International Charatan Collectors Society

Brothers of Briar

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I am a member and welcome you to join us in Chicago. Every year the ICCS gets together at shows in Chicago, Richmond,VA, and Las Vegas where we discuss all aspects of the Charatan Pipe, display our collections, and have judged awards given out to the finest examples of Charatan Pipes. Anyone with 5 Charatan Pipes is allowed to join us. This rule is to make sure that attendees are serious about smoking/collecting Charatan Pipes. If you don't have 5 Charatan Pipes I'm sure an exception will be made for interested individuals if you ask a member to attend.
You will get to see some of the finest Straight Grain Pipes ever produced, many worth thousands of dollars each!!! But just remember that the lower grade Charatan Pipes, such as Belvedere and Special grades will smoke as well as any of the highest grades.
Come to a show, and join us.
 
just remember that the lower grade Charatan Pipes, such as Belvedere and Special grades will smoke as well as any of the highest grades.
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Sometimes better. Because they weren't made by hand after a two-pint lunch.

:lol!:

PS : The right "Special" is about as good as Britwood gets, IMHO.

:face:
 
Yak,
SO TRUE,!!!!!!

Years ago, my good friend Alan Rosenfield a.k.a. Irish Al, used to call the Peterson Factory in Dublin and said he had to call before 7 a.m. EST, so he could speak to the foreman before lunch concerning his pipe orders. LOL
 
My Charatan's Make "Special" has "hand made" on it. An article I read said that they were all hand made pipes. The Belvedere were made by hand but made by apprentices, the Special and higher grades by the master carvers. Is that right, or am I in error?
 
The machine-made stummels that came out clean with really nicely figured briar became "Specials." Clean but pedestrian briar --> Belvedares. Smooths with flawed but otherwise pretty figuration --> "Ben Wades" with non-DC stems, no shape number stamps and no "L" logos. Same "Catalogue Shapes" in all three cases.

(For that matter, you can find Belvedare-quality examples with no stampings at all or private-label stampings. We had one -- a skater -- show up here just this week, as I recall).

Hand-mades with "Special" ? Possible, I guess . . .

(Most of the grade stamping on the upper-end ones were done at Lane's in N.Y.) 8)

FWIW

:face:

 
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