Panel Pipes, What Do You Think?

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Panel pipes, what do you think of them? One of my few impulse pipe purchases was a Ben Wade

straight panel pipe blast. I really like the visual aspect of panels, almost like they're barely shaped

out of the block of briar. (I know better, but that's how they look.) Dunhill has always offered them,

and there are a number of high end, and some impressive less expensive panels. But my Ben Wade

finally had too open a draw (for me) and the finish was a bit plastic-like, though it might have weathered

over time. I traded it off. I'm still attracted to this shape. Who likes 'em and who doesn't? And why?

 

ravkesef

Lifer
Aug 10, 2010
2,912
9,173
81
Cheshire, CT
They're not my favorite shap, but I have 2 of them. One of them is a straight grain that I got in the mid 60s, and the other is a group six Golden Parker that I got just this past summer. They're both excellent smokers, but I don't smoke them as much as some of my others, and perhaps the shape is behind that--now that you mention it. :)

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I wonder if panels are better smaller, at least visually. My favorite big pipe is a Johs apple, and it just seems right

as an extra large. But I am thinking a panel pipe might be more "appetizing" on the small side, not quite delicate,

but spare, to offset the blocky shape. The Ben Wade was a big Group 4, still medium size, but bigger.

 

puffy

Lifer
Dec 24, 2010
2,511
98
North Carolina
My very first pipe those many years was an 8 sided panel.It's the only one I've ever owned.It's been so long since I've smoked one.I really can't say wheather I like them or not.

 

shaintiques

Lifer
Jul 13, 2011
3,615
227
Georgia
I haven't really been a fan, but I was recently gifted two and they are both gorgeous great smoking pipes. I think each pipe wins points based on every aspect of its appearance, not just shape or panel. The grain on these as well as the craftsmanship outweigh the panel so much that I forget they are panels. And from this experience I could now see myself buying one.

 

buster

Lifer
Sep 1, 2011
1,305
3
I have been eyeing some but have not pulled the trigger yet. One got away from me on e bay recently because I was busy and did not check back in in time.

 

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
35
Bethlehem, Pa.
I have several panel pipes. A 4 panel Savinelli Bruna, a Ser Jacapo 8 panel, a no-name small 4 panel and recently had a 6 panel made by Gabrieli pipe maker Dan Chlebove. I just like the look and fell of them.

 

bluesmk

Can't Leave
Jul 13, 2013
446
3
Bethlehem,PA
For those of you that missed that thread here's the pipe made for papieguy:
Picture094_zps1f7bed6c.jpg

Picture065_zpsd7430219.jpg

Dan

Gabrieli Pipes :puffy:

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Spectacular panels -- they somewhat embody a Dublin, in one case, and a freestyle on the other, and the

bulldog up a few posts, but all surely panels.

 

dread

Lifer
Jun 19, 2013
1,617
9
At first I didn't like them, but as with many things as my understanding of this hobby has expanded my appreciation of the style has increased. I particularly like artisan and craftsman takes on panels. I will get one at some point now, I suspect.

 

docwatson

Lifer
Jul 2, 2009
1,149
9
New England
@bigvan

Do you own that Joe Nelson pipe????

He makes the finest panel pipe in the world IMHO!!!!! LOL

I lust after one of his pipes but they are quite expensive.

As far as panel pipes are concerned, there is more handwork and attention to detail in a panel pipe to make them symmetrical than any other pipe.

An old time collector once told me that he buys a pipe for the most detail and work that is put into it. I know quite a few collectors whose main focus is panels and I

would have to agree with them that Poul Ilsted and Joe Nelson are the best ever at the panel style.

 

bigvan

Lifer
Mar 22, 2011
2,192
12
Hi Doc,
Yup, it's mine. It was Joe's entry into the KC Pipe Show's contest a few years ago. That year pipe makers were asked to make a paneled pipe and he took it to heart. He occasionally makes "panel dogs" as commissions but this was his first.

 

salewis

Can't Leave
Jan 27, 2011
412
0
I think paneled pipes are very attractive, however, I have always adhered to the adage that the more briar the cooler the smoke. Panel pipes are shaved briar and the tend to get hotter to your hand around the panels. I also own a few bull dog shapes, a Ferndown being one of my favorite smokers but even bull dogs which are tapered at the bottom run a little hot to the hand.

 

sfsteves

Lifer
Aug 3, 2013
1,279
0
SF Bay Area
As with any other shape, there are some I like and some I don't ... though, to be fair about it, I've yet to see one that I liked well enough to buy it ... BUT, had the pipe bluesmk made for papieguy (above) been available to purchase at a time I was looking to buy, well ... I'd have been the proud owner of a really fine looking panel pipe.

 
Aug 14, 2012
2,872
123
I have 9 Dunhill panels. I like them because they can be set down on the desk when you are working without tipping over. No fussy balance either. Besides that I do prefer a straight pipe overall, and find the panel aesthetically pleasing. It was also the shape of my first Dunhill which I got around 1958-9.

 

dmcmtk

Lifer
Aug 23, 2013
3,672
1,685
Just looking on my desk, three panels, two Barling, and a Jameson's (GBD), which is a great smoking pipe. I found these two this week, a Jeantet with what appears to be a bone stem and a Mansfield 339P straight prince, which going by the shape number was made by Comoy's. So I guess I like panels!
chrismarch-034-600x450.jpg


 
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