The BriarWorks Classic line are pipes inspired by shapes that have been favorites of pipe smokers for generations. Many of the the early pipe shape designs function well as tools and are aesthetically beautiful. Those early designers and pipe makers clearly put a lot of thought into their work. Some of the earliest pipes to be produced on a large scale were clay pipes. Clay pipes pre-date briar pipes and were commonplace in both Europe and colonial America. With an appreciation for the long history of pipe making, the BriarWorks Classic C141 Cutty and C141 Belge are directly inspired by these early pipes.
Clay pipes, and the unique smoking experience they provide, still have fans but the majority of contemporary pipe smokers tend to prefer the beauty, durability, and smoking experience of briar pipes with removable stems. The popularization of briar pipes in the mid to late 19th century made clay a less popular material but the popularity of the shapes never waned. Many early briar and meerschaum pipes were based on some of the popular clay pipe shapes as they were familiar and did the job well.
Clay pipes typically had long shanks that, due to the nature of the material, often broke. Many of the old clay pipes found at archeological sites and in museums are much shorter than when they were made. The short versions of the Classic Cutty and Belge (C141S and C142S, respectively) are a nod to the unintentional charm of these shortened clay pipes. We think that both the shortened versions and the standard longer versions of these shapes capture the graceful charm of the original clay pipes and the early briar adaptations.
