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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,627
La Rocca makes a good pipe at a modest price. I have a poker with an ample bowl, slightly bent. The curly-cue carving on the briar put me off at first, but I came back to the pipe shop on reconsideration. I'm smoking it right now.
 
Aug 1, 2012
4,881
5,697
USA
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
 
Mar 1, 2014
3,658
4,960
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.
 

Bluemonter

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 29, 2021
161
456
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.PXL_20210704_010650022~2.jpg
 

tobefrank

Lifer
Jun 22, 2015
1,367
5,008
Australia
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 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.
 
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wgstraub

Might Stick Around
Jan 31, 2021
78
534
Silver Spring, MD
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.