Sasieni: Difference between revisions

Through the post war years, Sasieni added shapes and lines. While the Four Dot remained their most famous product, the company also sold lines of “seconds” under various names, such as Mayfair, Fantail, Olde English, and Friar. These were pipes made of good wood, but possessed of some flaw, usually filled with putty. Pipes that were almost, but not quite, good enough to be a Four Dot were sold as Two Dots. I have two of these pipes in my collection. Both pipes are quite striking, exhibiting exquisite shapes and exceptional grain. At first I wondered why they were not Four Dots. Eventually, after long inspection, I discovered each pipe contained one very small filled flaw. In spite of this they remain two of my favorite pipes. However, it is clear Sasieni was determined to put the Four Dot logo on only the most perfect pipes.

Alfred Sasieni continued to run the company prosperously until 1979, when he sold out to another firm. Interestingly, he stayed on in the capacity of a director. At first it seems to have been a harmonious partnership. The new owners started their tenure with a limited edition reissue Eight Dot. This was a generous sized, natural stained smooth pipe which occasionally also had a gold band. Each pipe had a blue string running through the bowl, shank, and stem, affixed with a lead stamp and paper tab signed by Alfred Sasieni himself. These pipes are both strikingly handsome and maddeningly elusive, due to the fact only 100 (or so, accounts differ) were ever made.