HSE BRUYERE Straight Billiard Red Smooth Briar Estate Pipe, Vulcanite Fishtail Stem, 9mm Filter

The shank reads HSE BRUYERE. Bruyere is simply the French word for briar - the maker's name stamped alongside the material it is cut from, a naming convention seen on pipes made for the French-speaking market where the wood itself gets named on the wood.

This is a straight billiard, stamped HSE BRUYERE at the shank, finished smooth in a red stain, fitted with a tapered vulcanite stem cut to a fishtail mouthpiece and bored for a 9mm filter. The seller reports the pipe was smoked once - in his words, you can call it new.

Bowl: briar
Stem: vulcanite
Mouthpiece: fishtail
Filter: 9mm
Stamped: "HSE BRUYERE"

The billiard is the reference shape against which every other bowl gets measured - a straight shank, a straight tapered stem, and a bowl that stands with its sides roughly vertical and its diameter greater than its height is called tall, less is called squat. This example runs a chamber 45mm deep against a 20mm bore, a proportion on the deep side of standard, which means more tobacco per pack and a longer burn before the smoker needs to refill or relight. A straight billiard sits flat on a table or a rack without help from a stand, which is part of why the shape has stayed in continuous production longer than almost any other.

The fishtail slot cut into the vulcanite bit is the traditional alternative to a rounded button-and-slot mouthpiece: instead of a single round airway the vulcanite is cut to a flared, forked opening at the tip, which spreads the draw across a wider surface against the lip. The 9mm filter bore accepts a filter of that diameter in the shank; it changes the draw and the moisture picked up on the way to the mouth, and a smoker who prefers an open, unfiltered draw can generally run it without one using an adapter, though that is a matter of the individual smoker's preference rather than a fact about this particular pipe.

A smooth finish leaves the surface of the briar polished rather than blasted or carved, so whatever grain the block carries is visible rather than textured away. This pipe is stained red over that smooth surface. Grain pattern and figure: see the photographs.

Condition: the pipe has been smoked once, and the seller describes it as effectively new on that basis. No further condition detail was supplied beyond that; refer to the photographs for the exact state of the rim and chamber.

THE MARKS
- Stamped "HSE BRUYERE" at the shank

THE MEASUREMENTS
- Length: 149mm
- Bowl height: 53mm
- Bowl width: 40mm
- Chamber diameter: 20mm
- Chamber depth: 45mm
- Weight: 54g

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

SKU: 025