Oriental Pipes Compared to Western Pipes.

[MrTom]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title - Bob

Comparing Oriental budget pipes to full price Western pipes, is perhaps to diehards of Western classic Briars heresy . I perceive standard Western pipes as Gothic in design definetely masculine & handsome (not comparing to Western artisan art pipes), whereas Oriental pipes have a feminine aesthete, with pretty curves & exotic woods such as Sandalwood, Rosewood & Ebony, for example see the four Chinese pipes in the pic, all in the region of ten dollars, they are well engineered good smokers & cheaper than MM corncobs. The Stems on most of my Chinese pipes are superior in quality to a lot of standard Western Briar pipes which suffer from clench marks, the stems on most of my Oriental pipes are invulnerable to clench marks.
Just as you may favour a MM corncob in your collection, I can recommend an occasional Oriental pipe in your rotation, if you choose well you won't be disappointed.

 

[mso489]

Hmmm. The complaints I've heard about "Oriental" pipes -- and just a footnote to say some take issue with the term Oriental, but onward -- are that some are not well made, and some of the woods are not anywhere near as durable as briar. On the other hand, I've heard high praise about some artisan carvers in China, and of course some of the Japanese masters at Tsuge and others have long since established themselves. If you have a good experience with other Asian pipes at good prices, that's an important note. Especially durability and quality of craft are important, since those have sometimes not been so good with some pipes made for export, or so I've heard.

 

[blues4goose]

I don't know... personally, part of the reason I think people prefer corncobs over these is that cobs are natural, you know exactly what they're made of just by looking at them, and there's no heavy chemical finishing on them.
Im initially wary of cheap Chinese pipes because I'd worry about toxic lacquer and/or bowl coatings.
But I've smoked out of a lot of questionable things in my teenage years, and obviously you get some good use out of them, so I wouldn't be opposed to giving them a shot

 

[Casual]

if you choose well you won't be disappointed.

Could you give a guide on how to choose well? Which brands, which woods or finishes are safe? Who makes the good stems, and out of what? Where to buy them?

I get the impression it’s a minefield, and choosing well is the entire problem.

 

[warren]

Ahhh, but they are Chinese pipes. Enough said!

 

[danimalia]

Could you give a guide on how to choose well? Which brands, which woods or finishes are safe? Who makes the good stems, and out of what? Where to buy them?

I get the impression it’s a minefield, and choosing well is the entire problem.

I second this request. I am always in the mood for a budget pipe, so I'd be interested in learning where/how to look. Thanks! I know you smoke the hell out of those pipes, MrTom, so they must be doing something right!

 

[mso489]

There is a whole echelon of reasonably priced smokers from Europe and the U.S. in the forty to fifty dollar range, maybe a little more money than pipes from China, but many with a long established reputation for consumer satisfaction and long service, so I'd look at those as well. I'd tend to look there first, along with MM cobs and estates within your budget.

 

[MrTom]

@Casual & @danimalia I shop on Aliexpress (app available) from China, of all the small stuff I have ordered I have not had a problem with delivery, the shop is secure for cards & some of the sellers use PayPal. If you search for "wood smoking pipes", then you will get some of the fine Sandalwood, Rosewood & Ebony pipes, but maybe avoid the resin pipes. I have no bad reaction, from varnish etc. from the more than a dozen pipes I have ordered. They go for around ten dollars or up to 15 dollars free postage etc. & are delivered in secure packing often with extras, cloth bag, pipe stand, Czech tool, filter & cleaners. Most of the pipes have clench resistant stems, but at the price buy & experiment, like Briars & Slavic Pear wood pipes, they are pretty indestructible, they are pretty curvaceous Chinese designs, rather than merely copying western pipes exactly. Buyer beware & good luck.
PS there are discounts available at times.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

I bought a pipe from a Chinese carver named Yang Kun and I am thoroughly impressed.

In some way (once removed now, I think), he is connected to some of the Danish masters, such as Eltang, from whom some Chinese carvers learned their skills.

These guys are not chumps. Their pipes don't cost $10 either. But, for a pretty nice artisan pipe at around $350 or so, I think the quality is easily there and I do not have any question at all about materials used, toxicity, etc.

You get what you pay for though. I would say it's a budget artisan pipe. Very high quality shaping, finish, and design for a good price. Tough to beat.

I got mine from SATX pipe, which I highly recommend as a seller -he was featured on the pipes magazine radio show in an episode. Nice guy. Great service.

 

[danimalia]

I bought a pipe from a Chinese carver named Yang Kun and I am thoroughly impressed.

In some way (once removed now, I think), he is connected to some of the Danish masters, such as Eltang, from whom some Chinese carvers learned their skills.

These guys are not chumps. Their pipes don't cost $10 either. But, for a pretty nice artisan pipe at around $350 or so, I think the quality is easily there and I do not have any question at all about materials used, toxicity, etc.

You get what you pay for though. I would say it's a budget artisan pipe. Very high quality shaping, finish, and design for a good price. Tough to beat.

I got mine from SATX pipe, which I highly recommend as a seller -he was featured on the pipes magazine radio show in an episode. Nice guy. Great service.

A bit dear for me right now, but those are beautiful pipes that look like they would likely cost considerably more than they do.

 

[MrTom]

There are many piping schools of thought, I smoke for the pleasure of the finest tobacco blends, the pipe is incidental, but all my pipes, from my Dunhill, Peterson's, Rattray's, Savinelli's, Blakemar's, Charatan & Pearwood & Chinese pipes are all good smokers, otherwise I wouldn't include them in my rotation.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

It's really a nice pipe. I'd say it's about a group 3 size, which is right up my alley. It's very light weight, has a great draw, and it's not bad to look at.

From what I was told, these groups of Chinese carvers learned from the very best in the pipe making world. And I think it shows. The construction is very good. They're popular in China, but I think that because of stigma and perhaps lack of access to North American markets, you don't see that many of them.

Great value for the pipe though, which is why I list in the budget thread. If this were an Eltang, it would hover around $1k or so.

 

[mingc]

There seems to be three classes of Chinese pipes. First, the high end ones, made by known artisans, who may as well be from anywhere in the world, and work in the tradition materials, briar & ebonite, etc., and sell for hundreds of $$$. Second, no-name cheapies made of sandalwood, ebony, rosewood, etc. You have no idea who makes or sells them. They cost a couple of six-packs and you only know of one person who has one, i.e., the OP. Then, there's the fellow on eBay, benandci, who sells briar pipes, for less than $150 in buy-it-now prices, and some times a lot cheaper on the items offered for bidding. The pipes are stamped, but with a couple of exceptions, you have no idea who the carver might be. The blowfish in my avatar is one of them. It's a rather exceptional albeit quirky piece that was less then $150. I have another from him/her, a cherrywood (the shape, not the material) sitter with a horn shank that was less than $50, which smokes very well, and has the most comfortable bit in my modest collection of 50, but cosmetically imperfect. (Actually both pipes are cosmetically imperfect). IIRC, he/she was involved in a controversy a few years back and was accused of selling fake Danish masters on eBay, although I have no idea how that saga ended except that he/she is still on eBay. I can't imagine the carvers are paid very much, and if that doesn't make you queasy, I'd encourage you to try them as they don't cost much in western currency. For me, two pieces are enough.