Hilson pipes

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Lesepfeife

Lesepfeife

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In my current quest to locate a meer lined pipe I've come across the Hilson name. I've read a bit that I could find on the web about them but it's just history etc. Some of these pipes look like they are made of lucite or some other man-made material. Curiously today's email from P&C.com listed some new Hilson pipes that are made from 30+ year old bowls. Anybody have any experience with pipes from this maker? I did find one that is lined briar, the shape of which I like better than the others I've seen and if nobody else bids on it the price looks to be reasonable.
 
I own one, a very weird model called the "Shark." It's white and blue stained briar.

It smokes alright, I wouldn't have bought it if I had known it were tapped for 9mm filter, but it smokes okay. For a machine-made, it ain't half bad.

8)
 
I own 3 or 4 Hilsons; used to have more but have sold them off over time. The ones I've retained are great smokers. All mine were made in Belgium; the later Hilsons were made in Holland. One of my all-time favorite pipes is this craggy old Hilson Calabash shape (sorry about the dirty stem), The photo doesn't show its size; the bowl is a good 3" or more in height :

IMG_3254.jpg
 
I got a response from the seller of one of the meer-lined Hilson's that are on Ebay right now. I wanted to confirm that what I was seeing was in fact some sort of composite/lucite/other and not some weird briar. The response came back that I was correct and then followed with, "pyrolytic graphite/phenolic resin, meerschaum lined." How's that for being specific?

I've placed a snipe bid on the one I want most (not the pyrolytic...resin one) at the highest figure I'm willing to pay. Nobody else has bid on it yet and I don't want to elicit interest by somebody nibbling away at the price. If somebody wants to pay more than my bid I'll just move on and look for the next one to become available.
 
Here are the other Hilsons in my collection; all large pipes with decent grain, and briar of course. All smoke very well. They were not expensive pipes in their day (these date from the mid to late 70's) but offered good value, I thought. I always enjoyed their designs; a little bit unique, but not too "out there". I know they later became known for their resin and meerschaum lined pipes; I never owned any of those. Hope you enjoy yours when you get one!

Hilsons004.jpg


 
I am curious to know why you sought out a meer lined pipe. What are the features of that construction that appeal to you, or to others?

I acquired a meer lined Chaps, Saint Claude bent billiard so many years ago that I don't remember why I selected it. It smokes just fine but really no differently than any other briar.
 
I have 3 meer lined pies. A Falcon, an unmarked briar, and a mid 1940's carved bent Dr. Grabow given to me by my good friend Walt (pepesdad1). They all smoke the same as a block meer pipe. When smoking meer you get the true taste of the tobacco because meer doesn't influence the taste with oil or other elements found it briar. You don't allow them to build up any cake and they're easy to clean. Personally I prefer the effect one gets from very old briar. On occasion I like to the pure taste of a paricular blend just to satisfy my curiosity. A word of caution: If you drop one chances are it's ruined because the meer lining is going to break. I'm sure some of the other Brothers can add to this discussion. :)

AJ
 
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