Do Expensive Pipes Really Smoke Better?
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Today on NPR they were interviewing the author of a new book called, "The Price of Everything" and relating such things as having wine experts sample wines without knowing the price of them and how bad they were at guessing the price....so much psychological marketing masturbation has brainwashed Americans minds...the Sheeple will believe ANYTHING 
European swallow!
1.) Its all a matter of opinion! There are the basics that romeowood and cortez outlined, but then there is also the fact that everyone smokes different! A pipe might be a great smoker for me, and you would hate it.
2.) I buy 99% of my pipes as estates and to be honest I have had closer to the 35% of bad smokers, but that is the price you pay to get a good deal. Thankfully it is easy to get rid of the bad smokers, just give them away!
3.) I would think, and I am only guessing here, that you would get move great smokers out of the 100 random high grade pipes!
Interesting questions William!
1.) Its all a matter of opinion! There are the basics that romeowood and cortez outlined, but then there is also the fact that everyone smokes different! A pipe might be a great smoker for me, and you would hate it.
2.) I buy 99% of my pipes as estates and to be honest I have had closer to the 35% of bad smokers, but that is the price you pay to get a good deal. Thankfully it is easy to get rid of the bad smokers, just give them away!
3.) I would think, and I am only guessing here, that you would get move great smokers out of the 100 random high grade pipes!
Interesting questions William!
Doc Brown of Springfield, MO once took a look at my newly purchased Peterson 306 System pipe and said to me, "Now see here...all that glitters is not gold when it comes to these new pipes." When I asked what he meant, he explained that a new pipe will always take a while to be a great smoker, until you get it good and broken in. And some pipes (like that Peterson) take a LOOOOOOONG time to break in.
But a good, clean, well constructed, already broken-in estate pipe? You can't go wrong there.
But a good, clean, well constructed, already broken-in estate pipe? You can't go wrong there.
I have a theory. For the sake of clarification, maybe we have to establish a standard. For example, we could say, a low-end pipe from reputable factories (like many of Peterson's low-end series) versus their high grades. Maybe the difference between low-end pipes from well established company have less difference in smoking quality from high-end pipes. But if you go lower than this standard (for example, the basket pipes), because there's no standard conformity for those pipes, you're likely to find mix smoking quality. My theory is that, once a minimum standard is met (as many of you have mentioned the engineering of the pipe, the quality of raw material, and such things), the difference in price range from that point on might actually reflect the outward design and aesthetic quality more than the smoking quality itself (after all, once you get pass the basic engineering necessity, how much better at burning tobacco can a pipe get?). So maybe it's the collector's business now, at collecting beautiful briar, hand-made pipes from famous crafters and so on. And the price reflects these extras, rather than reflecting the smoking quality of the pipes. In the same way a Mont Blanc pen, doesn't write better than supermarket pens like Bic, I know this for a fact, I spend a lot of time marking books with pens. And I don't think Louis Vuitton bags hold stuff better than any well-made leather bags (in fact most Louis Vuitton bags aren't even leather), the high price reflects the aesthetic and the brand-name rather than the use value of the product itself. It was just my opinion...
A pipe is a pipe some just need a little help .In the dark you can not tell a Dumbhill from a DR . Rolex watches do not keep good time .The cupholder is a BMW 750 costs 1100.00 dollars .Patina in the briar makes a good smoker . Some pipes prefer differant cuts of tobacco over others .Dress shoes outlast sneakers .And the is answer is still 42 .
I love these guys but once more I have to step in and be the voice of reason and knowledge. Yes, more expensive pipes smoke better. If they didn't, they wouldn't be more expensive. Sure, you can drive a Yugo and smoke a Grabow, but the question is do you really want to? Of course not! Now go get a complete set of Jess Chonowitsch pipes and mock the plebeians Grabowers.
I'm with Bob, you can never really tell until you light up.
I have no way of knowing what to tell you as to the smoking qualities of high end pipes. I tend to buy pipes for less than $100.00. Actually well less than that. One of my favorites is a factory second basket pipe. It's unfinished and has some filler in places and I don't even know who made it. It smokes great and because it was really inexpensive I don't mind if it takes a ding or two. I could see myself getting into the $200 dollar range one day, maybe, possibly...but I'd feel guilty about it.
If I could afford it, I'd love to have some of those really great looking, super high end pipes. Not because I think they'll necessarily smoke better, simply because I think they look nice. But then I'd probably drop the damn thing and spend a good two weeks kicking myself in the butt.
I have no way of knowing what to tell you as to the smoking qualities of high end pipes. I tend to buy pipes for less than $100.00. Actually well less than that. One of my favorites is a factory second basket pipe. It's unfinished and has some filler in places and I don't even know who made it. It smokes great and because it was really inexpensive I don't mind if it takes a ding or two. I could see myself getting into the $200 dollar range one day, maybe, possibly...but I'd feel guilty about it.
If I could afford it, I'd love to have some of those really great looking, super high end pipes. Not because I think they'll necessarily smoke better, simply because I think they look nice. But then I'd probably drop the damn thing and spend a good two weeks kicking myself in the butt.
Buckeye that pipe is gorgeous o.o I'd have paid 100-150 for it in a store :P
As for my opinion on the matter -- it's basically the same as anyone else's. . . it just depends :P.
Pretty much as long is it is ACTUALLY briar (if it is a briar you are buying) -- or at the very least wood. . . then it really doesn't matter. And of course if there isn't a serious flaw in it.
What is fairly oft agreed upon too is that any pipe -can- be a good smoker.
Also I would NEVER pay more than around 300 USD expecting it to naturally mean a better smoke. First of all things over that price tend to have much less standardized innards and may be specifically designed to smoke a way you hate, or a way you prefer. Second of all, there's only so much you can do with the way a pipe smokes, yes that little goes a long way, but at the same time it has its limits.
For example, I like Peterson system pipes (there are other companies with a virtually identical system as well but Peterson was the first pipe I bought with it) and dislike Canadians, which have something about the bowl that always seems to result in massive gurgling.
But after 300 USD (back to my original point) what I've always seen is that the beauty of a pipe increases, while the functional design remains the same as the same company's same designs at a lower price. Of course this is just my experience and it has exemptions (such as a larger version of the same pipe, e.g. giants and magnums).
As for my opinion on the matter -- it's basically the same as anyone else's. . . it just depends :P.
Pretty much as long is it is ACTUALLY briar (if it is a briar you are buying) -- or at the very least wood. . . then it really doesn't matter. And of course if there isn't a serious flaw in it.
What is fairly oft agreed upon too is that any pipe -can- be a good smoker.
Also I would NEVER pay more than around 300 USD expecting it to naturally mean a better smoke. First of all things over that price tend to have much less standardized innards and may be specifically designed to smoke a way you hate, or a way you prefer. Second of all, there's only so much you can do with the way a pipe smokes, yes that little goes a long way, but at the same time it has its limits.
For example, I like Peterson system pipes (there are other companies with a virtually identical system as well but Peterson was the first pipe I bought with it) and dislike Canadians, which have something about the bowl that always seems to result in massive gurgling.
But after 300 USD (back to my original point) what I've always seen is that the beauty of a pipe increases, while the functional design remains the same as the same company's same designs at a lower price. Of course this is just my experience and it has exemptions (such as a larger version of the same pipe, e.g. giants and magnums).
Original post had me at "burning question."
I think the key is in that pun right there. What *are* you burning in it? How are you smoking it?
As I read this, I'm at my home gunsmithing bench. I'm wearing a Ruger apron. They have a reputation for making the best-shooting, lowest cost (highest value) handguns.
Are we sure it's not a question about the ammo and smoker's technique? Sure, there are bad guns. All brands make them. Ever see this guy Hickok45 on Youtube? Retired English teacher who shot competition for years. Helluva shot. His favorite gun is a Glock 23, followed closely by a Glock 19. Now... Hickok can make 230 yd shots with just about any gun. But not right at first. He has to adjust to the gun.
It's not the gun. It's his technique. And perhaps brand of ammo. They don't all shot the same. Some loads favor other guns. Some guns shoot anything.
But he makes adjustments. And unless his gun has a factory flaw, he's going to be shooting the eyes out of flies at 80 yards with just about anything you put in his hand.
Saw Jerry Miculek do that just the other day on a video shooting the new Glock 42 in .380. Here is one of the best, fastest shooters alive. Yet when he was shooting left, his *first* thought was, "What do *I* need to do differently." He adjusted his technique and, wow! Competition speed shots at point of aim again.
Glock is not the most expensive gun. Way more expensive guns you can get, and all sorts of modifications you can do them.
Maybe its the same with *pipes*. And if we switch from our favorite to another right away, it's an adjustment. Geez, I enjoy corncob pipes. So pleasing me ain't hard. I'm not going out looking for a $1,000 corncob pipe unless I know for a FACT that Huck Finn made it.
Maybe it's not the cost of the pipe. Maybe it's only familiarity with it. And technique. For sure it's also tobacco. What are you smoking in it? What's its humidity? How is it packed? And how are you smoking it? (force of draw, frequency of draw, finessing it with your cover-fingers and blowback). Do you nurse the coals the same from pipe to pipe? Maybe some designs are more "forgiving" than others. But tobacco doesn't know the cost of the pipe it's in.
If I have to sink over $300 in a pipe -- for me, personally -- I won't enjoy that smoke much. Buyer's remorse probably for a long time.
But that's just me. And I'm like that with all my hobbies. My guns, for instance. My big brag there is how well they shoot and how *little* I paid for them.
I think the key is in that pun right there. What *are* you burning in it? How are you smoking it?
As I read this, I'm at my home gunsmithing bench. I'm wearing a Ruger apron. They have a reputation for making the best-shooting, lowest cost (highest value) handguns.
Are we sure it's not a question about the ammo and smoker's technique? Sure, there are bad guns. All brands make them. Ever see this guy Hickok45 on Youtube? Retired English teacher who shot competition for years. Helluva shot. His favorite gun is a Glock 23, followed closely by a Glock 19. Now... Hickok can make 230 yd shots with just about any gun. But not right at first. He has to adjust to the gun.
It's not the gun. It's his technique. And perhaps brand of ammo. They don't all shot the same. Some loads favor other guns. Some guns shoot anything.
But he makes adjustments. And unless his gun has a factory flaw, he's going to be shooting the eyes out of flies at 80 yards with just about anything you put in his hand.
Saw Jerry Miculek do that just the other day on a video shooting the new Glock 42 in .380. Here is one of the best, fastest shooters alive. Yet when he was shooting left, his *first* thought was, "What do *I* need to do differently." He adjusted his technique and, wow! Competition speed shots at point of aim again.
Glock is not the most expensive gun. Way more expensive guns you can get, and all sorts of modifications you can do them.
Maybe its the same with *pipes*. And if we switch from our favorite to another right away, it's an adjustment. Geez, I enjoy corncob pipes. So pleasing me ain't hard. I'm not going out looking for a $1,000 corncob pipe unless I know for a FACT that Huck Finn made it.
Maybe it's not the cost of the pipe. Maybe it's only familiarity with it. And technique. For sure it's also tobacco. What are you smoking in it? What's its humidity? How is it packed? And how are you smoking it? (force of draw, frequency of draw, finessing it with your cover-fingers and blowback). Do you nurse the coals the same from pipe to pipe? Maybe some designs are more "forgiving" than others. But tobacco doesn't know the cost of the pipe it's in.
If I have to sink over $300 in a pipe -- for me, personally -- I won't enjoy that smoke much. Buyer's remorse probably for a long time.
But that's just me. And I'm like that with all my hobbies. My guns, for instance. My big brag there is how well they shoot and how *little* I paid for them.
Hi 12pips
Welcome to the forums.
My short answer to the original question is, based on my experience, "not necessarily". Many inexpensive pipes smoke just as well as pipes costing 10 to 100 times as much. When you get into the realm of ultra expensive pipes, other forces are at work besides the materials used in the making of that pipe.
But I also don't think that it's merely a question of technique that makes the difference. Whatever the price point, a pipe needs to be made with proper internal engineering at the very least. If you fire a gun with a defective barrel and it blows back at you, it's not your firing technique, is it.
Welcome to the forums.
My short answer to the original question is, based on my experience, "not necessarily". Many inexpensive pipes smoke just as well as pipes costing 10 to 100 times as much. When you get into the realm of ultra expensive pipes, other forces are at work besides the materials used in the making of that pipe.
But I also don't think that it's merely a question of technique that makes the difference. Whatever the price point, a pipe needs to be made with proper internal engineering at the very least. If you fire a gun with a defective barrel and it blows back at you, it's not your firing technique, is it.
As Sable said, there are many factors that determine the value of the pipe. Stirling silver fittings applied to a very finely figured block of very light briar when combined with proper drilling and fitting will demand a premium price. Very much the same as a fully factory engraved Colt wheel gun from the 1860's will demand a higher price than the same model without the engraving or ivory grips.
It's the overall look, materials, and fitting that make for demand which drives the price. How well the pipe smokes is not a factor for price as the buyer has no idea how the pipe will smoke except for the cachet of the manufacturer and any previous experience with that producer's products until he puts a match to the first bowl.
It's the overall look, materials, and fitting that make for demand which drives the price. How well the pipe smokes is not a factor for price as the buyer has no idea how the pipe will smoke except for the cachet of the manufacturer and any previous experience with that producer's products until he puts a match to the first bowl.
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