Nominate An Under-Appreciated Pipe Brand
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I feel like Tsuge sometimes deserves more love. Their mid level pipes like the Tokyo series are interesting, elegant, and well constructed, and the Ikebana line competes well with the best of any major pipe manufacturer world-wide.
Viprati are one of the few makers using horn for stems
Oh, there are so many....... Kirsten comes to mind first. Most of the Savinelli seconds are pretty incredible considering they are seconds. Alpha, Grabow, Kaywood and one of my favorite brands, Pipa Croci.
I gotta say I was a hater and talked against Kaywoodie. Sure, I got a bad one first time around but they have brought me around with fantastic craftsmanship. The new ones are great, the old ones are hit or miss but the good ones will be your best smoking pipes
1. Blakemar Briar.
I've had nothing but the best experiences with them and the pipes are some of the best value on the market.
The stems on my King's Imperial pipes are pre-formed vulcanite so you're not paying for handcrafted quality here, then again it seems like the quality of "handcrafted" stems is usually a gamble (even on "high end" pipes).
While I haven't ordered a handmade pipe from Blakemar yet, I do know for sure they can make a well crafted factory pipe in a wide array of shapes at highly competitive prices.
2. I am really impressed with my Tsuge "The Tasting" pipe, for that quality of pipe most other factories would charge many times more.
The reason I put Blakemar on top is Tsuge is very limited in pipe shapes (especially if you like a larger pipe).
3. Briarworks.
My Icarus Egg has the best stem quality I've ever personally held, bar none.
I know pipes from people like J.T. Cooke will be better, but that's an order of magnitude more expensive. Briarworks (pretty sure most of their pipes are sold under "Moonshine" now) probably has the best engineered factory pipes on the market.
The reason I put Tsuge one spot above is the quality from Tsuge is still very close and Briarworks has no price equivalent to "The Tasting" pipes from Tsuge.
I've had nothing but the best experiences with them and the pipes are some of the best value on the market.
The stems on my King's Imperial pipes are pre-formed vulcanite so you're not paying for handcrafted quality here, then again it seems like the quality of "handcrafted" stems is usually a gamble (even on "high end" pipes).
While I haven't ordered a handmade pipe from Blakemar yet, I do know for sure they can make a well crafted factory pipe in a wide array of shapes at highly competitive prices.
2. I am really impressed with my Tsuge "The Tasting" pipe, for that quality of pipe most other factories would charge many times more.
The reason I put Blakemar on top is Tsuge is very limited in pipe shapes (especially if you like a larger pipe).
3. Briarworks.
My Icarus Egg has the best stem quality I've ever personally held, bar none.
I know pipes from people like J.T. Cooke will be better, but that's an order of magnitude more expensive. Briarworks (pretty sure most of their pipes are sold under "Moonshine" now) probably has the best engineered factory pipes on the market.
The reason I put Tsuge one spot above is the quality from Tsuge is still very close and Briarworks has no price equivalent to "The Tasting" pipes from Tsuge.
I recently picked up this Jarl billiard which I really like.
Made by Niels Mogens Jørgensen in Denmark.
He was a one man shop.
I've owned many Danish pipes but have never heard of him or seen his work. Smokes nice..
It's 'Oil Cured', which I find interesting.
Made by Niels Mogens Jørgensen in Denmark.
He was a one man shop.
I've owned many Danish pipes but have never heard of him or seen his work. Smokes nice..
It's 'Oil Cured', which I find interesting.
I think the BriarWorks and Moonshine lines are still separate lines with different 'designers'.
Moonshine pipes are really well made pipes for the money, same as BriarWorks.
The previous Icarus and Neptune lines were a step up from the basic BriarWorks classic line.
I've always loved La Strada, , which I guess is liken the Chevrolet of pipes -- inexpensive, middle of the road but reliable. Not a whole lot is known about them, apparently, but I have several and they all smoke well. My first pipe was a La Strada Aria -- still have it, still smoke it. I'd also suggest Barling, which is a grand old name but one I raise because many quarters have been highly critical of the post-transition versions. All I can say is I have several and they're among my favorites.
I'm sure no one can guess my answer. Kaywoodie. 170 years of American history made by a fourth generation pipe maker. I may be a bit partial.
