Artisan/Ahton/Dunhil/Castello

[Bub]

An artisan is someone who makes a pipe and puts their name on it. For example, Rad Davis is an artisan and he puts his name on the pipe. If we don't like one of his pipes, then I am sure that he will feel bad (don't let me speak for him) and replace it or refund our money. The other pipes in this topic were at one time made or directly supervised by a single person. Today, to the best of my knowledge, we have no idea who makes an Ashton, Dunhill or Castello pipes. When we see these pipes in stores or advertised on the internet what can we assume about their quality or the likelihood that we will enjoy them as smoking instruments?
After visiting the BOB and other sites I have the impression that the quality of Castello pipes is better than Dunhill or Ashton.
Any Comments?
Bub

 

[Doc Manhattan]

Maybe one the more knowledgable Brothers will correct me, but I thought Ashtons were the eponymous brand of Bill Ashton-Taylor.

 

[Muddler]

Bub, I wouldn't rate Castellos as better quality than Dunnies - they're both really good. Personally, my Dunnies (9) smoke better than my 2 Castellos. But I would choose an artisan pipe over either. The (all too few) artisan pipes I own smoke brilliantly. I can't comment on Ashton's pipes.

 

[wojtekpastuch]

I don't exactly agree with what you're saying. There's a big difference between a Dunhill and the others you mentioned. Dunhills are factory made pipes that are made almost entirely by machines with the supervision of skilled but anonymous workers. Ashtons and Castellos are made by hand by one (Ashton) or a small group of artisans (in the case of Castello there's also a single person who supervises the production, grades it and is responsible for it- Franco Coppo). I guess there are about 10 people working at Castello and each of them could probably be an artisan on his own because they have the experience and skill of making hand made pipes. That's not the case with Dunnies.
That's what I've read and heard, if I'm wrong please correct me.

 

[LL]

There's no such thing as either factory or hand made. That's just a mental image hang-up many people can't seem to get past.

They imagine a "pipe factory" is a place where piles of briar blocks and raw stems are fed into a series of carving, sanding, and finishing machines, and come out the other end like loaves of baked bread; and that "hand carved" pipes are entirely chiseled and drilled from wood like small statues by monk-like artists. Neither image is remotely close to reality.

There has never been a high-volume pipe maker that doesn't use human hands throughout the creation process, and there's never been a low-volume artisan one that doesn't use machinery.

The only significant difference in how the two are made is the high volume pieces have their bowls roughed into shape by something called a frazing machine. (Think a jumbo-sized, hardware store key cutter that works in 3-D). Artisan carvers typically use some combination of spinning disks, belts, and rasps for roughing in. That's it.

Most artisan pipes use better quality raw materials, and receive extra attention to detail, fit, and finish, but that is completely unrelated to how the pipe is made.

 

[john-in-kc]

An artisan pipemaker also seems to spend more time per piece in producing his pipes...

 

[Anonymous]

That's one of the things that hooked me on artisan pipes. The fact that I know (who) actually made my pipe; furthermore, many of these guys post on forums and interact with you.

I will disagree as well that Dunhills are better than Castellos. I have limited knowledge here, but my two Castellos smoke better than any Dunhill I've ever tried. I love my Dunhill Canadian, but if I had to rank them, it would rank under my 2 Rad Davis and 1 Ruthenberg Canadian.

Of course, maybe the Dunhills I've had are lower grade than what you guys have experience with.

 

[Winslow]

I believe in Turkey that a signed meerschaum pipe requires some sort of artistic
credentials.I don't know if there is some government agency or masters guild
that allows a man to sign his work.Maybe somebody here knows?

Winslow :sunny:

 

[Winslow]

I just talked with Deniz of Bestmeerschaums and he said anybody can sign a
pipe without any credentials in Turkey. :shock:

Winslow :sunny:

 

[Wet Dottle]

I really don't care if a pipe is made by hand or by machine, by an anonymous worker or by a specific person, one by one or in a serial assembly line. Much more important is to have a pipe that is well made and a good smoke. I have expensive "artisan" pipes that are of lesser quality than "factory" pipes. However, in pipes made by individual artists one can find details not found otherwise, such as special details in the finishing or distinctive shapes with uniquely elegant lines, for example. It's this latter aspect that attracts me to specific artisans. But I would never assume that a pipe is a lesser pipe just because it's made in a factory.

I used to be a big fan of Ashtons, but the poor engineering of those pipes eventually turned me off and I don't know how the recent production is. I like the Castello Trademark line for its red finish and the Dunhills for their traditional English shapes. I find the Castellos to impart a unique characteristic to the smoke, while the Dunhills are much more neutral. I like them both, but I have many more Dunhils than Castellos, therefore I would say that I like Dunhills more. But Dunhills are more prosaic, while Castellos have much stronger personality. The quality of both is outstanding.

 

[dubinthedam]

I love this topic, for me one of my favorite and best smoker's is my Castello, I'm working on a recently acquired Dunnie and so far not very impressed. But to this point of artisan, many Stanwell's where actually made by artisans, it being a pipe makers collective in the 50's-70's. Tommaso Spanu is for sure an artisan using little or no machinery and harvesting his own briar and olivewood, but still can be bought for $125. So yes there is such a thing a an artisan made pipe and a factory made pipe, but it's not quite a straight forward thing. Art is many things as are Artisans.