New Parkers

I bought two new Parkers last year. Slight seconds. They are my two main briars, were drilled perfectly, and smoke great. They have quite an open draw, and I tend to give them a slightly firmer pack than I do with other pipes. However, I don't have a huge range of other briars, so I can't give any comparison to older Parkers or pipes from other brands. The only other full sized briar I own is a Molina Hobby.

I don't know about new, exactly, but I bought a new Parker about five years ago from Cup O Joes, if I remember, a slightly bent cherrywood shape briar. It's a sturdy little pipe, nicely drilled and a good clencher with plenty of bowl. I like it. My only complaint was the over-application of bowl coating or finish that lined the shank and took time to wear down with pipe cleaners. It was an annoyance, but not a permanent flaw. In general, Parkers seem like standard quality pipes that are moderately priced. If you buy one, you'll probably do fine.
jpm', I am of the opinion that Parkers are never Dunhill seconds. To my eye, the shapes don't match up, and I doubt they start from the same stock of briar. I think the Parker assembly line is a separate one, as is Hardcastle and perhaps Britannia. Likewise, I'm not sure if all the work is done in London, despite the stamping, or England for that matter. France and/or Italy may have their hand in some of the work before they reach UK. I don't have any inside knowledge, but some on Forums believe this is likely.

Those are very nice! That Hungarian looks like a great chess pipe. ::

For those people who are saying that Parker is nothing to do with the Dunhill factory, I'll just leave this link here for where I bought my two last year.
http://thepipeshop.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Parker_of_London__Dunhill_Factory_made__slight_seconds_50.html
I hope this doesn't breach any forum rules, I just want to show that some Parkers ARE specifically being sold as having come from there. It may well be that other Parkers have a different origin and process route.

The plot thickens. I wouldn't bet that jpm's or the pipes offered through Scotland are NOT Dunhill seconds. Neither set is what I've seen offered as Parkers, either online or at pipe shops and shows. Maybe there is a side stream of seconds. I'm not enough of a student of Dunhills to be able to call 'em. Maybe one of our Dunhill scholars can offer an assessment.

Many pipe retailers like to make the connection with Dunghill when selling Parker pipes, it's obviously good for business. Thing is Parker, though Dunghill owned, are an entirely different entity and their pipes are not Dunghill seconds.
I read somewhere, possibly on this forum, that Alfred Dunghill burned all substandard stummels as he never wanted them ever to reach the market.
I have bought two new Parker pipes recently and they're terrific smokers for the money.
Regards,
Jay.

"Well, I wish I could burn several hundreds of thousands of Pounds..."
And there was me thinking you folks traded on those new fangled things called dollars, unless of course you were referring to your bloated tobacco stash 8O
Regards,
Jay.