‘BBB’ originally stood for ‘Blumfeld’s Best Briars’, so named after Louis Blumfeld after he took over the historic Alfred Frankenau Company in 1856. Later, the pipes came to be known as ‘Britain’s Best Briars’. Though the name might have changed, the quality of the pipes did not – they really were fantastic pipes, made in the classic style of the English-French shape chart. Like GBD, Dunhill, and Barling’s, BBB are pipes with a rich history behind them, proudly holding the title of “the oldest trade mark in the [pipe] industry.”

I suppose technically this is more of a bent billiard sitter, but I’d say it’s close enough to the volcano shape to warrant the simplicity of that category. In any case, it’s a pleasant, simple, and traditional shape from the iconic English make, and one that is light enough to be a comfortable hanger for veteran smokers. It has plenty of nice grain too, with bird’s-eye and cross-grain patterns around its bowl.

The pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original factory bowl coating for easing in the first smokes. There are a couple of worn out fills on the right side of the bowl that must have accumulated over the many decades this one has survived, but they’re superficial and minor. The pipe also comes with its original box and sleeve.

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.61″ / 15.49mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g