Another Help Me Spend My Money Recommendation Thread

[dbcooper]

edit: this board is weird, it keeps cutting off half of my post.

 

[dbcooper]

edit: this board is weird, it keeps cutting off half of my post. Seems using certain characters it automatically takes as markup. While I'm on the technical subject, if a moderator/admin/etc. happens to read this, this HAS to get a SSL ceritifcate. Can't have people typing in username/passwords and potentially sensitive data over clear-text http.
Annyyyway...
ashdigger so sell me one of yours ;P Out of curiousity, why does he do so few smooth finishes?
Ah Spanu, I forgot! Another Italian maker who is low on the radar and reportedly high in quality. Thanks for the rec. By the way, does anyone know Spanu's grading system? It seems to go from low to high, FA-F-F1-F2 then Clairmont.. but thats just what I'm deducing from the prices.
64alex Thats very interesting that he grows his own briar. From my limited knowledge, it takes at least 30 years for the burl to grow and then some makers season the wood for 10 years.. that's quite the time investment. It must be quite a satisfying experience to create a pipe from the very first stage of growing your raw materials to crafting a finished pipe.
I have nothing against Morta, I've just never tried it before so I don't want to invest much in a pipe made of a material unknown to me. I thought I would like meerschaums based on reading about their characteristics but I absolutely hate smoking one. I have two nice (I think?) meers I found in antique stores that id practically give away.
@sablebrush52 Holy Hell Von Erck pipes are gorgeous. How would I even go about acquiring one?

 

[64alex]

[64alex Thats very interesting that he grows his own briar. From my limited knowledge, it takes at least 30 years for the burl to grow and then some makers season the wood for 10 years.. that's quite the time investment. It must be quite a satisfying experience to create a pipe from the very first stage of growing your raw materials to crafting a finished pipe.
I have nothing against Morta, I've just never tried it before so I don't want to invest much in a pipe made of a material unknown to me. I thought I would like meerschaums based on reading about their characteristics but I absolutely hate smoking one. I have two nice (I think?) meers I found in antique stores that id practically give away.]
I like Morta as it is a bridge between briar and meerschaum, neutral and dry as meerschaum but even sturdier than briar and with its own aesthetic. Problem is that quality of the material can vary and you want a top one (the lower quality can have their own taste which is not good) which is why if you want a morta my strong suggestion is going with a very well established carver.
I would also give a suggestion which is not about artisan carver and which is very cheap, try a clay pipe, I am talking not about the tavern pipes which are very fragile and get very hot, but a double walled clay pipe, I consider the best pipes to render the real flavor of the tobacco without changing it. Lepeltier still makes them. Honestly it is the pipe I am using the most and everyone should at least try one. They are also very cheap so they don't break your vallet.

 

[lasttango]

Well, I would say if you are a grain lover that you should at least look at a Bertram Safferling.

They aren't easy to find because he's allegedly such a perfectionist that he puts out less than 50 pipes a year.

You can find a high grade estate around $300+/-
I have seen Von Erck pipes at Pulver's.

 

[fishnbanjo]

Safferling is definitely a perfectionist and I absolutely cherish the one of his I have, excellent smoker and just a joy to the eye.

banjo

 

[bluto]

Get on over to lee valley and pick up some expensive Japanese saws and wood chisels so you can start carving your own pipes
.. money all gone

 

[dbcooper]

Hmm sounds like too much work. I think I'll just go on Smokingpipes and sort from high to low price and start buying from the top..

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Mr. DB Cooper, is this your money, or is it "stolen money"? ::

 

[dbcooper]

Took someone long enough to recognize my username.
And possession is 9/10ths of the law, go ahead, try to prove it's stolen!

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I’m pretty much around that same budget and right now I’m big into Sam Adebayo, Silver Gray, Dr. Bob Kiess, Scott Thile, Micah Redmond, Ernie Markle. Some times you can find gems in the estate market. I picked up an estate Prevost smooth straight billiard with bamboo shank in that budget range.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

ashdigger so sell me one of yours ;P Out of curiousity, why does he do so few smooth finishes?

Ryan may chime in to speak for himself, but I would surmise that there are a number of contributing factors: (1) His blasts are awesome and are in high demand; (2) briar often has imperfections,such as sandpits, which usually disapear in a blast but are staring you in the face in a smooth - blocks suitable for a high end smooth pipe are just far rarer and often a carver doesn't even know whether the block would be suitable for a smooth until his work on the piece is considerable progressed; and (3) smooth finished pipes are much more work and are usually priced accordingly.

 

[tavol]

I'd suggest Chris Askwith and Pierre Morel

 

[dbcooper]

@lasttano and fishnbanjo Safferling's work looks exquisite. I think I need one. Now.
fishnbanjo, how the hell are you smoking that thing? It's gotta be 100 grams.. is it comfortable balancing it in your teeth?

 

[dbcooper]

peckinpahhombre, sure I knew all that, but that doesn't explain why Ryan Alden chooses to make predominantly sandblasts. It probably is like you said, his sandblasts are so great and people aren't asking for anything else, so market forces dictate.

 

[dochudson]

I'll recommend one, but you won't buy it. This is a test of how much trouble you will take. This means travel. Jerry Perry of Colfax, N.C., works in Mountain Laurel and briar, and a few other woods, and does not sell online. He sells only at the N.C. State Fair in October and the TAPS pipe show at the Fairgrounds in April, not online, and not at pipe shops. The pay-back is that he will dent your budget so little that you can buy your Tinsky or other artisan pipe besides. I say Jerry's work is a mix of mountain man --basic and fundamental -- and Japanese aesthetics with asymmetry and elements of chance. So far as I know, no one else on Forums owns his work. Okay, there's the obstacle course if you choose to pursue it.

I'll be close to Raleigh, NC playing some golf the first week of their state fair. What's his price range?
I found your other post about his location on the fairgrounds.