Tsuge with gold windshield

June 2020

The earliest products from Tsuge pipe factory in Tokyo include ivory cigarette holders and even ivory tobacco pipes. The deluxe versions were given a decoration in colorful lacquer. After 1950, the images of smoking Westerners also sparked interest in European-style tobacco pipes in Japan. Tsuge then makes the top segment of briar pipes completely by hand. In the twenty-first century, the Tsuge factory took the lead in modern design. Optimal smoking comfort is always the starting point, a characteristic for the pipe shown here. The contemporary design labeled Tsuge Thunderstorm was created between 2008 and 2010, in this case in gold finish. The cylindrical briar pipe bowl is equipped with an aluminum jacket that can be slid vertically up above the pipe bowl and thus functions as a windshield. The screen can rotate in all directions to avoid accelerating the fire in the bowl. The pipe is also practical because of its small size and very light weight. Following the international market, the stem can accommodate a 9 millimeter filter. The consumer price in Japan today is 20,000 yen. The Tsuge pipes are now also available on the European market, there the price is just over 200 euros.

Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 23.933a

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