"new" pipe choices

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

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

NAJ_ile

Active member
Joined
Apr 4, 2015
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Hola Comrades

I have as of late been considering a brand new pipe acquisition, but I don't really know where to go for a purchase. I have been eyeballing some of the churchwardens from savinelli, or possibly a Nording Freehand or something similar. Any brands that you guys would make an effort to steer clear of? Any that you would look especially hard at? I have heard things to both extremes about Petersen and some others,

please help!
Nick
 
Savinelli would probably have the widest variety both price wise and shape as well as quality level available in the production pipe market today. I have smoked and still own almost 30 of them over the past 40+ years both from their lower price ranges up to their High Grades and have NOT found any that were not good smoking pipes ! You really can't go wrong with any of their pipes IMHO :twisted: :twisted:
 
monbla256":7s702y41 said:
Savinelli would probably have the widest variety both price wise and shape as well as quality level available in the production pipe market today. I have smoked and still own almost 30 of them over the past 40+ years both from their lower price ranges up to their High Grades and have NOT found any that were not good smoking pipes ! You really can't go wrong with any of their pipes IMHO :twisted: :twisted:
Click to expand...
What about Comoy pipes these days?
 
Brother Nick...Since you asked, I would recommend the Savinelli "Bing" over the CW. Versatile pipe, can still be "clinched" in your mouth, Handle's Flakes very well. Don't know about aro's, I don't smoke'em. Pete's are mostly fine smokers. I love their shapes; hate their QC. Far too many fills in their "higher quality" pipes. Closer to home, you might consider a Mark Tinsky. Lot of pipe for the $$$!! Just my $.02 worth :cheers: FTRPLT
 
Depends on what you want to spend. Certainly there are good smoking pipes in every price range, but you need to have at least some idea of what you're looking for as far as shape, finish, etc. A good entry level pipe these days is getting harder and harder to find. Since Stanwell moved out of Denmark their quality has gotten really bad. Still, older Stanwell estates can be a good economical purchase. Savinelli is another pretty good choice, but steer clear from their high grades. Too expensive for the quality. If you have more than $200 I would recommend artisan or estate artisan pipes.
 
In the $100 range Peterson & Savinelli are hard to beat IMO. If you want to spend more and go the artisan route, there are many good members of this forum I would suggest. I own Jones, Piersel, and Growley pipes and they are all wonderful. Although I don't have one, Tinsky pipes are great looking for the money and from what I hear are great smokers. Almost forgot Kirk from briar spirits makes a great pipe too :).
 
Yes, I would also suggest looking a some of the forum members in the Towne Crier section.    There are some fine pipe makers hereabouts.    

In the larger realm, you should check out tobaccopipes.com.    They have a huge selection and good prices.
 
Great responses above.

If your heart is set on a brand new, never before smoked factory production pipe then Savinelli is hard to beat. Plenty of styles/attractive price points and their reliability is unsurpassed in the QC dept. I have several and they're all great smokers and not expensive.

I hear lots of conflicting things about Peterson these days, and frankly haven't acquired one of their standard shapes in something going on 14 yrs...........Wait that's not entirely true......

I did get in a Kapp Royal 80S about 4 yrs ago but somehow have yet to break it in. Hmmmm.....

Still, my experience with new Pete's is pretty positive but take that with a grain of salt since most of mine were acquired around '00/'01.

Frankly if I was to consider splashing out on a well engineered and reliable smoker I'd first peruse the gifted craftsmen/women here on BoB. I have great pipes from (in no particular order) Jesse Jones, Brian G Rowley (Growley), Scottie Piersel, Rad Davis, Mark Tinsky and a few others I can't remember just now. I hasten to add I am not boasting, just my experience. One gets what they pay for.

Apart from that, a reliable estate re-furbisher like our brother in good standing Mattia at Viking Pipes is always a good choice. I have several  estates which came through his capable hands and they are all terrific values.

Best wishes on your quest. You're spoiled for choices these days I reckon!

:sunny:



Cheers,

RR
 
Thanks Gents,

I think I am gonna lean toward a straight or slightly bent Savinelli on this one. I did check out the Towne Crier, and there are some wonderful pieces in there, and I can appreciate them for what they are, and that is art. Ideally I would be buying a Nording Woodcock, but I think that is going to have to wait, as I cannot seem to locate one for sale at any price (which tells me something about that particular pipes quality). I am in no hurry, and will take all advice given into account.

Much appreciated gentlemen.

Nick
 
If you don't want to spend a fortune AND make sure you buy an excellent smoker, you can't go wrong with a Savinelli.
 
I would personally steer clear of Nording's unless you can inspect it or are capable of/ willing to send it back should it not meet your approval. I have several Nording's that I quite like but I've also seen some thin walls in their freehands and really imprecise drillings. They're cranking out pipes and most are just fine but I've seen some make the market that should have been pulled.
 
If I had it to do over again, I believe I would smoke only Missouri Meerschaums for a while. Then, when I knew what the hell I wanted and had the money available, I'd have an artisan make me a pipe to my specs. Repeat whenever the urge and money coincide. That way, I'd have fewer but higher quality pipes sitting around doing nothing.
 
Richard Burley":437j6n44 said:
If I had it to do over again, I believe I would smoke only Missouri Meerschaums for a while. Then, when I knew what the hell I wanted and had the money available, I'd have an artisan make me a pipe to my specs. Repeat whenever the urge and money coincide. That way, I'd have fewer but higher quality pipes sitting around doing nothing.
Click to expand...
There's a lot of wisdom in that!

;)



Cheers,.

RR
 
Richard Burley":v9pkb483 said:
If I had it to do over again, I believe I would smoke only Missouri Meerschaums for a while. Then, when I knew what the hell I wanted and had the money available, I'd have an artisan make me a pipe to my specs. Repeat whenever the urge and money coincide. That way, I'd have fewer but higher quality pipes sitting around doing nothing.
Click to expand...
Yes!!!!! :cheers: :bounce: :cheers:

I agree 1000%

The only pipe which can beat an MM cob (maybe) is a pipe carved by a real artisan like Charl Goussard, for instance

But, as I can't turn back the pages of Time, I will have to stick with Savinelli
 
Just getting started out, Missouri meerschaums are the best pipe dollar wise on the planet. Great smoking pipes for less than 50$. And that's the top of the line for them. As for briars, I like peterson better than others. Savinelli does make some great ones though. For artisans, check out Kurt Huhn, he has great smoking pipes for 200$ or less
 
For briar, I'd go estate. I have purchased some excellent affordable quality briars from Viking Club Pipes, Pulver Briars, Briar Blues and Smoking Pipes with out any regrets. Also Shiny Pipes on eBay is a very good seller.

I agree, for the price it's tough to beat the smoking quality of a Missouri Meerschaum cob. I smoke cobs probably 60% of the time.
 
In light of all the wonderfully thoughtful posts on here. I am going to do just what has been suggested. smoke some MM cobs for a while, get a good idea of what I like in a size/shape/stem etc toy around, and save a little dough on the side, and probably have one built. I might buy the a savinelli in the meantime, since I have been looking there is one that has drawn my eye, but its no rush. I can also take some a cob fishing as well (which is where I do most of my pipe smoking) and not be a neurotic mess hanging out over the water with it in my mouth. I ordered a grab bag, and a couple others, should be here soon.

Thanks for all the insight gents
Cheers!
Nick
 
DrumsAndBeer":q11b19qh said:
For briar, I'd go estate. I have purchased some excellent affordable quality briars from Viking Club Pipes, Pulver Briars, Briar Blues and Smoking Pipes with out any regrets. Also Shiny Pipes on eBay is a very good seller.

I agree, for the price it's tough to beat the smoking quality of a Missouri Meerschaum cob. I smoke cobs probably 60% of the time.
Click to expand...
I'll second that. I've bought two pipes from shinypipes and both have been immaculate. You'll pay high end prices for high end pipes, but even so he's not as bad as most. And he has very reasonably priced pipes in the 50-90 dollar range, and they are always completely restored.
 
ftrplt":wj69i284 said:
Brother Nick...Pete's are mostly fine smokers. I love their shapes; hate their QC. Far too many fills in their "higher quality" pipes...
Click to expand...
I love me some Petes, but only their low end pipes. If you want a pipe that will look OK and smoke nicely, something to smoke while camping or just enjoy around the house, then you can't go wrong with a Pete. I've got a couple of Pete Irish Army pipes that are never gonna win any beauty prizes, but are the two best smoking pipes that I own. They're built like tanks and have a superb draw. They're meant to be smoking pipes, and they excel at their intended purpose - and they were reasonably priced to boot.However, I've examined a few Pete high-end pipes and those left me less than inspired. They looked great at a distance, but upon inspection I found way too many flaws on these pipes that were priced north of $200USD.

However, I won't single-out Pete as being the sole offender in this respect. Sav and Stan are guilty of this as well. I think that there comes a point where you return begins to diminish. Pete, Stan, and Sav all make really good pipes in the entry level ($80 - $180) price range. They may not be beauty queens, but they're all probably gonna smoke just fine. However, when I start to go north of $180 then all of these manufacturers have left me kind of cold because I haven't really found any (at least not any that I've ever handled) that were worth the asking price. Seems like all they did was put lipstick on their entry level pipes, but none of them appeared to be made of a better quality briar (at least nothing that appeared too be worth the extra coin) or were any better engineered - just some pretty bright work, a cooler stem, and a nicer finish. Cosmetic refinements that were nice, but not nice enough to justified the price increase that the manufacturers wanted. At least not for me, anyway.

When it comes to pipes priced north of $200 I won't buy a pipe from any of the major pipe manufacturers because I've never found any that I thought were really worth the asking price. My Dunhill estate would be the only exception, but brand new that pipe would be something that I couldn't have afforded anyway. If I'm gonna pay more than $200 for a pipe, then I'm gonna go with an artisan-made pipe. I have two high-end pipes made by Sasquatch over at BST, both were priced north of $200. I chatted with Sas about the general idea that I had for them, and he created works of art that exceeded anything I could think of. On both pipes, the briar is flawless, the finish is stunning, the balance is superb, the draw is awesome (but not awesomer than those two Pete Irish Army pipes), and the bit has been hand cut and fitted. Both are big enough to give me a good hour's worth of smoking joy.

YMMV, but I think that if you're gonna collect pipes than you should concentrate on artisan-made pipes. You'll get a lot more pipe for your money.
 
Top