Favorite pipe

I have about ten favorite pipes, to be honest, maybe more. But one is a freehand Johs my wife gave me two

Christmases ago, a shape that is sometimes called a tomahawk, that has a wide textured brim, and a nice

irregular groove on the front of the bowl. There's something both homey and really elegant about it. It

has weight, but doesn't feel heavy to clench. I have four Johs pipes; I greatly admire his work.

A Castello diamond shanked apple, size G and graded "Castello". Perfect size for a medium/long smoke, not too big, fits me like a glove, smokes all tobacco I like perfectly. Sweet and dry. I bought it new from Bollito Pipes several years ago. A local pipe shop buffed the tar out of the rim so it's currently out for repair at Walker Briar Works. I couldn't believe it. He's basically having to top it and refinish the rim. I really hope it's done well, in my eyes he's the best in the business but I don't know how even the best refinishing will look in the end as I've never had to do this before.

My two favourite pipes right now are a Big Ben Barbados bent egg and a cut down "devil anse" chacom cutty. But that may change next week. Lol

I too, have many favs. One was straight forward purchase from a vendor. A BC Butz Choquin Rhodesian. Just fits in the mouth perfectly and has a bowl to die for.

My favorite is a 2000 Tinsky Christmas Pipe in a coral rusticated finish. I was overzealous with a senior reamer a few months ago and gouged a portion of wood above the draft hole in the bowl, but still smokes fine. It was my first pipe over $100.00 purchased new.

Either this blasted egg by Scott Thile...


... or this blasted Dublin (?) by Grant Batson


I bought each from its maker at the 2012 Chicago Show. Actually I didn't guy Grant's pipe AT the show; I saw it there but didn't buy it. A week later I emailed Grant and that was the only pipe he had left from the show, so I pretty much HAD to buy it.

There are pipe show pipes I didn't buy that I will remember forever. Sigh.

My favorite pipe is the one that I choose to smoke. In this case, it's an early Barling Quaint. I bought the pipe from Mel Feldman of the recently closed The Smoker LTD.
You can see pictures of this particular Quaint on the Pipedia Barling page. It's a fairly small pipe, completely hand carved, unlike the later Quaints that pop up on eBay. It's in very good shape for being 70+ years old. I would describe the shape as a square shank 10 panel billiard. The chamber size would be between an "L" and an "EL", or around group 3. Smokes like a dream.
Mel thought that it had been carved in the 1920's, but the bit shape makes it 1930's at the earliest, and it probably dates to the 1940's.

I don't think I could narrow it down to 10 or less, so I'm not even going to try! But I'm sure my list would include names like Caminetto, Peterson, Stanwell, Nording, Savinelli, Castania, and Ehrlich.

This pipe, a freehand Ashton, is easily my best and favorite pipe, with my Ashton straight billiard (featured in the favorite billiard thread) a close second. Of all places, I got it at eBay, and was warned off from getting it for that reason, but my gut told me to take a chance. Ebay, after all, does have return policies and sellers there want good ratings--I'm an occasional eBay seller myself, with a rating of 100%.

The pipe is about 10 years old, an estate, but is beautifully sandblasted revealing a set of grain that reminds me of reptilian armor; the plateau is bumpy and bubbly looking, resembling, in my overactive imagination, something old and vulcanic. You couldn't get this pipe away from me for a fortune.

Currently it's a toss up between Peterson Ebony Killarney 80s and a Donegal Rocky 106. Donegal was a gift/payment thing. The 80s was a treat to myself

This DWR Freehand is my current favorite :wink:

I have so many pipes it is really hard to pick a favorite... I honestly would say that it has to be my first pipe ever... It is no name italian that I bought from my local B&M.. It was about 35$. It is a rhodesian pipe and just beautiful... Ill never forget I was searching around for a pipe, when an older man in the shop said "the pipe will just choose you".... And I saw that beauty staring at me... 3 years later, that pipe is still one of my favorites.. smokes like a champ.. and will be with me till I die hopefully!

As they say... pictures are worth a 1000 words.
Savinelli 645 Bent Apple

S Bang purchased from a friend who had to quit smoking for Medical reasons. It has a horn insert and is my Sunday pipe, wonderful smoker.

Right now my favorite is a Castello Sea Rock #17 (KK) that I got on eBay:


This past summer I was in Myrtle Beach and decided to take a trip to Low Country Pipe and Cigar. When I got there, they just so happened to be having a Castello event. I looked at the pipes and they were way out of my price range, but incredibly beautiful. I especially was drawn to the Sea Rocks. There was something about the hand rustication that really appealed to me.
A few weeks ago I randomly searched eBay and saw the Castello pictured above and knew I had to bid on it. I ended up high bidder and got it for a fair price, so I was finally able to purchase a Castello like the ones I was smitten with at the Low Country event. It smokes fantastically. It is my favorite for it's smoking properties, look, and feel.
My "sentimental favorite" is a Stanwell 139 Silke Brun that my wife bought me for my first Father's Day. She picked it out after I told her I really liked 1/8-1/4 bent Savinellis and Stanwells. She combed through the inventory online at smokingpipes.com and picked out the pipe she wanted me to have. For that reason it will always have a special place in my heart. The 139 is a fantastic shape that I probably wouldn't have picked out myself. Now that I have it though I love the way it hangs and sits in my hand. I'm a big fan of billiards anyway, so having a "Danish Style" billiard to go with my Irish and Italian billiards is great!

Well mine aren't quite as nice as the others posted here, but I have narrowed it down to my 5 favourite:


From left to right: Kaywoodie 1929 Straight Dublin (from Pruss), a 1940 Brigham 1 Dot Straight Dublin (bought at a junk shop for $7 and far and away my best flake smoker), my Rattray Panel Billiard that my son picked out for me, my Dr. Grabow Grand Duke Carved (I know, but it is just a fantastic smoker of English blends) and finally my absolute favourite pipe, my Brigham Chinook 426. It smokes every blend perfectly, never gets wet and is just a very manly feeling and looking pipe, a big hunk of briar but very light.