Fat Kaywoodie

I don't know how common they are, but I have one...

(click image for larger view)

It's the 2005 POY

I like the shape - yours in much better Lars! But, speaking of the pipe in the auction, man that thing really needs a good cleaning. That thing totally grossed me out.

Yeah that one needs a little TLC. Shouldn't be something a little elbow grease can't handle, though.

My Kaywoodie, doesn't have a stinger. Just a standard tenon.

According to the KW Compendium, the 87 model was produced between 1931-38, and the 83B shape was 1938-55. So, conservatively, the 8783B is about 70 years old. Well worth the bidding. You're all correct, though. The physical condition leaves much to be desired.

I was going to check in of that tonight, the condition being so yack is a plus. It is not at $26 + shipping. Is that getting a bit steep for this pipe?

Let me guess ... the allure is that it was previously owned by another pipe maker right?

Well, at least you have the tools to REALLY clean that poor thing.

as always was price and ratiness, I like a challenge. As the price rises so does my desire.

the pipe closed at $58.89. I bid $35.00, and might have gone to $50.00 but unlikely. It clearly is around 70 years old, and unusual, in that I have not seem this shape in a while. I doubt, though, that I would have gone to a bidding war to acquire it. It may be "sour grapes" but, IMHO, the pipe went for more than it might objectively be worth.

This auction could be the genesis of another thread in which we try to reconcile the sometimes obvious discrepancies between perceived objective and subjective value.

When I last checked the auction, it was listed at about $16. It was at $25 for what seemed the longest time. It's a nice pipe. A refurb would have done wonders for it. But $60?

Anyway, thanks for answering the questions I originally had. Lars, that kaywoodie you have looks like a great pipe.

I thought that my $35.00 would have been sufficient, but then there were six bids after mine over a 13 hour period. It was difficult to comprehend what was in the mental processes of the final bidders. I calculated my bid too on the premise that I would have been willing to spend $20-25 for a professional refurb, But, to go to almost $60 and then have a refurb would have been excessive.

And probably would be one whale of a smoke but I must confess that $58 is a bit steep. Hang in there though, I once bid $45 for a mandarin and lost it by 50 cents in the last minute. Ended up, some time later I won a beautiful Mandarin Lovat for less than $19. Right place right time I guess.

PS: The thing I most love about big, honkin, fat Kaywoodies is that despite their pondurous size they seem very light and very comfortable for long periods of dangling unsupported from your mouth. I was never quite sure how they made a hunk of briar the size of my head weigh next to nothing but somehow they manage, (must be that old school, Kaywoodie magic.)

Friend GI, I really wanted that fist of burled briar. I have a few KW handmades circa WWII, and they are fine smokers, though a bit awkward if one strives for an elegant look. But, the 83B is a beautiful shape in its own right. It has style and presence, among all of the KWs for which I lust. Being the 87 series only made it that much more desirable. But gone it is, and I'll live with it, and still haunt the Ebay site for another more affordable one.