They don't make 'em like they use to.

I recently bought a Kaywoodie Saxon straight panel pot online with a push bit that seems sound, made

of briar and with a quality stem as near as I can tell so far. My other Kaywoodie Ruf-Tone author is a

solid pipe but does have the drink well screw-in stem that doesn't end up on the horizontal, although it

is certainly smokeable. But to botch this advertised feature is shabby. They can make good pipes, but

seem to lack the full resolve to do so. I think they were, at one point, comparable to Dunhill, or nearly so.

The older Kaywoodies from the '20's thru the '40's, were high grade pipes that out sold and cost more, than contemporaneous Dunhills. They're a completely different pipe from the drugstore pipes of later years. S. M. Frank just ruined them. The Italian Kaywoodies are mostly kindling. But recent pipes have been a big improvement.
Still, if you're looking for an excellent value on the estate market, those old Kaywoodies can be magical!

No!! Old Kaywoodies bad, bad, bad!!
You'll never get a good smoke out of them. The unscrupulous dealers who peddle them on auction sites are really Communists, and many of them beat their wives. Old pre-war Kaywoodies taste like a stewbum has been smoking old socks in them, and you'll get a headache if you try one. Don't be a victim of this insidious plot, and never, ever be tempted by the invitingly low price!
Do us all a favor and spread the word about what a bad deal you are getting when you even bid on a noxious old KB&B burner. That's all it is, a nicotine delivery system - it has been proven that everyone who has ever smoked a pipe with a four-hole "stinger" will eventually die. (Some of these pipes, if they can be honored with such a noble word, have a distinctive metal fitment, called a 'stinger' by the addicts, that has three or sometimes four holes. The 'stinger' is aptly named, for it will 'sting' your tongue. It really will!)
Please, don't give in. The man who offers you a Kaywoodie is not your friend. Bid instead on old Petersons and Dunhills*, where the high price can assure you that you get your money's worth.
*But not Hardcastles. Hardcastle pipes are made from glue and floor-sweepings. I saw it on the Internet!

Okay, cynyr wants first option on all the golden oldie Kaywoodies. Some of the new ones are surprisingly

good, but you have to suss out what you're getting. The product is uneven, to say the least.

Cynyr, do i sense a tiny miniscule bit of sarcasm in your tone with this post? :rofl:

Wha...? Cynicism from a man who calls himself Cynyr? Perish the thought! Just trying to protect the public, my friends!
I have several a few a couple pre-war Kaywoodie pipes. Four-digit, clover-on-top, four-hole Bruyeres. None of them smoke better than a humble cob!
Okay, seriously. I love 'em. I prowl for them all the time. If I had more money, I'd buy every one I see. One caveat, though - be prepared to clean, for these old codgers had nothing but Half & Half and Mixture 79 run thru them for so long, and most were never, ever cleaned.
For the pipe and history lover, there's no better deal.

I have two late-model Kaywoodies which are wonderful smokers, including the rusticated-look Saxon. Both smoke excellently, and the Saxon is particularly comfortable (although the jury's still out on whether or not it's actually wood) :?
With such good prior history, I came to trust Kaywoodie a bit too much - if I had thought to run the pipecleaner test on my Gold Burl when it arrived before I smoked it, I could have sent it back when it failed. I was wondering why it was the only pipe I owned out of about 15 or so which I could not avoid getting the dreaded gurgle from, even with the driest of tobacco blends in it. When I shined a flashlight down the shank, I could see the draft hole being so horribly off-center that any cub scout who had made this one as a project would have been mortified with embarrassment! Doesn't look like this company even bothers with quality control anymore, to let this piece of shit pass, and I won't be wasting my time and money on any more new pipes from them.
Beware any new Kaywoodie crap!

The non-briar Kaywoodie may be Brylon, although I associate those mostly with Medico and Yello-Bole in later years when those brands tapered off on briar pipes, though their new briar pipes can still be found ... 4Noggins has some Medico briars for low prices. How Brylon pipes have hung on to the degree that they have is a mystery. One or two Forums members recommend Brylon for rough duty pipes. One man does fire reclamation work and likes the Brylon for being indestructible in that setting. Mostly, though, people find their bowls hot to the touch and not as kind to tobacco blends as briar, cob, Meerschaum, etc. Still, to stay in business, Brylon lines of pipes must have some repeat sales, so maybe the hard use sector has more action that we know. There may be guys or gals who have ten or twenty Brylon pipes who depend on them. None of them seem to be on Forums, or don't speak up. Brylon is a synthetic material containing some wood product, but other material as well. It was developed in the 1960's, I believe, not during World War II as a briar substitute as is sometimes told. Some Brylon pipes go for under $20, and most below $30. Some of the sales are likely attributable to new pipe smokers who want an inexpensive pipe but not a cob.

I have a couple old Kaywoodies. They ARE nice. =)
Haven't tackled any new ones. I am trying to focus on fewer, nicer pipes now.

It could be the "new" display is older stock. The new Italian made Kaywoodies seem to be well made with good blasts for factory pipes. We had them for the Kaywoodie holiday smoking contest and noone had a conplaint about their pipe.