Got Any Pipes That Smoke Better Than You Ever Expected?

[sparrowhawk]

The Cayuga line of pipes produced by Paul's Pipe Shop in Flint, Michigan, were a real revelation for me. They are the only American-made pipes I own, and after buying and smoking an extraordinary shell grain billiard for the ridiculous price of only about $45, I've come to believe they are among the best pipes available, competing with any of my Petersons or other Italian, British, or Irish pipes I own, and I suspect they are as good as Dunhills. Or at least I can't imagine a better smoking pipe. I now have 4 Cayugas, and am pretty sure I'll be adding more to the collection when I go back to Flint this spring. But check this store out: you won't be disappointed.

 

[buroak]

I love my Missouri Meerschaum cobs, but I have been mightily surprised to find that my diminutive Eaton is among my very best cobs.

 

[sparrowhawk]

I've found the MM cobbits, particularly the Shire, to be great cobs, and I'm not a great fan of cobs prior to discovering the cobbit line.

 

[jkrug]

I have a $30 Capri Gozzo with a bent saddle stem that is real comfy to clench and puffs away like a champ.

I also have a nice little $25 briar with no marking other than "Italy" stamped on it that smokes really well too.

These cheap little buggers are regulars in my pipe rotation.

 

[sablebrush52]

I have a few. An Ehrlich billiard ($1) that smokes wonderfully well, cool and sweet. Ditto for my Preben holm Frasortoret ($25) freehand with a killer blast and a Brebbia Linea ($2). Great pipes. When I smoked my first Lee Von Erck ($173) it was like a revelation. Every one of his pipes that I have since bought, smokes supremely well, so they're no longer a surprise.

 

[owen]

Yorkist Avon British made, came in a box of random pipes I got from ebay for some other pipes in the box. Smokes much better than all my other pipes, including a number of name pipes. The stem on it is perfect. I kept my eyes open and got another Yorkist Dr Mcquade but it wasn't so good. I will try one more before conceding it was a one off magic pipe.

 

[freakiefrog]

I got a great Genod from a guy on Facebook. I was skeptical because I had never heard of the maker. But it is one that I can't keep my hands off of.

 

[aldecaker]

A $30 basket saddle-stem Czech billiard from Anthony's Cigar Emporium here in Tucson. Ugly rustication, not-so-great stain color, and a big, clunky vulcanite stem with a huge button. After blasting the airway out to 5/32" and funneling the tenon, I get about $20 worth of pleasure every time I smoke it. And, much like the Sav alligator pattern, what I used to think was hideous has really started to grow on me...

 

[agnosticpipe]

Thanks for all the feedback on this subject guys and gals. Nice to see a lot of you have these little gems in your rotation like me. Funny how these thing work out sometimes.
aldecaker: I agree with your method. Drilling out the shank airway and funneling the end of the tenon is an easy way to make a pipe smoke better, especially if it's a bent shape. I've solved the problem of a few gurgle prone pipes this way.

 

[allan]

I have a Greek briar 'no-name' that was given to me by the NYC pipe club-it was up for grabs.
It was a little dingy, but with a little work, it is a really nice smoker, even though this isn't my shape.

 

[foggymountain]

Yes most of them smoke better than expected. When I was a teen, my pipes did not smoke as well. I only had a dozen or so. When I could afford a lot of pipes, they smoked much better. Why? They had more time to dry out. A few weeks is best between smokes.

 

[wayneteipen]

I have a Savinelli Duca Carlo half bent billiard that smokes exceptionally well. It's a filter pipe that I don't use the filters for but don't have the insert either. It was a real pain to break in and I almost gave up on it at one point but it performs at the level of many of my high grades now. I think I paid $39 plus some change back in 2008.

 

[mrenglish]

I have a Wally Frank that is marked pipe of the month on one side and sweet root on the other. It was a gift from Premal a few years ago. I had him open it up as the draw was to tight but it has smoked like a champ ever since. Its a smooth billiard with a green dot on the stem.

 

[lostandfound]

Back in my early(er) days of piping, before I knew I should be careful in my pipe selecting, I bought a pipe from a local Cigarette Outlet. Upon closer inspection, I found out that the pipe is more than likely NOT briar, and the bowl was bored out most unusually. The chamber walls start out going straight down, but then it tapers inward to a point. Think a soup can with an upside down party hat attached to the bottom. I thought it would be a bunk pipe, but it does indeed smoke better than expected. Not great by any means, mind you, but better than I thought it would.

 

[rayje589]

I have a Baraccini pipe I bought mostly for the price. With the pipe being cheap it has an off center draft hole. I went back and forth with sending it back but after smoking a few bowls out of it it doesn't seem to affect the smoke at all. It is a bit of a pain to clean though.

 

[jeffsimpson]

While I don't have any pipes that smoke better than I expected, most likely due to the fact that the wife will only let me get so many pipes per year, I've definitely gotten a tobacco or two that smoked better than I thought. Missouri Meerschaum's Great Dane in particular. Very aromatic and very tasty. Most of the aromatics I've had have little flavour, but Great Dane is like candy. And only 5$ for a pouch :D

 

[derfatdutchman]

I have a bent rusticated Bjarne Viking Denver I bought when I first started smoking pipes. I liked the shape and hand feel, but the drilling is off, it won't pass a pipe cleaner without taking off the stem. I didn't know better at the time. The pipe is a machine, no gurgle, smokes cool and dry.

 

[escioe]

I got a random 1990-2000s Comoy Apple that I didn't smoke much until I started smoking Virginias. It's probably my first or second most smoked pipe these days.

 

[monty55]

MMCC without a doubt was my most pleasent surprise by far, and is a regular go-too pipe for me.

 

[mso489]

foggymountain has a good point, that having "way too many" pipes gives every pipe a chance to rest a week or two between smokes, and this really lengthens the life of each pipe and improves the performance as well. I have a sort of pipe shop in my study, and every time I smoke I "discover" a pipe I may have almost forgotten I had. But they all smoke remarkably well.