First Briar -- Buy New or Estate?

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Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,960
14,303
Humansville Missouri
Thank you everyone who read my post and took the time to reply. Looks like I'll be getting a brand new briar pipe, leaning toward Peterson due to being half Irish myself.

Fifty years ago when I bought my first briar pipe I couldn’t afford a Peterson.

Today a desirable Sherlock Holmes “Baskerville” Pete is $136

IMG_6985.jpeg

That’s not just a Peterson, it’s a large special series Peterson, with a P lip and band, which will be a collectible.

How they do that, I don’t know.

Buy the best Peterson you can turn loose of your dough.

You’ll never want your money back, I promise.:)
 

milk

Lifer
Sep 21, 2022
1,096
2,802
Japan
Often you can get a slightly “nicer” or slightly more expensive pipe for that $100 than what a new one would be. Smokingpipes.com has loads of new and estate pipes in that range. Peterson, Savinelli, Stanwell, and others have plenty of pipes at or less than $100.

Smokingpipes is nice because they give an accurate description of any condition issues a pipe may have as a result of it being smoked. A little rim darkening is no biggie in my book, nor are mild tooth chatter or minor scratches around the bowl. My big no-no’s are charred rim, charring around the airway, and over reamed or out of round chambers.

I’ve bought a few pipes on Etsy and all have been nice and as-described, but sometimes people misrepresent things, or don’t provide accurate descriptions because they don’t know a whole lot about pipes. Etsy can be hard to know if you’re getting a fair deal sometimes.

Find whatever speaks to you and gets you excited! But again, if you’re unsure, it might be better to stick to trusted retailers until you start to figure out what’s what.
I bought a pipe on Etsy that was described as new old stock. It’s has a pit in it that was repaired with some kind of charcoal salve. I didn’t send it back because I live in Japan. It wasn’t worth it. I have one great new Peterson. It’s a shape I love. Petersons are classy and timeless and affordable. On the other hand, I’m addicted to buying estates. Half of them I’ve ended up reselling at a loss. This might sound dumb. I could have put them up for a better price but I just wanted to touch and experience more pipes. I couldn’t afford to keep them all but I kind of paid for the privilege of experiencing them. I’m winding that habit down now. I think it’s good to get a Pete and then later on, get some estates. Reborn pipes has great estates. Read the blog and you’ll know exactly what Steve did to them and their condition.
 

Sobrbiker

Lifer
Jan 7, 2023
3,824
49,694
Casa Grande, AZ
Thank you everyone who read my post and took the time to reply. Looks like I'll be getting a brand new briar pipe, leaning toward Peterson due to being half Irish myself.
My reason the first non-estate pipe was Peterson, especially since the K in K&P is the Kapp brothers that emigrated to Ireland from Germany (my family’s story).
Almost a shame the Latvian guy’s name stuck😆
 
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Merton

Lifer
Jul 8, 2020
1,032
2,726
Boston, Massachusetts
I have many estate pipes and you can get a good value at one of the reputable sites. However, for your first briar
I think it best to buy new. Savinelli, Peterson, Rossi, Vauen (many 9mm which you may/may not like) and Chacom all have good pipes in your price range.
 

MattRVA

Lifer
Feb 6, 2019
4,542
39,126
Richmond Virginia
I’d recommend getting a Savinelli Roma straight billiard or apple. I think a new pipe will give you the best experience. I hope you enjoy it! 💨💨
 

mtwaller

Lifer
Nov 21, 2018
1,396
6,740
35
Atlanta, GA
Thank you everyone who read my post and took the time to reply. Looks like I'll be getting a brand new briar pipe, leaning toward Peterson due to being half Irish myself.
I enjoy Peterson’s, they were the first few pipes I ever bought, and I still have quite a few that I enjoy. Hope you find a nice one, There are plenty of nice 80S (their bent bulldog) out there. I believe the 150 is their straight bulldog. Both are fine looking shapes. Show it off when you find the one!
 
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carp rides again

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 11, 2024
116
905
Lookout mountain ga
I'd go with new. Probably a Sav. I love Peterson's but they tend to gurgle, unless you're gonna get a system one. Then I'd Def get a Pete

You're gonna get what you want in the end and then some more. So at least you got that going for you.
 

jpmcwjr

Moderate Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
26,131
29,969
Carmel Valley, CA
I am a fan of estate pipes, but for your first, agree with many above. Break it in the old fashioned way. Or not!

I strongly advise against immediately branching in to other forms. Get going with 3-4 briars, and decide later you'd like to try a Meer.
 
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simong

Lifer
Oct 13, 2015
2,748
16,587
UK
Fifty years ago when I bought my first briar pipe I couldn’t afford a Peterson.

Today a desirable Sherlock Holmes “Baskerville” Pete is $136

View attachment 284510

That’s not just a Peterson, it’s a large special series Peterson, with a P lip and band, which will be a collectible.

How they do that, I don’t know.

Buy the best Peterson you can turn loose of your dough.

You’ll never want your money back, I promise.:)
Couldn’t agree more with @Briar Lee (can’t believe what I just said lol).
Or even better, buy a de luxe system from Peterson’s.
I’m 52 now & have been smoking since I was 15. If I knew then what I know now, I’d of bought a natural petersons de luxe for my first pipe. Can’t afford one? Smoke a falcon & save up until you can. With hindsight, that’s what I should’ve done.
 
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mtwaller

Lifer
Nov 21, 2018
1,396
6,740
35
Atlanta, GA
And all tobacco that is regular production is crap. Only discontinued tobacco that is at least 200US dollars/tin is acceptable.
If you don’t get scalped on Esoterica bags that you only halfway enjoy, can you really call yourself a pipe smoker?
 
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alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,429
43,793
Alaska
Buy a Ropp. They are cheap, well made, lightweight, and have excellent vulcanite stems for a factory pipe.