Estate pipes

Went down to J, my tobacconist today to chat a bit about pipes in general and Bjarne´s especially. I told him my only complaint was that the tint left orange marks on my fingers but he seemed to mean that this is something that can happen. While we were discussing this and that, a lady appeared in the store wanting to know whether or not the Dunhill pipes her dad had left behind were off any value. J claimed that they were of little value, generally, and that the older ones would have a very brittle stem, which would need to be replaced, something that would be fairly costly. "Should I just throw them away?" the lady asked with a grimace of disbelief. J shrugged and said no, and suddenly I heard my own voice saying to the lady:
"I'd buy them!"
"Would you?"
"Well, yeah if the price is right and the pipes are interesting, why not?"

J looked at me in kinda disbelief but said nothing. I gave the lady (who was from Stockholm) a paper with my cellphone number and name. I finished of the discussion with J about how to classify Dunhills etc so he did not seem disturbed that I wanted to buy them...We'll see what happens.

The Bjarne Golden Apple Exam Present Pipe

The Bjarne Golden Apple Exam Present Pipe -
From me to me. You can just make out the rustication in the bottom on this picture as a strand of black peeks out there... I love it. Click on the picture to check out the gorgeous grain!

Met Bjarne today!

Today as announced my tobacconist had invited Bjarne Nielsen, famous Danish pipemaker to the shop. I had to go and meet him even though I am in a hurry today with my exam tomorrow and all.
A really nice Dane with big strong hands who had brought hundreds of pipes, from his newfangled little ones to his Giants. I only had so much time to chat with him, but he stays on til Saturday(hope I'll find time to see him once more).
We discussed the market, China and Russia as new strong markets, briar availability, pipe shapes and their proneness to certain tobaccos (none as B had found) and a few more things - me, Bjarne and J, my tobacconist.
J seemingly at random picked up a beautifully grained Golden apple semi-rusticated and I decided to buy it on the spot, as soon as I laid eyes on it.
It had a bottom area which had been rusticated and tinted black, according to Bjarne not because there was anythong "wrong" with the wood, but (/as he showed me on another pipe) because the grain had benn "flat" and without any particular features, which he felt would have shamed the OUTSTANDING grain that the pipe displayed on the rest of the bowl, birdseye in front and back and somehow remarkably a straight grain on the rest(?!).
Even though it was handmade it was a bargain at 765 SEK (app 70€), and Bjarne even threw in a naugahyde pipe bag even though the cash clerk tried to put the pipe in a cloth bag at first. I shook Bjarnes strong hand and assured him that the pipe would be the gem of my collection and only smoked in my favourite chair. He smiled and thanked me(?), what a nice amiable fellow!
I'll see if I can resist buying another oe on Saturday, if I get there...