Chacom Custom 913 Billiard Pipe, Silver Rim Cap, Fishtail Bit, Box and Sleeve

CHACOM and CUSTOM are stamped on the shank, with the shape number 913. This is a smooth billiard from Chacom of Saint-Claude, France, in a reddish stain, with a silver tone band at the end of the shank, a silver rim cap on the bowl, a gently bent stem with a fishtail bit, and a bore for a 9mm filter. It is a rare find: the pipe comes with its original Chacom box and its black Chacom sleeve.

The silver rim cap has small dents and a hairline crack. The crack is in the metal of the cap, not in the briar. There are faint scratches in the stain around the bowl.

Chacom comes from one of the oldest pipe families of Saint-Claude. The Comoy family made boxwood and clay pipes near Saint-Claude from 1825, and Henri Comoy founded H. Comoy & Co in London in 1879, with Saint-Claude supplying the bowls. In 1922 the French side became Chapuis-Comoy & Cie, and in 1928 the company created the CHACOM brand from the two family names, CHApuis and COMoy. Before 1939 Chacom pipes were sold only in France, Belgium and Switzerland, so they would not compete with the Comoy's pipes of the same shapes.

From 1932 the company worked under the name La Bruyere, and in 1957, after the success of Chacom, the name Chapuis-Comoy came back. In 1971 (some sources say 1972) the French house became independent of Comoy's of London, and Yves Grenard took over. In 2016 the factory moved from Saint-Claude to Villard-Saint-Sauveur.

THE MARKS
- CHACOM stamped on the shank
- CUSTOM stamped on the shank
- 913, the shape number

The box lid carries the crowned CC crest and the words "La grande marque francaise", and the sleeve reads CHACOM, Made in France.

We describe this pipe as a billiard: a tall, straight-sided bowl on a straight shank, with the stem bending gently toward the bit. The Chacom shape list we keep does not name number 913, so we give no shape name from the number. It is 141 mm long, with a bowl 49 mm high and 34 mm wide.

The silver rim cap covers the top of the bowl and frames the chamber. Metal rim caps were fitted to protect the rim from the flame of a match or lighter. The silver tone band finishes the shank where the stem joins, and the stem ends in a fishtail bit. The pipe takes a 9mm filter.

The CUSTOM line has no documented start or end year in our Chacom records, and the CHACOM wordmark has been used since 1928, so the stamps do not give this pipe a firm date of their own.

THE MEASUREMENTS
- Length: 141 mm (5.55 in)
- Bowl height: 49 mm (1.93 in)
- Bowl width: 34 mm (1.34 in)
- Chamber diameter: 19 mm (0.75 in)
- Chamber depth: 43 mm (1.69 in)
- Weight: 36 g (1.27 oz)

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 603