Pipes Around The World?

[Humblepipe]

Friends,

The wife and I (both Americans) lived abroad for a good stretch. Very found of world travel, etc. Now that I am into pipes in a big way, I am taking a shine to the idea of finding estate pipes from as many different countries of origin as possible and restoring them. Decent pipes from far flung places is the big goal here. I already have some of the usual suspects represented (Italy, England, Denmark, France, USA, etc.). Can anyone offer some suggestions for decent pipes made in countries that may surprise us? Maybe make this the comprehensive list of decent pipes from surprising places? These would be pipes you have tried and were pleased with.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[mso489]

Kemberling from Austria and Hilson from Holland come to mind. sable', our member, has admonished us not to be particularly gullible on nation of origin stamps since so much of the work on pipes is farmed out around different countries, the way Buick automobiles are now more like Opels and Daewoos. I started out charmed by collecting pipes by nation of origin. I put less store by that now.

 

[scloyd]

Brigham (Canada)

 

[mso489]

I'm afraid Brigham is now mostly manufactured in Italy, but that's just how the manufacturing is done. Stanwell, a classic Danish pipe, is now manufactured almost entirely in Italy. And so on. French does other contract work, as does Spain, though I can't name a single Spanish brand pipe.

 

[cortezattic]

Last year, a member named Wulfheard wrote:

Alpha pipes were originally made by the Shalom Pipe Factory in Isreal during the 1970s and 80s. The name was later sold to Mastercraft and Lane Ltd.

You might try browsing Pipedia.org and pipephil.eu for tips and clues regarding country of origin information.

btw, don't overlook South Africa.

 

[scloyd]

I'm afraid Brigham is now mostly manufactured in Italy,

My bad. You are correct. Looks like they moved production to Italy in the late 1990's.

 

[Humblepipe]

Last year, a member named Wulfheard wrote: You might try browsing Pipedia.org and pipephil.eu for tips and clues regarding country of origin information.

btw, don't overlook South Africa.

cortezattic... good point. Pipedia.org and pipephil.eu are good resources. However, I was hoping to get some intel on which pipes from far flung places were also decent.

 

[Humblepipe]

Kemberling from Austria and Hilson from Holland come to mind. sable', our member, has admonished us not to be particularly gullible on nation of origin stamps since so much of the work on pipes is farmed out around different countries, the way Buick automobiles are now more like Opels and Daewoos. I started out charmed by collecting pipes by nation of origin. I put less store by that now.

That makes sense MSO and is very good info... perhaps I am being too 'romantic' about the idea of collecting pipes from far flung places and within my budget, which is a detail I left out in my original post. The way goods have been manufactured for some time is as 'sable' correctly describes. Perhaps the cleanest way to collect pipes in this way is to purchase directly from artisans (one-person hand-crafters). That could get expensive though and not realistic for me personally.

 

[stogie37]

+1 regarding Alpha from the Shalom factory in Israel. Later Alphas we’re produced in the US and took a step down in quality (IMO) and no longer were made from the same briar stock. Stick with 70’ & early 80’s production which are mostly stamped Israel. Shameless plug: I purchased a dealers briefcase holding 36 unsmoked Israeli Alphas back in the early 90’s. While about half of them have become part of my current/future rotation, I’ve sold off a few of the remaining. I intend to list the last 4-6 unsmoked ones here in the next week or so. Likely in the $50 range... pre-smoked estate pieces sell on eBay frequently for $20-$40. Definitely recommended if you don’t mind a slightly chunky bit, which is often the case with Alpha.

 

[mso489]

sable' revised my thinking on this. For five or six years, I was after specific new nations to add to my pipe rack. sable' pointed out that even a nation stamp isn't certain. I'm not disillusioned, just better informed, and I enjoy trying to figure out where some of these pipes were actually made. I like my Italian-made Stanwells, which are the only kind I own, good work horse pipes.

 

[scloyd]

Mr. Brog (Poland). I was gifted a Mr. Brog and it's a decent smoker. They're reasonable in price too.

 

[Humblepipe]

sable' revised my thinking on this. For five or six years, I was after specific new nations to add to my pipe rack. sable' pointed out that even a nation stamp isn't certain. I'm not disillusioned, just better informed, and I enjoy trying to figure out where some of these pipes were actually made. I like my Italian-made Stanwells, which are the only kind I own, good work horse pipes.

My thinking has been stretched just since starting this thread. Funny how the unintended consequence was increasing my understanding regarding where pipes are made. I will still be on the hunt for pipes around the world, but with the understanding the stamping on the pipe does not provide all the facts.


BTW, I have a Stanwell which purportedly was made in Denmark. I bought it from someone in Ireland. Ha! I think I'm starting to connect the dots.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Canada: Blatter and Blatter
How about a Hungarian shape made in Hungary?
Ireland: Peterson

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

these may be old but not obsolete, Lillehammer from Norway and Ratos from Sweden, both were pretty well-made pipes back in the days, then we have a wide range of pipes made by now-defunct independent factories such as Jeanet France

 

[Humblepipe]

these may be old but not obsolete, Lillehammer from Norway and Ratos from Sweden, both were pretty well-made pipes back in the days, then we have a wide range of pipes made by now-defunct independent factories such as Jeanet France

Paul, Jeanet made a decent pipe?

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Paul, Jeanet made a decent pipe?

Yes they are, nothing phenomenal, though, but the quality of the briar and drilling were /are satisfactory if no good, moreover, as far as I'm informed Chacom may still be producing Jeanet pipes as their subbrand today, I have bought few from online seller: Pipe.fr

 

[seanv]

I have a few old Jeantet pipes and they are great.
Try to find a few old Brigham pipes from their canadian days

 

[Humblepipe]

Compiling a list of pipes put forth in this thread so far:

Austria: Kemperling
Canada: Blatter and Blatter
France: Jeantet
Holland: Hilson
Ireland: Peterson
Israel: Alpha (70s and 80s)
Norway: Lillehammer
Poland: Mr. Brog
Sweden: Ratos

Anyone have experience with Pipex (Greece), Olde London (England), Rocky (West Germany)? If so, what did you think?

 

[scloyd]

Austria: Kemberling

It's actually Kemperling.

Make sure you post photos as you start collecting your pipes. We always like photos here.

 

[Humblepipe]

It's actually Kemperling.

Make sure you post photos as you start collecting your pipes. We always like photos here.

Ha! Thanks for catching the spelling error. I'll post some photos of my small collection of pipes around the world in the next week.