Sasieni Family Era Four Dot Ruff Root Stratford Sandblasted Bent Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

Along with names like Barling, Charatan, and Dunhill Sasieni holds a special place in the history of English smoking pipes – one near to its very beginnings. So the story goes, Sasieni himself worked for Dunhill during its early days. But eventually he left Dunhill, having his own ideas about how pipes should be made, and founded Sasieni. This was 1919, and Sasieni has been the closest thing to a household name in English pipes ever since.

The Ruff-Root was a rather late addition to the Sasieni catalog, with the name and unique process for such pipes being secured by around 1960. Nevertheless, it was a welcome sight for fans of high-quality English briars, taking a place alongside Sasieni’s smooth and rusticated finishes in the Four Dot series. The Four Dot itself denoted Sasieni’s highest-grade pipes, having originally been a single dot, until a trademark dispute with Dunhill birthed the iconic, light blue diamond seen on Sasieni pipes ever since. This particular Four Dot Ruff-Root is a sandblasted version of the Stratford, a rather peculiar shape named after the popular English locale. One might call it a bent strawberry, or a bent pear, having a distinctly tall, slightly bulbous, “footed” bowl at the end of its 3/4 bend. Despite its strangeness, it’s a classic Sasieni design, seen here sporting a light brown bird’s-eye blast.
On a final note, based on the nomenclature, this would appear to be a family era Ruff-Root, made approximately some time between 1960 and 1979.

The condition is good. Some wear to the rim and some finish fading.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.88 / 22.35mm

Bowl Depth: 1.60″ / 40.64mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g