Personaly I havent found any newer pipes Im interested in, I dabble in vintage/estate pipe, my rule is nothing made after my birth, except my cobs, an ASPC and a gifted freehand
Any good English pipes?
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I am reluctant to buy new Dunhills as they are no longer hand made, as I understand it. Aren't Parkers Dunhill seconds? I look at the others mentioned. Thank you all! I have heard good things about Askwith pipes. I've never heard of Blakemars, but they are beautiful. I will be looking for one now.
"Maybe we put too much importance in who makes it not how it smokes me thinks."
Numbernine, you make a very valid point there...I have a few 'top end' pipes that smoke no better than some no name pipes! To me personally the name means diddly squat, it's how it smokes that matters. (BTW me thinks is correctly written as one word as in 'methinks').
Al, Dunghill/White Spot pipes are not necessarily a good British pipemmaker simply due to their name and history. They did (possibly still do) make good pipes but at such prices as to put off your average everyday smoker.
John, of course Paul Kruger is a much hated figure in history but to deny a pipe named after him is surely missing the point?
Regards,
Jay.
Numbernine, you make a very valid point there...I have a few 'top end' pipes that smoke no better than some no name pipes! To me personally the name means diddly squat, it's how it smokes that matters. (BTW me thinks is correctly written as one word as in 'methinks').
Al, Dunghill/White Spot pipes are not necessarily a good British pipemmaker simply due to their name and history. They did (possibly still do) make good pipes but at such prices as to put off your average everyday smoker.
John, of course Paul Kruger is a much hated figure in history but to deny a pipe named after him is surely missing the point?
Regards,
Jay.
Andrew, so many thanks for posting the Blakemar link. I spied two pipes on there that really shouted at me so I just rang them up to order them over the 'phone only to hear a recorded message..."Sorry but we are closed until Jan 3rd"...bugger!!!
Some splendid pipes there at great prices...take a peek folks :
:
Regards,
Jay.
Some splendid pipes there at great prices...take a peek folks :
:Regards,
Jay.
I, too, checked out Blakemar. They have some beautiful pipes at very reasonable prices! Do they smoke as good as they look?
There's a guy on Ebay selling new Blakemar pipes cheaper than their own website...how does that work :crazy:
His name is also Mike...same person perhaps?
Regards,
Jay.
His name is also Mike...same person perhaps?
Regards,
Jay.
Yes. But the manner in which they are made has changed. Prior to 1967-8 Dunhill still did a large amount of hand carving and then later pretty much turned to machine carving. There's nothing inherently superior to either hand versus machine carving pipelines.
Old time British factories were just large artisan operations. Pipes and stems were hand carved, commissions for unique pipes were common, and they handled repairs, replacing stems, etc. Those factory carvers were as talented and maybe more talented than most of today's "auteurs".
There's also the ongoing question of who actually made the pipe, as Dunhill, like most English makers, outsourced a percentage of their product. A lot of "English" pipes are made elsewhere and are then stamped as being made in England since there is no law against doing that. A lot of Dunhill's recent stock is made in Italy.
Italians do a superb job of making pipes; for example their Stanwells are equal to the Danish made. However, at Dunhill prices, I think there is a problem representing pipes with briar shaped in Italy as Made in London England, or whatever. Dunhill's are two, three and more times the prices of fine Italian pipes. There comes a point when hard nosed business practices are just misrepresentations. Dunhill prices would be an affront if the briar was grown in England; making the pipes partially outside UK is, well, plain cheesy, to my thinking. Dunhill simply knows they couldn't sell as many at those prices if their stamp didn't say London, England. Not cool.
I have a couple Invicta Briars, one of which is a large Billiard and is one of my best smokers. I also have a not too old Guildhall (Comoy's), as well as a Hardcastle (Dunhill) that I enjoy. Unfortunately I have not had the pleasure of smoking a Dunhill. However, my Hardcastle has had the honor of being rejected by the preeminent pipe manufacturer - pipedia.org indicates that Hardcastles are worthy of neither the Dunhill nor Parker names; I guess that makes them thirds? Regardless of the pedigree, all of my British made pipes smoke well, and display that classic, understated elegance that I have always loved about traditional pipe designs.
Despite Dunhill prices, UK in general makes fine pipes. All of the UK lines that I know are high quality. I don't know any UK brands that have quality problems in general. I'm sure a few errors make it through, but it's not usual, is more somewhat rare. So "any good English pipes" to me is an ironic question. Most of the old line pipe makers in the industry, in all long-time pipe making countries, do good work, have a lot of pride in their product.
MSO-
I picked up a beautifully restored Hardcastle bent Dublin on eBay a while back, and it's a great pipe. I only bothered to bid on I it because I had an old Hardcastle billiard estate I bought for $20. It had a few fills and was bit beat up, but it smokes beautifully. Quality and value in spades
I picked up a beautifully restored Hardcastle bent Dublin on eBay a while back, and it's a great pipe. I only bothered to bid on I it because I had an old Hardcastle billiard estate I bought for $20. It had a few fills and was bit beat up, but it smokes beautifully. Quality and value in spades
MSO - I don't think the question was ironic at all. Many people, several on these forums, have stated their opinions that the new Dunhills, Charatans after the Dunhill acquisition, Comoy's (which are now French) after being acquired by Cadogan, and post transition Barlings, and GBDs without the rondel aren't comparable to those made prior to those events. I'm certainly no expert, which is why I posed the question. I LOVE the classic English shapes and want to expand my collection in that direction, but I want to know about their smoking qualities, engineering, and proper shaping in order to make sure I am spending my limited funds wisely. Are the shapes correct? Are the stems hand cut? Is the briar good quality and has it been cured properly? Is the drilling generally well done? There is a lot of experience on this site, and I wish to take advantage of it. I'm not about collecting "names", just good quality at a reasonable price.
"Regardless of the pedigree, all of my British made pipes smoke well, and display that classic, understated elegance..."
Bulldog, I was gifted an old Invicta bent billiard and it is one of my favourite smokers. The same with Hardcaste, I have two bent bulldogs that get smoked pretty much every day.
All hail the lesser known British pipes :worship:
Regards,
Jay.
Bulldog, I was gifted an old Invicta bent billiard and it is one of my favourite smokers. The same with Hardcaste, I have two bent bulldogs that get smoked pretty much every day.
All hail the lesser known British pipes :worship:
Regards,
Jay.
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