Ropp Pipes, Opinion?

[sparrowhawk]

I'm looking into Prince styled pipes, having become enamored with this style after smoking a Peterson Prince on a churchwarden and my recent Kapp-Royal straight, so now, as if I needed to, I'm looking at some true princes, slightly bent stem and all, but where to start? While not as pervasive as my beloved billiards there seem to be quite a few but don't want to go broke in the discovery process.

I came across a $75 Ropp, which is reasonable enough for a starter Prince but know nothing about Ropps. Opinions?

 

[mso489]

I have a Ropp smooth apple that my wife gave me for Christmas, when I spotted it on a great sale at Iwan Ries. I have found that French pipes in general are crafted with precision and a cultivated sense of style. The French pipe industry is highly motivated and is the original source of the use of briar for pipes, and the source of most of the shapes picked up by the British for pipes, plus the French put their own unique spin on shapes and design and have some shapes and versions that are distinctively their own. I have had only one French pipe that didn't work out, not a Ropp, that was a very lithe graceful slightly bent Dublin that was too narrowly drilled and too slender to be drilled out. All of the other French pipes I've had are excellent. Along the prince line, I suggest you also look at the Rossi Vittoria prince at smokingpipes.com; it is a no filter pipe, rusticated, with a .82 inch chamber, 1.52 ounces, and a handsome pipe.

 

[stanlaurel]

Savinelli also makes a nice prince. Also only $75.

 

[robwoodall]

I have two Ropp pipes, a Rhodesian and a Bulldog. Both are great smokers, and extremely lightweight for their size.
My only complaint is that both mine are quite small. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another, but I'd pay very close attention to the dimensions.

 

[mso489]

The advantage of the Savinelli and Rossi prince pipes is that they have relatively large bowls. They aren't deep, but they are wide and take a good quantity of tobacco and provide an ample surface for unfolding complex blends, which is one of the main features of the shape. I'd prefer at least a .80 inch chamber width.

 

[hierophant]

I've only got one, a horn stemmed vintage Rhodesian. Well made, smokes well but it is TINY. When I first got it and pulled it out of the packing my daughter's reaction was "Where's the rest of it?"
It really does look like they forgot to make half of it.

 

[hirsute]

Ropps are very good pipes. I personally find their draw a little restricted, but that's a matter of personal taste. Even with that I do have a nice horn-stemmed bulldog that smokes well. They're decent pipes for the money.

 

[darwin]

I have several Ropps and one, an extra canadian, is the pipe I smoke most often.