Comoy's Still Good?

Everyone loves the older ones with the 3 part "C". I was at a pipe event and bought a newer Pebble Grain 80. It smokes like a champ and the price is right. I can't say they are better, but they sure aren't lesser than Sav's.

I'm under the impression Comoys are French make today and if so,in all probability they good, Chacom has the similar model of 337,in their production line which bowl capasity is similar to Savinelli Prince 315 whereas model 313 Prince has lesser chamber capasity.

I have 2 older Comoys (1 being the Strauss Private Stock model) and I cannot complain about either.

Are French mades in general better than Italians?

Click to expand...

Um, no, I definitely wouldn't say that. Castello, Becker, Cavicchi, Ser Jacopo, Viprati, Le Nuvole, Ascorti, Radice, Il Duca, Rinaldo, etc., etc. are among the very pipes made... anywhere! What you're talking about are mass produced, machine made pipes. There are many options that, to me at least, are better tham Peterson and Savinelli. This is all subjective, of course, but I would buy a Blakemar, Blatter and Blatter, or Stanwell, before a Sav, Pete, or any of the French makes. That being said, I would buy a Butz-Choquin, Genod, or Comoy's before a Sav or Pete. This is simply my own opinion, drawn from my own experiences. Many here are devoted to Savinelli and Peterson and will sing their praises. I'm just not one of them. BTW, before spending $200-$300 are higher end pipes from Savinelli and Peterson, I would commission a pipe of my own design from an artisan like Mark Tinsky, whose completely hand made pipes are in this price range. Sorry for being so long-winded. Just my own two pennies.

Tim

Olkofri:generally speaking I like the quality of briar of my Chacom/Butz Choquin's hardly any fills,nonetheless sometimes one can find that draw-drilling may leave something to be desired, so to speak,often being a bit restricted-Stanwells,Savinellis offerings have usually more open free airflow.

I think Italians make excellent pipes at all price levels. Dollar for dollar, I think the French make pipes that almost always are above their price points. I'd recommend many of the Italian brands and nearly all of the French.

I have seven of the French-made Comoy's pipes, purchased over the past couple of years. I'm drawn to their shapes and the honey oak stain of the Tradition series. Six of my pipes are from their Tradition series, including a 337 Prince. The other is Comoy's 2016 pipe of the year, a slightly bent pot.
Comoy's pipes have attractive grain for their price, and their stems fit especially well. All but one are drilled dead on. The other is very slightly to one side, but still on the bottom of the bowl. That's the prince, actually.
Comoy's has one consistent quality control problem: the beveling on the chamber edge. Six of the pipes have a beveled chamber, and four of them are noticeably irregular--five if I'm being picky. Some portion of the rim is beveled properly, then it fades, with the remainder being hardly beveled or not at all. Probably some machine is out of alignment, but I like to imagine that Pierre the Beveling Bastard, besotted with wine and un-fireable under French labor laws, is the source of the problem. It's a better story.
FWIW, I figure the beveling flaws will become even less noticeable with regular smoking, and the pipes are very attractive overall. Also, the two pipes with the best beveling are my most recent purchases. Maybe Comoy's is getting better about it. Maybe I got lucky.
I own no Savinelli Roma or Onda pipes. One of my Savinelli's has slightly irregular beveling. It would fall into the "being picky" category.

spartan', that's a clear eyed critique of the current production of Comoy's. I wondered how they compared with their English ancestry. Thanks for the pipe review, from experience. I don't own one, but they are handsome online.

Thanks mr Spartan for your input.

I'm asking myself if Comoys are nothing else but Chacom in the reality..prices seem be pretty much the same.

Not too many companies seem to make a traditional prince... Savs and some of the French brands. Blakemar is relatively inexpensive and they have some also.

Forum member Jay has a few Blakemars. Ask him.
I am having a hard time finding a British-made Lovat under 5.5 inches that I like.

I love that we have genuinely honest and open people on this forum. Spartan's review made me happy inside.

Sav makes a Prince of Wales pipe, a prince, and also a Vittoria prince in their Rossi line, no filter. Sav makes a prince in their Oscar Lucite line as well, no filter. Dr. Grabow Royalton makes what they call an apple that is more prince-like to me. There are some princes around.

I have many estate Comoys: Blue Ribands, a Grand Slam, several Traditions and one Golden Grain. I also have two newer Comoys: a 337 prince and a Pebble grain 80 bulldog. I was surprised to find them both fine smokers. Not quite like the old ones, but certainly a good value for the current price.

I like the Sav Desigual Smooth 315KS.

I shouldn't have looked.

I don't own any Comoy's but I've got a Chacom that was made in the past year or two. It smokes ok but I have two complaints.

1. The stem is a piece of crap

2. The drilling is tighter than I would like.
I can barely fit a regular pipe cleaner though the stem. No problem passing it through the draft hole in the stummel though.
I've got a Ropp that was less money, is more open than the Chacom and smokes better. I would definitely buy a Ropp again.
I've never had an issue with any of my Sav's but I doubt I would buy another one over the $150 mark as there are better hand made options:

1. In the $150 range I'd buy a Mimmo Provenzano.

2. More than $150 but less than $300 I would commission a pipe from Adam aka Clickklick.

3. If I was going to spend more than $300 I would have Ryan Alden make me another pipe.