Ruminating on Kaywoodie pipes

[fishnbanjo]

I've owned Kaywoodie pipes over the years and truth be told I found they gurgled, smoked wet and needed constant attention to keep the stinger, shank and stem constantly clean, then either due to poor fitting of the female screw in portion on the stummel end or bad glue when you go to screw the stem back on you don't a properly aligned stem. I know these are quibbles and can be dealt with but I imagine that more pipers gave up on trying to smoke a pipe due to some of these issues.
It wasn't until I got my All Briar Kaywoodie that I found out how well one could smoke, I don't know if the stem being briar and those additional holes at the bit end helped errant saliva from entering the stem but all I know was it was very enjoyable. The next Kaywoodie to surprise me is this metal shank with a nice cross grained bowl with birdseye, having some Wessex Brown Virginia Flake keeping ahead of the weather. Keep it smokey!

banjo

 

[voorhees]

I just received one of those as a gift. You have convinced me to give it a try.

 

[Waning Embers]

My century old pre Kaywoodie KB&B has really got me interested in exploring Kaywoodie pipes. Very impressive performance.

 

[mso489]

I have a Saxon push bit and a Ruff-Tone Drinkless and they both smoke well. The Saxon may need a little more break-in, but it's getting good. The Drinkless stem needed re-cocking to square it up, and a Forums member gave me the tip on heating it with a hair dryer until the glue softens. It worked fine. I do have to clean off the stinger every smoke, but that's okay. It is a nicely balanced, solid little pipe, a kind of author shape. For ready-to-go quality, I like Dr. Grabows among American factory pipes, especially the Royaltons. I outfit them with Savinelli adaptors to tighten the airway just slightly, but they smoke really well. The folks in Sparta, N.C., do good work and the pipes are priced for the guy on a budget. The Royalton bulldog is nicely shaped, crafted with some care. Most of my pipes are not American factory pipes, mostly Irish, Italian, French, etc., but I enjoy these domestic pipes.

 

[tmb152]

I have a Kaywoodie Prince, Banjo, it says PRIME GRAIN on the side and boy is it ever! It has the stinger in it and I just cleaned it up real good and will be smoking it tonight to give ol' Bill Budd one more try.

 

[sablebrush52]

Overall I really like my Kaywoodies. Occasionally one gurgles, but for the most part they smoke dry and draw perfectly well for me with the stinger intact. Keeping it clean is a little bit more work, but worth it. Some of my Pre-War pieces give me as much smoking pleasure as my Barlings. I think they're among the better values in eststes.

 

[ssjones]

My experience, like Jesse's with older, four-hole stinger pipes has been outstanding and comparable to some of my best British pipes. They definitely reward a patient smoker.

 

[mayfair70]

I have two Flame Grains and am in the process of cleaning my new bent one. My billiard is wonderful. If it gurgles I just unscrew the bit and blow, usually fixes it for the rest of the smoke. I am sold on them.

 

[lifeon2]

I got the Kaywoodie bug a while back and now I have close to 200 of them Some are amazing some are so so but I love them all.

 

[fishnbanjo]

Well I have added a Super Grain and a Filtronic, I figure the Super Grain should smoke as well as my All Briar and the Filtronic as well as what I'm smoking or at least as well as my Falcon pipes. Thanks for all the input.

banjo

 

[pagan]

All my vintage Kaywoodies smoke great, however the newer Woodies are problematic, the ones with the solid clover and/or the older four-hole stinger models are what is desirable. As with many pipe brands they go though transitions and quality of the pipes suffer, such is the case with Kaywoodie