Charatan’s Make (Lane Era) Authentic 348DC Smooth Pot (Estate)

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 (who went on to work at Dunhill, before leaving again to start the Sasieni make), Dan Tennison, Stan Haney (later of Ashby Hall), and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones (later of James Upshall).

I do love a good pot rendition. And, as far as pots go, Charatan’s shape “348” is up there with the best of them. Wide in chamber in a manner perfectly suited for mixture cuts, while not being too heavy, it’s a great design. This one comes from a great period in English pipe history, too, the legendary “Lane era” of Charatan pipes—i.e., the years back when F. Charatan and Son was owned by Herman Lane’s Lane Ltd., which propelled the make into international pipe superstardom.

The condition is good. Some inner rim darkening, slight handling marks, and chamber slightly over-reamed.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 1.00 / 25.4mm

Bowl Depth: 1.28″ / 32.51mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g