7 Day Prince Set w/ 7 Pipe Makers

[disinformatique]

Hi Guys,
As you all know I am a big fan of the Prince Shape. For 2016 I decided not to go into impulse buying mode, as PAD landed me with 100 pipes in 2015; 80% of which need to be restored. I really appreciate and admire the patience of veteran pipe smokers in our community for slowly making their dream sets. Thanks to Tarheel, I've been inspired to get a 7 Day Prince Set made in the next few years.
Dunhills from the 1920's - 1940's fascinate me when it comes to certain shapes and The Prince is one of them.
This is my inspiration for the set from The Dark Lord's Collection

I would really appreciate your help and advice in choosing the perfect pipe maker for the pipes. I also blame Our Dark Lord Latakia for the Dunhill/Castello/GBD Obsession. I have a few pipe makers in my mind for the 7 pipes but the list is not complete. I have 2 more pipe makers in my mind, but I am not sure. Discussing with the brothers here will be really helpful.
Can you please help me out in my adventure?
Here is my current lineup. I had Shin-Ichi Kuwahara in my list as well, but sadly he passed away last month in a tragic motorcycle accident in Japan.
1. Clark Layton

2. Chris Askwith

3. Mike Butera

4. Chris Asteriou

5.

6.

7.
Cheers,

Chris :puffpipe:

 

[pitchfork]

I don't recall ever seeing a Butera prince. That doesn't mean there isn't one, of course.
Both Askwith and Asteriou do great renditions of the classic shapes, so I think those are great choices.
Also, Michail Kyriazanos and K. Anastasopoulos do a nice rendition of the shape.

 

[meatballj]

I've never commissioned a pipe but if I did I would be looking at just about the exact same shape as you Pipe Monk. I've sent emails back and forth w/ Michael Parks and would highly suggest him for the shape you're looking at. Good luck w/ the project and I'll be looking forward to seeing the progress.

 

[misterlowercase]

Asteriou

You cannot go wrong with Asteriou,

he is currently the best in the business imho,

nobody else can nail the classic British character like he can.
Another top choice, as mentioned above, should be Michael Parks.
Michael Lindner as well.
Gustavo Cunha (Martelo) is also a good candidate.
Jack Howell too.
Wayne Teipen would set you up.
Royal Oak Briars.
Scottie Piersel will knock one out of the park for you.
...

Many great candidates out there,

it will be a very cool collection when you are done with it,

I love a focus like that!
Most importantly,

have fun and ask lots of questions.
The whole interactive experience of pipe commissions adds a tremendous value in my eyes,

it really is enjoyable,

and a learning process as well.

::

 

[disinformatique]

@Pitch Even I haven't seen a Butera Prince. Mike was gracious enough to grant me a commission in 2014 for one of his affordable options. I was mailed by a friend a few days ago that my pipe was finally ready. As Mike is a regular at the Houston Pipe Club and I have a little history with the club (designed their logo). It would be fun to see a Butera Prince.
@meatball & MLC I had Parks in my mind but wanted a little affirmation. I totally forgot about Scottie, she makes fabulous pipes. Lindner currently is wayyyy out of my league but perhaps in a couple of years I can afford his pipes. I love Wayne's work. I missed the other makers you suggested. I am in love with Howell's Copper Clam pipes. I think in the end it will end up being a 14 day set but oh boy that means atleast 4 years of not buying anything else.
Chris :puffpipe:

 

[ocpsdan]

I bet Joe Hinkle would make one hell of a prince for your set. His skills have seriously improved.

 

[pitchfork]

I didn't know Mike Butera still made pipes! That's great to hear. What did you ask him to make for you?

 

[clickklick]

Clark Layton

Ryan Alden

Micah Cryder

Joe Skoda

Nate King

Chheda (Jesse Jones or Premal)

Nathan Armentrout
If I was collecting again . . . that would be my list.

 

[disinformatique]

Pitch, Mike makes around 20-30 pipes a year for his collectors. Most are high grades, I have no idea what he is making. My first commission with any piper maker I let them decide after an initial introduction about me and a little paragraph I send to them about myself. All I know is that the bill will be around $300-$600.
@Dan thanks brother, I will check Joe's work out.
Chris :puffpipe:

 

[pitchfork]

Chris, that's very exciting about the Butera pipe. Can't wait to see what he made for you.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Nice idea. Here is a pic of a prince that Michael Parks did for another pipesmoker. I love the Butera idea and would also love to see Asteriou's take on the shape.

:

 

[peckinpahhombre]

And this is a tadpole/prince:
http://smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/michael-parks/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=157045

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

Kyriazanos

 

[ssjones]

Chris Asteriou absolutely makes a wonderful Prince shape.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money, a GBD shape 357 is a classic Prince. Here's a Prehistoric that I restored and sold a few years ago (not a fan of Perspex stems).

 

[ssjones]

Trevor Talbert also makes some Prince shapes, in his Ligne Bretagne line.

 

[tarheel1]

Of course my favorite makers right now are from Brittan. My list would be

Les Wood of Ferndown

Chris Askwith

Jimmy Craig of Ashton

And iian Walker of Northern Briars.
I am in contact with each artist and happy with how easy they are to work with.
I am glad I could inspire someone.

 

[disinformatique]

@Pitch Will post as soon as I get the pipe.
@Peck Exquisite beauties, makes me wish I had taken law in college instead of trying to be a doctor and ended up being a User Experience Project Manager
@ssjones Al, send any GBD Prehistorics you restore my way. I'll just have to send you $500. Chris Asteriou indeed is currently the King of Prince when it comes to young PipeMakers. I think the list will be more than just 7 pipe makers! However, I want to include Les Wood, John Marshall, too bad Bary Jones retired, but if someone can get me his info I can personally meet him when I visit UK. I plan the same with John Marshall as well and other British pipe makers.
This set however will take a few years to complete, maybe 2 pipes a year if I can control myself and save some pocket money otherwise I just have to ask Peck to fund my immigration to Canada
Chris :puffpipe:

 

[tarheel1]

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=139822
You could always have Les make you a prince like this with two stems. He should be able to do it in any size from 1-3*

 

[moriarty]

Great idea for a 7-day set. I love princes. So much more elegant than a pot shape if (like me) you favour a broader, shallower chamber.
I think the old Dunhill pipe that was the inspiration for the set is the archetype and I would suggest you consider a Dunhill shell briar prince with a silver ferrule as part of the set. Dunhill were making them in the 1920s, immediately after (I think) Loewe originated the prince shape. So, as Dunhill is the only remaining great old English pipemaker, this is the definitive prince archetype. Or if you can find a good old estate English prince from Comoy's, Barling, Loewe, etc. - especially from the 1920s or thereabouts - that would be a really nice part of the set. Or get an old one and the equivalent new Dunhill model.
Alpascia.com in Milan is a great online vendor for Dunhills and the prices are far lower than what Dunhills retail for in America (why are Dunhills so overpriced in America?). I can see they have a bunch of princes on their site now, group 4 size is my idea of the right size for a prince. They ship globally for free, by the way. Also here's a Dunhill shell on Iwan Ries that is also group 4 and priced well.
Iwan Ries Dunhill Prince
Otherwise, I echo the thoughts above about Michael Parks, Chris Asteriou and Michael Lindner. I have princes from all of these pipemakers and they're all superb. The Parks that Peck showed is just fantastic, and it is really a perfect example of what a traditional shell briar prince could be as a hand made pipe from a master. I don't think Michael Parks is any less expensive than Michael Lindner, though. I guess you'd be looking at $700-800 for a sandblast like this either way. Chris Asteriou would probably be about the same price range for a smooth, but perhaps $500-600 for a sandblast, I guess.
I have several princes from Chris Askwith and this shape has almost become his signature, he makes so many. He is very reasonably priced and offers a lot of choices of finish and stem/ferrule materials, as well as strawberry wood and morta for the stummel. It might be nice to have a morta or strawberry wood (or both) in the set.
All of the recommendations I see above are good ones. I'd suggest you do a search and look at other examples of their work to check that their style appeals to you. For example, a Michael Lindner prince is not going to look exactly like a Dunhill prince - that's just not the kind of pipe he makes - but I love his style of prince on its own merits. Chris Asteriou is much more of a traditionalist. Michael Parks would probably make it however you want and when I commissioned a prince from him the first thing he did was send me a range of photos of different ones to help clarify my vision for the pipe.
Good luck with the set. I hope you'll post each one that you buy as you progress the set.

 

[ssjones]

My Askwith Prince is an outstanding pipe and smoker. I really like the polyester stem.