What is the general sentiment on Stanwell Pipes? B-C Pipes?

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cigarstorejay

cigarstorejay

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I was just curious what people thought of Stanwell and/or Butz-Choquin Pipes?


Quality wise. Value wise. Style Wise. That sort of thing.
 
I've only one Stanny in my collection - a Legend 19, and it's one of the finest pipes I've ever owned. Never any problems with draw, and it seems to smoke anything well. Pretty much have it dedicated to Va/Vapers and it doesn't seem to accumulate any significant residue.

Looking forward to getting in another when the time is right.


Cheers,

RR
 
I really like the look of the nana ivarsson 2 line. They look good, for a factory pipe line. They are well designed, at least they look that way. I had read mixed reviews about the Stanwells. It seemed either a hit or miss, no grey area.

 
The Stanwells made over the last several years have been really, really good, up until they closed the Stanwell factory and outsourced production. From that point on, it remains to be seen.

As a side note, it seems that, either by plan or by dumb luck, Peterson has figured out that dip staining and cheap vulcanite stems do not make for good pipes and they are now making some great smokers. A lot of pre carbed, lucite stemmed pipes showing up( and yes, I have a few). Their new stuff is pretty exciting and could easily fill the void Stanwell may leave (which, as I said, remains to be seen).
 
Stanwell makes terrific pipes from a value point of view. Decent stems, decent briar. I really do NOT like their pre-carb, I think it's bad. Sand that out, and the pipe is good to go.

BC are pretty average, in terms of quality - they make some very good pipes, and some pretty lousy ones. Stanwell is more consistent in my experience.

If I had to buy just one pipe, and had to rely on it, and it had to be from a large brand, I'd choose a Stanwell.
 
Ive owned both. One I was smoking tonight with Ol Dawg at my local watering hole, a Stanwell. I had an BC bulldog at one point and gave it to a friend who still smokes it to this day.Stanwells I can vouchsafe for, good pipes, although the only experience I have with them is the Zebrano line (great billiard for flakes).
 
I'm going to start out by saying that my experience with Stanwell is limited to one pipe. I'll also give a bit of background: I'm fairly a newbie, but I started out with estate pipes from Charatan, Ben Wade, and others. These are pipes made befor mass production techniques came into play in a large way. The only newer pipe I have is a Boswell, again, a handmade pipe.

The Stanwell I have is one I acquired from a fellow BoB. The first thing I noticed when I opened the box is that the stem was turned about .020" smaller than the pipe, leaving a ridge when the two are fitted together. This is a small thing, but I've always been a believer of the saying "God is in the details" so I wasn't too enthusiastic about lighting it up, thinking that maybe if they got this detail (one so glaringly obvious to me) that maybe it wouldn't be a good smoker.

I was wrong. It's a great smoking pipe. Still, everytime I grab it I note that detail and it does bug me.

What does all the above mean? I have no idea. I would buy another Stanwell, but I would probably want to hold it first and look for little things like this that I know bug me.
 
I have several Stanwells and all are fine pipes, using my minimalist standards, rather than those more lofty that I reserve for artistic pipes as described by grain or other just as attractive finishes, blasts, etc.

I'm quite sure that even if I continue to smoke my Stanwells until my death, they will continue humming in the hands of their new owners into the following centuries.
 
Stanwells are a great bang for the buck. I've owned several and they all served me well...and better than well. Fine pipes!
 
The shaping and overall appearance of Stanwell pipes are excellent for the money.

That being said, and I may be the odd one out here, I'm not a Stanwell fan at all in terms of smokeability. I've owned 4 Stanwells, every time thinking, "Maybe that last one I had was just a dud," but every time my experience has been a tight draw and an awful taste. The taste may be coming from the precarb that Sasquatch is referring to and if it is that's a shame. Their pipes look great but, in this pipe smokers experience, they couldn't smoke worse.
 
My experience, based on two Stanwells separated by decades: Old good, new junk. Not too exhaustive an evaluation, but I won't be buying any more. I like Savinellis for a value brand, except for their sticking a silly filter gizmo in everything. Oh--and the way they whore up many of their pipes with garish bands and stuff.
 
That is a beutifull collection of Stannies right there Puff.

I too have the 3 shapes on the right in the last pic (Nannas & 191). They are 3 of my favorites.

Edit:

Also have a 63, 30, 113, 179 and umm...some straight billiard who's shape I can't recall at the moment.

Not a bad smoker in the bunch. Some are better than others, with the aforementioned bowl coating varrying alot. Sometimes just a loose powder that almost wipes out with a papertowel. Sometimes a cement like hard coating that would need to be sanded out. Tightest draw was in the shape 30 but it wasn't all that tight really. Bits & stems are thinner, more comfortable & were all cut "better" to me than the Savs or Petes I have seen, but that may be a preference thing.

Can't really vouch for current production though as I haven't bought any recently that were that new.
 
Great lookers, Puff Daddy. When those Nanna's came out I was really temped... again! Stanwell makes a great looking pipe.
 
I've owned several Stanwells and they've all been good smokers and very good quality pipes. I haven't bought a new one in years, though, so mine are probably all from the old factory.

I'm a lot less enthusiastic about B-C pipes. I've never had one that was a good smoker.

Smokey
 
Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm really happy with them. The Nanna's are superb, as is the HCA and the little featherweight. The big rusticated one is a 2003 Christmas pipe. There's only one problem though, there's only eleven of em, an odd number, not a dozen. must do something about that :lol:
 
But then you must remember about the bakers dozen,,,,which puts you at an odd number again,,,,glad to help,, :D
 
Puff Daddy":njtf5ec0 said:
Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm really happy with them. The Nanna's are superb, as is the HCA and the little featherweight. The big rusticated one is a 2003 Christmas pipe. There's only one problem though, there's only eleven of em, an odd number, not a dozen. must do something about that :lol:
Click to expand...
I really like the "strawberry" Shape Nanas. They are just nice looking pipes.

Thank You to everyone who has responded with their honest and civil opinions. That's what I love about this board, good civil discourse on pipes.

I am glad to hear that a reasonably priced brand has such nice quality as well.

I'd be happy to take number "11" off your hands to even out the line. I'm not picky or ungrateful. I'll even pay for shipping :lol:

 
Puff Daddy":ubje4k8a said:
Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm really happy with them. The Nanna's are superb, as is the HCA and the little featherweight. The big rusticated one is a 2003 Christmas pipe. There's only one problem though, there's only eleven of em, an odd number, not a dozen. must do something about that :lol:
Click to expand...

Well there are at least two nanna design shapes that i don't see in your collection. One is #2, a variation of the first shape, seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hab7pK53H2c&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Another is #4:

http://www.tobaccopipeshop.com/stanwell-nanna-ivarsson-design-iv-sandblasted-black-9mm-p-2129.html

Either one would round out your set, but then you would have an odd number of nanna designs, which would of course necessitate that you get the missing piece to complete the set, which would then put you right back at an odd total again. Quite the dillema...lol.
 
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