How old is that Kiseru ?

[FrenchBreadPrime]

Hello, I just bought an Antique Kiseru, I was looking for another one as the one I use is hell to clean, and I found one that appears old yet functional. 

I figured I'd take it, as I really liked the pattern and look of it, but I have a hard time figuring its age.

It's a rau kiseru, and the metal feels old (I have another one that's quite old, and the metal has the same kind of texture, but the bamboo rau has lots of splits making it unusable), but the rau on this one appears to be in a really good state. I also have a hard time figuring what the metal is, though my main guess is that it's brass or bronze, plated with something else. 

The overall appearance is giving me a hard time figuring how old it would be.

Here are a few pics as I'd be interest in others' opinions. 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Cher TN, the photos are not really good enough to judge.

 

It could be a simple chrome plating on a base metal (=not very old). It could even be solid silver. Often silver will have 純銀 (solid silver) marks but nothing is shown, so maybe unlikely. (What are the patterns on the mouthpiece, designs or peeling scratches?)

 

How much are they asking for this? There should be a better description. (Oh, and what is 'rau'?)

 

PS I have a Japanese friend who still smokes a kiseru.

[FrenchBreadPrime]

26 minutes ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Cher TN, the photos are not really good enough to judge.

 

It could be a simple chrome plating on a base metal (=not very old). It could even be solid silver. Often silver will have 純銀 (solid silver) marks but nothing is shown, so maybe unlikely. (What are the patterns on the mouthpiece, designs or peeling scratches?)

 

How much are they asking for this? There should be a better description. (Oh, and what is 'rau'?)

 

PS I have a Japanese friend who still smokes a kiseru.

Yes, the photos aren't really hi-res, I'll try to get better ones once I receive it. 

I'm unsure about Chrome as I've only seen brand-new ones made with Chrome (so I'm unsure about the feel when it's an used one). Solid silver would be cool but for the price, it'd be too good to be true and I haven't been able to see markings indicating it. At best I feel like it's plated silver ?

The patterns are what have been making me scratch my head, here's a better picture for the mouthpiece. Some of it feels like scratches but also feels like design, indentations are very regular in size and width but some of the stuff also feels like peeling.

I paid about 60 bucks for it (without taking shipping into account) which isn't that expensive for an antique one though I've seen cheaper too.

 

The rau is the bamboo part of it, and Kiseru made with a bamboo tube and metal fittings can be called "rau-kiseru"

 

Also that's awesome ! I've rarely seen people actually smoke those, but I find it to be better than smoking cigarettes, and more practical too.

Thanks for your answer !

[Matsunoki]

Curious design. To me it resembles some sort of “party popper” going pop. Don’t know if Japanese have these things….I guess they do. Looks like inlay work?

[FrenchBreadPrime]

I finally received it. Don't know if the pics I managed to take are of a better quality, but here they are anyways.

It does feel like the scratches are a voluntary design, especially when compared to the other smaller scratches and bumps that are due to actual damage. The metal is remarkably thin, most of the other kiseru I've seen were twice as thick on the bowl and mouth part, and there is no solid silver mark. 

I tried to put a magnet on it, and it doesn't seem magnetized, so I can rule out stainless steel and nickel. My guess is either chrome or silver plated brass ? As I said previously, I don't know much about chrome in general especially when it isn't brand new.

 

Had a smoke with it, it works well.

Spoiler

 

23 hours ago, Matsunoki said:

Curious design. To me it resembles some sort of “party popper” going pop. Don’t know if Japanese have these things….I guess they do. Looks like inlay work?

Yes, the design is really fun, there's a lot of variety with different length and width, some are heavily decorated and others are even usable as weapons. This one has a rather normal design, but you can find some vermilion lacquered ones that will really give off that party popper feel