One Boswell or Two Savinelli's????

[billm67]

I have been saving up a few discretionary fund for my purchase and have run into this issue. I really love Boswell pipes and probably have 8 or so in my collection. They are all outstanding smokers....but to be a reasonable nice pipe from JM anymore it is going to cost at a minimum of $120. I am fortunate enough to only live about an hour from his shop...so I am going to be making a trip this Saturday to take a buddy of mine down to buy a new pipe and I'll at least buy from baccy from him. There are several Savinelli's that I really like...and for the price of one Boswell I can pick up a nice Chubby Rhodesian and a nice Full Bent(thinking about a Tavere smooth 320 and a Tavere smooth 216).
I am thinking that the Savinelli's would be really nice pipes and at some of the prices I have seen on them they look like bargains. Anyone have any recent experience with either of these Savinelli's?

 

[hobie1dog]

no, but I'm in awe of your 8 Boswells though. :worship:

 

[hobie1dog]

no, but I'm in awe of your 8 Boswells though. :worship:
I still want a Magnum pipe one of these days

 

[bigvan]

Normally I'd select 1 Boswell over two Savinellis ANY day.
But as you already have 8 Boswells, why not look into other North American carvers?
Just a suggestion.

 

[billm67]

Any suggestions on other american carvers? As I live about an hour away from Lancaster...I was thinking about something from Jake Hackert?
I have been smoking JM's pipes for ten years....that is how I have acquired the number I have. I actually had 9, but gave one to my friend who is moving over from cigars to a pipe. The thing I love about Boswell's is going to his shop. He will have fifty+ pipes for sale. Most other carvers I have seen displayed in shops....you are lucky to see two or three.
The other bad thing about being an hour away from JM's shop is that all of the other shops in the area do not carry anything in the way of pipes. They can't compete with his pipe business and the stuff they buy just sits on the shelf. So it has almost created a vacuum in the area.

 

[cyndi]

I have never had a bad experience with a Sav. They are good, solid smokers.

 

[bigvan]

I have heard nothing but good things about Jake Hackert's work. I think that would make a good addition to your "Pennsylvania Collection".
Off the top of my head I can think of a few other carvers from PA. Each of the following guys has his own web site, so a simple google search should tell you all you need to know.

- Mark Balcovec (from Pittsburgh I think). He does a lot of commission work and seems to have only one pipe available on his web site which is slightly out of your range. It's worth a look, though.

- Thomas James (also from the Pittsburgh area). EXCEPTIONALLY high quality and his prices reflect it. I have one of Thomas' pipes and it's outstanding. I'm guessing that his prices are going to go up even more as he becomes more recognized.

- Bob Oakley (Erie). Bob is up front about the fact that his bits are premade and the blocks he uses are drilled and fitted by Tim West, so Bob just does the final cutting and shaping. But his prices are VERY low. I have one of Bob's pipes and and it's well worth the $90 I paid for it at a pipe show a few years ago.
Good luck and let me know what you decide.

 

[markw4mms]

I'd love to own a Boswell...maybe one day. I can say that it's hard to beat a Savinelli for the price, they're great pipes!

 

[billm67]

I looked at some of the work from the guys suggested above. There are definitely some nice pipes being made. I definitely see a pipe from Bob Oakley will be on my list. His pipes looks like bargains! The stuff from Thomas James is incredible. It is out of my price range....but I can definitely understand why they cost what they do. His pipes look like works of art! Since I am going to Boswell's Saturday....I'll have to check out what's there and see if anything jumps out at me. I have had nothing but great experiences with Boswell pipes and also with JM and Gail. They are really great people.
I might have to take some pictures of my Boswell collection to post.

 

[bigvan]

Personally I'd LOVE to see some photos of your Boswell collection, Bill.
I'm in NE Ohio, and I keep telling myself that I should make a day trip and visit the Boswell shop. One day...
Let us know how the pilgrimage goes.

 

[jchaplick]

my savs are my best smoking pipes so far, although my boswell freehands do smoke nice and look nice. personally id go savenelli

 

[thesmokindragon]

Have several of both, love the boswell pipes more IMO

 

[jchaplick]

I live real close to boswell, im surprised I havent been yet.

 

[thesmokindragon]

@jc-a good friend of mine visited the store back in July, said it was

fantastic, you should go and have a few bowls on JM

 

[billm67]

JM and Gail are very nice people. Every time I am there they ask...can I get you a cup of coffee or a cold drink. JM usually comes out and smokes a bowl or two as well.

 

[radio807]

I have only smoked Savinelli briars since I came back to pipe smoking a couple of years ago. They smoke great, and I don't think you'll go wrong with a Sav. I'm getting my first Boswell for Christmas and I'm looking forward to trying it out. If it smokes as good as it looks I will probably buy more of them in the future. All other things being equal, I'd rather have a pipe made by a local craftsman who I can actually see face to face.
BTW, I work in Harrisburg three days a week, so I'm fortunate to get to Boswell's every few weeks to get some tobacco and just hang for an hour. It's too bad that there isn't a place like Boswell's closer to Harrisburg to smoke during the winter.

 

[group4]

Savinelli's are bargains: great pipes for little coin. But it sounds like you want more North American examples, so why not try to find pipes by older artisans, like Andrew Marks, Paul Perri, Trever Talbert, Jack Weinberg, Wiley, etc.?

 

[billm67]

Here is a quick picture of my Boswell's. They are well loved and well used. My favorites are the chip carve, the Rhosesian and the Brown Uum Paul. The Uum Paul was one of my first Boswell's and is really starting to show it's age. I think I have been smoking that pipe heavily for 9 years.

 

[spartan]

Those are damn sexy. Nice christmas background lol.

 

[ssjones]

My Hackert is still available in the FS section, if you lean that way.