This gorgeous little billiard is a pipe that I have such a hard time parting with… It is a pipe from my personal collection and one that I smoke weekly.

This falls under the “utility pipe” category for me, which includes no-nonsense, compact pipes that just smoke incredibly well and are extremely comfortable.

It is no secret how much I love Charatan pipes, and even though most people, including myself, go for the crazy-looking Lane Era freehands, I equally love the more humble and traditional-looking, but still completely handmade, Reuben’s Era pipes.

Another thing most people overlook is the “lower grade” Charatans, and that is a huge mistake in my opinion. Even though the Belvedere was the lowest smooth grade, you can see for yourself that there are no obvious flaws and that gorgeous cross grain…

This description fits perfectly with the Dunhill Root Briar philosophy, right? The difference is in the stain they used — Dunhill chose a natural stain to show off the cross grain, while Charatan apparently didn’t see cross grain as something quite as special, so they went with the deep burgundy.

Another plus for Reuben’s Era pipes is the thin stem and button, which unfortunately transformed into the thicker DC stem of later eras.

Condition note: grading this pipe proved extremely tricky for me because of the stem. This is an amazing stem and it is the original one, but like many other pipes from the German market, it has been worked on by someone else before me. The result is a drilling for 6 mm filters — admittedly done really well — and the CP logo has been buffed out.

The pipes go through one final check before shipping, so if you notice any inconsistencies in the carnauba finish or smudges they will be taken care of before your pipe is shipped to you.