Buying first pipe, any tips? Suggestions?

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Mattfactor87

Mattfactor87

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2010
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Hi there! I just recently joined this group and have been extremely pleased with the content and people. Great advice so far with even better tips and knowledge.

Anyway, I'm hoping to buy my first "real" pipe soon. By this I mean a medium-priced briar that I can get started with and should hopefully last a while. So, my question's are: What should I look for? What should I look for that will last a while? Most importantly, what type of pipe should I buy? I've been leaning towards a freehand so that I can do other things while enjoying it.

Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Matt
 
Aesthetically, you should get whatever you want.

For a good medium priced pipe, check out these brands: Savinelli, Stanwell, Peterson.

There are some others, but these three are very consistent (if it were up to me I'd go with stanwell). Although, there aren't a lot of freehands produced by these three (for freehands, maybe try a ben wade or randy wiley).

If you can inspect the pipe in person, check to make sure the drilling is good (the draft hole is drilled straight to the bottom of the bowl, and it lines up with the hole in tenon), and make sure it passes a pipe cleaner with ease, and make sure there isn't anything funky going on in the bowl (nice and smooth in there).

-mike.
 
Nording makes some freehand shapes that aren't too pricey if I recall correctly. Granted I haven't smoked one myself so I cannot give any advice on them as far as that goes. I've seen a lot of people swear by them and some others don't care for them too much, but you'll find that with anything in this world of ours. Like Maiser said, get what strikes you, as long as you enjoy it you made a good buy!
 
Dude you may get a million different answers here and all my be right
Sniff around here you may get a good idea of what's cookin'.
IMHO
1. do not buy basket pipes
2. Stick to reputable brands
3. Make sure the pipe has a nice open draw.
4. for now buy a shape you like. Pipes are smoking sculptures.

Good luck!
 
good advice, piet! (i like the sculptures bit!) i second the stanwells, though the others mentioned are all good pipes. if your spending $70-100 on a new pipe from one of the aforementioned brands, your pretty well assured of getting a very nice pipe. many nice pipes can be had at much cheaper prices (through ebay or what have you) but you kind of need to have some brand knowledge for that, IMHO.

oh, if your the type of person who will agonize over how many fills a pipe might have in the bowl, go rusticated. i tend to like their looks anyway.

as mentioned, nording is probably king of the freehand type. nording has many price points and are well loved by those who have them.

 
Well said Bruins!
Like the rusticated or blasted buy!!!!
Makes sense! :cheers:
 
I just bought 4 pipes and all new except one pre-smoked which is so little smoked the entire chamber is not black yet. I would need to know more about the price you call mid range and I say this because just take one brand which I bought 2, Cavicchi and you can find them from $189 for a Rustic to a little over $500 and one I saw for $900. Peterson you can find from $54 to $250 and I notice the ones at $250 were said to be on sale and their MSRP at over $600.

Anyway my point is even the better pipe makers have some that are not near as high as their top of the line and still very nice pipes.

Also the guys on this site make some fine looking pipes and I also bought one from Sasquatch and I am loving it from the first bowl. A very nice pipe. In the photo area I have all of them pictures except the Radice and it just came in so have not had time to take the pics yet.

Just pick some shape you like and get it and don't look back. I am partial to Italian pipes but still have some from Denmark and like I said my first from Canada from Sasquatch. FYI, that Sas pipe is by far the driest pipe I ever smoked.

Skip
 
Thanks everybody! So far I'm feeling very welcome here and the atmosphere seems amazing: Very friendly and brotherly. All your suggestions and tips so far have been great and I've already started looked around online for a couple pipes. I definitely see why this place is called Brothers of Briar...you all know how to make a guy feel welcome.

Thanks again,

Matt
 
Personally I wouldn't get another cob. I think They're kinda corny looking. :roll:

Only thing I would add since this is your first is don't get one with too big of a bowl. You'll be experimenting with different tobaccos and may find one or two you won't want to smoke for an hour at a time. good luck and have fun!
 
Also pipesandcigars.com has some really good bundle deals for the holidays I saw with pipes and 2-3 tins of baccy along with pipe tools, pipe cleaners and such fo under a hundred bucks.
 
All of the advice above is spot on, I would just add that if you want to do other things while smoking, be careful of the freehands, some tend to have alot of wood are heavy and hard on the teeth. Stanwell has some nice freehands that are fairly light. I love the way Randy Wiley's pipes smoke and I have a few of his freehands but they tend to be large and heavy, I usually smoke them when I read. Don't know much about peterson's but they mostly have vulcanite stems which will oxidize with time. The Savinelli's, some have vulcanite stems and some lucite, which will not oxidize, they are light and they moke well but most are filtered. They are also on sale at:
http://www.virtualsmokinglounge.com/new_pipes/new_pipes_savinelli.html
Good luck and welcome to the world of dilemma.
 
One last thing from me, you could always buy one of the 2nd they sell like at Tinder Box. I spoke with the one in New Orleans I think it was and they told me they have them fro like $35.00. So if you want to try and not risk as much they can be a good alternate. I have some I bought way back and about half smoke really good and the others just need the right tobacco.

Skip
 
Savinelli, Stanwell and Peterson have such extensive lines in different shapes and finishes that it's hard to imagine not being able to find something both aesthetically pleasing, well constructed and affordable. I think the hard part is just trying to limit your purchase to just one.
 
ragtopbob":ewwcp0ww said:
All of the advice above is spot on, I would just add that if you want to do other things while smoking, be careful of the freehands, some tend to have alot of wood are heavy and hard on the teeth. Stanwell has some nice freehands that are fairly light. I love the way Randy Wiley's pipes smoke and I have a few of his freehands but they tend to be large and heavy, I usually smoke them when I read. Don't know much about peterson's but they mostly have vulcanite stems which will oxidize with time. The Savinelli's, some have vulcanite stems and some lucite, which will not oxidize, they are light and they moke well but most are filtered. They are also on sale at:
http://www.virtualsmokinglounge.com/new_pipes/new_pipes_savinelli.html
Good luck and welcome to the world of dilemma.
Click to expand...
I second that Raggy!

David Peterson of the VSL is a very good friend of mine and I can vow for his service and prices!!!
 
For a good selection of Nordings check out cupojoes.com. They have the best selection I've seen on the net.

 
before you spend any money on a pipe, Mattfactor87, feed your monkey! he looks hungry. (and cold...and scared...and lonely...) :D

 
I just took a closer look Edwards does have a starter kit with 2 pipes, cleaners, pipe nail and pouch for $39.99. Can't beat that with a stick!!
 
bruins":961awwz4 said:
before you spend any money on a pipe, Mattfactor87, feed your monkey! he looks hungry. (and cold...and scared...and lonely...) :D
Click to expand...
Yea right Bru! :lol!: :lol!: :lol!:
 
bruins":gil2b5wq said:
before you spend any money on a pipe, Mattfactor87, feed your monkey! he looks hungry. (and cold...and scared...and lonely...) :D
Click to expand...
Lol! Actually just did that. Got two of them I work with. But still hoping to get a pipe soon. I'm actually about to check out the Edwards.
 
Top