Vuillard Pipes and B&M vs. Online?

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PipesNTweeds

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Hello:

I managed to get to my local B&M tobacconist today. It's a small (very small) shop that seems to cater primarily to cigar smokers. They have a couple smaller cases of pipes, though. There are to be found the usual suspects: Peterson, Savinelli, Dunhill, and a brand with which I am not familiar - Vuillard.

I spoke with the owner and tried to gather some information. I pointed out to him that there seemed to be quite a number more Vuillard pipes compared to the other brands and the owner started raving/gushing about the qualities of Vuillard (including that they are made in St. Claude and therefore are true heirs to the briar pipe legacy... etc., etc., etc....).

Long story short, I am not very familiar with pipes beyond the major makers and the more famous artisan pipes. Are Vuillard pipes really that praiseworthy? He claimed that the draft hole drilling is perfect on one pipe he showed me but I looked and it appeared to have blow out on the inside of the bowl and was not lined up with the bottom curve of the chamber.

Am I just being too picky and should really give Vuillard a careful look, picking one that I can feel in my hands and inspect prior to purchase? Or should I forego the B&M and hunt for that first (pretty good) briar online?

Thanks for all the time and help.

Best,

Michael
 
If I'm not mistaken Vuilliard is owned by Chacom as are some other previously independent brands like Wessex. That being said, they are all of comparable quality to a Chacom. I've found that all three aforementioned brands make very sharp looking pipes, but all of them have a tighter draw than I like. Many of the Vuilliard and Wessex pipes do have hand cut stems which is an added bonus. I personally wouldn't purchase one just solely based on the draw, but I would say that they are pretty solidly built.
 
I've got a weakness for French things, and I've got a fantastic Wessex pipe because of it, but so far no Vuillards. Vuillard has a line of very nice army mount models and I like army mounts so I've frequently thought about getting one of these Vuillards but not done so. I like a manufacturer who'll go in for a piece of esoteric pipe making like the army mount, so I'm partial to such a maker. Another thing I've liked about Vuillards I've looked at is that they're obviously cut differently from the standard English classic pipes. Same billiards and dublins, but still, some finer lines and tighter cutting, and the lines with the stems looked more delicate and reed-like than standard expectations call for. So on principle I have liked the Vuillards I've looked at for several reasons; another reason is they're certainly less expensive pipes.

I'd examine them closely for the bore hole's placement though, and I'd reject a pipe that didn't have the bore hole right at the bottom of the tobacco chamber, but I'm not very worried that the bore hole be centered side-to-side. If it's off by a slight margin I don't believe it will make a difference in the smoking, but I only mean a that slight margin to be horizontal placement--again, if it is drilled off in the vertical range I'd reject the pipe.

I wouldn't doubt there would be exterior fills on Vuillards since they're such bargain pipes. I go through phases of caring about fills and not caring about them. Every pipe purchaser needs to make his/her own allowances for them for sure.
 
"
Vuillard is a brand of E. Vuillard & Cie a company having been taken over in 1988 by the Cuty-Fort group owning also Chacom or Jean Lacroix.
From the same maker: Kola, Captain Comfy, Windsor
The Corsica brand from Henri Vuillard isn't a second of this one." (from pipephil)

More about the factory history...http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/vuillard-en.html

I do not own any Vuillard pipe and i am not very familiar with french pipes in general, but if the pipes are well built and for a reasonable price i think it would be nice to purchase one of them.


 
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