I am Officially In PAD Madness- A Brand New Willmer

[beefeater33]

Cob- That's a beauty! I'm not sure if its priced right or not. It seems they are all over the place (price-wise) on e-bay. I paid $75 for mine, but it was at an antique/junk store. I got lucky. They are great smokers though, and most are a bit Charatan-esque in their shaping. The grain on the one in your pic looks stunning........ ::

 

[cobguy]

It says on the site that it is an "Extra Grain AR" ... it's been tugging at me for about 2 weeks. :wink:

 

[doctorbob]

I think Willmer pipes are the best value on the English estate market. They are very Charatan-esque with regard to shaping, with better briar IMHO. My Willmer is a tank, and it is the best chunk of briar, grain wise, I have ever owned. I'm a standard shape kind of guy, so I've resold 4 of the 5 that have come through my hands in the last 2 years, but not because of the briar or smoking qualities. They are just excellent pipes.
The Extra Grain was a step below the Straight Grain stamping, but still a very nice pipe. I think the price on that one is a little optimistic. I purchased the one I kept for ~150 from Nathan Mattia about 2 years ago, an AAA example Straight Grain. For ~140 I would keep looking for a Straight Grain (plus, from the picture, it looks like the bit is a little chewed up?).

Doc

 

[cobguy]

That's a beauty Doc! Thanks for the added info and I agree that the price is "optimistic". (great way to say it!)
Harris is getting something like 75 of these so maybe I'll just buy one from him. :D