Club Area
by Jacques Cole
Mounts
This is the name given to bands that are often fitted to the shanks of pipes. They can be made of base metal, but high-quality pipes will have silver or even gold mounts. Although bands are ornaments, they also have a practical use of protecting a part of the pipe which can be vulnerable to splitting. Apart from silver and occasionally gold, mounts can be made from horn or various types of semi-precious stones.
A variant is the Army mount, which is rounded off at one end and takes a special bit that tapers into it. The idea is that the bit can be easily removed to eliminate the risk of breaking the peg. It also allows longer or shorter mouthpieces to be used readily. The Army mount used to be particularly popular with sailors. A variant of the Army is the Spigot. Here, the end of the bit going into the shank is fitted with a silver mount. The result is quite attractive and also ensures further protection against breakage in a pipe‘s most vulnerable spot.
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