MASTRO DE PAJA

[SpeedyPete]

Our dear brother Cart has convinced me to buy one of these pipes   :twisted:

But I don't know anything about them.  I've read about their past on PIPEDIA and it seems as if they've gone through quite a bit of stormy weather in the past.

I will appreciate any feedback from the brothers.

eBay seller "renee_lle" is selling a lot of these pipes at a fair price. I'm wondering how he got hold of them as most of them are new, unsmoked pipes

 

[RDPipes]

Our dear brother Cart has convinced me to buy one of these pipes   :twisted:

But I don't know anything about them.  I've read about their past on PIPEDIA and it seems as if they've gone through quite a bit of stormy weather in the past.

I will appreciate any feedback from the brothers.

eBay seller  "renee_lle"  is selling a lot of these pipes at a fair price.  I'm wondering how he got hold of them as most of them are new, unsmoked pipes

Pete, I would NOT buy any of those pipes, they are low end Mastro's .
In fact, I would NOT purchase any of the newer pipes from them as they just don't
look to have the same quality as the older ones. I only buy older Mastro De Paja's/Estates.

 

[SpeedyPete]

Our dear brother Cart has convinced me to buy one of these pipes   :twisted:

But I don't know anything about them.  I've read about their past on PIPEDIA and it seems as if they've gone through quite a bit of stormy weather in the past.

I will appreciate any feedback from the brothers.

eBay seller  "renee_lle"  is selling a lot of these pipes at a fair price.  I'm wondering how he got hold of them as most of them are new, unsmoked pipes

Pete, I would NOT buy any of those pipes, they are low end Mastro's .
In fact, I would NOT purchase any of the newer pipes from them as they just don't
look to have the same quality as the older ones. I only buy older Mastro De Paja's/Estates.

I thank you for your reply.

I love Savinelli's and I have some very low end pipes from them. All my Sav's are great smokers, down to the very cheapest.

So my thoughts were that, seeing that Mastro De Paja are Italian made and they are supposed to be master craftsmen, the same will be true about their products?

It seems as if I'm wrong? I did not really buy a Mastro yet because I had some doubts about the product after I've read about their turmoils. Maybe I should steer clear and buy another Sav?

 

[RDPipes]

Our dear brother Cart has convinced me to buy one of these pipes   :twisted:

But I don't know anything about them.  I've read about their past on PIPEDIA and it seems as if they've gone through quite a bit of stormy weather in the past.

I will appreciate any feedback from the brothers.

eBay seller  "renee_lle"  is selling a lot of these pipes at a fair price.  I'm wondering how he got hold of them as most of them are new, unsmoked pipes

Pete, I would NOT buy any of those pipes, they are low end Mastro's .
In fact, I would NOT purchase any of the newer pipes from them as they just don't
look to have the same quality as the older ones. I only buy older Mastro De Paja's/Estates.

I thank you for your reply.

I love Savinelli's and I have some very low end pipes from them. All my Sav's are great smokers, down to the very cheapest.

So my thoughts were that, seeing that Mastro De Paja are Italian made and they are supposed to be master craftsmen, the same will be true about their products?

It seems as if I'm wrong?  I did not really buy a Mastro yet because I had some doubts about the product after I've read about their turmoils.  Maybe I should steer clear and buy another Sav?

I personally won't buy a lower grade pipe, from my experiences I wasn't happy with the way they smoke and that goes for many manufacturers. Maybe I'm wrong, that's just my opinion. Sadly I haven't seen the craftsmanship in the newer Mastro's that I see in the older ones. I purchase Estates and the few NEW pipes I've purchased in the past were just disappointments, excluding a few artisans. If your happy with one brand of pipe I suggest you stick with it. Mastro De Paja is not my only favorite but, everyone I've smoked, smoked great with the exception of two 3/4 bent ones which is a better percentage then other brands I have. Of course I don't own any Castello's, Eltang's or other high end pipes to compare and as everyone knows my tastes and views are much different from most.
My only concern is that you purchase a pipe that your happy with and not purchase one
because of my opinion of one that smokes good for me. Case in point, many say that Savinelli's are great smokers. I've had 4 or 5 now and only one smokes half way decent, again my opinion.

 

[fsu92john]

I own five Mastros and would happily buy many more. They are among the most consistent smokers in my rotation, and their aesthetic is particularly appealing to me. Having said that, I will note that one of mine, a Brugo (which is a lower-end series), required some minor surgery to get it smoking right; the airway was very constricted when I first got it. Gently opening it up by hand with a drill bit did wonders, and it's now one of my favorite pipes, but I don't know that I'd buy another Brugo for that reason. I've had no problems at all with any of the others that I own.

 

[monbla256]

I can't really add anything about Mastro de Paja pipes as I don't own any, with Savinelli being the only Italian made pipe brand I own. But I find it interesting how so many pipe makers are making "bad" pipes and are still in business from all the verbage one reads these days. Back when I started smoking pipes, we had all the "classic" makers products available at B&Ms which was where we bought most of our pipes, (no inter-web or e-prey then :twisted: ) or by snail mail order  and most of us were happy as a dog with what we could purchase and went blythly  on our way figuring out WHAT we wanted to smoke! ( again, what was available at our local B&M or mail-order! :twisted: ) Based on the price point these pipes were sold at, we got basically what we paid for !! We knew that blasted pipes were usually pipes which probably had to many surface flaws too be smooth finished but that was OK as they were made from the SAME wood , usually, as their smooth brothers made by these firms. Much of all this "ignorance" we had about what a pipe "should" be began to change with the introduction of the Danish Freehands in the late '70s and then in the '90s the world of ARTISON pipes again changed everything!! In some ways, I'm glad I'm NOT a new smoker in todays pipe world as my ignorance was bliss and I did not have to "worry" that I was not getting the BEST pipe to smoke!! Kinda like the folks who have happily smoked their $4.95 Kaywoodies and Dr, Grabows that they got at the drugstore for decades !! Just some observations  :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[user 2031]

I can't really add anything about Mastro de Paja pipes as I don't own any, with Savinelli being the only Italian made pipe brand I own. But I find it interesting how so many pipe makers are making "bad" pipes and are still in business from all the verbage one reads these days. Back when I started smoking pipes, we had all the "classic" makers products available at B&Ms which was where we bought most of our pipes, (no inter-web or e-prey then :twisted: ) or by snail mail order  and most of us were happy as a dog with what we could purchase and went blythly  on our way figuring out WHAT we wanted to smoke! ( again, what was available at our local B&M or mail-order! :twisted: ) Based on the price point these pipes were sold at, we got basically what we paid for !! We knew that blasted pipes were usually pipes which probably had to many surface flaws too be smooth finished but that was OK as they were made from the SAME wood , usually, as their smooth brothers made by these firms. Much of all this "ignorance" we had about what a pipe "should" be began to change with the introduction of the Danish Freehands in the late '70s and then in the '90s the world of ARTISON pipes again changed everything!! In some ways, I'm glad I'm NOT a new smoker in todays pipe world as my ignorance was bliss and I did not have to "worry" that I was not getting the BEST pipe to smoke!! Kinda like the folks who have happily smoked their $4.95 Kaywoodies and Dr, Grabows that they got at the drugstore for decades !! Just some observations  :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Good observations, too. I think we have complicated too much in life to the point that we're seldom satisfied with anything anymore. I sure do wish for a return of simpler times, but I'm afraid nothing short of an emp will ever bring those times back... and I'm definitely not yearning for an emp! :lol:

 

[SpeedyPete]

What prompted my interest in Mastro De Paja is the beautiful pipes Cart dispalyed.

I really, honestly do not need any more pipes. I have 50+ in regular rotation and that is enough for me. And then I also have, like anyone else, pipes which I do not smoke on a regular base. That must be close to 30 now.

So the reason I want to buy a Mastro is to have at least one of them in my collection. And I will buy one soon because I have this itch which needs to be scratched. Maybe some of the brothers will know what I'm talking about!

 

[TMacphersonNH]

Some of the best advice about buying a pipe I ever got was from my uncle in Stirling. He said there were two things to think about - one was buy a pipe that you want to hold in your hand everyday. Something that really speaks to you and becomes an old friend over time. The second was spend the money on a good pipe. Rather than buying 5 cheap ones save your money and a buy a well built pipe. I've found if I follow those rules I don't own 150 pipes (nothing wrong with that though!) but a set of pipes I really, really admire and love to smoke regardless of brand or style. Just my $.02 worth......

 

[femur]

I've got two Mastro estates and both are wonderful pipes.

 

[monbla256]

Some of the best advice about buying a pipe I ever got was from my uncle in Stirling. He said there were two things to think about - one was buy a pipe that you want to hold in your hand everyday. Something that really speaks to you and becomes an old friend over time. The second was spend the money on a good pipe. Rather than buying 5 cheap ones save your money and a buy a well built pipe. I've found if I follow those rules I don't own 150 pipes (nothing wrong with that though!) but a set of pipes I really, really admire and love to smoke regardless of brand or style. Just my $.02 worth......

I was given similar advice when I started and have followed it for what is now over 40 years of enjoyable smoking! :twisted: :twisted: BTW, it's taken OVER 40 years to get to 100 pipes !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I believe in these modern times MDP pipes are a smattering of almost random makers, of all skill-levels and abilities. I have only one, a trade, a modern one (made in the last 10 years, at least) not being a huge fan of Italian-style pipes, that is funky, yet beautiful. It smokes wonderfully, is made well, very comfortable, and has that "thing" that makes me want to hold onto it and keep it forever. Another, in a collection I plan to sell for a guy, is a near-perfect straight grain fan shape. They seem to be, from the ones sold around here at the local Tinder Box, to be a grab-bag.

If I lucked out and got a rare performer, I'll take the money and run. Seems to be the thing with pipe brand-names these days. Caveat emptor.

8)

 

[Brewdude]

I've but one Mastro, a Poker/Cherrywood that I got from a JR sale back around '10.

It's proved to be a solid pipe, a good performer, and a go-to for me. I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on another one whenever it ticks all the boxes.

Mine looks summat like this-

Cheers,

RR