Pre- and Post- Transition, Suspicious?

[mso489]

In particular lines of pipes, to those who know, smoke, and study them, good and inferior years of production can be identified. Still, when you shop for estate pipes, there is the prejudice that all old pipes are better than new pipes, or even really old pipes are better than old but more recent pipes. It's marketing. There is one other somewhat viable argument, and that is that the older pipes are most often more scarce. Some materials, shapes, designs, and carvers are just no longer available, and this makes them scarce and desirable -- sometimes rightly so, sometimes not. I don't have any scarce, rare, or particularly antique pipes, but even some of mine that are just thirty or forty years old simply can't be bought anymore -- not those sizes, not those shapes, not those brands. I guess, at least technically, and in a knowledgable market, that should make them more valuable. But "pre-transition" estate pipes should be looked at carefully. Pipes take wear, aren't always stored well, weren't so well-made in the first place. It's a nice claim, and sometimes an asset, but not a halo.

 

[sablebrush52]

Again, it depends on the pipe. Condition matters with estates. A beat to death, smoked too hot, chewed like a dog toy pipe isn't going to be better because it's old.

If you like certain names or shapes you may have to go the estate route, but condition is as important as anything else.

At every point in the history of pipes there has been quality product and cheap product. Same is true today. Just because something is old, and I have pipes going back to 1882, doesn't mean that it's automatically better. Nor is a new pipe automatically better because it's new. Same holds true for handmade VS machine made. From the standpoint of smoking, both work well. The difference is in how the pipe is drilled, the quality of the materials used, and how comfortable the bit is. The rest is just a matter of preference.

 

[birko]

Great topic
was just thinking about this the other day. I do like the classic era English pipes and have gone about acquiring examples of each marque. Some reputations are warranted and others not.
I picked up a bunch of post transition Barlings (1970s)in a lot of about 20 pipes. I cleaned them up but I found they were all very poor smokers - gurgled, muted flavor etc. They were all full of large fills with some of the worst 'grain' I've seen on a pipe. Poorly made with inferior materials. So I think the poor reputation for post transition Barlings is well deserved. My family era Barlings are the exact opposite. Nice briar - no fills - beautifully crafted stems and stummels. And the family era ones are not their top of the line TVF - just standard grade.
I think BBBs can be over rated too. I have some that are nice but a 60's 636 I picked up has the worst drilling I have seen in a pipe - high and way off centre. It smokes badly too. But of course BBB has a long history and you can't generalize. Don't get me started on their so called 'best make' and 'own make' gradings. Im quite sure this changed over time and at certain times any piece of trash would get these stamps.
Loewe & Co also have long history and a pipe made in 1920's isn't going to give you any idea what their 1960 lines were like.
I also recently picked up a pre-Dunhill Hardcastle. The thing is full of fills and poorly finished again from their mainstream line. Just goes to show - the glow of nostalgia doesn't hide much.
You have to take the reputations of these old makers with a big grain of salt. Pipes were considered disposable items for a long period of time. But there is something to be said for older pipes. Pipes that were produced during the heyday of pipe smoking at least in my eyes radiant a charm of times now well past us.
Birko

 

[ssjones]

I suspect some psychology is at play, at least in my case. I tend to appreciate my older pipes more than newer versions. But, I have to say that my new Dunhill (nee White Spot) smokes just as well as my 1960's Dunhills. GBD, Comoy's and Sasieni are definitely makers where the older pipes are clearly superior.