Michel Selected Smooth Straight Grain Author Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

I’ve mentioned before how much these Michel pipes have surprised me, and how partial I’ve become to them (I did indeed keep one for myself), but this one is undoubtedly the nicest I’ve seen so far. In fact, it’s genuinely remarkable how good the grain is on it—I’d go so far as to compare it to a Comoy’s Specimen or a Dunhill Dead Root.

The pipe is also completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.03″ / 26.16mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g