Good place to Begin

[Briar_Bear]

I am looking to take my first step toward being a true brother of briar, I would like to buy my first wooden pipe. I live over an hour from the nearest pipe shop, and have one local pipe smoking friend and he also just has corn cob pipes. I have been puffing on my Missouri Meerschaum pipes for a little over 4 months, and I am feeling the need to delve into the world of briar.

I don't know where to start, I have scoured ebay many a hour but I am scared I will make a poor choice and wind up over my head with sanitizing and restoration. I don't really fear the work of restoring an estate pipe but I don't know what to look for and what to avoid. I also don't know which style I prefer. I like the idea of a well curved Sherlock style pipe but having never puffed on one I am not sure. My experience with the cobs seems to tell me that I enjoy a larger pipe with a larger bowl. I think you guys call holding the pipe in your mouth with no hands "clenching", if that is correct I do the opposite. I prefer to hold the pipe in hand the whole time bringing it up to puff never bearing weight in mouth.

The short of it is I have no idea where to start, I like the idea of frugal until I find the style I like. Do you guys/gals have any suggestions?

 

[jlong]

How much do you want to spend? $50 to $75 will buy you a good smoker. Savinelli, Stanwell, Peterson, Nording, and Bjarne make great pipes in this range. If you're looking to do it Sherlock style, a bent brandy, apple, or dublin is a good shape. Sherlock is famous for his gourd calabash. A gourd will run you in the neighborhood of $200. They are great pipes because they have meerschaum bowls, smoke cool, and any wet crap settles in the gourd, not in your mouth. They tame bitey tobacco as well. There are briar shapes that are called calabash. Butz Choquin makes really cool ones. If you're looking to be frugal, look at the sandlast variety. They are typically 20% cheaper than their smooth finish cousins of equal quality and shape. For some window shopping, Pipes & Cigars, Cup-O-Joes, and Smokingpipes are great sites to browse pipes. Some of us live there. LOL.

When inspecting pipes at the B&M some things I look at are how the stem drilling meets the bowl. The stem drilling should meet the very bottom of the bowl. I like to pass a cleaner through the bit and stem. It shouldn't hang up. If it's difficult to pass through, I pass. I like to grasp the pipe as though I were puffing it to see how it feels in the hand. For visual appeal, I look for fill marks in the briar. This is where the maker put filler in pocks in the briar. Minute fill marks are acceptable and practically unavoidable with $50 to $75 puffers. To the untrained eye, they are virtually undectable which is fine. What we don't know won't hurt us. Large fill marks aren't difficult to detect. They should be avoided as they have a tendancy to discolor over time.

I agree with your feelings about estates on ebay. You need to get familiar with pipes before going that route. But then I've seen some excellent scores for $25 posted on this forum. In that range, it's not a big gamble. There are estate dealers on ebay who do it for a business, know what they are selling, and generally don't deal in crap. They are the ones to trust. They aren't out to unload. They want repeat business.

 

[mike_68]

Couldn't give any better info than jlong already did...I can only +1 his online recommendations as each one he mentioned have fantastic customer service as well.

I might also add a brand, La Rocca, which are even a bit cheaper than $50 and the one I have is a fantastic pipe.

Good luck in your search and post a photo of your new "buddy" once you get it!

 

[Anonymous]

Recommendation : get straight (or nearly straight) pipes with return policies for a while.

When they com in, snip the end off a pipe cleaner (so you've gotten rid of the little "fingernail overhang from cutting them to length can produce) and see if you can run it from the button all the way into the bowl.

If so, you've got a viable pipe. If it hangs up, return it. It might smoke well but it will probably create problems you don't need when you're starting out.

FWIW

:face:

 

[Richard Burley]

Go to Briar Blues website and click on "refurbisher's delights." That way you're killing two birds with one stone: an good assortment of cheap pipes to choose from, and you'll learn how to resurrect them for smoking. Plus you can actually speak with the owner. (No, I have no association w/BB whatsoever.)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Eventually, the temptation to hit up a brick and mortar pipe/tobacco store will just overwhelm you, which likely will have a range of pipes both estate and new...

...I mean, an hour's drive isn't that far away... what an adventure it would be...an excuse to get out of the house...the pleasant drive, the scenery, the great smoke you can have on the way back while listening to your favorite tunes... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

8)

 

[monbla256]

Since you live west of the Mississippi an hours drive sounds about a normal afternoon trip. At least here in Texas But that aside, the advice given by jlong above is very good. I would just add that a straight stemmed pipe would be a better first choice to get started with Briars. Depending on the size, you can "clench" it or hand hold to your preference. One of the classic styles i.e. a nice Apple, Billiard, Pot or Bulldog would be a good first choice to start your life in the world of Briar. These Classic styles are available in a wide range of finishes and price points. Speaking of price points, you DID NOT mention what price range you wish to spend and this will have a BIG influence on what you can find and the subsequent smoking experience you might have. In today's world, I would have to say anything UNDER $50,00, especially if from a no-name manufacturer, as you can find in many of the "basket" pipes at a B&M would not be a good choice.
Brand wise I feel that Savanelli probably makes some of the best and widest range of quality briar pipes today. You can get a quality Savanelli in the $50.00 to $80.00 range that will smoke well from the start and you will be able to still smoke it 30+ years from now. ( I personally have several 30+ yo Savanelli's that are some of my best smoking pipes today!)
Take a look at the offerings from the web retailers mentioned above in their Savanelli's and see if something doesn't pick your fancy, order it and start your entry into the world of Briar
I would stay away from the world of Estates and e-prey at this time, at least till you've aquired a few quality new briars and have a bit more smoking time in your mouth so to speak JMHO

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Since you live west of the Mississippi an hours drive sounds about a normal afternoon trip. At least here in Texas

...or Nevada for that matter... driving 3 hours to "someplace else," ain't such a big deal, but that's practically halfway to China in some states... :lol:

Plus, an hour drive is just begging for a pipe and some "time away." At least to me.

 

[jlong]

Eventually, the temptation to hit up a brick and mortar pipe/tobacco store will just overwhelm you, which likely will have a range of pipes both estate and new...

...I mean, an hour's drive isn't that far away... what an adventure it would be...an excuse to get out of the house...the pleasant drive, the scenery, the great smoke you can have on the way back while listening to your favorite tunes...

You nailed it quite well and don't forget the anticipation of getting there. A fantastic way to spend a weekend afternoon and you'll discover why Henery Ford invented the automobile. A B&M makes a lot of sense for a first briar because you get to look at and hold the variety of briars up close and personal. Oh then there's the aroma of a B&M that knocks you on your arse as you admire all the pipes. That alone makes it worth the trip. What a freakin rush. Half my pipes came from the local B&M for these reasons. If you're looking to spend $30 on a puffer (basket pipes as they are often called), unlike the internet, you can do the inspection thing and avoid a dud which is notorious with basket pipes if you don't shop carefully.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Dammit, so much for my evil temptations of others... now I want to go load up and do a day trip to Sacto to Briar Patch in Sacramento.

 

[jlong]

Dammit, so much for my evil temptations of others... now I want to go load up and do a day trip to Sacto to Briar Patch in Sacramento.

I too am suddenly in the mood to take a drive to the local B&M. I wanted to post how jealous I am that you live near a Tinderbox.

 

[Richard Burley]

Dammit, so much for my evil temptations of others... now I want to go load up and do a day trip to Sacto to Briar Patch in Sacramento.

Love that drive. Feather River Canyon, right? When you leaving? I'll be there in spirit.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Dammit, so much for my evil temptations of others... now I want to go load up and do a day trip to Sacto to Briar Patch in Sacramento.

I too am suddenly in the mood to take a drive to the local B&M. I wanted to post how jealous I am that you live near a Tinderbox.

It's a pretty awesome place, not huge, bacca prices are shitty, but I've revived a shitty and stressful day quite a few times hiding in there with a pipe and hangin' out for a few hours. 8) Awesome folks, great people-watching place for characters (It is Reno, after all) and never a waste of time.

 

[williamcharles]

Go to the stemandbriar.com web site and take a look at Jamie's estate pipes. Good value for the money, the restorations are flawless and Jamie's a good guy to do business with.
I just got two pipes from him and they both smoke like dreams come true. I don't know Jamie personally but I am a well satisfied customer. Money is very tight and I need to get my dollars worth and I got it with these pipes. He's got some nice ones.

 

[Derg]

The short of it is I have no idea where to start, I like the idea of frugal until I find the style I like. Do you guys/gals have any suggestions?

There have been some great suggestions so far, but as someone who never makes it to a B&M shop and buys all his pipes on-line, I can't recommend Peterson pipes highly enough. From a value for money point of view, the "standard system" pipes are incredible smokers. The 303 is a great medium shape (i have 2) and I have never heard a bad word against it.

I also have a couple of Savinellis, a Stanwell and some other lovely briars, but if I had my time again I would of bought a couple of system Petes and waited longer before branching off into the more expensive pipes.

 

[jlong]

I agree on Petes. You really can't go wrong. Fantastic smokers. My druthers would be Nording but that's because I'm a Nording kind of guy I think. Well I really can't say that until I get an Erik Nording bobble head.