Underrated Factory Pipes / Brands
- Thread starter mikethompson
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About Brebbia being underrated, I encountered the brand online and at a pipe show around 2012, and if my experience is at all typical, it may explain why it is or was underrated. Since, I have seen that Brebbia makes well-crafted handsome often quite traditional pipes. They seem a bit pricey, but that is in the eye of the beholder. But when I first "met" them, they were marketing the most peculiar designs. The shanks were odd and swollen looking, kind of misshapen and asymmetrical. They were almost exclusively black blast finishes, which I like on other pipes, but it accentuated the odd curves and bulges. It put me off the brand, and I suspect it did others as well. I guess they fired that designer/carver, or he reformed and went back to more regular pipes. These didn't look outlandish, like Mummerts; they looked ill. I do however have a Brebbia pipe tool, which is properly shaped and healthy.
Tell me more about scandia please. Where can they be purchased?
I have several Kaywoodies, including a meer. Working on a Coral. The ones I have smoke fine. The rest need cleaning. I also have:
Wessex (my favorite along with the white star)
My dads old white star
" " " made in Italy basket pipe
2 Roadtowns, Love both
I haven't heard too much about the white stars. My research says they're still manufactured
A couple I think are under rated. Some not so much. I failed to mention a Mr. Brog. Because it sucks. I'm going to either change the stem, try to repair it, it has a thin passage way. Very thin. or give it to my son. Ha Ha!! Teach him to "borrow" my pipes.
I need to clean these. They'll go into rotation once I do.
Butz Choquin several eBay buys. Some need stems
Grabow (several)
(Falcon, Yello Bole, Viking, Nylon, Kaywoodie (?), metal stem pipes. (Except Nylon)).
Author Leonard GBD
Jobey Stromboli and Asti
Peterson Rocky Donovan
I want the following:
Dunhill
Parker
Hardcastle
Sasieni
Savineli
BBB
brebbia
Comoy
Or any pipe with excellent grain or that catches my eye.
I have a couple calabash gourds I'm sending to briarworks. Not trying to do anything with those till I get some experience.
I also have a couple meers that came with lots. Some need repair. One was over reamed, right through the bottom. it has a small hole. I'm going to try the egg white and chalk mix to repair it. Hopefully it'll be a nice smoker.
Looking to epoxy the shell of another cheap meer as a smoker too. Not worth trying to repair and sell. But after everything else is done I may try to do something with it just to stave off boredom. The meer bowl looks fine. Its just the epoxy coating that's crap. Its all cracked up. Not sure if I'll peel the old coating or just sand and recoat.
I've researched several heat resistant epoxy coatings that may work. Maybe I'll get a little creative.
Wessex (my favorite along with the white star)
My dads old white star
" " " made in Italy basket pipe
2 Roadtowns, Love both
I haven't heard too much about the white stars. My research says they're still manufactured
A couple I think are under rated. Some not so much. I failed to mention a Mr. Brog. Because it sucks. I'm going to either change the stem, try to repair it, it has a thin passage way. Very thin. or give it to my son. Ha Ha!! Teach him to "borrow" my pipes.
I need to clean these. They'll go into rotation once I do.
Butz Choquin several eBay buys. Some need stems
Grabow (several)
(Falcon, Yello Bole, Viking, Nylon, Kaywoodie (?), metal stem pipes. (Except Nylon)).
Author Leonard GBD
Jobey Stromboli and Asti
Peterson Rocky Donovan
I want the following:
Dunhill
Parker
Hardcastle
Sasieni
Savineli
BBB
brebbia
Comoy
Or any pipe with excellent grain or that catches my eye.
I have a couple calabash gourds I'm sending to briarworks. Not trying to do anything with those till I get some experience.
I also have a couple meers that came with lots. Some need repair. One was over reamed, right through the bottom. it has a small hole. I'm going to try the egg white and chalk mix to repair it. Hopefully it'll be a nice smoker.
Looking to epoxy the shell of another cheap meer as a smoker too. Not worth trying to repair and sell. But after everything else is done I may try to do something with it just to stave off boredom. The meer bowl looks fine. Its just the epoxy coating that's crap. Its all cracked up. Not sure if I'll peel the old coating or just sand and recoat.
I've researched several heat resistant epoxy coatings that may work. Maybe I'll get a little creative.
I'd nominate Ropp as underrated. Some have mentioned them in a positive light over the years, but they are not big favorites here, I don't think. I have only one, but it is well made and a good smoker, as are most French pipes.
Another brand in the shade might be GBD. I was interested to see that G.L. Pease is a GBD collector. Apparently it has the reputation of being somewhat staid and clunky, though durable and traditional in design, but he has a collection that is comprehensive and impressive. A fine old English pipe brand that. I don't own any of these, but have too many pipes already.
Hardcastle is another sturdy English brand I don't have. Iwan Ries, for years, had a row of them for sale with copper colored bands for $40, but they are long gone, probably a good buy.
Another brand in the shade might be GBD. I was interested to see that G.L. Pease is a GBD collector. Apparently it has the reputation of being somewhat staid and clunky, though durable and traditional in design, but he has a collection that is comprehensive and impressive. A fine old English pipe brand that. I don't own any of these, but have too many pipes already.
Hardcastle is another sturdy English brand I don't have. Iwan Ries, for years, had a row of them for sale with copper colored bands for $40, but they are long gone, probably a good buy.
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I got a couple ropps in lots I've bought. They seem like sturdy pipes. I don't remember if any were usable. I'll have to recheck.
From what I can remember they were either beat to death, cracked from way too much cake, or the shank was cracked or broken.
I think I might have 1-2 that might be usable. I bought a bunch of lots. Many were around $20 with shipping. Think I got a couple for $10. You won't believe how many stummels and pipes I got for under $10. Many under $5. They were ¢.99 + shipping
Most weren't Sasienis, Stanwells, GBDs, or the like. But i did get lucky with a couple. They're more along the line of Grabow, Kaywoodie, Medico, Cary, several metal types, Rogers, Willard, and too many to remember.
As soon as I get organized I'll post some pictures. One good thing came out all this. I've had a Foredom type rotary tool. It had a plug with round prongs so it wouldn't work with the vintage Foredom foot controller. So I had to swap out the plug. All I need to do now is clean and relube the shaft.
I never got around to it because I didn't need to use it and was afraid it wouldn't work. But it works great. Brushes are like brand new. It has a great Foredom hand piece. Now all I need is to get some polishers and abrasives. Good ones, not the cheap Chinese ones that came with it.
You can run it really slow. thought it might be a handy polisher. Not sure if I want to try using it on pipes. At least not until I'm more comfortable with it. My dad had one I used on models. But I haven't used one in forever.
I also got a polishing set for my drill. I have a drill stand. Turns your drill into a drill press. I needed to buy a work table. Found one for $20. I got a bunch of tools and sanding stuff to restore the pipes. Figure I'll do 10 at a time. No need to rush. I'm going to get a rheostate switch. The kind you plug lamps into. It'll give me speed control for the drill. I've done it before. Since most drills have speed control with the trigger it works fine.
Can you tell I've been bitten by the bug? I'm at my limit though. Unless I want to die in my sleep, I can't buy any more "pipe stuff". I can buy stuff if it can be used around the house to fix things. But she was very clear about the "pipe stuff"!!
So how do I convince her that a stem cutter can be used around the house? Its $70 at Vermont free hand.
Thanks
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sorry guys, i think it's the wrong discussion, but i'm new and still don't know the forum well, i ask you for patience and a question: who among you knows about distributors of tobacco pipes?
I would like to be able to expand the trade of my brand also outside Italy, in Europe and above all in the USA .... do you know who I can contact? Not specialized shops, but a real wholesaler distributor of pipe brands ... can you help me?
I would like to be able to expand the trade of my brand also outside Italy, in Europe and above all in the USA .... do you know who I can contact? Not specialized shops, but a real wholesaler distributor of pipe brands ... can you help me?
Impression of Planet Proxima Centauri with New the stars, Centauri a and Centauri B - Information about Proxima Centauri .
I can help you by letting you know you are violating forum guidelines with your post.
Norm Thompson pipes, specifically the dark rusticated ones "Made in Italy" out there, were made in the 1950s-60s. Exceptional pipes and totally under the radar. At least they were until I posted this - LOL. Norm Thompson , a Brit, fought in WWI for Canada. He eventually settled in Portland OR and opened some B&Ms there where he sold high end pipes... Dunhills and such. Later Norm Thompsons pipes are not as good. If you are interested be sure to look for the... dark rusticated ones "Made in Italy". Simple looking enough classic shapes (Billiards, Canadians, Diplomats), but very much worth exploring. You are welcome 
Though a big fan of Peterson and highly recommend them, I recently purchased 2 Wessex sandblasted pipes that have proven to be exceptional smokers right out of the box. They are light for their size, drilled perfectly, and feature hand cut Cumberland stems. They can be found for under $80 which translates into a great value in my opinion.
Some pipes aren't underrated but just not sold here, unknown you might say. My sister bought me a Gianni pipe in Rotterdam, presumably Italian, that is a prime little smoker, a smooth bent billiard. I can't recommend it because I wouldn't know where to buy it. Rotterdam I guess.
When did you get the pipe?
I think that now they are only avaible as estates. 'Gianni' pipes were made by Guiseppe Ascorti and Luigi Radice as private label for their partner Gianni Davoli before their relationship split. (according to 'Pipedia),
Last year I purchased a rather big handmade Gianni on ebay,
It has no 'Italy' stamp and the silverband (unfortunately) covers a part of the brand name.
Did Dr Grabow or one of their many owners and subsidiary brands ever make a meerschaum pipe?
I saw a meer with a military Grabow stem. It had the white spade on the stem. I know they made pipes with these stems, I have 2. 1 needs a stem.
The shape of the pipe is like an octagon. The corners are short with the sides, front and rear, being long. The front and rear is shorter than the sides. Its a bent type pipe. All the sides are uneven.
I think someone had a Grabow stem that fit and called it good enough. What do y'all think?
I saw a meer with a military Grabow stem. It had the white spade on the stem. I know they made pipes with these stems, I have 2. 1 needs a stem.
The shape of the pipe is like an octagon. The corners are short with the sides, front and rear, being long. The front and rear is shorter than the sides. Its a bent type pipe. All the sides are uneven.
I think someone had a Grabow stem that fit and called it good enough. What do y'all think?
H
Hfinn
Guest
Yes! I just ordered a Sir Douglas from Mike Billington and it's in the post.
Scandia was a second line of Stanwell. I don't believe they're made any more. Stanwell's owner (Scandinavian Tobacco Group) closed their Scandinavian factory in '09 & moved production to italy.
You can usually find old Scandias on eBay, etsy, & other online auction sites as well as places like smokingpipes, etc., that deal in estate pipes. Either Scandias or Stanwells are good pipes -- highly respected by just about anybody, & usually not too expensive.
I will make another recommendation if you are not opposed to an Estate pipe.
Jarl was a one man shop making handmade pipes in Denmark during the early days of the Danish Freehand explosion until 1980. These are from his "Ribbon" line.
Jarl was a one man shop making handmade pipes in Denmark during the early days of the Danish Freehand explosion until 1980. These are from his "Ribbon" line.
I don't know if this counts for several reasons. But my recently repaired and now smokeable Rattray's is pretty incredible. If I understand they buy their pipes from others. If that's true who ever made that pipe might belong solidly on this list. It doesn't fight you to get a good smoke at all. It's an Old Perth. So if the rumors are true it would be incredible if someone knew who made it.
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