As a pipesmoker, through the years you accumulate pipes. You buy, you trade, you get pipes from friends. And eventually you end up with a lot of pipe "memorabilia", if you can call it that.
A small selection of these are pipes that end up on your pipe rack, but won't be smoked. They are for looks, for window dressing.
The above pipe you often get in curio shops here in South Africa. It is made from African blackwood and this particular one my wife bought me when she was on a business trip in Mozambique. The airway follows that kink in the shank, but I have no idea how this is accomplished. It's never been smoked and I will also not try. But it will stay on the pipe rack.
This pipe I found in a 2nd hand shop. Pawn-, antique or secondhand shops: I just can't resist the lure. You never know what you'll find, as in this case.
It's a porcelain pipe made in Holland that I got for R20 (about $2). The bowl heats up quickly and the draw is terrible. But it is beautiful to look at, hey?
This one is Tyrolean. All those fancy bits and pieces of the stem can unscrew. The windcap is a bit skew and the stummel even sports some stars! As with the Dutch pipe, it smokes horrible, but it does have some sort of pipe history to it, so it will stay!
In Lithuanian folklore the devil is quite prominent and they even have a museum dedicated to all sort of devil memorabilia. This pipe was bought by my wife when last she went to visit her parents. The wood it is made from is very soft, one of the many reasons that deter me from smoking it. It has been carved beautifully though and will always have a special place close to the pipe rack.
