The Fifty Dollar New Briar Pipe

[mso489]

It is possible to buy a new briar pipe that is well crafted for fifty bucks, sometimes forty, but it requires some research, shopping, maybe a discount sale, patience, and luck. You can get a lot of off-brand not-so-good pipes at that price and some real stinkers, so be wary. Standby brands and trustworthy retailers serve as good sign posts but not guarantees. There are pipes of other woods, like beech, pear, or maple, but that is a different subject. Examples of good low price briars I've bought include a Tsgue tasting pipe for forty, a Kaywoodie blast straight tapered billiard for forty-three, an unfinished Peterson bent Dublin for about forty, and a Yello-Bole Checker panel for thirty-something. It's true, you may enjoy your pricier pipes more for their particular pleasures of design, finish, materials, and stem work, but it may be wise to be open to these windfall less expensive pipes when they appear, so you don't dismiss them out of hand by price.

 

[canucklehead]

The little French pipes like Ropp and a few others are a great bargain, a lot of them are less than $50 new and even less used. I recently got a super light weight Chap Canadian for $11 that was only smoked a few times.

 

[sokrates]

I've found some really good pipes in that price range. Sometimes they have some cosmetic issue that prevents them from being sold at full MSRP, but I can live with that. Last year I picked up a Peterson Killarney Red for 50 bucks from P & C. I also once found a Savinelli Tevere for 50 bucks on a cigar website when they were cleaning out their pipe inventory. If you look around you can find some great deals.

 

[mso489]

Iwan Ries has long carried French EWA pipes that mostly range under or near $50, and though these are small, like so-called Group 2, they can give a full-length smoke with flake/coin/plug/rope cuts, and are nicely crafted French pipes in that durable tradition. In the U.S.-made Dr. Grabow line, which are briar, I especially like the Royalton series with acrylic stems that last for years/decades. These run just under $40. I do greatly admire artisan pipes and higher end factory pipes, and hold the ones I own in highest esteem, but I enjoy pipes at many price levels.

 

[Gecko]

I'm a bit of a cheapskate so I have among my small collection of pipes one Rossi, two Nörding, and two Peterson that all were 50 USD or below and all are great smokers.

No need to spend top dollar to get a good smoking pipe, unless you want to of course.

 

[mso489]

Some folks hit a sweet spot in their career where they can reward themselves with pipes costing hundreds or more, but I hate to think of people turned away from pipes by thinking only in terms of high-end pipes. I can attest to some good smoking at a wide range of price levels. Even folks who mostly go with fine pipes might enjoy having a few good old factory pipes for car, boat, and travel.

 

[Sonorisis]

I've got an inexpensive Rossi pipe that is excellent in every way. It even has a vulcanite stem.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Don’t sleep on Genod. Best value in “low end” briar.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Also, more examples and discussion can be found here:

PSA (long): New Smokers: You Do Not Need An Expensive Pipe :: General Pipe Smoking Discussion

New Smokers, After a long stint in the cigar world, I began smoking pipes in April of 2019, a mere 7 months ago. To say I have been enthusiastic about my entrance to the hobby would be an understatement. Aggressive, Reckless, Passionate, Foolhardy, Frivolous, and "Balls to the Walls" are...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[mso489]

Genod is one of my old favorites. I have a Genod bent egg that is small but has a big chamber. They tend to be a little above the $50 mark, but still a good buy. Also, as it happens, Iwan Ries now sources its house pipes from Genod, as they once did long ago in the sixties, and those pipes run about sixty bucks.

 

[saltedplug]

$50 for a new pipe seems to me like scraping the bottom of the barrel, but that's just me. My strategy for pipe savings was to buy estates.

 

[Guppy]

If you don't mind a bit of a project, there are several places around selling surplus unfinished pipes. I bought a few for $5 each, and after rusticating, staining, and opening them up to 4mm was pleasantly surprised at how well they smoke. It's a fun way to get an unsmoked vintage pipe for less than a cheap estate.

 

[Old School 3319]

I have roughly 20 pipes and not a one was over 50

 

[trubka2]

About 95% of my pipes were really beat up estates I bought for much less than 50, but it's fun to get a new pipe to break in once in a while. I have a Rossi and a Tsuge Tasting that I bought new 45 or so, and both are so excellent that I hope to get more of them. The Rossi, in particular, is just an outstanding pipe. And it's so sturdy that I'm pretty sure I could run it over with my car to no Ill effect.

 

[Waning Embers]

I only paid more the $30 for three of my Savinelli yachtsmen collection. Most of them were unsmoked, and five of those under $30 were Punto Oros. Three of those were unsmoked. Companies like Genod and Rossi put out great pipes for under $50 but a clever eye and good timing can score deals on great estate pieces. Inexpensive doesn't always equal bad.?

 

[saltedplug]

About 95% of my pipes were really beat up estates I bought for much less than 50, but it's fun to get a new pipe to break in once in a while. I have a Rossi and a Tsuge Tasting that I bought new 45 or so, and both are so excellent that I hope to get more of them. The Rossi, in particular, is just an outstanding pipe. And it's so sturdy that I'm pretty sure I could run it over with my car to no Ill effect.

When you do run it over, please smoke it and .get back to us.

 

[sablebrush52]

From the "a pipe is a tool" viewpoint there is no necessity to spend a lot of money on a pipe. One can buy a perfectly acceptable smoking tool for $50 or less. It will have a chamber and an airway and you can combust tobacco in it. There will be trade offs at that price point. The materials will be lower grade, minimal handwork, amounting to no more than a minute per unit. There's simply not enough money in it to provide for anything different.

And that's fine for many smokers. The pipes do what they're supposed to do. Tobaccos taste just fine.

And then there are smokers who want to make their pipes part of the celebration they have with smoking. They want a finely crafted pipe with beautiful esthetics, top quality materials, individual shaping, comfortable bits, and a whisper smooth draw, to enhance their pleasure in smoking a pipe. They're more than willing to pay for the artistry and the added comfort.

From a performance standpoint, most pipes smoke equally well. From a comfort standpoint, the extra money it costs for that hand shaped stem and bit makes a noticeable difference to many.

 

[danimalia]

I'm glad Alaskan posted a link to his thread in budget-friendly pipes because it's a great resource.

 

[mso489]

Many new smokers and others have a hard time getting to estate pipes, essentially used pipes in most cases. Even those who appreciate the advantages and feel comfortable with sanitizing pipes (like table ware in a restaurant after all), sometimes a new pipe is wanted for various reasons. I am in some awe of chasingembers' superb collection of 904's at mostly around 30 bucks. I think when I spot a startling good buy on a new pipe, I'm a newbie at heart. If a pipe smokes well, for thirty bucks or hundreds, I'm won over.

 

[mso489]

The down side of the the new fifty dollar briar is that it may dull the discriminating critical mind in favor of the pleasure in getting a deal. I have what I would assess as twenty too many pipes, with no inclination to unload many or any. After you go to the work and time of tracking down the good prices, and if the pipes satisfy, it is harder to let go for not much return.