F&T Fribourg & Trever London Super Grain Smooth Bent Bulldog Diamond Shank Estate Pipe

The stamp reads as one line, but it says two things: a maker's initials spelled out in full, and a grade name stamped right alongside them.

F&T Fribourg & Trever, London, is stamped on the shank of this bent bulldog, followed by the words super grain - almost certainly the grade or line name under which this pipe was sold, sitting on the same line as the maker's mark. That is the whole of what the stamp gives us, and it is exactly what we are printing here: nothing added, nothing guessed at beyond the letters cut into the briar.

The pipe itself is a smooth-finished bent bulldog with a diamond-cut shank and a saddle stem carrying a fishtail slot. No filter is fitted; the airway runs straight from the tenon to the open fishtail bit, which is a simple, direct kind of smoking pipe rather than one built around a filter system.

The bulldog is one of the oldest English shape families still in wide production. What sets it apart from a straight billiard is the bowl treatment: the sides taper in toward the top from a wider base, generally meeting a rim that is cut flat or lightly beveled, and the shank is very often finished in a diamond or squared cross-section rather than left round, which gives the hand a flat surface to rest against rather than a cylinder to roll. That diamond shank is present here, and it is one of the clearest identifying marks of the family - along with the bent stem, it puts a bulldog in a different category from its close cousin the Rhodesian, which shares the tapered bowl but is typically cut with a round shank and a straight or slightly bent stem rather than the sharper bend seen on classic bulldogs.

A saddle stem is cut with a raised step where it meets the shank rather than tapering smoothly into it, which is a matter of both handling and repair: a saddle stem is generally easier to true up or replace than a tapered stem that has to blend seamlessly into the shank's own diameter. The fishtail slot at the bit end is cut in a shallow V rather than a single round hole, spreading the draw across a wider opening and, for most smokers, softening the way the smoke arrives on the tongue compared to a narrow single-bore slot.

Finish and grain: see the photographs. The pipe is smooth, not sandblasted or rusticated, and carries a stain rather than a natural or waxed briar surface.

Condition: this is a pre-smoked pipe in good overall condition. The rim shows darkening from use. The stain shows faint scratches. The stem shows bite marks. No cracks, fills, or repairs are noted.

THE MARKS
- F&T Fribourg & Trever, London, super grain - stamped on the shank

THE MEASUREMENTS
- Length: 145.0mm (5.7 in)
- Bowl height: 41.0mm (1.6 in)
- Bowl width: 45.0mm (1.8 in)
- Chamber diameter: 20.0mm (0.8 in)
- Chamber depth: 35.0mm (1.4 in)
- Weight: 46.0g (1.6 oz)

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

SKU: 269