Botte 121 Sandblast Bent Egg Estate Pipe - Saddle Vulcanite Stem, Wide Oval Shank, 9mm Filter

A metal band circles the shank of this pipe - and under it, the seller notes, sits a crack the band was fitted to hide. That is disclosed here plainly and up front, because a repair that has been found and named is worth more to a buyer than one left for the photographs to explain on their own.

The shank is stamped BOTTE 121. Botte is the name as it reads on the metal; 121 is the shape number as stamped, and it is quoted here exactly as struck rather than interpreted as meaning any particular thing. No further manufacturer information accompanies this pipe, so none is offered beyond the mark as it appears.

The shape is a bent egg, as the seller describes it: a rounded, tapering bowl with no flat heel or sharp shoulder, carried on a shank the note calls wide and oval rather than round. The egg form reads as one continuous curve from rim to shank join, without the break a billiard or a bulldog introduces at the transition. An oval shank suits that geometry better than a round one would - it widens the join instead of pinching the curve to a point, and it gives the hand a flatter surface to rest against when the pipe is gripped rather than cradled. The bend carries the bit down and back toward the jaw, the standard answer to keeping a bowl of this weight comfortable through a long smoke rather than pulling on the front teeth.

The stem is vulcanite, cut in a saddle profile: a stepped shoulder at the shank rather than a smooth taper from shank to button. The bit is cut fishtail, which spreads the airway into a wide slot rather than a single round bore, and the mouthpiece is drilled for a 9mm filter - a format that takes a paper or charcoal cartridge and changes both the draw and the effective volume of the smoke path compared with an unfiltered stem of the same length.

The finish is sandblast, per the seller's description. Sandblasting removes the softer summer growth from the surface of the briar under pressure, leaving the harder grain lines standing proud as ridges - it is a finish chosen as much for what it does to the hand as for how it looks, since the raised grain gives a grip a smooth bowl cannot. For the depth and pattern of the blast on this particular bowl, and for the grain and color underneath it, see the photographs.

The pipe has been smoked. The seller reports it in good condition for a pre-owned estate piece. The shank carries a crack, addressed with a fitted metal band rather than left open, and the rim shows darkening consistent with use. No fills and no other repairs are reported. No stem damage beyond what is noted here is reported. A shank crack is a structural condition regardless of how well it has been stabilized, and it is priced as one: the repair is disclosed, not concealed, and the price of this listing reflects that.

THE MARKS
- BOTTE 121, stamped on the shank

THE MEASUREMENTS
- Length: 136.0mm (5.4in)
- Bowl height: 55.0mm (2.2in)
- Bowl width: 38.0mm (1.5in)
- Chamber diameter: 20.0mm (0.8in)
- Chamber depth: 49.0mm (1.9in)
- Weight: 53.0g

Ships from the Faridunhill / Pipe Collectors Encyclopedia archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe.
SKU: 276