What's in the Revival of the Barling Name?

[mso489]

Kopp Pipe of England has apparently obtained rights to the Barling name and produces a line of pipes in the mid-price range, many of them 9 mm filtered. Smokingpipes.com has a fairly large inventory of the pipes, and they look handsome. But what relationship, if any, do they have to the classic line of Barlings? Koop started producing these in 2020, so they are not brand new on the market. What does anyone make of them? Is it tantamount to a new brand with an old name, or is there any effort to somehow recapture the virtues of the originals? I'm not in the market for pipes, but this certainly has piqued my curiosity. Anyone have a sense of what's going on with the new pipes with the classic old name?

 

[jpberg]

Have some Peterson Early Morning Pipe and ponder it.

 

[OzPiper]

The new Barlings are made to take filters, so that rules them out for me.
I'd stick with estate Barlings, preferably the family-era ones.

Rattray's pipes are also owned by Kopp

 

[ssjones]

I've never seen anyone here or the other big pipe forum mention getting a new Barling, so that should tell you something. (also never mentioned on any pipe social media sites) I say hard pass.

 

[sablebrush52]

I was notified about them a couple of years back. K&K bought the IP from whoever had it, most recently producing really cheap pipes made by Peterson that were stamped Barling. Their intent is to make a high quality pipe with some nice sterling bling. They look well made, but I'm not buying any since I already have 100+ Family Era pipes going back to 1882, and don't need another pipe.

 

[mso489]

It seems like a odd way to introduce what is essentially a new pipe brand, but I guess name recognition has its power. I wouldn't dismiss them because many are set up for 9 mm filters; I find that my one 9 mm filter pipe, an Austrian Kemperling, smokes great with no filter or adaptor, but I guess that judgement has to be made pipe by pipe. But I'll regard these Barlings as strictly a new line of pipes and see if they win any reputation in their own right. It seems they have little connection with the classic Barling pipes.

 

[Merton]

I bought one the the tanshell lovats from TP. The price was low so i gave it a shot. While i don't usually smoke 9mm pipes, and never use a filter, i found the pipe to be well made and very nice indeed. Most especially in light of the price point. I wonder if, in attempting to resuscitate the Barling name, K&K is keeping the initial prices quite low. It is a nice looking pipe that smokes well. It arrives in very nice packaging as well. Not a high end pipe but certainly not junk either.

 

[mikethompson]

Probably just a way to grab your attention a bit while looking for a new pipe. You might just click on a Barling pipe given the history of the name, but pass on the same pipe with a different name. All marketing.

 

[mso489]

Brands can rollercoaster over time. In the 1950's, Kaywoodie was the primo pipe, above Dunhill in reputation and price. The Dunhill went on a marketing offensive and raised their prices through the roof, and Kaywoodie took a plunge and became like a drugstore pipe. Today, I think the Kaywoodie pipes are quite good, but remain at the low end of the market in terms of price, which is fine for my pipe budget. These "Barlings" might be pretty good, but clearly, they aren't Barlings as we knew them, or know them as estate pipes.

 

[kcghost]

I'm not in it to buy pipes anymore. I really don't care for anything when another manufacturer buys a product just for its name value.

 

[MattRVA]

I really like some of the models but that stem adornment is a little too much for me.