Inexpensive pipes with 5/32 airways?

Luciano is another good option, Beo would be my first suggestion though. The new line of Luciano Pipes are all hand made from Plateau Briar with a 4mm airway.
I have bought 2 from the new line and have been thrilled with the purchases. Here is a link to one of my threads.

Beo is slightly less expensive, as they use ebauchon's where Luciano uses plateau, so I felt they fit the criteria better. Honestly though, Luciano is a tremendous pipe for the price, especially when you consider that there are hand made.

I will second northern's motion on Luciano. I have two, a blast straight billiard and a smooth bent author, both with extra ample bowls for their size. They are great pipes, and the intelligence of Luciano is shown in their custom of dating their pipes in the stamping, which would make sense on all pipes, but is unusual if not rare. They're said to be hand finished, whatever that means, but they are nicely done. I bought my two when the pricing was a little better, but they are still reasonable.
Footnote: My late wife's mom was a bit of a terror. One of her nephews called her "the human wrecking ball." She was incredibly tough on her husband (but he'd been through the Battle of the Bulge so was somewhat unphased), her kids, sisters, etc., not to mention random people on the street, wait staff, store salespeople, etc. etc. For reasons unknown to me, she was mysteriously considerate of me. We did play bridge with her and her husband when other people wouldn't, and despite my being a card dyslexic. We remained on good terms after my wife died, and until my mother-in-law passed. One of life's mysteries.

A 5/32" jobber bit in a tap handle should take care of the shank. A 5/32" tapered bit should take care of the stem, if you also want an open stem. This is the standard "welcome home" treatment for any pipes I acquire with a tight draw. Works for me, hopefully it will for you as well.

@aldecaker -- This interests me very much. Would you mind posting a picture or two and giving some more details?

Stanlaurel- be happy to help you out, but I'm one of those forum guys who's good with his hands but not computers. The procedure is very simple, though, and any tools you are not familiar with you can look at very easily on a Google image search.
The whole process is done by hand. No drill motors, no Dremels, etc. For opening the shank, I use a plain-jane 5/32" twist drill bit. Brand-new is preferable, because a dull bit may grab chunks of briar and tear instead of cut. Chuck the bit into a T-handle tap wrench (the kind that comes with a tap and die set) and you're ready to go.
Look down the hole in the stem with a flashlight to get the lay of the land as far as the original drilling goes. Even a straight shank can be surprisingly off-centered. The objective is to follow the original drilling and open the airway without changing any angles. Unless, of course, you don't like the way the hole enters the bowl. In that case, it is possible to "pull" the hole in the desired direction. But for our purposes, let's assume you like the drilling, it just needs to be opened up a bit.
The angle of the flutes on the jobber bit (jobber just refers to standard-flute, non-tapered, 3" length bit) are going to help you start centered as you begin to gently twist the t-handle. You are not so much drilling as you are "shaving", if you feel resistance, STOP! Back the bit out ccw (don't pull straight out) if this happens. Continue "shaving" gently, removing the bit often to check your progress. Since you are proceeding so slowly and gingerly, there should be no danger of the drill bit shoving through and marring the opposite side of the bowl. However, as you approach the bowl end of the draft hole, you want to be careful not to grab chunks and chip them out. So, the last few twists as you approach the bowl should be even slower and gentler. When I do it, it almost feels like as I turn the bit, I am pulling the tool back toward myself as soon as I feel it scrape briar. This will insure you don't chip the draft hole. Once the bit is all the way through, remove it by turning CLOCKWISE as you pull it out. This will help smooth out any machine marks the bit left on its way in.
The procedure for a bent shank is identical, with the exception that is even more important to get a good look inside the shank to make sure you are following the correct hole. In a bent pipe the hole for the mortise is very often a different angle than the airway hole going into the bowl. Be advised, the bit will gladly follow that hole if you let it, right out the bottom of the bowl!
Opening the stem is just as easy, but you have to be just as careful. The 5/32" tapered drill bit will center itself well, but you still have to visually check that you are following the desired axis. One of my shortcuts is to place the bit along the side of the stem to see how far in I want to drill. I then use black sharpie to mark a "do not exceed"line on the bit itself. How far in you want to go on the stem is going to depend on the existing architecture of the stem, and your personal preference of draw. Do a little, if it needs more, go a little deeper. Some people care about getting too close to the slot for fear of ruining it, others blast right through and don't care. Those details are all up to you.
Hopefully this technique helps you as much as it has helped me. It has turned some real pieces of crap into pretty good smokers for me. If you have any other questions about it I'm glad to help out. Oh, BTW, I forgot to mention I was able to find the tapered drill bit at Lowe's here in town, so theyre not too hard to find.

Thanks very much.

I like a 5/32 also. I tend to stick with Savinelli,Brigham,Boswell,MM,DrGrabow...They all have stems that are already open so I dont usually have to do anything there..But can run a drill bit down the shank, and all good.

Here ya go !

http://vermontfreehand.com/tooling/
Shoot Steve an email with this order

6″ straight drill bits (no taper) 5/32" – $3.00

Fuller taper point drill bits, 5⁄32” X 3 3⁄16” – $7.50
You can order a longer taper bit for more money but as long as the rest of the airway is opened, drilling the stem 2 1/2" deep with the 5/32 taper should give you plenty of airflow, even if the stem is longer than the bit will open.

Bigpond- I've never really had to do much with V-slots. The only exception is on a couple new-production Grabows that didn't have the flashing completely trimmed from the opening in the button. I assume it's leftover from the injection molding of the stem blank, and a little needle file cleaned it right up. I mentioned in a thread not long ago that I am fond of a line of Czech basket pearwoods my local B&M sells. Those didn't need the stem drilled, but the slot was so wide and narrow I used an 1/8" bit to put a hole in it to accept a pipe cleaner easier (came out looking like -0-). That, and they needed the tennons funneled with a 100 degree countersink, because the face of the tennon was perfectly flat with very thick walls, so it would collect moisture like you wouldn't believe.

Bigpond- PM me and I'll send you one. I am an aircraft mechanic, so I always have a couple extras kicking around. Unlike the ones used for woodworking, they are piloted to the size of hole you are using them on. You need one for a 5/32" stem opening, correct?

I don't use anything off the shelf for opening a slot. I have a whole arsenal of modified files and saw blades. Typically the perfect shape of file will be a bit too tall or wide, so grinding is necessary to make it do exactly what I need it to. One tool that would work well for opening an existing slot is a Kemper K31 Zigzag Saw. Usually Steve has them in stock but I don't see them listed now.

Try something out when you have a chance. On one of your 5/32" drilled pipe stems, slowly push a BJ long's Fluffy cleaner through the tenon hole and when there is alot of pressure where you would have to really force it through, mark it and pull it back out. If it stopped right where the slot meets the draft hole, that 5/32" air flow will be less than a properly opened 9/64" airway. 9 out of 10 5/32" airways have this problem, from a variety of brands and makers. Funny thing is that 9/10 9/64" airways are more open.
On most pipe stems, the airway can be opened to 5/32". It all depends on how far the slot goes in and the thickness of the stem where the 5/32" hole will be.

Premal brings up a perfect point as always. There is a lot more involved in a "perfect" airway than just diameter, and sometimes a stem just isn't going to hold up with a larger diameter hole drilled through it.

Aldecaker:
Unlike you, I'm not very good with my hands but I'll fearlessly try something when good directions are given. Yours are superb. I just cut & pasted everything you wrote in this thread to my ever growing pipe repair file and I've got a couple of old beaters laying around that could use this particular tuneup.
I did a couple of turns as a technical writer so I can state the following with a bit of authority. Your very conversational style painted a series of crystal clear pictures of the task. Communicating effectively is difficult at best - you make it seem effortless.
Thank you.
Fnord