Chacom USA vs. Unfinished Savinelli

[robwoodall]

I don't really need another pipe, but I do kind of want a couple more briar pipes to add to my corncobs. As far as "nice pipes" go, I have one meerschaum and one briar. ( have three briars, but I only really like one of them.)
Pipes and Cigars has several unfinished Savinelli's for $69 dollars. I hear good things about Savinelli, though these are seconds, and I like the idea of an unfinished pipe, just to watch the wood darken naturally. The one I'm particularly attracted to is a quarter-bent Dublin.
This morning I got an ad for a Chacom USA closeout, also at $69 dollars. Chacom also has a nice looking quarter-bent Dublin.
Both Pipes have a .7" chamber, which seems to be the best size for me. The Chacom is a bit lighter at .9 oz while the Savinelli is 1.4 oz.
How do you all feel about these brands? I hear a lot of good things about Savinelli but I've never heard much of anything about Chacom.
By the way, I like a pipe with a pretty open draw and no stupid metal stinger, so please factor draw into any recommendations!
Thanks in advance!!!

 

[papipeguy]

I don't have any Chacoms but I do have about 12 Savinellis. You really can't go wrong with a Sav. I have heard good things about Chacom so at the price you saw either would be a good deal. Why don't you just get both?

 

[mranglophile]

I have a Chacom Safari Dublin that I bought when I first started smoking. 6 years and many pipes later it is still in my rotation and is one of the best smokers of my 50 some pipes. Enjoy your new pipe!!

 

[blueeyedogre]

I have a couple Chacoms that are all good smokers but I also have some Savinelli's that smoke great as well. I think either would serve you well. My only thought on which one to get..... The Savinelli is a second for a reason, it must have some kind of small flaw of some kind.

 

[stanlaurel]

I have both. The Chacom is very good and Savinelli speaks for itself.
The Savinelli is not on sale. That is the regular price. I would jump on the Chacom sale while there are still lots of choices.
You can buy a Savinelli later. You can buy a much nicer one for a few extra dollars anyway.

 

[northernneil]

I personally like Chacon more than Savinelli, but do have both in my collection. I find Savinelli to manufacture pipes on a larger scale (size wise) than Chacon does. Since I prefer smaller pipes, Chacon would be my choice.

 

[stanlaurel]

The Chacoms are going fast.

 

[mso489]

I think you've hit a comparison here where you can't go wrong. Savenelli unfinished pipes are excellent; I have four of them, in various stages of self-finishing, some forty years old and another less than a year. Great pipes, and a great process to watch them turn golden walnut brown. But Chocum is a fine French brand, excellent smokers. My only thought is that, at that weight, the Chocum pipe is really small, a sort of flake smoker, if that's what you want. Check the dimensions to verify this. Either one, depending on what you fancy. Great brands.
Note: The unfinished Sav's are non-filtered, as are most Chocums. Just thought I'd mentioned it because most Sav's come with a filter.

 

[robwoodall]

Thanks, everybody.
mso, I wondered about that weight, but the Chasom is listed as a .7" by 1.4" chamber, so it's not really a small bowl!
I still can't decide! Does the Chacom have a pretty open draw? I know Savinelli does, but I really have a tough time with a restricted draw.
I read the thread about re-sizing the bore on a pipe. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna be doing that!

 

[mso489]

rob', since the unfinished Savenelli's don't use the balsa filters that come with many/most Sav's, they have a reasonably open draw, as do most Chacom. However, I must say that some of the smaller Chacoms can have more narrow airways. On that basis, the Sav might be the better choice. I dread to lead you wrong on this, but I have several of each type. The Group 4 or medium size Chacoms have pretty standard draws, not restricted, but I have a small Chacom or two, and another French pipe, that have more restricted draw -- they make it work, but it's a narrow airway.

 

[weezell]

Do not own a Chacom,so I can not speak one way or the other for that brand. As for the Sav unfinished, have 2 and will add more to the rotation. Very NICE briars for the money...

 

[jah76]

I can only speak to the unfinished Savinelli. But I bought one when I first started smoking and it's the UGLIEST pipe in the world. However it's also one of the most reliable pipes I have. No matter what I'm doing or smoking it's always effortless. I never worry about setting it down on the picnic table or outside. Heck I've never even cleaned it except for pipe cleaners after a smoke.

 

[mso489]

jah76, I do clean my Savenelli unfinished pipes every time I smoke them. One has some conspicuous fills, but the others don't, and if you polish them regularly, they develop a beautiful dark walnut glow. You can use them as beater pipes and just let them go, but they reward regular attention, as does any pipe, or maybe moreso since you start with something that looks like sanded but raw briar. Even the one with fills looks kind of radiant. Not ugly.

 

[tarak]

I think Savinelli pipes are fantastic for their money. That said if you clench that other pipe is very light and I think you'll find a noticeable difference in that weight.

 

[jah76]

Mso. I meant more the fills on mine being ugly. I love natural pipes. I've come so close to buying an unfinished Nording, but I can't get comfortable with free hands (I've gotten rid of some beautiful Preben Holmes and others).
And I keep looking at Luciano and Radice naturals...but I spend more money on tobacco then pipes and I'm a pretty content guy with what I have.
Rob...Cup O Joe's used to have unfinished Savs awhile back too. I got mine at Iwan Ries's in Chicago but their website hadn't been updated much last I looked.

 

[robwoodall]

Well,
The only decision I made was to postpone the decision.
I guess that does rule out the Chacom, since it probably won't be on sale by the time I decided.
What I'm really looking for is a traveling pipe. I have a new truck, and it has a little tray on the center console, probably for coins, that is a perfect place to put a pipe while driving. I mostly smoke straight pipes, but a bent would better fit this space. I said quarter-bent, but I've decided that a half bent would work better.
I take decent, but not obsessive care of my pipes, but this would sometimes get left in the truck for hours at a time, so I want a pipe that I'm not too concerned with keeping "perfect."
I have picked a Savinelli that I like, and should fit my space, a half-bent billiard. The Savinelli has a vulcanite stem. Now I'm concerned that the heat and light will damage the vulcanite.
Oh, well. It doesn't really matter. I have plenty to smoke, just thinking about how to put that space to use.

 

[tarak]

Get a rusticatedTrevi or Roma Savinelli 626 and smoke on my friend!

 

[mso489]

For that particular purpose, a Falcon might be a good choice. The aluminum stem isn't light or heat sensitive, and the bowl is replaceable. I don't own one, but most owners seem devoted to these pipes.

 

[cigrmaster]

Savinelli, hands down, they offer a nice open draw and I always just toss the filter and smoke without. Also I personally would never buy a pipe that is .9 in weight. The walls have to be thin for it to come in at that weight. I never go below 40 grams, and prefer 45-55 as the sweet spot.

 

[danimalia]

Nice information. I am looking hard at those Savinelli Unfinished as my first briar. It seems like it is a great compromise in that Savinelli is a very widely-respected brand, the price is good, and it looks totally unpretentious. I don't mind the idea of a few flaws on a pipe, as I have a few flaws of my own. :wink: Besides, I think they look pretty cool without the finish on them.