Dunhill numbers don’t refer to chamber size, they refer to the size of the block.
Luxury Estates or Excellent New Pipes?
- Thread starter bersekero
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That's what I was explaining to bersekero.
Let me first say : it's your money & is completely up to you . Buy whatever you like .
But just to look at one perspective : I did a quick search on the percentage of pipe smokers . I just picked the first one I saw : between 1965 to 1991 the percentage went from 14% to 2%
Pipe smoking in the United States, 1965-1991: prevalence and attributable mortality - PubMed - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8860273/2% .
Also looked up "briar tobacco pipes" on E-bay . 8400 results !
There are a lot of people who have their dad's or granddad's pipes and don't want them .
But just to look at one perspective : I did a quick search on the percentage of pipe smokers . I just picked the first one I saw : between 1965 to 1991 the percentage went from 14% to 2%
Pipe smoking in the United States, 1965-1991: prevalence and attributable mortality - PubMed - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8860273/2% .
Also looked up "briar tobacco pipes" on E-bay . 8400 results !
There are a lot of people who have their dad's or granddad's pipes and don't want them .
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I wanted to make it short so I didn't tell the whole story. The seller admitted that the pipe was overreamed when they refurbished it. For a cheap pipe I don't care much as I always need tinder for the fireplace but for a dunhill I consider it to be an issue. I want the initial dimensions from the maker and not the refurbisher. Lots of this classic shape pipes out there, no need to buy the butchered one.
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This is what the local tobacco shop owner told me. Almost all his clients who were buying pipe tobacco have died because they got very old so he doesn't stock expensive pipe tobacco any more. So I have to order my 965 and early morning.
Most people when they pay much for an item want it to be as perfect as possible.
I sold a gorgeous 400 euro USED castello for a loss because I hated the button and I couldn't stand that decorative ring. It looked cool but very formal. Excellent sea rock, really a piece of art.
My 1/4 the price bought NEW savinelli has an absolute perfect button for my taste. The pipe is perfect altogether.
My bought new radice is a pleasure to smoke and look at. Clear, flame briar, brandy shape , I think it is group 6, fantastic stem, clearly my best smoker. But the button is small and far beyond my liking. But I can live with that for now.
No matter how I try I cannot find a single minor imperfection to my dunhills. That is why I stuck with the brand.
I sold a gorgeous 400 euro USED castello for a loss because I hated the button and I couldn't stand that decorative ring. It looked cool but very formal. Excellent sea rock, really a piece of art.
My 1/4 the price bought NEW savinelli has an absolute perfect button for my taste. The pipe is perfect altogether.
My bought new radice is a pleasure to smoke and look at. Clear, flame briar, brandy shape , I think it is group 6, fantastic stem, clearly my best smoker. But the button is small and far beyond my liking. But I can live with that for now.
No matter how I try I cannot find a single minor imperfection to my dunhills. That is why I stuck with the brand.
Is it just my imagination, or are prices on estate pipes getting higher and higher? Is demand that high? Or supply that low? Or do sellers have an inflated view of the value of an old pipe? Not talking about Bangs, etc., just standard Stanwell's, Savinelli's, etc.
From what I understand people do buy pipes. When I am following an interesting pipe offered by international sellers, on-line shops or auction sites, I see those pipes disappear after a while. But then we are talking about buyers from all over the world.
I don't know how high or low were the prices before but I think sellers prefer to sell one pipe at a higher price than two for less. Same profit but half the stock and work.
Also there is an inflation everywhere in the world.
No matter how high the prices are, aficionados will always buy expensive pipes. And there is the growing market from the East. People there want to live the dream of luxury after decades of misery. They start habits they didn't new before like smoking. Pipe smoking is a habit, a hobby, a status, a luxury thing, considering how the individual smoker perceives it.
I don't know how high or low were the prices before but I think sellers prefer to sell one pipe at a higher price than two for less. Same profit but half the stock and work.
Also there is an inflation everywhere in the world.
No matter how high the prices are, aficionados will always buy expensive pipes. And there is the growing market from the East. People there want to live the dream of luxury after decades of misery. They start habits they didn't new before like smoking. Pipe smoking is a habit, a hobby, a status, a luxury thing, considering how the individual smoker perceives it.
Depends on when you buy and what you buy.
Purchased estates in the last year:
Stanwell 64M Churchwarden $96
Stanwell 20M reg. era $50
Stanwell 64 Sterling $50
Scottish clay system pipe w/case $38
Ben Wade Giant (Charatan) $50
Stanwell 63M Brass Band $150
Matched pair of blasted Italian pipes pre-1979 $50
Kiko meerschaum leather covered opera pipe $21
Nørding Guinness World Record Pipe $55
4 estate pipe lot $20
(London made extra large Canadian, London made large lovat, unsmoked Kaywoodie Red Root billiard, and a Whitehall Grand National Pot)
Also traded some tobacco samples to a friend for a Riegel's 184 (Comoy made) bent brandy.
The Riegel's and the Whitehall are my best smokers, and are remarkably ugly pipes. Well crafted, but with blotchy, rather wild looking grain. Both pipes exhibit dense grain patterns, and are remarkably light, and the briar they are made from is not found on the market today. I would guess at minimum, they were made from 100+ year old Algerian briar.
I'm told the World record pipes sold for between $600-700 back in the early 90's. Very few were made. No clue on today's value.
The Ben Wade Giant has some spectacular grain, as well as some of the most Danish looking rustication I've ever seen come out of England.
In short, I would be hard pressed to find pipes today, new made, that used briar as old or as good as those pipes. An extra half century of aging doesn't really seem to affect briar in a negative way. In addition, I would need to pay extra for that quality of briar. While I can afford the occasional $300 pipe, it comes with it's own problems (1) I have to explain to the wife why a $300 pipe is worth $300 and why I need it and (2) it's two less $100 pipes I could add to my collection.
This is actually the first time I've added up my pipe spending for the year. $600ish, not including accessories, stands, and tobacco.
...best not to dwell on that, eh?...
For me, I like estate pipes. They come with a sense of history and of continuing a craft. Old tools have the same effect on me. I like the way Algerian briar smokes and tastes, I like the way Grecian briar looks, and I prefer 'Danish modern' pipe designs, especially those created by Sixten Ivarsson for Stanwell. Finally, I prefer military mounts, pipes with plateau and/or rustication, and bent Dublins.
This all gives me a specific genre to collect, a sub-set to focus on, and a smattering of shapes I like. It helps to keep me from going overboard on every deal I see.
Edit: I also have a thing for vintage Italian made RO-EL stands. Have a 2 stand ($14 shipped), a 7 stand ($27 shipped), and a combination humidor 6 stand ($35 shipped). All matching in style, and all made of teak. There's something about the simple mid-century modern look they have. It appeals to me. Being patient meant I didn't have to pay triple the price, which is what most sellers seem to want.
To the OP. You will find YOUR niche, what you like. If you are lucky, the tobacco will call louder than the pipes and you will get a good cellar going and not wind up with a pipe for every tobacco.
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Excellent and very informative post planoman but it is incomplete without pictures! 
The tobacco concerns me a lot. Here in Greece there is not a big pipe culture so the best I can find are Peterson (former dunhill). On the breit side these are my preference. English mixtures is all I enjoy.
The cheapos are everywhere as the low quality aros. Captain black is widely available also but it tastes chemical.
I tried to order some decent tobacco from abroad but there must be a regulation or something and they don't ship tobacco at outland.
Davidoff tobacco is also available in Greece but quite expensive and I didn't like it anyway.
The tobacco concerns me a lot. Here in Greece there is not a big pipe culture so the best I can find are Peterson (former dunhill). On the breit side these are my preference. English mixtures is all I enjoy.
The cheapos are everywhere as the low quality aros. Captain black is widely available also but it tastes chemical.
I tried to order some decent tobacco from abroad but there must be a regulation or something and they don't ship tobacco at outland.
Davidoff tobacco is also available in Greece but quite expensive and I didn't like it anyway.
Excellent and very informative post planoman but it is incomplete without pictures!
The stands.(Top to bottom) White's Patent Absorbent clay pipe, Stanwell 64 Sterling, Stanwell No. 20 reg. era, Stanwell 64M Churchwarden.
Kiko meerschaum leather wrapped, pair of Italian made pipes from a storage unit of a closed in 1979 tobacco shop, Stanwell 63M Brass Band, Ben Wade Giant
Riegel's 184 Algerian briar, Whitehall Grand National Algerian briar, Kaywoodie Red Root, and the two London made basket pipes.
All the pipes and stands discussed in my previous post, with the exception of the Nørding (arriving later today and yes, it has it's own thread), and the seven pipe stand (arriving later this week).
Most of that stuff got tangled up in the quote, sorry.
...and since I called out the grain on three pipes, here's close ups of the Algerians.
And the Ben Wade Giant
And the Ben Wade Giant
At this point close to 2/3 of my briars are estate pipes.
I purchase what appeals to me visually and do not have any high-end or artisan pipes (not that I wouldn't mind having a few but....), in fact the most I have ever paid for a pipe is around $150 and most have been under $100. There are plenty of great pipes in modest price ranges.
I purchase what appeals to me visually and do not have any high-end or artisan pipes (not that I wouldn't mind having a few but....), in fact the most I have ever paid for a pipe is around $150 and most have been under $100. There are plenty of great pipes in modest price ranges.
Well while looking for dublin shape pipes and reading about them here it looks like quite a few members say that dublin in better for flakes and virginia. I smoke exclusively english mixtures and no flakes at all so I wonder if it is a good ides to get a dublin.
I may look for dunhills first but looks like ser jacopo has perfected the shape. He took a plain shape and made art while dunhill's dublin is plain and just nice.
I may look for dunhills first but looks like ser jacopo has perfected the shape. He took a plain shape and made art while dunhill's dublin is plain and just nice.
No more so than any other pipe. A pipe only performs as good as the person smoking it.
Doesnt matter but smaller chambers are often favored for flakes. If you fold and smoke in a big chamber the smoke can last for hours in a big chambers. The dublin shape is just the exterior tho often it includes a tapered chamber. If you break up your flake it makes no clearly defined difference. Every pipe will smoke just a little differently.
Exactly my experience on all three counts
1. I would had "heart" to eyes. If a pipe makes me hold my breath for a second or two, I'm already rationalizing adding it to my too large collection.
2. I'm very brand loyal and not very adventuresome
3. Size and weight are critical and I rarely make an exception. 55 grams is my max. A recent exception was a Castello 65, Occhio Di Pernice, sold by a member here (Bluegrassbrian). One of my favorite brands, shape and finish. At 59 grams it was on the outer edge of my tolerance. I smoked it this weekend, which reaffirmed I made the right excepton to my weight rule. But #1 above sealed the deal.
1. I would had "heart" to eyes. If a pipe makes me hold my breath for a second or two, I'm already rationalizing adding it to my too large collection.
2. I'm very brand loyal and not very adventuresome
3. Size and weight are critical and I rarely make an exception. 55 grams is my max. A recent exception was a Castello 65, Occhio Di Pernice, sold by a member here (Bluegrassbrian). One of my favorite brands, shape and finish. At 59 grams it was on the outer edge of my tolerance. I smoked it this weekend, which reaffirmed I made the right excepton to my weight rule. But #1 above sealed the deal.