Stanwell Italian Made Pipes

[eggrollpiper]

Stanwell is one brand I've wanted to try for a long time so I finally grabbed two in an auction. Unsmoked new ones. So I decided to read up more about them, after the fact as usual and was surprised to find that they are no longer made in Denmark and since 2010 made in Italy. I love my Italian pipes but I thought I was buying Danish pipes, even though the design is still Danish, I'm worried that I'm not getting the same Stanwell I've heard so much about.

So I wondered if anyone's experienced these pipes both before and after the Danish factory closed. If I got lemmons I want to know. Perhaps that's why I got such a good deal...

 

[techie]

I have two Stanwell pipes that were listed as Danish on SmokingPipes, and I have no problems with them. One was listed as post-2010 but Danish, and the other as 1970's to 1990's. So I'm not sure the "since 2010 made in Italy" is accurate, unless Smoking Pipes description is wrong (doubtful) on the post-2010 pipe.
You didn't mention the price paid, so what was this "good deal"? Mine were both under $100.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I've two low dollar Stanwell Authentics. They're a couple of my best smokers, and they smoke fold and stuffed flakes like a dream. Absolutely great pipes. And I've not heard much if any negative remarks about Italian Stanwells from others.

 

[mso489]

When Stanwell moved production to Italy, there was a long stretch of skepticism. Many discerning pipe smokers still only want to buy Danish made pipes, whether unsmoked or smoked estate pipes. I have long admired Stanwells but felt they were somewhat pricey. When they started coming from Italy, I still waited. But eventually, P&C had them at such appealing prices I had to try one, and then three more. I appreciate the sentiment of buyers of the Danish made pipes, but I have nothing negative to say about my all-Italian Stanwells. Any inexpensive pipe is going to lack the aura of an up-market pipe, but I would point out that several of the Danish designs manufactured in Italy were done by Sixten Iversson and other major Danish pipe carvers. They smoke well, have good fit and finish, and are durable/reliable. So if you can accept a factory pipe at a reasonable price, you could be quite happy with these. Other excellent Danish pipes come from Mogen Johansen, Johs pipes, and in the estate market, Bari pipes, a discontinued but excellent Danish factory pipe.

 

[jaytex1969]

I've not had a Danish Stanwell but both of my Italian ones are providing excellent service. I have a 185 that I use for VaPers and an 86 I use for VA and VaBur flakes. (The 86 is the one in the avatar pic)
I think I need a 185 full of LBF right now....

 

[seldom]

I'm very pleased with my Stanwell 234 shape. It is an Italian one. In fact it is the one on my avatar photo.

 

[rigmedic1]

I have a Stanwell Golden Danish 83, which is a Chonowich design. Smokes as well as similarly priced Savinelli and Peterson pipes. It was new in 2012, and it is not marked with a COM stamp, so I assume it is from Italy. If you paid below $100 for each, you got a deal. Smoke up!

 

[brooklynpiper]

Some will tell you that they’re a lot worse. For a short time I had one of the Italian makes. I gave it away to a young man with an interest in starting out. I remember thinking that the bowl was a bit prone to getting hot faster than my other pipes by a noticeable amount. 1 pipe though? That’s not a good enough sample, but I thought it would be good to teach the starter to smoke slower.
Whether it does or doesn’t have the same quality is a hard question. I think the danish were a great value, and the Italian makes are probably at the least good value if you are attracted to that particular pipe. Of course, the point of a hobby like this is to say that the Italian make is slightly worse—that’s just how these things skew, and it could very well be true. As I mentioned before, I haven’t smoked enough of either to compare.

 

[eggrollpiper]

I'm glad to hear all good things, I'm fine with a reasonably priced factory pipe, sans the aura ms489, you always hit the nail on the head man. It's just my great grandfather was from Copenhagen and made his own pipes during the depression(none withstanding unfortunately) - before the Danish movement began apparently, so I was Hoping to own at least one made in Denmark pipe for my Danish eighth. So Ik the negative nellies are out there that won't touch the Italian ones, care to chime in? I know I'm playing devil's advocate here. And since you asked the pipes in question are an Amber 407 and a black diamond 401. Both go for just under 100 on P&C which is the lowest price I found and I got both for $64 combined. Both within a few dollars of each other, for the price of a grabow really. Which is more or less my limit. Ussualy this relegated me to estates so these are a real luxury for me even though they are considered very affordable. The egg looks a little thin walled for me and not my favorite shape in the amber line (bulldog I think is) but I do like eggs and it looks pretty Danish to me so I'm excited. Thanks for the replies everybody!

 

[wayneteipen]

I've been a Stanwell pipe fan since I started over a decade ago. They are my favorite brand of factory made pipe. I have a pretty decent number of Danish made and just as many Italian made ones. In my opinion, the Italian made pipes aren't quite as good in quality as the Danish made ones both in stem airway drilling and fit and finish. They don't cut a proper slot (like many Italian made factory pipes) so the airway is really restricted in the stem. That being said, for me, it's an easy problem to remedy because i have the tools and experience to do the job. Once the stem airway is fixed, my Italian made Stanwells smoke as well as my Danish made ones. I'm still a fan and still think they are the best value on the market.

 

[eggrollpiper]

What needs to be done to make a propper slot and what tools are required?

 

[seldom]

For more information there is this old (5 years) thread: Italian Stanwell I'm sure I've seen it brought up on other threads as well

 

[woodsroad]

More: A thread from four years ago: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/stanwell-last-year-of-danish-production

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Well I'm gonna light up my Italian made Stanwell right now, love both productions,Danish and the Italian ones,almost half of my pipes are Stanwells.

 

[wayneteipen]

What needs to be done to make a proper slot and what tools are required?

The last 3/4" or so of the stem airway should be widened horizontally as the airway get's smaller vertically. It sort of looks like a 'V' shape when done right. I have a couple Italian made Stanwell's that should arrive today or tomorrow. I'll post photos of the airway from factory, the tools I use, and the airway after I cut the slot properly. The Danish Stanwell's were cut properly so fixing them wasn't necessary.

 

[eggrollpiper]

I'm surprised that they don't widen horizontally as they taper vertically, even MM cobbs have that feature, it's plainly visible in their amber color stems.

Well anyway I look forward to those pics, as my stanwells are currently an route. So do you use little files or what?

 

[mso489]

wayne', there must be some quirky variations in airways on the current Stanwells because my four are about as wide open as any of my pipes, just slightly less than my Ser Jacopo. Can't explain that.

 

[wayneteipen]

wayne', there must be some quirky variations in airways on the current Stanwells because my four are about as wide open as any of my pipes, just slightly less than my Ser Jacopo. Can't explain that.

That is interesting. Every one of my Italian made Stanwell's has had the same restricted airway. Makes me wonder if some of the Danish made stem stock might have been purchased and used with the acquisition and move to Italy. Curious for sure.
Here are the photos and info as promised:
This photo is one that illustrates what a funneled airway should resemble.

Here are the tools I use to cut a stem airway slot:

Many/most factory pipes use only the tool or one like it on the far left to cut the bit end of the stem. This is the case with the Italian made Stanwell's that I own.
Here is a recent Italian made Stanwell I've purchased and have not fixed:

You can see the bottom of the shallow "slot" cut.
And here is one after I've cut a proper, open slot:

Sorry for the poor photo quality on the last two photos but hopefully you can see what I'm referring to.

 

[wayneteipen]

I'm surprised that they don't widen horizontally as they taper vertically, even MM cobbs have that feature, it's plainly visible in their amber color stems.

That's because cobs and some other factory made pipes use premolded stems rather than stems made from rod stock.

 

[wayneteipen]

What needs to be done to make a propper slot and what tools are required?

I use these tools in order from left to right when cutting a new slot. The far left tool isn't needed when cutting the slot on an existing pipe.
If the stem is bent it needs to be straightened by slowly and gently heating it up until it softens. I use a heat gun and keep the stem moving so it doesn't heat up too much in one area. That can be tricky and if you've never done it you could destroy a stem pretty easily. If you want to get the bend back to it's original shape, it's helpful to make an impression in modeling clay or a similar substance as reference. The first step is to widen the round hole out flat horizontally. I use the far left rotary tool when cutting a new stem as a guide then use the 3/64" drill bit to widen the airway horizontally enough that I can fit my slot saw in. You can't buy a pipe stem slot saw. You have to make it yourself. I use a particular jigsaw blade that I grind down to a point and put a handle on it. I use the saw until I have the 'V' slot shape that I want that runs deep enough to start where the tapered drill bit starts to taper. I then clean the top and bottom of the slot with the micro file and round the sides of the slot with a 1/16" diamond round file. Lastly, I polish the airway with a churchwarden length pipe cleaner impregnated with red tripoli clamped in a vice. Just feed the stem over the pipe cleaner and move it up and down a few dozen times or so until you're satisfied with the results. If you straightened a bent stem, you then have to heat it back up and bend it back. To freeze a heated stem, just run it under or submerse it in cold water.
A word of caution: Cutting a clean slot takes a lot of practice. Many a novice pipemaker finds out quickly how easy it is to booger up.