Cost vs. Quality….

[Frasermac]

Bit of a rambling ponder on the quality of “quality” pipes…
My meagre range includes;
Peterson Dracula; love this pipe but it absolutely won’t pass a pipe cleaner and I’ve had to open the draught hole as the draw was overly tight.

Savinelli Caramella; beautiful pipe but the stem is virtually dropping out as it’s so loose. (Waiting to pick up some beeswax!)

Halfbent basket briar; smokes ok but is a “gurgler”!!!!

Straight basket briar; the cheapest briar I own, it’s slowly losing its stain but smokes fine.

Multitude of MM legends; can’t really fault them! (Cost about £6 each)
So it seems the cheaper, the better!!!!
(I’ve still got a lengthy wish list of ££££ pipes I’d like though)

 

[mikethompson]

There is certainly a link to cost and quality, but its not always there. Sometimes you are paying for a name, sometimes you save because of the name.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Soooo, you own a bunch of cheap pipes, and they all have problems. You mentioned quality and cost... are you asking about better pipes than these?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

First you have to define quality. Performance and quality are often confused, they are not the same thing. Over time, I've culled out the pipes I didn't care for due to a variety of reasons. Many of those reasons weren't necessarily quality or performance flaws. From your descriptions, sounds like you have some clear quality flaws with a couple of your pipe that are intolerable.

When I started seriously collecting pipes again over four years ago, I switched from factory to Artisan. I'm very happy I did. I paid more but the quality and value have been more than worth it.

 

[Andriko]

The Petersons I have I don't think are very good myself. I would recommend a Vauen, as the one I have (a Pearl) is excellent, but I think my best is still a Savinelli which, like your's, has a bit of a loose stem, but it fits fine so it's not an issue.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

There is an old saying, "perception is reality". In the world of pipe smoking many folks were completely happy getting their pipes from the local drug store. If you asked them if it was a good pipe, I could imagine them saying, "I guess, it smokes".

If you have $100 to spend, there are many options. I personally would not buy a Peterson holiday offering. I just assume they are consumer grade stuff to get a quick sale.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

?s are a great way to go. They smoke great and the price is right. I’ve only ever had one cob that sucked and it was a ? MM. As far as briar, I’ve had some spectacular smokers & others left me wondering ?. If you have the ? for both quality crafted briar & ?…that’s awesome. I’d personally rather have a handful of excellent smokers that cost me rather than a pile of briar that ran the gambit as far as quality. Culling pipes is a constant affair…that is until you’re set like Jesse, Harris, Jim, Mark, Duane, etc. ?‍?️

 

[mso489]

Frasermac, you've had bad luck picking out pipes. The two basket pipes may simply be poor quality; everything that lands in the basket isn't dependable. The Peterson and Savinelli are just bad luck. I have quite a few of both brands and they have been reliable and durable, so you just drew the short straw on those. You might have better luck with Nording, Stanwell, or Kaywoodie, or indeed with a different Savinelli, which I have found good quality. I was lucky with basket pipes. I picked out one or two at my local shop that turned out to be unstamped, unfinished Savinelli that are still with me after nearly forty years, and smoke well indeed, and look great. If you can use smaller bowls, French pipes are generally good quality -- Ropp, Chacom, BC, Genod.

 

[DanWil84]

If you make the plain comparison between cost vs quality the MM Carolina Gent would win for me, stem is a lot better than any of the "standard" MM's. Throwing a Forever stem on a standard MM sets me back as much as ordering a "special" edition MM.

But like @hoosierpipeguy says, its not that easy. How do you perceive quality? What do you consider costs? It's all in the eye of the beholder. I think the MM I have smokes nice and does what it has to, but I love my more expensive Meerschaum also while it does exactly the same. My present favorite briar, a estate Svendborg, smokes the best while it being my cheapest briar.

Do I think it's a waste of money buying anything else than cobs? Hell no. When I consider smoking mechanics, smoking pleasure and aesthetics as factors for buying pipes Meerschaum would be my go to. Does that say I won't buy any briar anymore? Hell no, having a beautiful blast or a nice grain on a pipe is just as nice as having a colored Meerschaum or a good smoking Cob.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Are there folks who can make the OP's Dracula perform the way he wants? Would it be cost prohibitive?

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

If you make the plain comparison between cost vs quality the MM Carolina Gent would win for me, stem is a lot better than any of the "standard" MM's. Throwing a Forever stem on a standard MM sets me back as much as ordering a "special" edition MM.

But like @hoosierpipeguy says, its not that easy. How do you perceive quality? What do you consider costs? It's all in the eye of the beholder. I think the MM I have smokes nice and does what it has to, but I love my more expensive Meerschaum also while it does exactly the same. My present favorite briar, a estate Svendborg, smokes the best while it being my cheapest briar.

Do I think it's a waste of money buying anything else than cobs? Hell no. When I consider smoking mechanics, smoking pleasure and aesthetics as factors for buying pipes Meerschaum would be my go to. Does that say I won't buy any briar anymore? Hell no, having a beautiful blast or a nice grain on a pipe is just as nice as having a colored Meerschaum or a good smoking Cob.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Some fairly expensive pipes do not live up to expectations.
But cheap pipes are cheap, and do live up to to expectations, insomuch that one thinks " At this price it must be a load of crap, " And it is.
In all honesty, that is my experience.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Some fairly expensive pipes do not live up to expectations.
But cheap pipes are cheap, and do live up to to expectations, insomuch that one thinks " At this price it must be a load of crap, " And it is.
In all honesty, that is my experience.

Corn is cheap. In fact MMs are probably overpriced considering all that goes into them. However, MMs are better than ?. And, except for my growing affinity for classic Turkish Meerschaum shapes, MMs on the whole have giving me the best smoking experiences of my life. I mean Penzance or whatever you will smokes just as good for me in a well broken in ? v. briar. ?‍♂ This is just one humble pipe smokers opinion YMMV. ️

 

[cigrmaster]

I having been at this pipe thing for a while and I finally think I know what I like in pipes and I am in the process of culling the 60 odd pipes that did not meet my criteria.


Since I smoke flakes 99% of the time I needed my pipes to be a certain way for the kind of smoke I like. Group 4-5 sized pipes are what I like the best. Here are the dimensions I go for.
Bowl Height 2.0 inches
Inside bowl depth 1.50 inches
Bowl length 5.0 to 6.5inches
Bowl weight 40-55 inches
Inside bowl width size .75-.7/8 inches
Shanks 4.0-4.5 inches

 

[Streeper541]

Soooo, you own a bunch of cheap pipes, and they all have problems. You mentioned quality and cost... are you asking about better pipes than these?

Per usual, Cosmic & me are on the same page. Not to sound rude, but I'm missing the point of this thread. Is there one, or are you just griping about your pipes?

If you're relating quality to cost... well, you're right on target I think. However, as with most things in economics, the rule does not always apply; i.e., Esoterica.

 

[timt]

Bit of a rambling ponder on the quality of “quality” pipes…
My meagre range includes;
Peterson Dracula; love this pipe but it absolutely won’t pass a pipe cleaner and I’ve had to open the draught hole as the draw was overly tight.

Savinelli Caramella; beautiful pipe but the stem is virtually dropping out as it’s so loose. (Waiting to pick up some beeswax!)

Halfbent basket briar; smokes ok but is a “gurgler”!!!!

Straight basket briar; the cheapest briar I own, it’s slowly losing its stain but smokes fine.

Multitude of MM legends; can’t really fault them! (Cost about £6 each)
So it seems the cheaper, the better!!!!
(I’ve still got a lengthy wish list of ££££ pipes I’d like though)View attachment 124690

I get your drift. My modest collection of pipes includes a few Castellos, a couple Dunhills, some decent Savs, Radices, several meers, etc. But in all honesty, when it comes to a quality smoking session, not one beats a cob, even the cheapest $5 cob.

My briars are like the nice dress shoes I never wear that are buried in the back of the closet. But hey, that's just me, lots of people like to wear nice dress shoes.

 

[WVOldFart]

I have Savinellis, and Petersons etc., but I decided a few years ago that they really didn't smoke any better than my Molinas. You can get a good Molina from $50 to $125. To many, that would be a cheap pipe and should be avoided at all cost, but not one of the 12 Molinas that I have is a bad smoker. It will take some time for you to try pipes and decide which ones are what you want. IMHO you can't go wrong with Molinas.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I love how the assumption is that Savinelli and Petersons are NOT cheap pipes, ha ha.

 

[WVOldFart]

I love how the assumption is that Savinelli and Petersons are NOT cheap pipes, ha ha.

True! When pipes can go into thousands of dollars, a $150 to $400 pipe is cheap to some.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Per usual, Cosmic & me are on the same page. Not to sound rude, but I'm missing the point of this thread. Is there one, or are you just griping about your pipes?

If you're relating quality to cost... well, you're right on target I think. However, as with most things in economics, the rule does not always apply; i.e., Esoterica.

That’s a perilous page for which to perch….lol!