briar friar
New member
Hello, my brothers of the briar!
I have a pipe stamped David Jones, handmade, USA, Regency, 2708 S. After much googling, I have determined S is his lowest grade of smooth. I don't know what "Regency" means. I have also learned that the date can be determined from the numbers (2708 in my case). But I cannot find info on how to convert this number into a date.
The late David Jones began making pipes in 1986 in Texarkana. I purchased the pipe new in 1993 for $80 from Marty Pulver's Sherlock's Haven in San Francisco. It is a LARGE pot shape with a slightly flattened bottom - so that the pipe can be placed on a surface without tipping over. The pipe walls are very thick as is the long, round shank. Stain is medium brown. The bit is lucite. The draw is excellent. The grain runs straight top to bottom with dense birds-eye. Perhaps it was graded lower because there are maybe three miniscule pits on the surface. The pipe broke-in easily and smokes great. A prize of my collection, especially considering the value.
David Jones used only plateau briar ébauchon blocks from ancient burls, and dried them well for many years, so they have almost no sap, and break-in fast.
By the way, I've owned beautifully grained, flawless pipes that smoke awful and poorly grained pipes, full of fills, which smoke terrific. I've been at it over 30 years (50 counting my corncob / Borkum Riff childhood) and have accumulated a nice collection of 37 or so pipes, and many tins of good tobacco - some 20 years old, and many which are no longer made.
I favor pipes made by Dunhill, Charatan, James Usphall, Ashton, Comoy, GBD, and Peterson. Recently I am breaking in several Italian made pipes.
I enjoy all types of tobacco. In the past, I smoked aromatics only in meerschaum and corn cob, but now I smoke them in briar also, after learning the trick of drying out those goopy brands of aromatics.
Anyone know how to date David Jones pipes?
I have a pipe stamped David Jones, handmade, USA, Regency, 2708 S. After much googling, I have determined S is his lowest grade of smooth. I don't know what "Regency" means. I have also learned that the date can be determined from the numbers (2708 in my case). But I cannot find info on how to convert this number into a date.
The late David Jones began making pipes in 1986 in Texarkana. I purchased the pipe new in 1993 for $80 from Marty Pulver's Sherlock's Haven in San Francisco. It is a LARGE pot shape with a slightly flattened bottom - so that the pipe can be placed on a surface without tipping over. The pipe walls are very thick as is the long, round shank. Stain is medium brown. The bit is lucite. The draw is excellent. The grain runs straight top to bottom with dense birds-eye. Perhaps it was graded lower because there are maybe three miniscule pits on the surface. The pipe broke-in easily and smokes great. A prize of my collection, especially considering the value.
David Jones used only plateau briar ébauchon blocks from ancient burls, and dried them well for many years, so they have almost no sap, and break-in fast.
By the way, I've owned beautifully grained, flawless pipes that smoke awful and poorly grained pipes, full of fills, which smoke terrific. I've been at it over 30 years (50 counting my corncob / Borkum Riff childhood) and have accumulated a nice collection of 37 or so pipes, and many tins of good tobacco - some 20 years old, and many which are no longer made.
I favor pipes made by Dunhill, Charatan, James Usphall, Ashton, Comoy, GBD, and Peterson. Recently I am breaking in several Italian made pipes.
I enjoy all types of tobacco. In the past, I smoked aromatics only in meerschaum and corn cob, but now I smoke them in briar also, after learning the trick of drying out those goopy brands of aromatics.
Anyone know how to date David Jones pipes?
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