Masta of London 810 Black Sandblast Bent Billiard Unsmoked New Old Stock Pipe

MASTA in large serif capitals, OF LONDON beneath it, and the number 810: this is an unsmoked new old stock Masta, a very collectable piece - a bent billiard in black sandblast with a diamond shank and a vulcanite saddle stem.

The stem ends in a fishtail mouthpiece, and there is no filter. A letter M is stamped on the side of the saddle stem. MASTA and OF LONDON read clearly in the close-up; the 0 of 810 is a little fainter than the 8 and the 1.

Masta pipes came from the Masta Patent Pipe Co, and Masta-stamped pipes form a small brand of their own. An advertisement of 1921 already lists MASTA PATENT pipes. In 1967 Hardcastle and Parker merged as Parker-Hardcastle Limited, and the Masta Patent Pipe Co was absorbed into the new company as well.

THE MARKS

- MASTA stamped on the shank
- OF LONDON stamped under MASTA
- 810 stamped under OF LONDON
- M stamped on the side of the stem

A billiard is the classic pipe shape: a bowl shaped like a cylinder, set on a shank. This one has a diamond shank: the shank is cut with flat faces, so its cross-section is a diamond rather than a circle. The bowl is 48 mm high and 40 mm wide, around a chamber 20 mm across and 39 mm deep.

The finish is a black sandblast over the bowl and shank. Sandblasting removes the softer wood between the growth rings and leaves the harder rings standing, so the surface has a ridged texture in the hand. The stamps sit on a smoother flat panel of the shank.

No date is given for this pipe.

Condition: unsmoked, new old stock.

THE MEASUREMENTS

- Length: 143 mm (5.63 in)
- Bowl height: 48 mm (1.89 in)
- Bowl width: 40 mm (1.57 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- Chamber depth: 39 mm (1.54 in)
- Weight: 44 g (1.55 oz)

Ships from the Faridunhill archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe. SKU: 256