Perhaps like many of you, I spent a lot of years thinking that Ropp made almost nothing but cherry wood pipes. Serviceable pipes, but nothing for most briar guys to put in a rotation. Then, maybe as recently as a collection I picked up at the end of 2023, I came to understand that they put out a lot of very handsome, unique looking and relatively inexpensive briars. This piece has cross grain and Bird’s Eye around the bowl. The size is Grp. 3 (a tall and narrow bowl and thus a narrow chamber) with a bone stem. Ropp seems to specialize in them. There is a touch of wear on the rim of the pipe and the draw could be more open, although I’ve found that some smokers like that as it forces them to draw a little harder and thus get more of the taste of the tobacco. I wouldn’t know, but I certainly wouldn’t pack this one tightly. On bone, it looks like the teeth creates an ‘abrasion’ for lack of a better word. It’s not an indent, and is basically just a discoloration. Anyhow, it’s shown below.
6” long, bowl 1.75” tall. Weight: .75 oz., 22 grams.