Help buying a pipe, new/used

[nbrim]

I'm going to get a pipe for my brother for Christmas. He's fairly new to smoking, a handful of cigars and a little with a corn cob pipe. I know nothing about pipes. Looking to spend around $50. Is it reasonable to expect to get a decent pipe for $50? There is a booth at the antique store where I've gotten most of my razors that has a bunch of pipes. What are things to look for, good and bad, with a used pipe? Am I better off getting a new one from the Tinder Box?

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

You would be better off buying an estate pipe from smokingpipes.com

The pipes at the antique store would probably require a good amount of restoration to make them smokable again.

 

[nbrim]

Thanks. Also, I just saw the stickied thread with a lot of good info. Feel free to add any additional info.

 

[Kilroy6644]

For a new pipe, at pipesandcigars.com you can get a Stanwell Brushed pipe for $49.99 plus S&H. They come in black or brown (black has the bigger selection), and they're great pipes. For an estate pipe, I guess I'll second smokingpipes.com. I've never bought from them personally, but they have a great reputation, and you don't come by that accidentally. I'd stay away from antique shop pipes. You might find a gem, but you'll have to wade through a lot of used and abused pipes to find them, and they'll take a lot more work to make them smokeable.

Actually, the gems at the antique shop are the ones that don't take a lot of work. But those are rare.

 

[nortac]

I would recommend going to PipesandCigars or Smokingpipes.com for new or estate pipes for a gift. You'll be sure to get a good one. Although I've bought most of my estate pipes from the 'bay, it's always a bit of a crap shoot and requires a lot of work in most cases.

 

[ctr]

I think SmokingPipes is running a 10 percent off estates sale thru today.

 

[DC_MPA]

Stick with Stanwell or Peterson. I own 9 pipes from $300 handmade Radice to $75 stanwell to $75 Peterson to $90 Savenelli. I love them all for their unique personal reasons but the one maker I will always go back to is Stanwell. My Stanwell was the easiest to cake, the tightest stem, and the coolest briar. I LOVE my Stanwell pipe. Peterson is my cavendish pipe. It smokes cavendish nicely. If you go Peterson it was the pipe of choice for Albert Einstein. To me that always has a nice connection to it when I smoke my Peterson.

You will be the envy and will be the best gift no matter what you pick up. Add a tamper tool, a tiny bottle of everclear and some pipe cleaners to his stocking. Best $20 you can spend that he will love and get a fun laugh from.

 

[DC_MPA]

Also sent you an IM friend

 

[nbrim]

Thank y'all for your help. I bought two savinellis from smokingpipes.com. I'll let my brother pick the one he wants, and I'll keep the other for myself.

 

[Bk124tt]

Smoking pipes. Com is a great place. I only have a little gripe with their somewhat inflated shipping charges unless you qualify for free shipping.
You just can't go wrong with a Savinelli IMHO.
Enjoy!

 

[allawd]

I'd also suggest Savinelli or Stanwell if you want to be pretty certain of a good pipe.

The cheaper Petersons can be very good, but I'd suggest in person inspection if you want to buy one of those. Same for Parkers and Italian basket pipes.