Pulvers' Prior Briar
P.O. Box 61146
Palo Alto, CA  94306

Phone/Fax:
(650) 965-7403
Email:
mpulvers@aol.com
Pipe
Categories:
Frank Axmacher Cobra 10271024
The pipe takes advantage of the fine briar, accentuating the
marvelous Bird's Eye grain that covers the entire length of the
pipe, but which, due to my inanity was not photographed.  If I
can remember, I'll have that done at the next opportunity.
6 1/2" long. Weight: 3 3/8 oz., 95 grams.  New. Price: $360
Frank Axmacher Grade C #5102799
Pretty pipe, huh?  What you can't see is that it is slightly
asymmetrical, with the right side (as you're holding the pipe)
effecting a slight concave curve.  It still sits up.  It is as well
proportioned as it looks.  New. Price: $445
5.6" long, bowl 1.98" high. Weight: 1 5/8 oz., 45 grams.
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Wolfgang Becker Wolfpaw #5225411
It feels great to lead off the page with a Wolfgang Becker of this
quality.  the grain is excellent all around and there are not a lof
of 7 knuckle bamboo shanks.  In short, this is rather special.
7.8" long, bowl 1.8" high. Weight: 1.5 oz., 44 grams. New. $1250
Wallenstein Scallop #5225346
Roger Wallenstein is recognized as one of the best new
German pipe makers.  He is also one of the most creative and
most playful.  Which is not to say he can not make beautiful
traditional shapes, because he can.  This stubby exhibits some
exquisite Bird's Eye.  I think the shape was given a name by
Roger, but I forget what it might be.  If he writes to tell me (not
that I couldn't write him first) I will pass it on.  The construction
and stemwork are very good.   New. Price: $525
4.4" long, bowl 2.3" high.  Weight: 2 oz., 55 grams.
Wallenstein Conch #5225368
More whimsy from Roger.  Asymmetrical, but quite functional.  
4.3" long, bowl 1.7" high.  Weight: 2 oz., 55 grams. New. $285
Moritz #522538          (SOLD)                 
The profile of this pipe, more in person than in this photo, is of
a long, thin shanked pipe with further emphasis on delicacy by
the thin, long stem.  As simple as it seems, it does not seem to
be a design that is often attempted.  Wonder why?  New.
6.4" long, bowl 1.9" high.  Weight: 1 1/8 oz., 32 grams. $265
Ming Kahuna tamper is the "Bluto in Asia" 1/2 oz., 3.3" long, $80
Moritz #5225388                                       (Tamper is Sold)
From the long of it to the short of it.  A true nose warmer.  The
blast reveals a subtle, but quite true, ring grain from the top to
the bottom of the bowl.  And it is not too short to enjoy the bowl.
4.15" long, bowl 1.3" high.  Weight: 1 oz., 30 grams. New. $275
Ming Kahuna tamper is the Bluto in Bali. 3.4" long, .5 oz. $80
Peteer Matzhold #12186572JH
This pipe was made before Peter started grading his pieces,
although does have an "89" stamped on it, which might well be
the year in which it was made.  Grade or no, it exhibits the
stellar wood that Peter always chooses, with a fine, tight
straight grain all around the pipe.  The condition is excellent
and the draw open.  The lightweight is a bonus.  Yes, I know
that Peter is Austrian, not German.  Used.  $295
6.1" long, bowl 1.6" high.  Weight:  1.25 oz., 36 grams.
Wolfgang Becker Wolf Paw #12186521
I think wolfgang is the best when it comes to combining two
finishes on one pipe. The trim here is boxwood.  Again, the
draw is wide open and the construction and fit and finish
excellent, as one should expect in such a high grade. New.
5.5" long, bowl 1.8" high.  Weight:  2 5/8 oz., 74 grams. $956.
Barbi #6275649PN
If, like me, you like thin, narrow stems (it is the only thing I
seriously look at in pipes any more...after all, I already know at
a glance if the rest of the pipe suits me) this is another of
Rainer's gems.  The condition is excellent and the draw open.
5.8" long.  Weight: 1.5 oz., 44 grams. Used. Price: $300
Wolfgang Becker Wolf Paw #12186512
This is the largest of the recent arrivals, and it exhibits a flair for
stem design.  The longer, thinner stem helps give a sleeker look to
one of Wolfgang's typically asymmetrical shapes.  As always, the
construction and finish are superb.  New. Price: $1185
5" long, bowl 2.15" high.  Weight:  3 1/8 oz., 88 grams.  
Peter Klein #118149BT
I am not a big fan of straight grain...it rather bores me, but why
should you care what I think?  If you have been brainwashed to
think highly of straight grain pipes (and I do, truthfully, like them
a lot when they can bring in the long green) then you will love
this pipe.  Peter Klein is a good pipe maker,  yet this pipe is
going for ridiculously little considering the quality of the grain.  It
does have a grade, which I take to be the highest Peter puts on
a pipe, but I can not decipher the stamp on the shank. The
condition is near-new and the draw excellent.  this pipe comes
with two stems.  Used. Price: $275
6" long, bowl 1.9" high.  Weight:  2 1/4 oz. 63 grams.  
Jurgen Moritz #121864486JBA
Jurgen is relatively new to pipe making, but in at least one
sense, one very critical sense, he imprints his pipes with an
aspect that he seems to understand, or at least internalize,
better than almost every other young pipe maker....his pipes
are comfortable to hold, in both the hand and the mouth.  His
stems are flat and thin and carefully crafted. New.
6.25" long, bowl 1.9" high.  Weight: 1.75 oz., 49 grams.  $325
Wolfgang Becker Double Wolf Paw #12186505 (SOLD)
One mark of the very best pipe makers is their ability to keep
improving, even when it does not seem likely that there is any
room for improvement.  In this latest shipment of Wolfgang's
pipes, he has exhibited that rare capacity.  Now, of course, I am
going to expect an uptick every time. That is not fair to him. New
5" long, bowl 1.95" high.  Weight:  2 5/8 oz., 74 grams. $1765
Wolfgang Becker Grade E #12186503 (RESERVED)
Small, but real sweet.  Of course the draw is open, and the
trim is real Mammoth tusk.  And, despite the diminutive looking
size, it has a large enough bowl to be a fair sized Grp. 4. New
4.8" long, bowl 1.5" high.  Weight:  1.75 oz., 48 grams. $595
Peter Matzhold Grade E #2146975JT
When I first met Peter Matzhold at the Dortmund tobacco show
he had driven 900 Kilometers just to show me his pipes, neither
of us knowing if I was going to buy a single piece.  When he laid
his pipes out on the bed of his hotel room, my eyes bugged out.
I had never seen a display of 60 pipes, each with clean, straight
grain that needed no dark stain to cover up even surface flaws.
I still don't believe anybody gets wood like Matzhold.  The pipe
you see here is the same pictured in the "Pipes & Tobaccos"
magazine article featuring Peter and his pipes.  This one is on
the 2nd page of the article, I believe.  A great piece of briar.
5.8" long, bowl 1.8" high.  Weight: 1 5/8 oz., 45 grams. $620.
Wolfgang Becker Wolfpaw #2147004KM (SOLD 3/7/10)
A masterful Wolfgang...one of his best, and in excellent cond.,
and with an open draw.  Large capacity bowl, but very
comfortable in the hand.  The trim is gently colored Mammoth.
5" long, bowl 1.9" high.  Weight: 2.5 oz., 72 grams. Price: $650
Rainer Barbi Grade BA #2146979JT
A master can pull off with aplomb that which others can not do
at all.  Barbi is that master.  So simple, so straightforward, so
beautiful.  And then, when you get it in your hand, so holdable
and so smokable.  This is a gem.  And don't be fooled by
imitations.  5.95" long, bowl 1.9" high.  Wt. 1.5 oz., 42 gr. $295
Cornelius Maenz #2146982JT
As this pipe is unsmoked, and the photos give you almost as
much information as I have, I won't say much.  The draw, if you
are interested, is wide open and the stem, should the picture
not be clear, is brindle.  The ferrule is horn.  New. $650.
5.8" long, bowl 1.8" high.  Weight: 1.5 oz., 41 grams.