Why are French Pipes Cheap?

[Briar Lee]

Shopping eBay this morning I won an unsmoked, medium sized, smooth French Dublin with a Cumberland stem, for $25, plus $4 postage.

View attachment 183469View attachment 183471

If that same pipe had been stamped it was made in the City of London, it would command a price many times more.

Why are pipes stamped as made in France, so cheap?

 

[burleybreath]

 

[Winnipeger]

Colonialism. Who had the most ready access to Algerian briar?

French Algeria - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Algeria

On the other hand...maybe it's not that French pipes are cheap, but that English pipes are overpriced.

 

[verporchting]

Just a lucky buy. I’ve bought unsmoked Savinelli pipes for $15-21 and a 90 year old unsmoked Kaywoodie for $15, an unsmoked Dr Grabow / Linkman’s from the 30s for about the same, plus lots of others from various brands / countries.

Sometimes you just get lucky. I don’t think it’s a trend or anything to do with the country of origin per se.

 

[Winnipeger]

Just a lucky buy. I’ve bought unsmoked Savinelli pipes for $15-21 and a 90 year old unsmoked Kaywoodie for $15, an unsmoked Dr Grabow / Linkman’s from the 30s for about the same, plus lots of others from various brands / countries.

Sometimes you just get lucky. I don’t think it’s a trend or anything to do with the country of origin per se.

Meh. I think French estate pipes are consistently cheaper than English, Italian, Irish, German, Danish, Japanese etc. Also you can get very nice — new — French briars at a steal compared to other factory pipes.

 

[Grangerous]

I dunno…


Why does the French Navy deploy glass-bottomed boats?


So they can see the French Air Force.

 

[mso489]

I'm a fan of French pipes, and I would attribute their relatively moderate prices to several factors. The French elevated briar to a principle tobacco pipe material and made it commercially successful, and in doing so, developed a pipe industry at St. Claude in in other cities that has developed a strong talented labor pool with a good eye and feel for design and artisans and crafts people to produce the pipes.

Many of the shapes that are considered English traditional shapes came from France.

Many of the brands are long standing and own their factories, lowering their overhead. Their sourcing of briar and stem materials are long established, again giving them a price advantage.

Along with Italy, France is a major site for out-sourcing production contracts for pipe makers of other nations.

 

[bullet08]

Because French beers are crap?

 

[cigrmaster]

Because we saved their asses in World War II, they are still paying restitution and cheap pipes are part of it.

 

[OzPiper]

Because French beers are crap?

So is their coffee
Only decent cup of coffee was in Lyon. Barista was Aussie.

 

[Winnipeger]

I love the French people and their culture. I'm not Francophone but I speak French. The best pizza I ever ate was in Nice, not Naples. YMMV

 

[edger]

I bought a few Brulor Mowbrey pipes discovered in a Parisian attic from the 1950's. Bruno Nuttens sells them on eBay. Mine smoke very well and each cost 27 bucks!

 

[simong]

Not many French estates command the same price as their London made counterparts. Modern lines from Chacom on the other hand go for substantially higher prices than English made factory pipes (Dunhills aside).

 

[mso489]

Some members have commented that French pipe chambers run a little smaller than non-French brands, and I think that may be true. A medium sized French pipe, what be be categorized as a Group 4, may run a little smaller than a similar Italian, Danish, or other pipes. But you can find larger chamber French pipes if you read the specs; they are just less common. I have a wide range of size chambers, and find them all suitable for various situations.

 

[kurtbob]

Because we saved their asses in World War II, they are still paying restitution and cheap pipes are part of it.

While I like to poke fun at the French as much as the next feller, I must point out the fact that it was them saving our asses during the revolutionary war. Almost got my ass kicked by 4 French SF guys in Afghanistan for telling my buddy in the frenchies presence……..”see those nice rifles those guys have? Those are pristine specimens! Yup that’s right, never been fired and only dropped once!”

 

[OzPiper]

I bought a few Brulor Mowbrey pipes discovered in a Parisian attic from the 1950's. Bruno Nuttens sells them on eBay. Mine smoke very well and each cost 27 bucks!

I have a couple of Bruno Nuttens’ EBay “specials” and I’m very pleased with them.
Smaller bowls, but that’s fine when I want a shorter smoke.
Great value.

 

[Alejo R.]

I love the French people and their culture. I'm not Francophone but I speak French. The best pizza I ever ate was in Nice, not Naples. YMMV

You should try Buenos Aires pizza

 

[Alejo R.]

Until a while ago all pipes, at least estate ones, were cheap. The era of social networks and internet commerce and hype have raised prices substantially. The good thing is that this has many people running after certain pipes, leaving great treasures at a good price for others.

 

[Alejo R.]

I must also say that there are several London Made brands that can be had at a very good price. For example BBB.

 

[Winnipeger]

You should try Buenos Aires pizza

I might make it there one day. I have a lot of Argentinian friends, one of whom moved back to Buenos Aires a few years ago. I imagine visiting and playing music with him at some point. (He's a master guitarist and tanguero.) I've never been further South than Panama unfortunately. Also unfortunately, I can't eat pizza anymore. Cheese and my GI tract had a falling out. I'm sure it delicious though. Pizza in Southern France has an extremely thin crust and is often drenched in extra virgin olive oil.