Bigpond said
No one likes to admit it but, well, I've had a string of bad luck with my last three artisan pipes. When I saw Walt's guarantee smack dab in bold these pipes immediately dominated my pad radar like the good year blimp. I know in many cases a guarantee is implied but the difference to me is like the difference between asking and telling. Briar is tricky as we all know.
If you read the guarantee carefully, the big difference is that no other pipemaker allows you to return a pipe for a full refund after it has been smoked simply because you didn't like how it smoked. To my knowledge, this is a first. I am confident in my work, and will back it up!
Anyway, these are small pipes and I've mostly reached for pipes around .80-.92 diameter recently. I whipped out my tiny pipe .60" and had a great experience with it, so I'm game. I appreciate that Walt's recent pipes have been a bit closer to 3/4, but a smaller pipe isn't a game breaker any more.
The sizes of the Cardinal House line range from small to huge. It's very important to look at the measurements listed along side of the pipe before purchasing.
Most of these pipes have a chamber diameter ranging from 0.64 to 0.75 inches. This is consistent with Dunhill's averages for group 3 and 4 sizes, which represent the bulk of Dunhill's production.
So, my concern is about his tapered bits. They're chunkier than I'm use to and am curious how comfortable they are. If anyone has one, or has any thoughts abut these pipes at all, I'd be glad for your thoughts.
My stems are cut to US artisan maker specs. While some of the stubby stems necessarily taper up quickly, the more standard proportions are as comfortable as they come.
Here are the stems and buttons of three Cardinal House pipes (on the left), compared to a Savinelli Roma, Peterson, and MM cob (respectively, on the right):
Cosmic said:
The natural progression of his work over the last few years has been that of a true maestro. But, for me, I just can't get excited about these pipes. They seem totally unrelated to Walt's work.
If you think that's something, compare it to the pipes I made in 1999! :lol:
Yes, these are unrelated to my Cannoy line of pipes. The Cardinal House brand was never meant to be the same.
The only way these Cardinal House pipes are related to "my work" is in the fact that I am making them myself from block and rod to finished product. There is a sharp trend, it seems lately, for makers to line their pockets by taking (partially or entirely) mass produced pipes, and putting their brand on them. Ok, so they're offering a factory pipe in varying qualities, at various factory level prices, but encouraging sales by branding. Fair enough... That's been going on for as long as business has been business.
I'm not offering "branding". I'm offering a
high grade experience at entry level prices. Going into this Cardinal House project, I had one single goal, and it wasn't to create a cash grab with a Cannoy stamp on it. It was to offer the best quality pipe on the market for under $300. Objective aficionados will say that I've done it. Smokingpipes previewed the Cardinal House prototypes in Chicago last may, and when they learned that the retail price point would range $189 to $269, they were immediately on board.
sjfine said:
I am sure that the new line meets Walt's exacting standards, but I have not seen any that turn me on. In some small way, it is like a lineage has been ended.
Cardinal House pipes do meet a minimum set of standards I have in place for the line, but a smaller set of standards than a Cannoy branded pipe. I am still making Cannoy pipes on a limited basis. It is very difficult to make ends meet as a full-time pipemaker if you are only making high grade pipes. Most high-grade makers have other full-time jobs, or other supplemental income. I am now no different. Cardinal house pipes are my "day job", giving me the breathing room to take more time on my high-grade Cannoy pipes in my spare time.
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