Return to "Identifying Briar Pipes"

Pipe Makes, Brands and Marques:
Connecting the Dots

One way to really impress your friends and astonish your loved ones is to recognize pipes from a distance. Some pipe makers' products look distinctive enough that you can tell them across a smoke-filled room. Still, it is always nice to have a shortcut. This brief guide to some popular pipes may let you recognize a pipe from the stem dots and symbols the carver has put on them.

You can either
Find a pipe-maker based on the symbol used
(you can give yourself a little "test" on your knowledge of the symbols this way)
or
View the symbols based on the pipe-makers' names
Below are some pipe-makers' symbols. You can check the identity of a pipe (or test your knowldge of the symbols, if you are in the mood for some fun) by locating a symbol you wish to identify. Selecting the link on that symbol will take you to a brief description of the make. As they appear here, most are approximately to scale. Enlarged versions appear at each make's description.
DOTS




LETTERS




OTHER SYMBOLS




Return to Top of Pipe Brands and Marks Page

Below are some pipe making concerns, with their symbol reproduced (or at least a reasonalble attempt). The pipe-makers' names are in alphabetical order.
You can scan this list for a pipe brand, and view the symbol.

Aldo Velani

Italian pipe-making firm
Symbol: gold and silver circle on top of stem
Alpha

Formerly U.S. name for Israeli pipes made in "Shalom" factory.
Now name of pipes made by U.S. firm Mastercraft.
Symbol: stylized "A" on stem
American Smoking Pipe
see Tinsky, Mark
Amorelli

Italian pipe-making firm (established 1986).
Symbol: gold bar on side of stem, lining up stem and shank
Ardor

Italian pipe-making firm.
Symbol: blue and silver dot on top of stem
Armellini, Mario

Italian pipe-maker.
Symbol: outline of a gold star on stem
Ascorti

Italian pipe-making firm (established 1978).
Symbol: white or gold letter "A" on top or side of stem
Ashton

English pipe-making firm.
Symbol: silver circle with briar center on top of stem
Astley's
English pipe-making firm
Baldo Baldi
Italian pipe-maker
Barbi, Rainer

German pipe-maker
Symbol: initials on stem
Bari
Danish pipe-making firm
Barling

English pipe-making firm.
Symbol: "Barling" spelled out twice in a cross
Barontini

Italian Pipe-making firm of Cesare Barontini
Symbol: "cB" on side of stem
BBB

English pipe-making firm.
Symbol: three Bs in a diamond, yellow diamond on stem.
Becker, Fritz

Italian pipe-maker (established 1982)
Symbol: Letter "b" on side of stem
Ben Wade
English and Danish pipe label; name used for Charatan seconds and some Preben Holm pipes (Established in England in 1860; discontinued in 1988)
Big Ben

Dutch pipe brand; inexpensive pipes
Symbol: open scripted "B"
Bjarne

Danish pipe-maker (established 1973).
Symbol: letters "bj" on stem.
Bonfiglioli

Alberto Bonfiglioli, Italian pipe-maker, OoOPS member, and nice guy.
Symbol: triangle on top of stem
Boswell
U.S. pipe maker
Brebbia

Italian pipe-making firm (established 1948)
Symbol: brass diamond outline on stem.
Burak
U.S. pipe-maker
Butera, Mike
U.S. pipe-maker and tobacco importer
Butz-Choquin

French pipe-making firm (established 1858); the biggest and oldest in France;
one of the biggest in the world, making pipes for other brands.
Symbol: "BC" in a circle.
Calich
Canadian (Ontario) pipe maker
Caminetto

Italian pipe-making firm.
Symbol: moustache
CAO
meerschaum pipe importer
Capitello
Italian pipe-making firm
Carey's

U.S. tobacco dealer, inexpensive "system" pipes
Symbol: block letter "C" in box
Castello
OR
Italian pipe-making firm.
Symbol: "gemstone" in side of stem or white bar running parallel to stem.
Chacom
see Chapuis-Comoy
Chapuis-Comoy (Chacom)

French pipe-making firm, selling pipes under name "Chacom".
Symbol: "CC" in oval
Charatan

English pipe-making firm (established 1863).
Symbol: "CP" on side of stem
Comoy's

English pipe-making firm (established in France 1825, moved to England 1879).
Symbol: white letter "C" in black circle.
Cooke
U.S. pipe-makers
Custombilt
U.S.pipe maker
Davidoff

Swiss tobacco retailer (pipes since 1974)
Symbol: scrpted "D" on side of stem
Don Carlos

Italian pipe-making firm
Symbol: white line across top of stem
Dr. Grabow

An inexpensive, popular pipe brand made in U.S. by Mastercraft,
often sold in drug and variety stores
Symbol: colored spade on side of stem
Dunhill

English tobacco retailer (established 1907). High grade collectable pipes.
Symbol: small white dot (er, excuse me,"spot") on top of stem
Erik, Karl

Karl Erik, Danish pipe-maker
Eriksson
Danish pipe maker
Falcon
English pipe with interchangeable bowls (originally produced in U.S.)
Ferndown

Name of pipe produced by L.&J.S. Briars, English pipe-makers (established 1983)
Symbol: "LJS" stamped in gold on stem
GBD

French/English pipe-maker;established in France in 1850
(since 1981, all pipes have been made in England).
symbol: gold oval with letters "GBD"
Georg Jensen

Danish pipe-making firm (established 1954)
Graco

Inexpensive French pipe brand, made in Saint-Claude
Grenci
Italian pipe-maker (no longer in operation)
Hardcastle

English brand of pipes (owned by Dunhill, and often used for Dunhill "seconds")
Hedegaard
Danish pipe-maker
Huybrecht
English pipe-making firm
Il Ceppo
Italian pipe-making firm
Ivarssen
Danish pipe-making firm
Jandrew
U.S. pipe-maker
Jensen
see Georg Jensen
Jobey

U.S. inexpensive pipe-making firm, also imports some pipes
Symbol: "JOBEY" on oval
Jones, David
see Regency
Jost's

English pipe maker
Kabik
U.S. pipe maker
Karl Erik
See Erik, Karl
Kaywoodie

U.S. pipe maker and importer, specializing in "system" pipes
Symbol: outline of a club
Kirsten
U.S. pipe-making firm; pipes with interchangeable bowls
Larsen
Danish pipe-making firm (established 1864), now overseen by W.O. Larsen
Loewe
English pipe-making firm
Lorenzo

Italian pipe-making firm
Symbol: scripted letter "L"
Luciano

Italian pipe brand
symbol: silver star on stem
Mario Armellini
see Armellini, Mario
Marxman
brand of pipe made by Bob Marx (U.S.)
Mastercraft
the largest pipe maker in the U.S.
Mastro de Paja

Italian pipe-making firm (established 1973).
Symbol: Gold circle
Maurizio

Inexpensive Italian pipe maker
Symbol: gold scripted "M"
Medico

Inexpensive US pipe brand
Micoli
U.S. pipe label made by Mic Burns
Molina

Inexpensive Italian pipe brand
Symbol: bent pipe
Nachwalter
U.S. pipe maker
Nording

Danish pipe-making firm (established 1967 by Erik Nording)
Symbol: stylized letter "N"
Orlik
English pipe-making firm
Parker

English pipe label (owned by Dunhill)
Perri, Paul

U.S. pipe-maker
Peter Stokkebye

Danish pipe-making firm.
Peterson

Irish pipe-making firm (established in 1875).
symbol: scripted letter "P" on side of stem
Pipa Croci

Italian pipe-making firm.
Symbol: yellow line running perpendicular to stem with yellow dot.
Preben Holm
Danish pipe-maker
Radice

Italian pipe-making firm
Symbol: two briar dots
Regency

US pipes made by David Jones
Symbol: mother of pearl circle
Rovera

Inexpensive Italian pipes
Symbol: map of Italy
S & R Woodcrafts
U.S. pipe makers Steve and Roswitha Anderson
Sasieni

English pipe-making firm (established 1918).
Symbol: blue dots (up to eight)
Savinelli

Italian pipe-making firm (established 1876, pipes since 1948).
Almost every line of Savinelli pipes has a different stem marking; Some follow
Autograph Oscar
Pisa Roma

Ser Jacopo

Italian pipe-making firm.
Symbol: briar dot
Sixten Ivarssen
Danish pipe maker
Stanwell

Danish pipe-making firm
Symbol: letter S with crown
Stokkebye
See Peter Stokkebye
Talamona

Italian pipe-making firm
Tilshead
Name for pipes produced by James Upshall
Tinsky, Mark

U.S. pipe maker; carves pipes under the American Smoking Pipe label;
Symbol: star in briar circle on stem.
Tsuge
Japanese pipe-making firm
Upshall, James

English pipe-making firm (established 1977).
Symbol: circled letters "JU"
Wiley
U.S. pipe maker
Willmer

English pipe-making firm.
Symbol: Scripted "W"
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