Pipes that Fly Under the Radar

Brothers of Briar

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I've never had one of his pipes, although I have used his repair and cleaning services regularly for years. Paying $40.00 - $50.00 for a hand made pipe doesn't seem like a bad deal, although I prefer traditional shapes.

FLN Pipes
 
For freehands I think they are very nice and your right those prices are hard to beat. Another carver I have always felt was under the radar is our very own pipemaker (Mike Brissett). Excellent pipes and very good prices. Hopefully Mike has not taken a hiatus from carving.
 
Mikem":7bsgfgwv said:
For freehands I think they are very nice and your right those prices are hard to beat. Another carver I have always felt was under the radar is our very own pipemaker (Mike Brissett). Excellent pipes and very good prices. Hopefully Mike has not taken a hiatus from carving.

I only have one Brissett. Almost a crime, I know. It's superb. It could be called a Zulu. More like a Yachtsman. Some would say a bent bell. Rusticated, with a Cumberland stem. Well balanced and light.
 
I've got two pipes I had Mike carve for me and their just about my best two. I'll have to get the camera out and take some pix soon. Both are long, Lovat's with flat bottoms, so they sit well.

Natch
 
Mike Brissett carves some of the finest pipes available! I have several in various shapes both smooth and rusitcated. He is just too humble about is abilities!!!
 
Another good carver is Alan Stevenson. I don't think he is currently producing any pipes at this very moment, but if you can find one, they are absolutely superb smokers. I have two and enjoy them immensely, especially the apple. They typically sell for less than $100.00 and all have hand cut stems.
 
Now here's a carver who has a keen eye for detail and is very meticulous when it comes to engineering. That pipe maker is Don Fuhr, a former police major who took up pipe making as a hobby a few years back. He made the pipe I am smoking in my avatar photo. His pipes were sold exclusively at Just For Him and sold out as fast as he could carve them. However, his pipe making was put on hold last year while he took a job in Indonesia training SWAT teams in anti-terrorism. He is due back in the states in February and plans on resuming his carving of fine high grade pipes.
 
I am about to take possession of two Brissetts. I'll post what I think after breaking one in.

One of the pipes is virgin-no light natural stain-nothing. The two virgins that I own have colored to a fine chestnut brown, a color no stain could achieve. The other pipe is already dedicated to University Flake. Can't get enough of that blend lately, and I just have one dedicated pipe.
 
If anyone ever gets a chance to smoke a Tim Hynick pipe, JUMP ON IT! They're beautiful pipes, made with an uncompromising attention to detail, and smoke like a dream. He is one our own in the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston and one hell of a nice guy to boot!
 
Tim does what I call a tree bark finish which is an extremely deep carve and I consider it his trademark finish. Superb.
:D
 
For me it's Cavicchi Rustics. Not only is the rustification amazing, he uses the best of the best hand selected briar and his engineering is the best I've ever personally experienced. I'm still in awe over a full bent barrel I got last week, a pipe cleaner just glides from the button to the bottom of the bowl. For $130-140, I don't think these can be beat.

On the estate market, my vote goes to older Brighams, the ones with the aluminum tenon. These are great smokers and can be had for really cheap when available. I'm a big fan of the Brigham rock maple filters, they are the only filters that actually do what their suppose to and don't take away any flavor.
 
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