Ferndown Thoughts

They look good.

Ferndown are some of the best out there. I have three and they are great smokers and look fantastic. They are usually generous sized and have a Edwardian flair to them, some of them almost looking like they hoped off a turn of the century catalog.
Ferndown, Castello and Ser Jacopo are the only brands I have more than one of and haven't had a problem. If you have a good quality Ashton or Dunhill, a Ferndown smokes about like they do. YMMV.

I have a ferndown currently and have had several in the past. I really like them. They were all made well and are great prices. I have never had an issue with the stain on any of mine. I have had reo that I currently have, root, tudor root, and bark.

I purchased two Ferndowns recently - you can see them in my post here. The canadian is of recent manufacture, with a nice open draw. It's been an absolutely fantastic smoker for VA's. Phenomenal pipe, no complaints at all. The bulldog was an unsmoked estate with no dating information available. It does seem like a tighter draw than the canadian and it hasn't smoked as well so far. However, I haven't smoked either pipe very much, since (as noted above) they're rather large and impractical for smoking while I'm working. I recently switched the bulldog to VA's from Latakias to see if it favors those blends more. But it's possible that it's just a bit too tight, especially given the fairly large bowl. There's no problem passing a cleaner, though. I absolutely love the shaping and finish, so if it doesn't seem to improve with the VA's I may consider sending it out to get opened up.
So, as with others, something of a mixed bag. The canadian is really, really good though - possibly the finest smoking pipe I own in a collection of Petes, Savinellis, Dunhills, Ashtons, and other notable makes. From what I could see online, there are more complaints about the smoking quality of earlier Ferndowns than more recent ones. So it's possible my two pipes straddle some change in their manufacturing. Or maybe I just got lucky with the canadian. But if you're thinking of trying one out, it may not be a bad idea to stick to new ones from pipes2smoke rather than buy one of uncertain origins from eBay or elsewhere.

I am owned by an estate two star Ferndown Bark Panel (eight-sided and silver-banded) with a cumberland stem, and it is one of my best smokers. This pipe is a testament to the fact that Mr. Wood certainly learned his lessons well during his tenure with Dunhill.

A most generous Forums member gave me a smooth bent Ferndown with some tobaccos, including

a tin of Semois (he tried it, didn't like it). It's a beautiful pipe with an extra large bowl, but light weight

for its capacity. I tried it with another tobacco and it smoked great. But I tried it with the Semois and it

was sublime. I mean that great big bowl, with some depth, opens out the intricacies of that Belgium burley,

and sustains the smoke for a long time. It really is among the best pairings of pipe and tobacco I've experienced.

Even if you don't like Semois, or burley for that matter, I think you will very much like a Ferndown pipe. A hand

made pipe with its anchor in tradition.

this one is a little smaller than the usual bent bulldogs Les Wood makes and a great price.

here

I agree with the recommendations for a 2* size. The 3* pipes are noticeably bigger in your hand than the usual pipes out there. If I buy another Ferndown, it will be a 2*. As you can see at pipes2smoke's page, the Bark finish is very common. So even though there aren't that many Ferndowns produced in a year, I expect you'll be able to find a Bark bulldog that suits you with just a little patience.

I've always loved his REO finish and have smoked three of them well enough to say that they perform well. Be aware however if you are a clencher it will likely be impacted by the size and weight of these pipes. I had one of his bent spigot pipes and it didn't pass a cleaner, which is one of my requirements. Talk to Maxim if you're serious. Worth the money.

Maxim can also do a layaway if needed.

Sometimes you just have to fiddle wit the cleaner to get it to pass. On bent bulldogs putting a small bend at the end making it look like a L usually works.

Glad you got the pipe. I am hoping he gets a 3* bent bulldog with a tapered stem. I don't like the parks he has, so I am waiting.