Your Favorite Brand of Pipes for a Quality Smoke????

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rasselass

Lurker
Apr 3, 2014
30
0
My Grandmother always said "Buy the best and most comfortable shoes, bed and mattress you can afford...because when you're not in one,you're in the other."....i suppose i go against the "grain" here (pun intended),i always advise those new to pipesmoking to buy the best pipe they can afford and not a "cheapo"..that first smoke experience if its not good WILL deter them from continuing.....I would find it difficult to decide whether my Peterson Deluxe 2s was better than my Barling's...it would be a close call.

 

puffdoggie

Can't Leave
Dec 14, 2013
398
0
I have several Petes, Savenellis and Nordings and like them all. However, rather than a brand I like a style of pipe. To give me a nice smoke with my aros I prefer a pot or large bowled pipe with a big chamber surface area. I find they promote good air flow and smoke cool. Maybe just me...... :crazy:
Dave

 

smeigs

Lifer
Jun 26, 2012
1,049
7
I would say Savinelli. If I was going to pick a cheaper pipe I would probably go with La Rocca. They make some beautiful pipes that smoke great for a pretty good price.

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer
Jul 29, 2013
1,739
3
I own more Petes (2, used to own 3) and Savs (3) than any other brand. I don't know if I could choose one over the other though. My favorite of all my pipes is an old YBB Chesterfield though.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
The Danish pipe Bari is a superb briar. I have one that's over 30 years old and looks almost new despite

years of smoking, and smokes perfectly. I'll add that to my list earlier in this thread. You could spend

$700 and not get as good.

 

sfsteves

Lifer
Aug 3, 2013
1,279
0
SF Bay Area
Brands, it seems to me, are anything but a consistent thing ... probably because pipes are made from a product that occurs in nature and irrespective of which maker did the conversion from root to pipe, the raw materials aren't all equal ...
Case in point, the best single pipe I've ever owned came from Ben Wade ... I've got several Wades and they're all over the map, from very good to acceptable, but one that I'm going to say is the biggest purchase mistake I ever made from a cost/performance point of view ...
I've got a 20's era KBB Yello Bole, two Bari's, a number of 'house' pipes (Edwards, Iwan Reis, et al) and several no visible nomenclature pipes that are seriously great smokers ...

 

neverbend

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 20, 2014
230
5
Definitely Barling. I own pipes from a variety of makers, but my favorite overall remains the family era Barling pipes. They are the result of the best available raw materials combined with the highest quality processing.

Hi SableBrush,
Your use of Family Era to describe Pre-Transition Barling pipes is spot on and they are the only company that had a change in process, materials and quality that began when members of their family were no longer involved in their business. The term, family era is incorrect with all other pipe manufacturers.
The change in Barlings isn't complete or immediate rather it's inexorable that led them to abdicate manufacturing altogether when they commissioned their pipes to be made in Denmark.
Pete

 

numbersix

Lifer
Jul 27, 2012
5,449
53
I am a big fan of Peterson pipes - they're great smokers, but for consistency, I'd say Stanwell (at least the Danish-made ones) are tops.

 

peter70

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 24, 2013
175
1
Savinelli are the most consistent for me. Never had a bad one and I have 10+ of them. I have nothing against Petersons or Stanwells and most of them are fine pipes, but when I have a really good smoke, it's always from a Sav.

 

saint007

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 22, 2013
630
0
If I had to pick one maker, I too would opt for Savinelli, especially their Billiards. I guess that is why I own eight of them though it is tough to beat the clean smoke a meerschaum delivers.

 

rangerearthpig

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 5, 2014
858
1
I guess I'm too much of a newbie to give a proper answer. I tend to pick the pipe AND the tobacco, based soley on my mood....much like I would select what clothes to wear or what to eat. Being the simple knuckle-dragger that I am, I've has huge success with this method. :oops:

 

neverbend

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 20, 2014
230
5
Brands, it seems to me, are anything but a consistent thing ... probably because pipes are made from a product that occurs in nature and irrespective of which maker did the conversion from root to pipe, the raw materials aren't all equal ...
Hi Steve,
You're correct that the briar (as the natural material involved with pipes) can vary in quality but the makers who choose to Cut their own ebauchons demand by this process better briar than those that use replication machines to make their bowls. It's not necessarily going to be obvious in a single pipe but over a selection of several the difference becomes clear. Those workshops with the best Cutters (who Cut a custom ebauchon based on and using the best briar) will prove to make the best pipes (we assume that the have been technically well cut as discussed). I use caps to indicate this fundamental step, Cutting, of the hand maker of pipes for without it the pipe isn't a true hand made.

 

neverbend

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 20, 2014
230
5
I guess I'm too much of a newbie to give a proper answer. I tend to pick the pipe AND the tobacco, based soley on my mood....much like I would select what clothes to wear or what to eat. Being the simple knuckle-dragger that I am, I've has huge success with this method.
Hi Ranger,
Perfectly sound method whether new to smoking or not.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Hi Never,
For lovers of classic English pipes, no one has surpassed Barling, and few have equaled them. Part of the reason is that process that you brought up. Barling harvested their own briar for decades, so they controlled their raw material right out of the ground. That's critical. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but you can sure turn a potential silk purse into a sow's ear.

Barling applied proven traditional technique to the seasoning of their briar and employed the most highly skilled craftsmen in their workshops. Right up to the end of the family era, their pipes were hand carved, unlike their competitors who gradually turned to replicators to produce larger amounts. By the standards of other pipe factories they remained a modest operating concern, mostly making pipes to order. It's a shame that the family decided to quit the business as all of that history and expertise was scattered to the four winds. Though Finlay intended to maintain the quality, it all went south after Imperial took over. I simply love the way my Barling pipes smoke.
In response to the point made below: Neverbend. Seems that one can edit forever and ever.

 
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