Ser Jacopo or Ardor?

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Harlock999":fofw1m5m said:
My favorite Ardor pipes are the ones that look the least like Ardor pipes. Same with the Pesaro stuff.
There is also a good pipe brand that has a name that rhymes with "Ill Zeppo" that I would recommend...
Unless you want the best, then just get a Castello 8)
I've also been drinking Scotch tonight...
Click to expand...
I had a brand that rhymed with Il Zeppo...I'm sure a great majority of their pipes are not what I experienced, but it was absolutely the worst pipe I ever smoked. It added a harsh, acrid taste to everything I smoked in it. Englishs, virginias, vapers, burley, didn't matter, it all smoked bad out of this thing. I'm sure it wasn't the makers fault, the pipe had great fit and finish and was a real looker, I just have to assume it was that particular piece of briar, and I guess the maker wouldn't know that since no one test smokes their pipes.

 
SOME Italian briar is just like that [important qualifier] with straight Virginias. There's a thread here from a while back entitled "Pipes from Hell" that covers it at length & in detail. (Type Hell into the search feature. Takes you right to it).

I suppose there just is foul (mishandled) briar that nothing will help though.

:face:
 
Two of my top five pipes are SJ's, including the best and third best. But I got them both off eBay for a good price, and I've owned a few other SJ's that were OK to poor.

Guess like life, it's a crap shoot?

Natch
 
Well after looking both brands up some more i like the looks of SJs better for the most part, as some of the Ardors are downright ugly. But what i noticed was a lot of people saying that the price of Ardors has gone too high, making them a high quality, but bad value pipe. Any idea what a reasonable price is for an Ardor these days??
 
If you're not opposed to buying estate pipes and you're dying to get your first Ardor---regardless of size--- I recently got one in excellent condition for as little as $125 from briarblues.com. I'd also keep a close eye on the Italian section of pulversbriar.com. That guy has had somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-12 used Ardors---primarily giants--- for 1/2-1/3 of the retail price. Ardors resell like

If $150-$225 for an estate pipe is still a little too rich for your blood, you might also want to have a look at the Brebbia brand. Sure, they're machine made but they're also incredibly affordable. I got my first one last month for a steal.

Now, I'm sure I'll get a few "boo's" for this one but there's always the last resort... "The poor man's version of an Ardor giant." The all too familiar Mario Grandi brand. They're big, inexpensive, functional, experimental in design almost to a fault... BUT always available.

Me, I'm dying to add at least one Caminetto, one Radice Rind, and a Rinaldo Lithos YYY stout tomato. Oh, and a Moretti as well.

Ser Jacopo? I've got two (bulldogs). Estate pieces. Love 'em both..... especially the Maxima R1.

It's funny, I own several Ardors but for whatever reason I still can't afford a Dunhill :D
 
Here's a couple Ardors I posted pics of a while back:
https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t12189-ardor-mercurio?highlight=ardor
 
PipeCulture":42z8jr8c said:
I recently got one in excellent condition for as little as $125 from briarblues.com.
Click to expand...
Ah, you're the lucky fella who got that??? (full-bent ball, dark, carved with silver ring) I was in no position to buy it, but it was nice enough to have me strongly considering it anyway. I've been waiting for just that Ardor to show up somewhere. A friend of mine had a huge Ardor collection, and he had one very similar to it that was my favorite of his and of all other Ardors since.
 
Zeno Marx":ysxyymql said:
PipeCulture":ysxyymql said:
I recently got one in excellent condition for as little as $125 from briarblues.com.
Click to expand...
Ah, you're the lucky fella who got that??? (full-bent ball, dark, carved with silver ring) I was in no position to buy it, but it was nice enough to have me strongly considering it anyway. I've been waiting for just that Ardor to show up somewhere. A friend of mine had a huge Ardor collection, and he had one very similar to it that was my favorite of his and of all other Ardors since.
Click to expand...
Yep, that's the one. I gave in and got the Brebbia from him---Mike G.--- as well that weekend. I have a giant version of that pipe minus the silver band and the finished chamber. I bought an estate oom paul from a guy on Ebay who alleged to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 Ardors (twenty-five of which were giants). I'd love to hear more from the guy featured on the Monjure International page who's said to have the largest collection of Ardor giants in the world.

If any actually exist, I bet a supergiant poker would be a gas.
 
I actually did contact Marty Pulvers once about an Ardor giant but it had just sold. I own two Brebbias, one is a first plum calabash that smokes great the other is an unsmoked collection freehand from the 70's i think which prob has the best grain of any of my pipes. Also if you're looking at Rinaldos id say jump on it, theyre great smokers
 
Boxerbuddy":aut2dt1n said:
Harlock999":aut2dt1n said:
My favorite Ardor pipes are the ones that look the least like Ardor pipes. Same with the Pesaro stuff.
There is also a good pipe brand that has a name that rhymes with "Ill Zeppo" that I would recommend...
Unless you want the best, then just get a Castello 8)
I've also been drinking Scotch tonight...
Click to expand...
I had a brand that rhymed with Il Zeppo...I'm sure a great majority of their pipes are not what I experienced, but it was absolutely the worst pipe I ever smoked. It added a harsh, acrid taste to everything I smoked in it. Englishs, virginias, vapers, burley, didn't matter, it all smoked bad out of this thing. I'm sure it wasn't the makers fault, the pipe had great fit and finish and was a real looker, I just have to assume it was that particular piece of briar, and I guess the maker wouldn't know that since no one test smokes their pipes.
Click to expand...
What's puzzling is that, if I remember correctly, the first time you smoked it, it was fine.
Then it went sour.
Strange.
The two that I smoke routinely are both solid performers. In fact, I just ordered another.
 
I have 1 Ser Jacopo and 2 Ardors and just LOVE my Ardors, they look and smoke like a dream. I cant say anything about the Ser Jacopo yet because she is still unsmoked....YA YA I KNOW....LEAVE ME ALONE :lol!:
 
Bout to pull the trigger on an Ardor, but before i do, does anyone own a Don Carlos pipe? I was looking at some of them online and they look very nice, but i dont own one and dont know how they compare to Ardors. Any advice?
 
I don't have an Ardor, but I do have an estate Don Carlos two note that smokes quite well. His rusticated pipes are very reasonably priced.
 
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