Any Pipe Brands You Avoid, and Why?

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Are there any pipe brands you steer away from? And why? Though I know they're good pipes, I've always thought Neerup look bowl-heavy, just don't want that weight all front-loaded. Though I'd like a Canadian pipe, I avoid Brigham because I just don't want to bother with maplewood inserts, or with leaving them out. (Maybe a Blatter & Blatter someday.) There are a few others I'll think of, but I bet everyone has a few. What are yours?

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
The only one that I steer away from is Dunhill. Having owned a number of them I've accepted that, with a few exceptions, they just don't measure up for me. Blends just don't really come alive in them with the exception of three that I own and still use, and those three are exceptionally good pipes. Stems loosened on almost all of them, which hasn't happened with any other marque. The price asked is unjustified in my experience. No wonder Kaywoodie kicked Dunhill's ass back in the day. All that said, I'd still like to find a birth year Dunhill, though I rather have a birth year Barling.

I also haven't smoked Grabows and I'm thinking that I should try them since so many like them.

 

cosmicbobo

Part of the Furniture Now
May 11, 2017
657
2
I'm still learning about all the brands. I guess I would be more likely to avoid a style. The pipe that bends to the left is a Rube Goldberg I would not want in my collection, unless to remind me which was is left all the time. I was absent that day in kindergarten.

Cosmo

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Dunhill and Castello. Dunhill because I suspect you're paying more for the name than the quality, and Castello because they manage to add a little somethin' somethin' to any given shape that makes them weird. Their billiards and pots, for example, have an exaggerated forward jut to the heel that makes them look like a denture wearer's chin without the dentures in.

 

ashdigger

Lifer
Jul 30, 2016
11,378
70,055
60
Vegas Baby!!!
Interesting topic. I buy estates so value is what it is, but I avoid anything Danish or Italian. Why, haven't seen one I've liked or smoked worth a damn.

 

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
Savinelli - Balsa inserts (and no, they don't smoke right without them).
Dunhill - Okay, I've only owned one, but experience was mediocre at best. There are better pipes for less money.
Peterson - Too many quality control issues. Bubbling finishes and burnouts I can do without, thank you. The pipes all look like they're on steroids to me. Too bulky. Like the carver (machine) got lazy and just called it done.

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Good pipes are where you find them. Ditto bad ones. I've seen laughably bad specimens of prestige brands, and glorious specimens made by "workingman" companies.
It's a lot like franchise restaurants, I think, where everything depends on who manages the place, and---especially---who's working in the kitchen that day.

 
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owen

Part of the Furniture Now
May 28, 2014
560
2
Sixten Ivarssen and S Bang mainly so I can keep making my mortgage payments and not end up single.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
Now that I think about it, I avoid almost all of them except Dunhill, Ashton and Peterson.
If a pipe is much over 25g (or a little more for bent pipes), I'm not really interested, because I like to be able to clinch while I write. Same if it has an acrylic stem, so that pretty much rules out Castello and a bunch of other brands that turn out otherwise decent pipes. With Ashton I'm usually only looking at X or XX sizes. And most Petersons are way over the weight limit, but occasionally I see one that I really like anyway. (MSO, I think you've just helped me discover that I'm a picky SOB.)

 

jravenwood

Can't Leave
Apr 23, 2017
430
84
Another for avoiding Dunhill. Many seem to like them but I dont think Ill ever shell out that kind of money for name. Just me :puffy:

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Yes, Dunhill's pricing is a problem. I didn't mention it in my original post because I didn't want to dis some members' favorite. Nonetheless, you can buy two Ser Jacopo, or Ferndowns, Ashtons, and other artisanal pipes for the price of one medium size Dunhill. I think the pricing is now built into the Dunhill pipe business model, so if the customer base ever decides not to ante up, Dunhill pipes are gone; I doubt they could cut their prices significantly and stay in business.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
I don't make Dunhill pipes, so dis away. :)
But I should mention that when I look at Dunhills, it's only on the Italian sites, where the prices are about half of what they are here in the U.S. I agree, paying c. $500 for a Group 2 Dunhill is insane. But $300 for the same pipe? If I really like the shape, I think that's a fair price. They're very well made, I like the neat, trim styling on most models and their stems are (in my view) the best of any production pipe.

 

woopigpiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 24, 2017
137
3
Arkansas
I'm not as cheap as some folks, but anything over $250 loses me. I can't say I've smoked long enough to genuinely have entire brands I fully avoid. Especially, since so many of these brands have changed hands so many times.

 

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
27
NY
Castello because they manage to add a little somethin' somethin' to any given shape that makes them weird.

I 100% agree with this statement but occasionally see pipes of theirs that interest me.
Savinelli - Balsa inserts (and no, they don't smoke right without them)
Based on my experience they do.
Anyway I tend to avoid Peterson because of their issues. Also a lot of the Danish and Italian pipes are just too heavy. So I don't avoid any particular brands but I don't buy many pipes that weigh over 1.5oz.
I guess I have to say I avoid pipes like Medico, Dr. Grabow, Kaywoodie.

 
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