Good Cheap Pipe

[SBC]

That seems quite the superficial statement.

I am an appreciator of tobacco, so yes - I do have some pretty pipes, but I certainly don't frown at a Falcon.

Firstly = I don't think Falcon's look that terrible. They were also quite innovative for their time and are at least interesting as a piece of good functional design.

For a beginner who is looking for a budget pipe, I think they function better than most options at that price bracket (other than maybe cobs).

As I said - to each his own.

We smoke pipes for different reasons. Some guys here claim not to give twopence for their pipes as pipes -- they insist that their pipes are nothing more to them than utilitarian tobacco delivery systems.
I don't really believe them, but OK, we'll grant that for conversation's sake.

I have different motivations than that.

Of course I enjoy some tobaccos (and don't enjoy others), but I don't have to have any of them.
If pipes did not exist, and cigarettes were the only tobacco delivery systems, I might smoke only a few times a year.

But pipes do exist and I enjoy them, so I average one bowl each evening.

I'm motivated to smoke (considered in itself) a few times a year.
I'm motivated to pipe smoke every day.

I don't understand all of the reasons that I enjoy pipe smoking, but one of them involves the classic pipe shapes. I enjoy the appearance of briar billiards, canadians, apples, dublins, bulldogs, etc.

A pipe that looks like a vintage oil can is a non-starter for me.

P.S. This has nothing to do with monetary value. I'd be perfectly happy with $20 basket pipes, so long as they were classic shapes.

 

[Bob the bear]

PIPES - https://mysmokingshop.co.uk/pipes has a range of their own pipes and adsorba pipes for under 30. Order the pipes on that page by price and you will have quite a big selection to choose from

 

[Mtlpiper]

@SBC An interestingly mystical response!

There's nowt so queer as folk, and there is no accounting for taste - which is clearly subjective.

I appreciate a decently carved piece of briar as much as any pipe forum member and though pipes are indeed just a simple "tobacco delivery system". They can be appreciated as objet d'art or whatever floats your particular spaceship.

However... The original topic was the OP asking for a decent budget pipe for a beginner.

My suggestion was merely a practical one. If he's new to smoking and he's in the UK, the Falcon is the easiest pipe at a low budget to get the nicest smoke (aside from a cob).

Why do you think so many old people smoke them?

Down the road he can pick up a pretty briar or carved meerschaum in the image of the holy mushroom and maybe wax lyrical about how he is drawn to smoke it on a daily basis because of its captivating swirls while dancing through the old forest.

Or you know, he can pick up whatever his wee heart desires.

 

[sparker69]

Rossi (Savinelli). Quality pipes at a reasonable cost.

Yeah - I've heard good things about Rossi as well.

 

[PipeIT]

I have seen @Ettrick puffer smoking Blakemar’s before;

Blakemar Briars - Finest Quality Smoking Pipes Since 1890

Buy smoking pipes and tobacco online.

blakemar.co.uk

By the way, where is that Lad? hmm

 

[K.E. Powell]

They're a little more than the range you asked for, but I see Chacom and Viking pipes going as low as $60-70. I don't have any experience with Roma and Rossi pipes, but they're roughly in the price range you originally stipulated, and I've heard mostly good things. On rare occasions, Pipes and Cigars will have sales on their Stanwells where they are below the $70 mark. Stanwells almost always punch above their weight.

Cobs are excellent, as you know. Old colonial-style clays can be good and very affordable. Not the most practical or durable pipe, but they smoke exceptionally well.

 

[romaso]

Here's one for under 12 GBP. They have a big selection of store brand pipes.

Mysmokingshop Wellbent Standard System Rustic Bent Briar Pipe

The Mysmokingshop Wellbent bent pipe very similar in style to a Peterson Standard System pipe.Finished in a dark rustic brown shade and fitted with an old fashioned nickel mount and moulded plastic mouthpiece.A great every day pipe.Measures 140mm long.Bowl internally measures 18mm diameter and 37mm

mysmokingshop.co.uk

 

[didimauw]

Barber B-Line Pipes Archives

Buy Barber B-Line Pipes from James Barber Tobacconist. The oldest family run UK tobacconist established in 1867.

www.smoke.co.uk

These are some of my most favorite pipes from anywhere at any price, fantastic sandblasting, I envy anyone who could go to the store and pick out a pipe in person.

Those are some seriously great looking pipes! I'd buy those as a veteran smoker!

 

[OzPiper]

I'm with @SBC on this

I have quite a few sub-$50 pipes.
I love my lower priced pipes and treat them equally as their more expensive brethren.
Why ? Because I bought them after I fell in love with their looks.
I would find it difficult to smoke a pipe I disliked the look of.

There are a few very good suggestions for cheaper pipe here, so I won't add to the list.

Equally, if I didn't like a tobacco, I'd try it again.
But two strikes and out It goes.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

In the UK, a corncob costs from £12 (eg Country Gentleman) to about £28 for something more fancy.

A Falcon (stem and bowl) is roughly £30

What other makes are reasonably good first pipe up to around the £30 mark?

Not interested in estate pipes. I think that is more of a US thing than a European thing.

This is just more of my research in case anyone asks. The answers may help somebody.

Thanks

£30 really isn't £30 anymore eh?

A Morgan Bones pipe of your choice would've comfortably been in your budget, but now that's looking more like £40-£50 - they're not much for looks but some of the most transparent tasting briar pipes out there. I think you can pick some up from the Danish Pipe Shop and a couple of other European outlets.

 

[JimPM]

Rossi, Molina, Ropp, Baraccini are good budget level pipes. One other is a Polish handmade shop called Balandis. Really nice pipes in the same price range. Just bought another one of his that I've been watching for over a year. 15% off sold!

 

[Chalaw87]

Another options would be a carve-your-own-pipe block, so long as you have the time and tools. You can pick up the carve-your-own-pipe blocks off the internet/amazon for around $25-30. Also theres something to smoking a pipe that youve carved/made yourself.

 

[jozefbehr]

Informational Thread thank you for sharing ...

 

[UB 40]

In the UK, a corncob costs from £12 (eg Country Gentleman) to about £28 for something more fancy.

A Falcon (stem and bowl) is roughly £30

What other makes are reasonably good first pipe up to around the £30 mark?

Not interested in estate pipes. I think that is more of a US thing than a European thing.

This is just more of my research in case anyone asks. The answers may help somebody.

Thanks

Estates only a US thing? I don’t think so. And if you take a look on the market at old school tobacconists or eBay in Europe it’s simply not true. There are always at least quickly changing bids on almost any price range. You can get a bargain in good smokers for a few bucks. Did you ever buy a used car?

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Estates only a US thing? I don’t think so. And if you take a look on the market at old school tobacconists or eBay in Europe it’s simply not true. There are always at least quickly changing bids on almost any price range. You can get a bargain in good smokers for a few bucks. Did you ever buy a used car?

Several very reasonably priced and nice Danish estates on SP EU.

 

[damacene]

If you can find a rossi straight pot that will serve you well. I've had one that's lasted me near a decade and it's still one of my best smokers.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

I think cobs give the best bang for the buck. They get the job done, can be replaced if damaged by user error, and have stood the test of time.

However, Scott's offers a pipe kit with a decent pear wood pipe that looks similar to a Savinelli 606, two pipe case, tobacco pouch, reamer, pipe tool, and a few others accessories for about $35.

The "add ons" alone are worth the price of admission while the pipe itself is thick walled and sharp looking.

The next level pipes would be Rossi or Morgan Bones (which I haven't tried but get great reviews). And don't underestimate an estate pipe, which you can find some great deals on. Also, my basket pipe has been good to me for years.

 

[K.E. Powell]

Pipes and Cigars is having a flash sale on their Stanwells. Many of them are going for around 50ish bucks. You're not going to get a much better deal than that. Stanwells are easily one of the better commercial manufacturers of pipes.

 

[Alejo R.]

Estates only a US thing? I don’t think so. And if you take a look on the market at old school tobacconists or eBay in Europe it’s simply not true. There are always at least quickly changing bids on almost any price range. You can get a bargain in good smokers for a few bucks. Did you ever buy a used car?

Certainly not to everyone's taste. But pipe estate collecting is as developed in Europe as anywhere else in the world.

 

[slavman68]

I have a couple crown pipes. They're underrated and are only like $30. Pretty good smokers too.