Questions You Thought Were Too Dumb to Ask (Pipes Edition)

[Tobias Lutz]

Since we have a lot of guys just beginning in the pipe world, I thought we'd offer this thread as an ongoing Q&A between the new guys, and the experienced guys- with the hope that the former will transition into the latter. Feel free to continue starting threads around different questions, but here is a place for any and all pipe related inquiries.

Here's a couple examples:

Q What do people mean by Dunhill EMP?
A EMP refers to Dunhill's blend, Early Morning Pipe

Q What is a "p-lip" stem?
A It is a design, originally by Peterson (circa 1898) that directs the smoke upward in your mouth, rather than straight across the tongue like a traditional stem.

Q What do people mean by a "parfait"?
A A parfait is when you layer more than one blend of tobacco in the bowel of your pipe to achieve a different flavor experience. Example- packing the bottom half with Nightcap, and the top half with Bob's Chocolate Flake

[Haebar]

What kind of glue should I use to glue the nickel band back on a Peterson pipe?

[NWSmoke]

OK I'll go. Seriously, what's the difference between a $25 Grabow or Brog and a $100 savinelli? I'm referring to smokemanship not so much craftsmanship (although at some point those two must cross paths). I have 4 inexpensive pipes (2 baskets, a MM, & a Mr Brog) and every time I think of getting something in the 100+ range I get scared and back out. Is it really worth it?

[Haebar]

OK I'll go. Seriously, what's the difference between a $25 Grabow or Brog and a $100 savinelli? I'm referring to smokemanship not so much craftsmanship (although at some point those two must cross paths). I have 4 inexpensive pipes (2 baskets, a MM, & a Mr Brog) and every time I think of getting something in the 100+ range I get scared and back out. Is it really worth it?

Probably not a whole lot of difference in the case of the MM; they smoke about as good as any pipe. With the baskets, you could probably do better in terms of smokemanship with a Savinelli or another similar premium pipe. I don't know why but my Savinelli and Dunhill do smoke better than my basket pipes. One other factor to consider is the resale market... if you decide to give it up, you can get something out of your premium pipe, whereas the outlook is not so good for a basket pipe.

[bluenoser]

I see alot of people on here have a large amount of pipes, I'm sure alot of it is collection but is there a need for multiple pipes or could a guy get away with just 1?

[Pugsley]

What kind of glue should I use to glue the nickel band back on a Peterson pipe?

I've only had 2 Petersons with nickel bands and they were both press fit. Was yours glued?

[JustTroItIn]

OK I'll go. Seriously, what's the difference between a $25 Grabow or Brog and a $100 savinelli? I'm referring to smokemanship not so much craftsmanship (although at some point those two must cross paths). I have 4 inexpensive pipes (2 baskets, a MM, & a Mr Brog) and every time I think of getting something in the 100+ range I get scared and back out. Is it really worth it?

Quality materials, higher quality standards, and finish are most likely your biggest differences. Let's look at a couple pipes and compare.

Since both of my Grabows are old, lets compare those to two of my old Savinelli's.

The top pipe is a Grabow Lark and the bottom is a Crown Duke (I really need to clean both the stems again). Both are good smokers.



Take is apart and look at the stem and you will see they cranked these out. The hole in the stem is off center. The metal on the stem itself is cheap tin or aluminum with teeth in the middle to grip the tenon.



The Crown Duke has a bit better, but similarly cheap metal tenon. If you look closely at the pipe, the finish they used is starting to spider web.





I will cover the Savinelli's in the next post due to pic limitation.

[Haebar]

I've only had 2 Petersons with nickel bands and they were both press fit. Was yours glued?

I don't know. I bought it on Ebay and it was loose when I got it.

[Haebar]

I see alot of people on here have a large amount of pipes, I'm sure alot of it is collection but is there a need for multiple pipes or could a guy get away with just 1?

You have to let your pipes rest and air out after smoking them or they start to turn sour. I'd recommend a rotation of at least three pipes if you're smoking every day.

[JustTroItIn]

Savinelli's are mass produced pipes too, but the briar is generally a bit nicer. Better quality materials are used. A bit more attention to detail.

The top pipe is a Savinelli Deluxe the bottom Pipe is a Roma.


Compare the tenon and materials to that used on the Grabow.


Look at the grain of the briar itself.