What are/will be the "classics" of the future?

[geordiebooker]

I have only recently become a pipe smoker, but man there is a steep learning curve here.....there seem to be hundreds of brands around, different makers...some long gone and some revived.

I will buy whatever shapes or brands catch my eye and I enjoy searching the net, fleamarkets and sales for the next "great smoker".

It seems that that a few estate pipes are considered to be well made and highly collectable....such as bewlay, parker, peterson etc.

It also seems that a few of you guys hold the opinion that some of these older brands that still produce or have started to produce pipes again, maybe under a different ownership are not what they used to be and will opt for an estate pipe over a new pipe.


My question is this:

What newly introduced brands do you think will become the classics of the future....I'm not talking arstisan made pipes here, I mean full on mass produced pipes that are value for money, are well made and above all smoke well.

I would be interested to hear your comments on this.

 

[ED_X]

One that came to mind quickly is Northern Briar although they have been around since the 1940's I think. Still a fairly young company; Ashton is another. But really I think the future classics aren't going to come from large companies but rather from smaller companies and/or individuals, with production under 500 pipes per year.

Ed

 

[lifeon2]

Kaywoodie

 

[Anonymous]

Given decent briar and decent execution (plus a healthy dose of nosthalgia), in the end, what distinguishes the Classics from the others is design.

Fact.

The Ben Wades, Dunhills and others of days gone by were excellence in design and excellence in translating those designs into briar and vulcanite reality.

Starting in the 1960s, your strongest contenders in the (semi-)mass-production area are probably (selected) Stanwells and Castellos, with others coming and going. Providing I could replace the cheapass cast stems they used, my nomination for "Best of the Era" would be Armellini's first venture into the US market.

In the Artisan pipes area, a lot of people would wave the Danish flag high and energetically. But IMO, a lot of expensive pipes came/come out of Denmark that, as the passage of time alters aesthetic notions, will be footnotes rather than headliners when the history's finally written.

If I had $500 to blow on a new pipe, it would be a Rad Davis billiard.

:face:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I like Yak's mention of the "Artisan Pipe Era." Pipes do have eras...they may never die, but they are dynamic in existence. 40 - 50 years ago, there were dozens of companies churning out pipes, some good, some mediocre, some crappy. Less than half (an assumption on my part) exist today, and those that do have product output that is far shy of what they made and sold decades ago.

That said, the "new classics" can be anything. Peterson pipes are still well-made, and largely the same way with the same tools they always have. Everyone else has outsourced their cheaper lines, are using more automated machinery or simply isn't focusing on that attention to detail--so, enter the "Artisan Pipe Era." The urge for a quality, pretty or even a name-brand pipe hasn't really diminished, per capita, but pipe collecting of the old ones has made many of them scarce, unless you know what you're looking for. Fortunately for us, there's plenty of motivated guys (and gals) who aren't afraid to turn a few pieces of briar, and we have more choices of stunning classics and wild artist-concept pipes than ever before seen.

So, while the "Golden Age" of pipes is long gone, and as we consume, use up, trade and sell the good pipes of yesteryear, we have literally made quite a few sources of our own. Which ones will be sought after? Probably the same ones that are sought after today, those with a name behind them and craftsmanship to boot. Word spreads quickly, and even more in the Internet age, and weary should be the maker who tries to churn out cheap pipes for a quick buck--unless they're Missouri Meerschaum, but they earned their spot in history and with the pipe world with a great, cheap product unique to them. Our version of these quick-buck pipemakers are usually in Eastern Europe or China, selling non-briar pipes with a pretty finish. Cheap pipes are a racket all their own--they've always been there, always will be. They don't plan on being around forever, but capitalizing on fads--there's a sucker born, as they say.

We live in a good time for pipes, it's (for now) still pretty cheap to get very good tobacco, decent pipes are abundant for those who want them at any spending level, and there's been a great resurgence of interest in the hobby by the younger generations. Appreciate it while it lasts.

8)

 

[Kashmir]

Indeed appreciate it while it lasts. I hear the taxman cometh ...

 

[Rad Davis]

If I had $500 to blow on a new pipe, it would be a Rad Davis billiard.

:face:

Thanks, Yak! You can get a blast for much less than that. :lol:

Rad

 

[HCraven]

My question is this:

What newly introduced brands do you think will become the classics of the future....I'm not talking arstisan made pipes here, I mean full on mass produced pipes that are value for money, are well made and above all smoke well.

I would be interested to hear your comments on this.

Some very thoughtful and informative answers have been given here. I'm not sure which makes will become future classics on the order of older GBD's, Charatans, Comoys, etc., but in terms of younger brands that offer a lot of value for the dollar in a mass produced pipe, I can think of three Danish makers that fit that description: Nording, Neerup, and Johs. You can get a new pipe from any of the three of them for between $65-$120, and in both my experience and that of others I've spoken to, they are great smoking pipes.

 

[sisyphus]

In the Artisan pipes area, a lot of people would wave the Danish flag high and energetically. But IMO, a lot of expensive pipes came/come out of Denmark that, as the passage of time alters aesthetic notions, will be footnotes rather than headliners when the history's finally written.

holy cow I agree with you on something. I think after Sixten the only Danes that have made enduring, unique and beautiful shapes have been Bang and sometimes Eltang. The rest of the Danes kind of fuse together in a nondescript blur of generic scoops, figs and other dull contemporary Danish shapes.

 

[sisyphus]

My question is this:

What newly introduced brands do you think will become the classics of the future....I'm not talking arstisan made pipes here, I mean full on mass produced pipes that are value for money, are well made and above all smoke well.

None. The reason being, for this to happen, someone would have to be making high quality pipes with excellent briar, elegant shaping, nice hand cut stem work, at a price that would allow Joey Bagodonuts to buy them. Dunhill, Loewe, Sasieni, Comoy's, etc all sold pipes at a price that people could afford, and if they had to stretch to buy one, they didn't have to stretch too far.

Look at today's $100 and under pipe. There is not one maker making pipes at this level that are going to be treasured heirlooms. As far as I'm concerned the best you can do at this level is find a pipe that is an excellent introduction to pipe smoking and your gateway to better briars. The day of excellent, inexpensive factory pipes is gone.

 

[monbla256]

My question is this:

What newly introduced brands do you think will become the classics of the future....I'm not talking arstisan made pipes here, I mean full on mass produced pipes that are value for money, are well made and above all smoke well.

None. The reason being, for this to happen, someone would have to be making high quality pipes with excellent briar, elegant shaping, nice hand cut stem work, at a price that would allow Joey Bagodonuts to buy them. Dunhill, Loewe, Sasieni, Comoy's, etc all sold pipes at a price that people could afford, and if they had to stretch to buy one, they didn't have to stretch too far.

Look at today's $100 and under pipe. There is not one maker making pipes at this level that are going to be treasured heirlooms. As far as I'm concerned the best you can do at this level is find a pipe that is an excellent introduction to pipe smoking and your gateway to better briars. The day of excellent, inexpensive factory pipes is gone.

There ya go. THE word has come down from above :twisted: Take the pipes, put 'em in a drawer, take your 'bac, pack it away or discard, I'm sure it's NOT the SAME as the CLASSICS were anyway, and go buy a carton of unfiltered Camels :twisted: Oh well :roll:

 

[sisyphus]

Name an inexpensive modern factory pipe that belongs on the rack next to your Comoy's and Dunhills then. I didn't say there weren't any good pipes being made today, but you have to spend more than most pipe smokers ever will to get one, and none of them fit the criteria of the question that was asked. The cheapest good pipe I can think of that is being produced today are Trever Talbert's Ligne Bretagnes at approx. $150, but he doesn't make enough of them to qualify as an answer to the OP's question.

 

[monbla256]

Name an inexpensive modern factory pipe that belongs on the rack next to your Comoy's and Dunhills then. I didn't say there weren't any good pipes being made today, but you have to spend more than most pipe smokers ever will to get one, and none of them fit the criteria of the question that was asked. The cheapest good pipe I can think of that is being produced today are Trever Talbert's Ligne Bretagnes at approx. $150, but he doesn't make enough of them to qualify as an answer to the OP's question.

You have stated the way it is. No more needs be said :twisted: Over taxed and under qualitied, what's a guy to do :twisted:

 

[sisyphus]

You have stated the way it is. No more needs be said :twisted: Over taxed and under qualitied, what's a guy to do :twisted:

Buy old estates

 

[geordiebooker]

You have stated the way it is. No more needs be said :twisted: Over taxed and under qualitied, what's a guy to do :twisted:

Buy old estates

One a purely personal level this does seem to be where my money is better spent....out of interest sisyphus....with regards to your profile....why pre 1978?

 

[sisyphus]

Because most of the interesting marques became Cadogan around that year, and the pipes that followed did not have anywhere near the quality of pipes previously bearing those names. If you want to hate someone in pipe smoking, hate Cadogan. Comoy's, Loewe, Orlik, GBD, BBB, and Sasieni all went to hell under their stewardship.

 

[geordiebooker]

That makes sense now.....forgive what seemed to be a pointless question but I'm learning here....BUT Hey-Ho I was born that year.

 

[Anonymous]

Probably the final merger when Cadogan closed the individual factories and started using the names on pipes (eventually) made at Swansea (for a while), before and after that, subcontracting them out.

:face:

 

[sisyphus]

not to mention Charatan ceasing to exist as an independent concern around the same time. The end of the 70s was absolutely cataclysmic for English pipes.

 

[Harlock999]

forgive what seemed to be a pointless question

Not a pointless question at all, just somewhat problematic as posed.
The era of the great multitude of excellent factory made pipes seems to be a closed chapter, and the brands that are still standing, such as Peterson, Savinelli, Nording etc, are already considered to be classics by many smokers. The modern pipes that simply bear the stamps of legendary makers like Comoys, Charatan, Sasieni, W.O. Larsen, may still be perfectly serviceable, but that's not what we seem to be discussing here.