help with stanwell pipes

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
robertw1249

robertw1249

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 13, 2008
Messages
152
Reaction score
0
hi all need some help i have been thinking on getting this pipe but i want to know if any one has this pipe or knows some one with one i just want to know if its a good pipe i never had a stanwell befor here is the pipe im looking at Stanwell Golden Danish #217 thanks for the help
 
Robert,

Stanwells are great pipes. I have never heard of one smoking bad. It is just a matter of what shape appeals to you. I am found of shape #186. I think the one you are looking at is #217 but not positive. You can't go wrong for the money!
 
hi mark yeah it is the 217 shape there are three diffrent finshes that i have seen thanks for the help
 
Robert, I had a 217, and I wound up trading it away. I will tell you the pros and cons and found on the pipe and let you make up your own mind.

Pros:
Engineering - the pipe is drilled perfect, right to the tip of the conical bowl.
Thickness - major wood on those walls. This thing smokes easily, never overheats, and has a generous bowl.
Weight/design - oddly enough, it clenches pretty well for such a beefy pipe.

Cons: this pipe is somewhere between a dublin and an outright horn, and the forward sweep of the shape combined with the teardrop "ridge" at the front just meant that it was not the most comfortable pipe in hand.
I just never found myself wanting to smoke it. Let me make this clearer - in the picture on the left, second from the top, which you posted, the bowl of this pipe would be drilled basically horizontal, which means it has a severe forward lean compared to the mouthpiece. I don't like pipes with an obtuse angle between the bowl and the moutpiece, it turns out.

Traded it to a guy for a Pete 606, and he found it to be similar. A great smoking pipe, but just kind of a weird shape.
 
I've had that pipe in 2 finishes: zebrano and the golden finish which is what that one is. It smoked good enough, but I had better pipes. I traded my last 3 stanwells for a Randy Wiley.

I am biased though as I don't really like Stanwell. They are a good value, but I always figured I could find similar pipes for similar prices; usually went with Peterson instead.

The only Stanwell I still own is an HCA calabash.
 
Robert,

If you like a bent pipe, Try the 186. IMHO, for a machine made pipe it is one of the best designed shapes on the market. The one that I have is in the Rondo finish but I haven't seen the Rondo finish on the market in a few years. I don't know if they discontinued it or not. Other than personal preference I don't think the finish really matters. If you haven't already looked, SmokingPipes has a good selection of shapes and finishes that you can use to make a good comparison. http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/stanwell/index.cfm
 
Looks like a Frenchy website pipe. I own about 21 stanwells not a bad smoker in the bunch. Doesn't take long to break them in. Frenchy is a great guy to do business with. Good luck.

Stanwell's usually smoke best with Stanwell Melange in the bowl :lol!:
 
Anytime Robert - just ask us, and we'll tell you what your preference is! :tongue:

Like Texas Outlaw, I have reduced Stanwells in my rotation, with only 3 left - an HCA warden, a Queen, and a 63. I really like the 63 - all the positives of the 217 and none of the weirdness.

Like TO, I also tend to buy Peterson ahead of Stanwell. I like Peterson's shaping better, overall, and I find that a broken in Peterson is a somewhat friendlier pipe than a broken in Stanwell. I can't really explain it. Maybe the acrylic/vulcanite difference,.... but I just find I reach for my Petes more often.

Stanwell has ridiculously high quality control - surely the best of the large manufacturers. I've never heard of a mis-drilled, poor smoking Stan.
 
thanks guys most of my pipes that i have are all boswells but some time its hard to get them and i wanted to try some new pipes but if i can find some from the other pipe makers that i like ill go back and get me some more boswell pipes like i need more of them i 18 boswells right now :lol:
 
In terms of pure smoking quality I would put my Stans up there with ANY pipes available! Since I'm not particularly fond of fills I prefer the Golden Danish, Zebrano, and other blasted finishes. I own a smooth shape 186 that has a fill the size of my pinky nail right smack dab in the middle of the bowl! It doesn't affect it's smoking qualities of course but it's just so damned ugly! It's why I only buy blasted Stans! :lol:
 
Sasquatch":6ds8ucqe said:
Robert, I had a 217, and I wound up trading it away. I will tell you the pros and cons and found on the pipe and let you make up your own mind.

Pros:
Engineering - the pipe is drilled perfect, right to the tip of the conical bowl.
Thickness - major wood on those walls. This thing smokes easily, never overheats, and has a generous bowl.
Weight/design - oddly enough, it clenches pretty well for such a beefy pipe.

Cons: this pipe is somewhere between a dublin and an outright horn, and the forward sweep of the shape combined with the teardrop "ridge" at the front just meant that it was not the most comfortable pipe in hand.
I just never found myself wanting to smoke it. Let me make this clearer - in the picture on the left, second from the top, which you posted, the bowl of this pipe would be drilled basically horizontal, which means it has a severe forward lean compared to the mouthpiece. I don't like pipes with an obtuse angle between the bowl and the moutpiece, it turns out.

Traded it to a guy for a Pete 606, and he found it to be similar. A great smoking pipe, but just kind of a weird shape.
Click to expand...
Sasquatch, you paraphrased perfectly my dislikes of certain pipe shapes. I've got a couple of good pipes, some great smokers, but if they don't feel "right" in the hand, I don't seem to reach for them often. I have a nice squat bulldog (last year's club pipe) that smokes beautifully, but my hand has a hard time holding that shape. And a forward cant, well, I've burned a few trousers (and parts we'll leave unmentioned) from horns and pipes that lean away from the mouthpiece. Not my cup-o-tea.

Natch
 
Top