Best low-end briar?

[asteroid1]

Which of your low-end briars (new or estate) smokes the best? For me it's a Jacobean billiard I picked up on ebay for ~$20 and smokes equal to if not better than many of my high-end pipes.

 

[mp31guitar]

I'd have to go with Dr. Grabow. I've got one that smokes better than most of my more expensive pipes.

 

[jwp159]

My Dr Grabow Omega is one of the best smokers I have. It performs as good as any of my Pete's. Price doesn't all ways mean a good smoker.

 

[jaysin]

jwi159 thats a point ive been trying to make for sometime now.

for me I have a few 20 to 50 buck no name baskets that smoke extreamly well my grabow and my brogs

 

[buzkirk]

A $10.00 ebay Lorenzo Ambra 733, awesome pipe, my go to pipe

 

[markw4mms]

I have an old Archer M(London) bulldog that is a good smoker.

 

[nsfisher]

Mr. Brog ChurchWarden #16 or smokindragon custom cob, or $10.00 large bowled Greman Meer.

 

[lazydog]

My highest priced Monte Verdi (Preben Holm I think, maybe a 2nd) doesn't hold a candle to my go to ( low end in price) bent, meerlined Whitehall. Whitehalls are all over Ebay and inexpensive. Seem to always be a wonderful smoke. Ditto for Old Vics, but a tad more in price. Some larger Grabows I have are great smokers and always inexpensive unless its some rare and sought after critter. It seems as if some of the french made pipes ( St. Claude) are inexpensive on a consistent basis, but they always seem to have a ton of fills. Yello Bowls I know are cheap in price but don't know how they smoke. Kaywoodies?? happy puffin :mrgreen:

 

[jchaplick]

My mr brog amigo smokes great, but I have a few kaywoodies that I think (when the stinger is gone) smoke as good as anything you can get for more money

 

[arabpipesmoker]

So far all i can get is MM cob which is a great smoker, might conceder Dr. Grabow in my next order.

 

[lestrout]

Kaywoodies, old and new, male and female (re stinger), are very consistent, and consistently good. Great value when new, but there are shameless steals on the Bay and at shows. The POYs and Limited Editions that Bill F makes are very under-rated for high grades.
hp

les

 

[lifeon2]

My grabows yello boles and kaywoodies all smoke well if you look around at garage sales "antique shops" and the like they can be had from a buck each to 6 bucks or so.

 

[crpntr1]

Kaywoodies & a duke of dundee that was given to me in an estate lot, it was only $1.47 brand new (in 1941) and smokes sa well as any pipe I have or have had.

 

[locopony]

I got some with no name at all on them that smoke very well. In fact I have decided that one of the factors that makes a great smoker is bowl bore; diameter to depth ratio. 1 and 1/2 times the diameter is a good depth.

 

[judcole]

I have a lovely old apple I bought at Campbell's Smoke Shop in E. Lansing, Mi. in 1972 or '73. I think it cost me $10. It's a wonderful smoker. (Granted, a $10 pipe then was not a low-end pipe.)

 

[pawpaw]

Which of your low-end briars (new or estate) smokes the best?

I have had the best luck with estates

 

[nightmarejones]

I have a [new] Grabow Omega also and it smoke beautifully and an Estate Kaywoodie standard that I restored that does aswell...love then both

 

[martiniman]

This is a great thread for us new to the game. I'm looking for some new pipes and i seem to fixated on the name of the maker. Glad to hear i have choices between the MM cobs and the over $50 range that will smoke well.

 

[lordnoble]

My Savinelli Natural is the best non-filtered, low-end briars, but my Dr. Grabows smoke great of the filtered ones. I think my best smoker of all though is the GBD Midnight I bought off Lonestar. It smokes latakia blends like a dream. It's an estate and I paid a low-end price but this one is more of a mid-range when new (I think), so I didn't include it. I also didn't include my cobs because they are cobs. It's like comparing Hershey's chocolate to applesauce; two wonderful things that have nothing to do with one another. Cobs get a special place in my collection because they do everything well. I stuff and go. Sure they look a bit "country" but I'm not in this game for the looks.
-Jason

 

[pipeguy93]

Have to say my Dr. Grabows are pretty awesome for the $. Definitely recommend them to somebody just getting in the hobby, though they may be the only brand of briar I ever own.