Kaywoodie 1924-29 Drinkless Thorn 86 Dublin Estate Briar Pipe, American Estates

Description

Kaywoodie pipes are as American as apple pie. Starting in 1919 as a pipe brand for KB&B, a pipe shop dating all the way back to 1851, Kaywoodie has since then been a staple of American-made pipes. In the present, many Kaywoodies are collectors’ items, in addition to being fantastic smokers.

Sometimes the most unassuming pipe turns out to be very interesting on closer inspection. Here, for example, we have a humble Kaywoodie, dressed in the make’s original Thorn sandblast finish (much later Thorns were rusticated). Aside from it being extremely slender and lightweight, the first thing one might notice is that, unlike the majority of Kaywoodie pipes from the 20th century, this one does not have the signature silver ring at the end of its shank, which ordinarily would be the end of its Synchro-Stem screw fitment. Instead, this is a push-tenon Kaywoodie, which on its own isn’t especially remarkable, as some Kaywoodies during the 20th century were manufactured with very typical vulcanite push tenons. But this pipe is also a Drinkless, featuring Kaywoodie’s famous, patented, four-hole stinger. Now things are getting curious, as a Drinkless stinger is ordinarily found to be threaded as part of the Synchro-Stem fitment. A look at the nomenclature helps with this mystery, in particular the presence of the KB&B cloverleaf logo, which was discontinued in the interwar years. So, what we have is an interwar Kaywoodie made after the Drinkless was patented but before the Synchro-Stem was integrated with it. That narrows the pipe down to around 1924-1929.

The condition is good, especially for a century-old pipe. Some rim darkening and slight charring, and some finish fading and discoloration.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.75 / 19.05mm

Bowl Depth: 1.46″ / 37.08mm

Weight: 0.6oz / 18g