Anyone had any luck finding good pipes in the 50-60 dollar range. I have a morgan bones, and a brushed stanwell on the way. I already have plenty missouri meerschaum cobs. Thanks for any suggestions.
50-60 dollar pipe.
- Thread starter gulfcowboy
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In that price range best I can think of is the Ropp Vintage line.
As always, I'd suggest saving up more though. I ended up with around 40 pipes at roughly $100 per pipe. What I wish I would have done is bought less pipes and spent more on each pipe. That's what I'm currently working on doing, condensing the collection down and scaling up the quality. I've come to notice a number of them just don't get smoked. At 2-3 bowls a day I don't really need 40 pipes; I can do with about a dozen or two dozen and they'll all see more action.
As always, I'd suggest saving up more though. I ended up with around 40 pipes at roughly $100 per pipe. What I wish I would have done is bought less pipes and spent more on each pipe. That's what I'm currently working on doing, condensing the collection down and scaling up the quality. I've come to notice a number of them just don't get smoked. At 2-3 bowls a day I don't really need 40 pipes; I can do with about a dozen or two dozen and they'll all see more action.
You need to start somewhere, but I'm with lordofthepiperings here. If you go up to 200-300 you'll find pipes that are keepers. New pipes, that is.
I love my capri basket pipes.... Westvirginiasmokeshop sells them for $30-$40. They are well made and they last!
OR...
As mentioned, watch for P&C sales.
Blue Room Briars has nice weekly specials also.
OR...
As mentioned, watch for P&C sales.
Blue Room Briars has nice weekly specials also.
What is different between a 200-300 pipe and a 50-60 dollar pipe that makes it smoke better or worse?
Here's another vote for estates. Buying on here, or on a reputable site like SP is your best bet for a good balance between a good deal and a good pipe.
Totally concur with Ben, scooter, Hap, & the weez -- Savinelli or Rossi estates, & definitely Stanwell (Danish preferably, but currently made in Italy & they're OK). You can find good deals on SPC (smokingpipes.com) & ANYthing you buy from them is going to be good quality & properly cleaned up. (They also have a nice selection tool that helps limit max price.)
Savs & Stanwells in particular are absolute high-quality good value for the buck.
Bill
Savs & Stanwells in particular are absolute high-quality good value for the buck.
Bill
We've discussed this many times and the general consensus is that you can have a great pipe or a dud at virtually any price point.
For me, the sweet spot seems to be the $100-$150 range for a NEW pipe. Much less than that and the odds of getting a dud increase, much more than that and there's no guarantee whatsoever you'll get a substantially better smoke.
Having said all that, I can appreciate that a hand carved pipe will cost more only because of the work put into it.
I'm not going to suggest any given brand because I really think they are all in the same ballpark. If they weren't, the company would be out of business by now. Smokingpipes.com is a great place to start your search, they are reliable and trustworthy. I'd also keep an eye on the for sale section of our very own forum.
Estate/used/second hand/pre-smoked. All mean about the same, and that's where the best value is. If you can get to a pipe show, there's usually tons of decent pipes for 20-30 bucks. Not name brands, not very good looking, but broken in and fine smokers. I have a bunch of those.
I would recommend the Dr. Grabow Royalton series for around $40, with acrylic stems which are a step up from the molded plastic (lower grade plastic in my opinion) on other Dr. G. series. Likewise, in buying the Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipes, I'd spend the extra on the pipes with acrylic stems, which are about $24 rather than around $5 to $12, but have stems that will not have to be replaced and will not get chewed up. You can also get good estate (used) pipes at higher grades, but I'd buy from reputable retailers like smokingpipes.com unless you are an experienced ebay buyer (it's a jungle out there). The other strategy that works is to watch for serious discounts on name brand pipes at PC, SP, Iwan Ries, etc. PC had brushed finish Stanwell's for a brief time for $20. I picked up a Tsuge blast straight billiard, a full sized pipe, for $40, and it is a real Tsuge with that fit and finish. You have to have patience to wait for the discounts, but you can get some winners. Shop a lot and buy selectively. You can get a world of junk at low prices, but if you do a lot of homework, you can get fine smoking pipes that will satisfy you for years, at remarkably low cost, and save money for fancier pipes or premium tobacco ... or just keep your household bills paid. Shopping at the low end can be great sport, so have fun ... really.
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