Oldenkott Rubin 312 Smooth Bent Brandy Estate Pipe, Vulcanite Saddle Stem, 9mm Filter

This one carries that name plainly, stamped along the shank: OLDENKOTT RUBIN, with the shape number 312 cut beside it.

The maker is Oldenkott, the model line is Rubin, the shape as stamped is 312, and the pipe is a smooth-finished bent brandy with a black vulcanite saddle stem, fishtail slot, and 9mm filter bore.

Oldenkott's roots go back to a tobacco dynasty tracing to 1740/1760, with Henricus Oldenkott of Rees and Hermannus Oldenkott of Ahaus at its two branches, and an Amsterdam house recorded in an 1918 print as Herms, Oldenkott und Zonen in Ahaus mit einem Zweiggeschaft in Amsterdam. National advertising for Original Oldenkott pipes ran in Berlin from 1926, and in 1929 the firm bought the Ahaus and Neuss Hermann-Oldenkott factories. The company's own pipe production, distinct from the tobacco side, began in 1932. In 1972 the Dutch firm Niemeijer bought the company, and by 1974 tobacco production had ceased entirely, leaving pipes as the only line. The factory closed in 1992. In 2012 Alexander Strahnz of Cologne acquired the Oldenkott marks and restarted production in Italy, with premium models carrying the historic red-and-white dot mark once again.

THE MARKS
- Shank stamped OLDENKOTT RUBIN, shape number 312

The brandy shape takes its rounded, slightly flattened bowl and curved transition into the shank from the profile of a brandy snifter glass, a form pipe makers borrowed for its full tobacco chamber and the way the bowl sits comfortably in a closed hand. Bent to this degree, the shank sweeps downward before the stem, bringing the bit up to a natural clenching angle rather than a straight-line draw. It is a shape meant to be held and turned in the hand as much as set down, the wide lower bowl giving it a stable seat on a desk or rack. Beside a straight brandy or a bent apple, the difference sits mainly in that shank curve, which changes both the smoking angle and the pipe's silhouette on a rack.

Finish and grain: see the photographs. A smooth finish on briar is achieved by staining the sanded wood and buffing it to a shine that lets the grain read through the color rather than hiding it, which is the finish's whole purpose on a shape like this one, where the rounded bowl gives grain room to travel.

Condition: pre-owned, in good estate condition. Faint staining is present on the briar, along with small dents around the bowl. The stem is vulcanite with a saddle profile and fishtail slot, fitted with a 9mm filter.

THE MEASUREMENTS
Length: 138mm (5.5")
Bowl height: 50mm (2.0")
Bowl width: 44mm (1.8")
Bowl depth: 43mm (1.7")
Chamber diameter: 20mm (0.8")
Weight: 1.7 oz

Ships from the Faridunhill / Pipe Collectors Encyclopedia archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe.

SKU: SKU-022