If You Were Going To Purchase A New Bulldog?

[saint007]

Looking at my 40 something briar pipes, there isn't a Bulldog among them.
I do have an Ardor Rhodesian that I really like but now thinking of adding a Bulldog.
Which one under $300. would you want? I'm also considering a Meerschaum Bulldog, I just haven't looked at any yet.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have yet to see a meer bulldog that I like. They all have rounded stems or have those mass produced piece of crap stems that they put on all of their pipes just stuck on there. Plus, the beauty of a bulldog is that you can stick it in a pocket and beat the crap out of it and it still looks cool. Well, relatively speaking. But, with a meer, you can't beat on it the same way.
Really, you can pick up a relatively nice bulldog for about $20 on eBay. I have boxes of them, and I've yet to find one that doesn't smoke well. But, if you want classic style, go for the Stanwell bully. Even though bulldogs have been around for much longer, they defined the classic proportions of what we know as the modern bulldog back in the 50's. Plus, you can pick one up from P&C cheap right now.

 

[portalhq]

Bulldogs are my favorite pipe. I just bought a Peterson Kenmare bulldog that I really like and I have my eye on a Savinelli. I particularly like the traditional lines of the Peterson bulldogs.

 

[saint007]

Cosmic, funny you should mention Stanwell, one of my favorites.
I have my eye in this one.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/z/O7sAAOSwd4tT9bzC/$_57.JPG
Portalhq, I haven't been to fond of my two Petersons, not sure I want to go there again.
Sam, I saw some used Dunhill Shells on ebay but didn't want to pay those prices for a used pipe.

 

[papipeguy]

People are probably tired of seeing this but I just had one made by Dan Chlebove of Gabrieli Pipes. This is my 3rd pipe from Dan and I'm loving it. I have a GBD International bulldog and a Peterson Irish Harp bent bulldog but this pipe is in it's own league.

 

[saint007]

That's a real beauty Pipeguy!

 

[mso489]

Bob Hayes does some beautiful artisanal bulldogs from time to time. You might check out his site.

For a small dog that does a masterful job with Virginia leaf, the Stanwell 32 is a classic design and comes

in various finishes at various price levels; the Stanwell 191, a larger dog, has a bigger bowl and a classic

design. You can usually find an array of good estate dogs at SP, at various price levels, with classic English

estate pipes. I wouldn't be afraid of machine made dogs that get the shape right.

 

[andystewart]

Which bulldog would I want?! John's (papipeguy)! I'm green with bloody envy. Failing that, I'm remarkably happy with my Stanwell Duke 151, which has great balance and shape and smokes like a dream.

Andy

 

[dochudson]

 

[kcghost]

Jesse Jones makea wonderful bulldog for about $250. You can see his stuff at Jesse Jones Pipes

 

[ssjones]

If you don't mind a slightly larger pipes, a new Ferndown bulldog is hard to beat.

http://www.pipes2smoke.com/Ferndown/LW_16.htm
Oil cured briar, excellent stem and button work.

 

[curl]

I'm trying to decide between the stanwell 32 or 191.

 

[portalhq]

I just bought a Brigham Heritage bulldog and had my way with it for a first smoke and was impressed. Good dry smoke excellent balance and good feel in hand.

 

[reichenbach]

My best smoker is my Hardcastle Crescent bulldog. I would definitely add more Hardcastles to my collection and new ones go for around $100.

 

[mso489]

I also very much like my Peterson Around the World series bulldog commemorating Ireland. I think it is

a standard Peterson bulldog shape, but with the nickel band engraved with the Celtic cross and the bright

stain.

 

[misterlowercase]

I have only one lone bulldog, and it's quite unorthodox at that, a Russ Cook diamond dog, it's a great smoker!

There's a similar one up on ebay right now...

I have thought of adding more bulldogs, but can't ever seem to pull the trigger.
What I'm attracted to most is the facet bulldog or squat bulldog.
Poul Ilsted made the best facet bulldogs of all time,

but his pipes sell for big figures so that'll never happen,

but lovely to look at...

Manduela also does that particular shape to perfection,

but also very expensive...

Getting more realistic with Hermann Hennen, but still a bit pricey,

he does the shape great though!

...after looking at different facets all over, I finally found one in my roundhouse - and didn't pull the trigger.

Maybe if it was blasted I would have.

regardless, it's a pretty good deal for one of the handmade Bjarne's...

...coming in at exactly $300,

http://briarblues.com/kl001.htm
Most recently,

I very nearly came close to grabbing this Ashton with tortoise stem,

a good deal at $150,

if the blast was better I would have grabbed it in a heartbeat!

http://mkelaw-pipes.com/html/pipee3427.html

:

:
My dream dog is this intense rendition by Michael Parks,

now this is squat!

Parks Pipes are truly the stuff of dreams.

::

 

[warren]

Is it my imagination, am I just too much of a pedant, or is the defined shape of a bulldog being redefined? There was at one time a bulldog shape, usually with a round as opposed to faceted stem. A certain relationship was maintained between the area above and below the rings. Then there were the bulldog variants, squats and etc. Now it seems that anything remotely resembling the shape and accompanied, usually, with two rings is blithely referred to as a "bulldog,"

regardless of the stem shape and the relationship of the pipes re: the position of the rings.
I've seen the terminology misapplied in auctions, pipe stores, pawn shops and many other places, sometimes by people who should know better.
I'm guessing I am being too pedantic and worrying over nothing. Still . . . words should mean something.
I apologize for the mini rant and will return to my book, pipe and cognac.

 

[Briar Boy]

In briar I would probably go with a Peterson or a Ferndown, in a meer it would be a Baki for sure...

 

[warren]

That is a nicely proportioned bull dawg!

 

[ssjones]

I admire some of the bulldog variations, but love the classic British shape the best (which are all that I own).
My Charatan 109 epitomizes the classic British look.

Or the GBD 549 (Virgin here)