Need to choose but can't decide

jollyroger · Oct 31, 2015

I'm in the market for a bent bulldog, and I simply can't make my mind up between the Peterson Dublin filter: http://m.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=186607
Or the Savinelli tortuga: http://m.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/savinelli/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=185235
Would appreciate your opinions on which way to pull the trigger. Please note that the presence of a filter us a prerequisit.

iamn8 · Oct 31, 2015

Shockingly I prefer the Peterson. Beautiful grain and classic handsome shape.

python · Oct 31, 2015

They both look nice.
I have a Sav Tortuga in the billiard (127) shape and I love it. It is one of my best smoking pipes. I love the way that the Tortuga line looks with the tortoise shell pattern on the stem. I never use the ash cap, that is kept in the box.

shikano53 · Oct 31, 2015

I have 3 Petes including a straight bulldog. Also a few Sav autographs

Personally I would go with the Sav.

papipeguy · Oct 31, 2015

Both are lovely. I have a Pete Irish Harp bent bulldog and it's a nice pipe but I love my Savinelli's. Recnetly I've been looking at Blakemar pipes from England. With the current conversion rate they're about the same money as the Pete and they are handmade.
www.blakemar.co.uk/product/lb-rhodesian-no-432/

rfernand · Oct 31, 2015

flip a coin! (or let the ash cap sway you into or away from the Savinelli)

drwatson · Oct 31, 2015

Tough call,they both look great..Leaning to the Sav.

nutcracker · Oct 31, 2015

The pipes are quite different, to me.
The Pete says structured and classic.
The Sav says stylish and sleek.

aggravatedfarmer · Oct 31, 2015

Buy both, problem solved.

jmill208 · Oct 31, 2015

Sav., just because. : puffy

:

mso489 · Oct 31, 2015

I have an Around the World Pete bent 'dog and a Sav 673 Opera. For shear eye appeal, the Pete with its wide nickel band and its bright orange stain is quite a looker. The Sav might edge it out just a bit for elegant smoking; it just feels like a tighter piece of craftsmanship in the airway and in terms of balance, but it is very close indeed. So follow your heart. I'd give it a few days to mull (if you feel lucky that both pipes will stay available).

peckinpahhombre · Oct 31, 2015

Do you have a stem material preference? The Pete is vulcanite while the sav is acrylic. Personally, in the case of these two pipes, I would lean toward the Sav because I do think it is more likely to be a better smoking pipe; the acrylic would be a deal breaker for some though.

jpmcwjr · Oct 31, 2015

I like the look of the Sav better, but it's in the smoking that counts the most.... so that could be two votes for Sav!

Enjoy whichever!

larrylegend · Oct 31, 2015

I have the Savenelli but in a rusticated finish and it is a good smoker . Can't speak for the Petersonas I don't own one.

shikano53 · Nov 1, 2015

My Petes are great smokers but I have to agree that my Savs are better smokers than my Petes. I think they both look great. If you are into traditional then get the Pete. I like the Sav because it looks way cool.

bigpond · Nov 1, 2015

Ask them to get the pipes and inspect them for you. Looking at photos online and rolling the dice isn't the best way to go, imo. The way I look at these pipes comes down to bowl stain, better V slot, but higher chance of off drilling (P) vs uncoated bowl, shallow v-slot (more like a straw), and higher chance of proper drilling (S).
If I bought the pete I would expect to be tasked with removing the bowl coat, and removing the stain that is likely to be in the shank prior to smoking. For the sav, I would expect to use jewelers files to widen the slot. I really dislike the way the open draw is bottlenecked at the button. These are just my own personal quirks, by the way.
I'm agnostic to stem material. Good and bad stems are made out of both.
I like the look of the 80s more. Both probably will feel great in hand and are very likely to be great overall, but stellar flake pipe designs if you don't bother with an airpocket pack method.

lohengrin · Nov 1, 2015

Peterson's has a very classic shape, it means you can find similar whenever you want.

I prefer the Savinelli because a little bit more oriiginal, then I like the amber color stem with the small ring and the cap is a bonus you don't find everywhere.

shikano53 · Nov 1, 2015

As others have mentioned in other posts the Petes seem to have drilling and air way issues. All 3 of mine did. I just drilled them out with a 5/32" and now they smoke fine. It's no big deal. Also, all my Petes and my 5 Brighams all had bowl coatings. To remove the bowl coating took about 5 minutes with a couple of Kleenex tissues and some rubbing alcohol. Again, no big deal. Get a little bit of rubbing alcohol on the tissue, put it in the bowl and run your finger in a circle around the inside of the bowl. Repeat until tissue is no longer black. Same with the shank. Q-tips and pipe cleaners. Will smoke just fine. It's not some kind of mystical, transcendental application. Chunk of wood, some rubbing alcohol. It cleans out just fine. Same with drilling out the air way. Chunk of wood. Wood drill. No big deal. Out of my 38 pipes I've drilled out about 18 of them. No issues. No damage. Now they all smoke fine.

jollyroger · Nov 1, 2015

Thanks guys, you kind of reaffirmed what I was slowly starting to feel. Will be ordering the Sav shortly.

mso489 · Nov 1, 2015

Yeah, my Sav 673 was a Christmas gift from my wife, and she picked it out. It's a beauty and keeps getting better.

Need to choose but can't decide

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