Cost vs. Quality….
- Thread starter Frasermac
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I had a straight Castello in the 450$ range that wont pass a pipe cleaner (sold and happy) meanwhile my 5$ Cob did pass pipe cleaner. Obviously if you pay more for a pipe you can assume the craftmanship gonna be better but it’s not always the case, i got marvelous briar in the 50$-100$ range. It’s all question of what your budget is and what you like . These days i read a lot on banjo forum and everytime someone ask if this budget banjo is alright , purist come out and say you need to spend at least 800$ for a half decent one(it’s not true) All this to say you need to take everything with a grain of salt ,after all it’s just a tool to enjoy your tobacco. 
never also ever had trouble getting a cleaner through any of my pipes. Even the bent ones.
I do not know in depth the quality of the brands or manufacturers of briar pipes. But on my radar are radice, stanwell, savinelli and maybe I'll also try some peterson, and hopefully a castello. Actually, according to my economy and current possibilities, this would be my first choice as a stinky newbie. And of course another collection of MM Charles Cobbler and General. I can't afford pipes over 200 euros.
You've been lucky to have well drilled pipes. Attention to detail by the carver even lets pipes such as these pass a cleaner.
Negligence in drilling made the draft hole off center of the tenon and none of these would pass a cleaner.
Wow, that second pipe is impressive in how it passes a pipe cleaner.
The ones that don't pass a pipe cleaner are straight up disappointing. Are those bottom two Neerups?
What others have said and I've found to be true is that it's 25% equipment and 75% technique. So whether your pipe is $5 or $5000, it really only represents at best about a quarter of the smoking experience.I had a straight Castello in the 450$ range that wont pass a pipe cleaner (sold and happy) meanwhile my 5$ Cob did pass pipe cleaner. Obviously if you pay more for a pipe you can assume the craftmanship gonna be better but it’s not always the case, i got marvelous briar in the 50$-100$ range. It’s all question of what your budget is and what you like . These days i read a lot on banjo forum and everytime someone ask if this budget banjo is alright , purist come out and say you need to spend at least 800$ for a half decent one(it’s not true) All this to say you need to take everything with a grain of salt ,after all it’s just a tool to enjoy your tobacco.
Of course, that also depends on what matters more to the individual smoker, the flavors, or the pipe.
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Though what's hilarious is how my Rattrays which was an unsmoked estate pipe had a bit of pipe cleaner stuck in it. It's slightly tricky to get a cleaner through. As in it's barely got a bend. I think somebody bought the pipe couldn't get a cleaner through it and returned it. And who ever that person is I have to laugh at their incompetence. In fact I think they might be the person that drilled some of those pipes you shared pics of.
Either that or they used the worlds lowest quality pipe cleaners. Funny it's a great pipe but that bit of crap jammed into it made the pipe unsmokable
I’ve been on the hunt for a very specific Neerup pipe but this has me less interested in finding it.
Don't let that discourage you. Peder makes a good pipe but the bends in those caused pipe cleaner snags.
The Neerup I have is pretty good, but the curved stem smokes wetter than anything I've had before the filter comes out soaked), and it's not too easy getting a cleaner through the mouthpiece.
It smokes pretty good though, and it was (relativley) inexpensive. I am happy with it, but don't know if I'd rush out to buy another when I could get a Vauen for the same price (the one I have is excellent) or a Savanelli for half (the Dante I bought might be my favorite).
I am sold on Artisan as well. I learned from a very young age; you get what you pay for!
Cost V. Quality EH!, well that might stir a few opinions.
Money seems to do better buying a name rather than quality these days. Take Peterson for example, they make complete crap, but people spend the money for over say a Rossi, Chacom, Savinelli, BC and so on and so forth, simply for the name. Which at one point, not that many years ago, did make very well made pipes for the money.
As for the Artisans pipes, I cant really comment much, I dont have any experience with them. They can be very good looking for sure. Are they worth spending over 1K for something someone worked 1 day on, not to me. But if that's your thing, then go for it.
But you dont got to spend a fortune to get a good pipe. A great smoker can be had on the cheap.
My best is an Aldo Morelli that cost me 15$ on the fleabay.
Money seems to do better buying a name rather than quality these days. Take Peterson for example, they make complete crap, but people spend the money for over say a Rossi, Chacom, Savinelli, BC and so on and so forth, simply for the name. Which at one point, not that many years ago, did make very well made pipes for the money.
As for the Artisans pipes, I cant really comment much, I dont have any experience with them. They can be very good looking for sure. Are they worth spending over 1K for something someone worked 1 day on, not to me. But if that's your thing, then go for it.
But you dont got to spend a fortune to get a good pipe. A great smoker can be had on the cheap.
My best is an Aldo Morelli that cost me 15$ on the fleabay.
For some, like myself, the attraction to Peterson is the aesthetic of some of their shapes. I've been wanting a bent billiard and their XL90 has slight differences in the curves of the bowl that make it more appealing that the Savinelli 616 (though I prefer the 616's stem shape). But I haven't kept any of the Petersons I’ve ordered because of the quality.
They are certainly pretty, they got me the same way a few times, but I've now learned my lesson.
I love the look of the 05, but smoking a dog turd would be a fairly significant improvement.
Old Petes are good pipes, but the modern stuff is pathetic at best.
I've thought about keeping a few of the ones I bought just to try and smoke them then sell them if I didn't like them. I figured I'd just be out a few bucks but couldn't bring myself to do it. Your response makes me think I made the right call (though I know may Peterson fans would disagree with you).
As I mentioned before, I would never spend over 100 dollars on a pipe(120, maybe, if I really liked it). But I learned a long time ago that there is a difference between inexpensive and cheap. My Mr. Brog Morta is easily my best pipe, and the amount of morta used would probably make it worth hundreds if it had a different name stamped on it. Granted, it is just a plain bent billiard ~ no frills. But, I'm a no frill kind of guy, and for under 100 dollars, I could not be more pleased.