A Stanwell Pipe Review! or In Praise of Mid Grades!

The Pipe: Stanwell shape #30 A classic group 4-5 smooth bent acorn with an acrylic saddle stem purchased for $70.00 from smokingpipes.com

The drilling is near spot on. The draw is very,very open. It'll pass a large xtra fluffy cleaner with ease. It's grain is so-so with a few bald spots which may or may not come out with smoking. It's weight is average and it's easy to clench. It's stem fitting is also so-so with just a bit of light passing through at the bottom. All and all it's a well executed shape and appears to be well made for it's modest price point.

The first few puffs were expectedly sour as with almost any pipe that has has a bowl coating. This flavor quickly calmed down and the full flavor of Navy Flake came through. I puffed slowly and the pipe never got in the least bit hot. It has excellent balance and didn't come out of my mouth for the entire smoke. The bit is thin and comfortable and won't ever discolour as it's acrylic. This is a real plus to me as I plan of using it as a yard/fishing pipe and only minimal maintainance will be necessary.

In conclusion and after three bowls this pipe has totally exceeded my expectations and furthered my belief that Stanwell makes the best mid grade pipes on the market! It also proves that you don't have to spend a fortune to get a great smoking pipe!

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My Pipe Rack: http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/DockJPerry/?start=0

Joined : 04 Apr 2008 Posts : 80

SNAUSAGES!

Nice! I love Stanwells. For a low cost pipe they're fantastic - great smokers. Most of my work pipes are Stanwells. I really like that shape 30 too, classic Cool

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I BLATANTLY ENDORSE

Although I've been moving in a different direction in my collecting--bought a third Michael Parks this week--I completely agree that great pipes are out there at reasonable prices. I've never smoked a Stanwell but I do buy Boswells. When JM opens today, I'm picking up one off of his site for way less than $100 that will be a great smoker (I want a dedicated SG FVF pipe).
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The World's Leading Collector of Chheda Pipes. So far...#7, #25, #32, #39, #53 & #68.

Your quite right!! I can't afford the high ticket briars so I have mainly Mid Grades such as Stanwell , Bari, Alphas and the sort. They all look great, smoke every bit as good as briars costing many times their price.

"THERE IS NO PRESTIGE IN OVERPAYING"

One of my best smokers is a Stanwell Rondo bent danish egg. It is the only Stanwell that I have right now and I smoke it at least a couple of times a week, sometimes more.
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Joined : 28 Dec 2007 Posts : 20 Location : Indiana

I love that shape.

Congratulations.

Never heard anyone say anything but complimentary remarks about Stanwell. FTRPLT