The joys and dangers of Ebay pipes

[Nemuragh]

Thanks for the clear explanation!
So a person couldn't take their ivory-mounted pipes from Eire to Northern Ireland?

I suppose that would be governed by the Northern Ireland Protocol!

[OC Richard]

A "joy" to report about Ebay pipes!

I'm a Lawrie guy. My first set in 1975 were new Lawries and I've owned quite a few Lawries since, ranging from around 1900 to the 1960s.

I just got these Lawries, said to be 1950s or 1960s. (EDIT: similar sets have been brought to my attention which are from the 1930s.)

So far they're sounding and performing as I expected they would, with good volume, great harmonics, and super functioning (easy strike-ins and very stable). In short a joy to play.

These pipes have been up on Ebay for quite some time, and listed other places, but for some reason nobody was interested.

They're dense Blackwood with the typical Lawrie spun-nickel ferrules. The bushes are ivory but the rings are plastic. It was typical for Lawrie to mix various materials that way; they mixed ivory, Catalin, and this other imitation ivory that doesn't darken with age.

[JPS]

A "joy" to report about Ebay pipes!

I'm a Lawrie guy. My first set in 1975 were new Lawries and I've owned quite a few Lawries since, ranging from around 1900 to the 1960s.

I just got these Lawries, said to be 1950s or 1960s.

So far they're sounding and performing as I expected they would, with good volume, great harmonics, and super functioning (easy strike-ins and very stable). In short a joy to play.

These pipes have been up on Ebay for quite some time, and listed other places, but for some reason nobody was interested.

They're dense Blackwood with the typical Lawrie spun-nickel ferrules. The bushes are ivory but the rings are plastic. It was typical for Lawrie to mix various materials that way; they mixed ivory, Catalin, and this other imitation ivory that doesn't darken with age.

Wonderful looking pipes, Richard. Hope to have a set of Lawries a lot like those one day, though for obvious reasons, I'm avoiding ebay while shopping for my first set of pipes.

[WalesLax]

Wonderful looking pipes, Richard. Hope to have a set of Lawries a lot like those one day, though for obvious reasons, I'm avoiding ebay while shopping for my first set of pipes.

Avoiding eBay while shopping for pipes is an intelligent decision, in general. That said, OC Richard and a few others on here are fantastic resources for identifying some potentially good opportunities on eBay, and possibly more importantly, avoiding some major issues.

Adding my own $0.02, I bought a set of pipes off of eBay that were brought to my attention via this thread, and I was happy with what I got. If you scroll back a few pages, you can see the pictures, but the gist of the story is, I spent a few hundred dollars on what I knew was a bit of a lottery ticket. Once they were in my hands, I could see that they weren’t a jackpot, however they were definitely quality pipes that look and sound gorgeous, and should have cost significantly more than I paid for them.

While not an expert, I am always happy to help out when and where I can, which I think is true for the vast majority of people on this thread and in this forum.

….if nothing else, I find the pipes posted in here to be incredibly interesting and the discussions fascinating.

Rob

[OC Richard]

I spent a few hundred dollars on what I knew was a bit of a lottery ticket. Once they were in my hands, I could see that they were definitely quality pipes that look and sound gorgeous and should have cost significantly more than I paid for them.

That is what I love to hear!

I don't know if I've mentioned these Gillanders & McLeod Forfar pipes which seem to be in great condition for a very low price. Yes the seller's low transaction number is concerning. A guy in my pipe band plays a set like this and they have a wonderful tone.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/31386079093...UAAOSwk~1h5MZW

And yet another David Naill set for much less than they would cost new. This set is very interesting in being externally copied from Victorian-era pipes, with Naill's lovely aged ivory:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/29477524616...MAAOSwkpth1OnW

And a nice-looking McCallum set for a very low price, though there's loads of bidding. Once again the seller doesn't have very many transactions. The mounts seem to indicate a newer McCallum set: the cream-coloured Dunbar imitation ivory and alloy, as opposed to McCallum's previous ivory-coloured brittle resin and nickel-plated brass.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/30433788155...EAAOSwEBlh9TC8

And last but not least, for under $600 including shipping, a c1960s/1970s pipe in great condition with Catalin mounts proudly showing the pipes' age. They say they're RG Hardie Glasgow but the drone tops have a Gillanders look to them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/22481040147...wAAOSwWYlh8v2D

[OC Richard]

African Blackwood Dunbar pipes with chalice tops and brass ferrules, slides, and caps.

In appearance not my cup of tea but the price is under $600 for an ABW set of the highest quality, less than some Sialkot pipes sell for.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/11523787841...kAAOSwD~xh~tse

Here's a big-name pipe, Peter Henderson, possibly from the 1950s, when they were making some very fine instruments. A friend plays a Holy Grail set of Hendersons: full silver in Henderson's "dragon" (each-uisge or sea-beast) engraving, hallmarked 1957 as I recall. That set and other 1950s Henderson sets have an amazing tone.

What's odd is that this Ebay set appears to only be stamped in the Bass cord guide. Did Henderson do that? I'll have to ask my friend.

Anyhow not cheap, but just about the least expensive way to play authentic vintage Hendersons, unless you happen upon one of those amazing bargains pipers sometimes do.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26553479112...IAAOSwxdthtQOF

[OC Richard]

About those Lawries I bought with the big fat wood mounts, a friend just picked up a similar set, a Time Capsule set, still in its original box.

Which says By Appointment to His Majesty the King.

Now a couple people have told me that my new Lawries are older than the seller thought, possibly 1930s.

Back to Ebay pipes, here's something you don't see every day, a Scottish-made blackwood set with a $300 opening bid (no bids yet) and an $550 Buy It Now.

They're made by R T Shepherd. https://www.ebay.com/itm/15487844913...kAAOSwJaxiH3GE

I briefly owned a Shepherd set, I thought the drones were quite mediocre.

One day a fellow piper and I took apart five or six sets of pipes (including an early Lawrie, an early Henderson, 1940s Starck, and a couple modern sets) to mouth-blow and evaluate the volume and tone of the drones heard individually.

The most resonant harmonics-rich tenors were from my friend's c1920 Henderson (no surprise there).

As I recall the best bass was my c1905 Lawrie.

In any case we had a set of Shepherds, which had both the poorest tenors of all, and the poorest bass of all. (The caveat being that it was a sample size of one.)

[OC Richard]

Here's a maker whose work doesn't pop up often, George Kilgour Edinburgh.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16538497148...8AAOSwnYhiMCWu

Robert Kilgour MBE (1924-2017) was Pipe Major of the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards until 1966.

His brother George Kilgour apprenticed under Edinburgh pipemaker James Robertson, then served in the Scots Guards during WWII.

In the early 1970s the brothers founded Kilgour of Strathspey Bagpipe Makers, which as I understand became George Kilgour Bagpipe Maker (Edinburgh) around 1980 due to Robert moving to Denmark.

Around 1988 George immigrated to the USA and went into partnership with C E Kron to form Kilgour & Kron (New York).

This all brackets these pipes as being made, I would think, in the early to mid 1980s.

[OC Richard]

What to all appearances are a set of African blackwood Kintail Chalice Pattern pipes, in a model often seen, plain wood with brass mounts.

No bids, opening bid set at $500, a US seller.

I don't know why the seller has listed them as "Canton" pipes. There's no such maker listed in Highland Bagpipe Makers. Also, this set doesn't look like a Sialkot set to me. Oftentimes Ebay sellers will list sets as being by L&M. Canmore, EzeeDrone, and so forth, the names stamped on bags or reeds. But Canton doesn't ring a bell for me.

I've messaged the seller, sending a closeup photo of the Kintail stamp which should appear just below the cord guide on each drone. Rare among makers, Kintail stamped the date on their drones.

EDIT: The seller says yes the drones are stamped Kintail.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/14446940719...YAAOSw6Q1iNkX1

Now this is just ridiculous, a Catalin & nickel mounted Grainger & Campbell set listed at $3,200.

I've seen sets just like this set unsold for months at $700. EDIT: The seller has lowered the price to $1,200 still high for a set like this but not absurd.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Grainger-Sc...p2056016.l4276

[OC Richard]

A great bargain on a wonderful African Blackwood set by Dunbar (St Catherines, Ontario, Canada).

Some small nicks. Those things don't bother me a bit! All of my vintage sets have nicks.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/23448568987...YAAOSw4K9iOT9K

And a Gillanders & MacLeod set in seemingly great condition for a reasonable price.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/23447389887...4AAOSwXUxiNiYu

Who knows how high the bidding will go on this R G Lawrie chalice set.

The late, great Alastair Gillies played a set like this, which sounded amazing in his hands of course.

This led many pipers to covet owning such a set, the idea being that chalice-top Lawries had a special magic that standard-profile Lawries lacked. AFIK all Lawries made at that time used the same specs and all are excellent pipes.

I wouldn't be surprised if, due to the Gillies effect, these sold for significantly more than a standard-profile Lawrie of that period would.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/28471391935...sAAOSwxutiN2hG