What is it?
- Thread starter chlogeo3
- Start date
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
Well, Forrest....Savinelli is a good reliable Italian pipe company....I don't know about Antique Shell, but likely you have a fine piece of briar in your hands.
Antique shell is simply what they call the finishing style. Much like Dunhill's "shell" finish. The Savinelli Antique Shell finish seems to be a brown to dark brown/red stained and some how rusticated or sand blasted but otherwise normal piece of briar wood from which most tobacco smoking pipes are made.
pipesandcigars.com recently added a bunch of "antique shell" pipes to their lineup they look OK to me. I may give one a try.
I know there are plenty of Savinelli fans here but I have to say that I have had very bad luck with their pipes. They always seem to be problematic smokers for one reason or another. Gurgle, smoke hot, stem gets so loose it falls out...maybe I have just been unlucky but I don't see myself ever buying another Savinelli. I find much higher quality for the same price from places like Stanwell and Peterson.
kcvet67 said
I didn't know it was all that obvious. I've owned some good mid-grade pipes, and sold them off to acquire lower grades that, as it turns out, perform better. Even Castello avers that all their pipes smoke about the same regardless of the grade, which is purely a function of grain beauty and size.
I didn't know it was all that obvious. I've owned some good mid-grade pipes, and sold them off to acquire lower grades that, as it turns out, perform better. Even Castello avers that all their pipes smoke about the same regardless of the grade, which is purely a function of grain beauty and size.
Lest anyone doubt the accuracy of my previous post, here's a quote from
Castello's grade descriptions as listed at Pipes2smoke.com.
Castello's grade descriptions as listed at Pipes2smoke.com.
Larry, you're comparing apples and oranges here. The site you reference also says:
"Every Castello pipe is completely hand made, from start to finish, from the finest available briar and has a hand cut Lucite stem."
The same thing is true of Savinelli high-end pipes. It is NOT true of Pisas, Oscars and their other entry level pipes. Not only are higher end pipes carved by the most experienced artisans available from top quality materials, those carvers have the time to make certain that every pipe that they make is precisely engineered and executed. A master carver can take hours crafting a pipe that will sell for $500, the same is not true of the craftsman making a pipe that will retail for $75.
The second pipe I ever owned was a Savinelli and in the 44 years since then I've owned a lot of them. All have been nice smokers but to expect that a pipe that took less than an hour to craft to be the equal of one that took 5 or 10 hours is unrealistic. Some cheaper pipes DO smoke as well as the expensive ones, I have a Hercules that is a match for any high-end pipe. But I don't expect every Hercules I buy to be that good.
My comment was referencing Savinelli pipes in particular, an area in which I have a certain amount of experience. Certainly, some of their entry level pipes will smoke as well as a Castello, they're made by highly skilled carvers. The key element here is time and that's a lot of what you're paying for in a great pipe.
"Every Castello pipe is completely hand made, from start to finish, from the finest available briar and has a hand cut Lucite stem."
The same thing is true of Savinelli high-end pipes. It is NOT true of Pisas, Oscars and their other entry level pipes. Not only are higher end pipes carved by the most experienced artisans available from top quality materials, those carvers have the time to make certain that every pipe that they make is precisely engineered and executed. A master carver can take hours crafting a pipe that will sell for $500, the same is not true of the craftsman making a pipe that will retail for $75.
The second pipe I ever owned was a Savinelli and in the 44 years since then I've owned a lot of them. All have been nice smokers but to expect that a pipe that took less than an hour to craft to be the equal of one that took 5 or 10 hours is unrealistic. Some cheaper pipes DO smoke as well as the expensive ones, I have a Hercules that is a match for any high-end pipe. But I don't expect every Hercules I buy to be that good.
My comment was referencing Savinelli pipes in particular, an area in which I have a certain amount of experience. Certainly, some of their entry level pipes will smoke as well as a Castello, they're made by highly skilled carvers. The key element here is time and that's a lot of what you're paying for in a great pipe.
- Status