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The shank on this one carries a stamp most collectors will not recognize: RACER 2740/5. There is no wider catalog history behind that name in our records, and no wider catalog history is what we are writing here - just the pipe, read plainly, code and all.
RACER 2740/5, smooth square panel bowl, straight shank, light-colored acrylic stem with a fishtail mouthpiece.
Bowl: briar
Stem: acrylic
Mouthpiece: fishtail
Filter: not identified
Stamped: \"RACER 2740/5\"
A square panel bowl is cut with flat facets rather than the continuous curve of a round billiard or apple. The panel format does two practical things: it gives a stamp or engraving a true flat surface to sit on instead of a curved one, and it lets the pipe rest on a shelf or in a rack without rolling. Some panel bowls run four faces, some six or eight; this one is described as square, meaning four flats meeting at defined corners around a straight-standing bowl. It is a shape built for a steady desk pipe as much as a hand pipe - something that sits square and does not wander.
The stem is acrylic, in a light color, fitted with a fishtail bit. A fishtail mouthpiece opens at the tip into two flat tines with a wider slot between them, instead of tapering to a single round aperture. It spreads the draw across a broader opening rather than concentrating it through one bore, and it is a common choice on pipes that carry no filter cartridge, where the smoker wants an open, unrestricted pull. Acrylic itself is worth a word: it is a dense, glass-hard polymer that takes a high polish and holds it, and unlike vulcanite it does not oxidize toward green or brown under light and age. That is precisely why a light-colored stem is acrylic rather than rubber - vulcanite in pale tones discolors quickly, acrylic does not.
The chamber runs 20mm across and 37mm deep, a proportion that favors a slower, longer smoke over a wide, shallow one - more wall of tobacco between the ember and the draw hole, less risk of the bowl running hot early. At 32 grams the pipe sits on the lighter side of hand-fillable, easy to clench without fatigue.
This example is pre-smoked and graded very good. The stained briar surface shows faint scratches, consistent with normal handling and use. No crack, chip, or repair is reported.
THE MARKS
- Stamped on the shank: \"RACER 2740/5\"
THE MEASUREMENTS
Length 139mm (5.5\") - bowl height 43mm (1.7\") - bowl width 34mm (1.3\") - chamber diameter 20mm (0.8\") - chamber depth 37mm (1.5\") - weight 32g
Finish and grain: see the photographs.
Ships from the Faridunhill / Pipe Collectors Encyclopedia archive. Worldwide shipping and professional sanitation on every estate pipe.
SKU: 440
