jaw comfortably, and its size will make it highly portable.

The pipe also happens to be completely unsmoked and comes with its original box and sleeve.

Details:

Length: 5.5″

Bowl Width: 20.4mm

Bowl Depth: 1.5″

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g