Question about the quality of briar pipes.

As an occasional piper, I have always wondered about this question:

Are all briars the same? Is it true that a basket pipe or Dr. Grabow drug store pipe started out as just as good a quality briar as a Saviinelli or a Peterson or a Dunhill for that matter? Also, is it true that the reason that some pipes have rusticated finish instead of smooth because in carving they found an imperfection that could not be filled well enough to
make it perfect to look at?

I have owned some famous maker pipes, as well as some inexpensive basket pipes, and really didn't notice a significant
difference in the way they smoked.....am I right, or am I crazy? I'm interested in the opinions of you experienced pipe
smokers here.

I believe the higher end pipes start with a higher quality of briar. Other than sandblasting, which is an art form of its own and depends on good grain to look amazing, I'd say yes to rusticated pipes being the result of blemishes or just plain ugly grain. I believe the biggest difference in cost is the fit and finish of the pipe. Most pipe makers can knock out the basic shape of the pipe in minutes. Its the sanding, shaping, fitting of the mortise and tennon so there is no gap or seam when the stem and stummel meet, the drilling and the stain/polish where the true craftsman sets himself apart from the mass producers. Some brands I believe are charging for their name brand, I couldn't tell the difference smoke wise between an entry level Peterson and a $600 Dunhill, but only one of those pipes has a chance to go up in value over time. These are my opinions on the subject and I have no real evidence to support any of it other than the experience from handling a great many pipes, and from carving a few.

so what makes the actual briar a higher quality briar?

Grain - tightness, location of the wood, condition and age of the wood, and of course like anything - handmade or machine made.


What makes a good smoker is letting the pipe chose you and not you chosing the pipe. Sounds cheesy but that was told to me by and old gent when I started. He said (and I agree because I do this) to look at dozens of pipes from all makers. In person if possible and look at the drilled hole, feel the briar, let it talk to you. Sometimes they jump and sometimes it takes a while. I've bought a Savenelli I wasn't looking for or shopping for a pipe and I've went now 2 years pipe shopping wanting to buy a pipe and my 9th pipe hasnt found me yet.


Thats the difference between a good smoker and a bad one. The good pipe buys/finds you.

Argonaut said:

I believe the higher end pipes start with a higher quality of briar. Other than sandblasting, which is an art form of its own and depends on good grain to look amazing, I'd say yes to rusticated pipes being the result of blemishes or just plain ugly grain. I believe the biggest difference in cost is the fit and finish of the pipe. Most pipe makers can knock out the basic shape of the pipe in minutes. Its the sanding, shaping, fitting of the mortise and tennon so there is no gap or seam when the stem and stummel meet, the drilling and the stain/polish where the true craftsman sets himself apart from the mass producers. Some brands I believe are charging for their name brand, I couldn't tell the difference smoke wise between an entry level Peterson and a $600 Dunhill, but only one of those pipes has a chance to go up in value over time. These are my opinions on the subject and I have no real evidence to support any of it other than the experience from handling a great many pipes, and from carving a few.

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Yep- I could buy briar from the same place that Mark Tinsky does, but I am not going to get the results that he would.

DC_MPA said:

Grain - tightness, location of the wood, condition and age of the wood, and of course like anything - handmade or machine made.


What makes a good smoker is letting the pipe chose you and not you chosing the pipe. Sounds cheesy but that was told to me by and old gent when I started. He said (and I agree because I do this) to look at dozens of pipes from all makers. In person if possible and look at the drilled hole, feel the briar, let it talk to you. Sometimes they jump and sometimes it takes a while. I've bought a Savenelli I wasn't looking for or shopping for a pipe and I've went now 2 years pipe shopping wanting to buy a pipe and my 9th pipe hasnt found me yet.


Thats the difference between a good smoker and a bad one. The good pipe buys/finds you.

Click to expand...

That is a very cool way to look at it. I think I will look at pipes a bit differently now. Or rather, they will look at me!

Riff Raff said:

That is a very cool way to look at it. I think I will look at pipes a bit differently now. Or rather, they will look at me!

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In Soviet Russia, pipe looks at you.

I'm glad I could help! It really deepened my appreciation to pipe smoking. I now grab one of my 8 pipes (2 Savenelli's are estates and 1 Luciano 4 star I bought here on B&B), a Savenelli that I bought when I wasn't even shopping for a pipe, a Peterson I bought after going back many times and looking at it and learning about Peterson pipes and how Einstein would only smoke a Peterson (if it's good enough for Einstein, it's good enough for me!), a Stanwell because I hadn't owned a Stanwell and I wanted a rustic pipe and one day that rascal came available and it grabbed me fast (to this day that is my absolute favorite pipe, easiest break in and cake build), a 1960's billiard style Demuth, a Radice handmade by Mr Radice that is amazingly beautiful and smoothiest draw (you think about it and your mouth is full of smoke).

The only frustration I've found with pipes - you can buy a $300 Radice, a $90 Stanwell, and a $30 estate or unknown basket pipe and not one person can honestly tell you how they will smoke. The basket could blow the Radice away or the Radice could blow them both away.

I've known my fair share of folks who can't break a $700 Dunhill pipe in but that $75 on sale Peterson is the smoker they will take to their grave and vice versa. So spend your money what you like and talks to you - then sample tobacco like crazy, find your niche of a dozen or so tobaccos, start a tobacco cellar (a cellar fyi is just what we call our guest room shelves, cabinets, nooks, underneath beds, etc) with mason jars and enjoy your tobaccos. My best advice for accessories is a Czech tamper (I've had 2 of them at $2.99 each for the past 8 years), buy some mouth bits ($1 per 2 at my B&M) and see if you like having a rubber bit to teeth down on to hold your pipe in your mouth, a zippo pipe lighter or Bic $.99 or a $2 DJeep lighter. My biggest advice I'm hating life for is buying a Xikar lighter. Just...don't...do...it. Save up or ask for a Corona Old Boy lighter down the road. It's a nice touch of class and holds the biggest fuel capacity I've found. Buy some pipe cleaners both soft and course for deep cleaning. I clean my pipes everytime I smoke them, I deep clean them a few times a year on a rainy Saturday. Simplest I've found that makes a great cleaner is EverClear grain alcohol to clean the pipe up inside and out, olive oil out of your kitchen to treat and moisturizer the briar, and a leather sham for the briar to buff and polish after the EverClear and olive oil. Makes a pipe brand new and shiny.

DC_MPA said:

Grain - tightness, location of the wood, condition and age of the wood, and of course like anything - handmade or machine made.


What makes a good smoker is letting the pipe chose you and not you chosing the pipe. Sounds cheesy but that was told to me by and old gent when I started. He said (and I agree because I do this) to look at dozens of pipes from all makers. In person if possible and look at the drilled hole, feel the briar, let it talk to you. Sometimes they jump and sometimes it takes a while. I've bought a Savenelli I wasn't looking for or shopping for a pipe and I've went now 2 years pipe shopping wanting to buy a pipe and my 9th pipe hasnt found me yet.


Thats the difference between a good smoker and a bad one. The good pipe buys/finds you.

Click to expand...

THIS is my problem. Pipes keep finding me too easily.

oc_in_fw said:

Yep- I could buy briar from the same place that Mark Tinsky does, but I am not going to get the results that he would.

Click to expand...

The flip side of this is that you could also buy low grade briar at a steep discount, or with little effort you could buy a somewhat mass-produced piece that hasn't really had much attention to grading, but we can assume that Mark Tinsky only buys the very best chunks of briar he can find (and probably has relationships with suppliers who offer their best pieces to him).

Boro62 said:

so what makes the actual briar a higher quality briar?

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Good question - many factors, as mentioned. Grain, condition, color and weight. Generally, older, finer briar is lighter in weight than briar of lesser quality. Look at some fine pipes and note the weight. Now, some designs are just huge and will carry an appropriate weight. Also, price is not always a definite determinate to the quality of the pipe.

Great post thanks (all) for the thoughtful insights/direction.

So I was considering this and life in general over a bowl of Key Largo this AM, and thinking about my new Peterson 303 that i ordered last night.

Here are the results of the reflection, i apologize in advance if it meanders or is not interesting (or is too self-indulgent)

I guess i have a hopelessly middle class attitude, and I am just not a collector, but I seem to move from hobby to hobby until i find what works, and then I move on (adult ADHD?).
I do not have a sophisticated palette as I think I can tell the difference between a 5 dollar bottle of wine and a $20 bottle of wine, but the difference between that one and the $100 bottle are a bit subtle for me. Similarly for my liquor, I am as happy with my 12 year old McCallan as with my Pappy VanWinkle. (I know one is scotch and one is bourbon, but my point was the $ value) I think this same shortcoming is impacting my ability to really appreciate the subtleties of the various tobaccos I am trying.

When I started sailing I learned all i could I looked at a lot of boat, some very expensive, and in the end found that a little used Catalina 22 was just fine for me.

After owning a few guitars from a $20 sammick, to a $2500 Larrivee, i now have only a Taylor 210, which is good enough for me, and sounds just fine.

Started wet shaving, tried a lot from a Merkur DE, to Shavettes, to Straight razors, to decide the DE Merkur is the right blend of ritual and luxury, without burdensome work (stropping)

So now to my new interest, Pipes. Started with a basket Briar and a cheap Meershaum, and now have ordered a Peterson, as much for my affection for my Irish ancestry as for the pipe itself. (I like the romance of my idea of old Ireland - which is why if I do get another expensive guitar it will likely be a Lowden)
Likely that I will buy a few nice pipes, and sample a lot of tobacco, but I will never be one of those guys with a large collection of fancy hardware, or a big cellar of aging tobaccos. Just not me. I just want a couple of pipes that allow me to enjoy the ritual, relaxation and mental transportation that occurs when enjoying a nice leisurely smoke.

It is possible that I will buy a fancy DE Razor, or and Old Boy gold plated briar lighter, as I think someday these sort of things can be handed down to my son; i wish i had my Dad's old pipes, or his DE razor, or that Shillelagh that used to hang over our family front door.

I often lament my lack of "passion" for things settling for what i feel is "good enough" and moving on, but I guess i am one fo those destined to be a bit of a jack of all trades - master of none.

BUT for now I am in learn mode and voraciously reading about Pipes and tobaccos, and enjoying VERY much the input of all of you here, so THANKS!!!!!

End of self-indulgent rambling for today

^^^^ that was a great post - I enjoyed reading it sir

I am much the same way. I do seem to be able to pick up subtle differences in fine tequila, though I can't always say that an expensive one is any better than a middle class one, just different. Also I am trying to build a huge cellar of tobacco to last the rest of my life, though if I wasn't fearful of a tobaccopalypse I probably wouldn't bother, I'd just keep sampling everything I want to try until I eventually settle into a groove.

Send the hideous pipes to me for disposal!

Algerian briar used to be some
top notch material. Can't vouch
for much of the other stuff any
more.

fordfather said:

Send the hideous pipes to me for disposal!

Click to expand...

One Chicken Foot pipe on it's way. Enjoy!

Wth....

That's a beauty! Would look good next to my handmade briar.

I like the chicken foot pipe. I'd try smoking out of it.