SASIENI Old England

[SpeedyPete]

I have 4 of these pipes and just now bought another from Shiny Pipes. I also have a Friar, Slendaline and what looks like Royal Stuart (not sure about the "Stuart").

I've always loved SASIENI pipes and at some stage had 7 Sashars which, unfortunately, I got rid of when I stopped smoking many years ago.

I'm not really crazy about English made pipes (sorry, my English brothers!) with SASIENI being the exception. They are like SAVINELLI pipes to me, buy them with eyes closed, they WILL be super smokers.

As of late I developed a crunch on Old England pipes and I'm buying them now. Seems as if the demand for them is not that big yet and I get them for fair prices.

I would like some feedback form the brothers on SASIENI and especially Old England   

 

[ftrplt]

I do second your positive opinion on Sasieni's; as long as we are talking the older "Family-era" and before ones. I own several, all excellent smokers. I do own one "post-family" 4-Dot; it actually smokes quite well, just not finished as well as the older ones. The Old England's and Mayfair's (I think) are second lines; however, I have seen examples of both and for the life of me could not see what made them less than a first!!!!! There are lots of them available. That plus the lack of blue dots puts them at a nice price point. I had (have since traded) two of these in the "Moorgate" shape. Didn't say Moorgate on the stem, but they were Moorgate's. No fills, nice wood, darn good smokers. Really good "gets" in my opinion.

 

[KevinM]

Several decades ago, as a novice piper, I bought a nifty little Old England billiard that I didn't love, because it smoked hot. So I didn't use it much. Eventually, I learned that it didn't like to be tightly packed with coarse cut tobak, and puffing more vigorously to keep it lit was not helpful. So I learned to rub the tobak out, pack loosely and, if the bowl got hot, to just let it go out, cool down and begin again. I also noticed that the pipe was perfectly proportioned, light for its size, had a very comfy vulcanite fishtail bit, and had a lightly sanded bottom that allowed it to sit, the sanding portion extending into the mouthpiece. Even my Dunhill billiard, about the same size, didn't have the "sit" platform that extended so perfectly into the mouthpiece. Eventually, when the Internet came to be a household tool, I learned that the Old England was actually a Sasieni second. Mine has two tiny filled pits up near the rim, but the grain is an attractive mix of cross and birdseye. At this point, I'd say that the Old England biliiard smokes as tasty and dry as my Dunhills and Charatans. In a lesson of humility and perseverance, my early troubles were my own newby learning pains, not at all the fault of the pipe. It still looks near new, is in my regular rotation and doesn't at all hold a grudge re: my early ineptitude

 

[SpeedyPete]

Several decades ago, as a novice piper, I bought a nifty little Old England billiard that I didn't love, because it smoked hot. So I didn't use it much. Eventually, I learned that it didn't like to be tightly packed with coarse cut tobak, and puffing more vigorously to keep it lit was not helpful. So I learned to rub the tobak out, pack loosely and, if the bowl got hot, to just let it go out, cool down and begin again. I also noticed that the pipe was perfectly proportioned, light for its size, had a very comfy vulcanite fishtail bit, and had a lightly sanded bottom that allowed it to sit, the sanding portion extending into the mouthpiece. Even my Dunhill billiard, about the same size, didn't have the "sit" platform that extended so perfectly into the mouthpiece. Eventually, when the Internet came to be a household tool, I learned that the Old England was actually a Sasieni second. Mine has two tiny filled pits up near the rim, but the grain is an attractive mix of cross and birdseye. At this point, I'd say that the Old England biliiard smokes as tasty and dry as my Dunhills and Charatans. In a lesson of humility and perseverance, my early troubles were my own newby learning pains, not at all the fault of the pipe. It still looks near new, is in my regular rotation and doesn't at all hold a grudge re: my early ineptitude

Kevin, you've described a GBD beauty of mine! It taught me how to use a pipe properly   

 

[bent bulldog]

Basically what you have with those wonderful Old Englands by Sasieni is a four dot with a surface flaw, always a great way to obtain a first class smoke for not a ton of money. It was about 1972, I was a graduate student in Portland, Oregon, and like all male graduate students in those days I was convinced that smoking a pipe would automatically add 40 points to my I.Q. in the eyes of all around me. So I saved my pennies and proceeded on a Saturday morning into downtown Portland with Arthur Leonards pipe shop as my destination. It was one of the oldest and most respected pipe shops on the West coast at the time and was run by Louis Leonard, Arthur's son as Arthur had passed the baton to the next generation. By the way, Arthur Leonards shop was so well respected in the old days that he had the reputation of selling more Dunhill and Sasieni pipes than almost anyone else in the western U.S. Anyway I was on a tight budget and a young man by the name of Loyal waited on me and I told him I was in the market for a good quality pipe. He immediately suggested the Sasient 4 dot which was way out of my price range at $44.95 and after I mentioned my budgetary constraints he suggested a Sasieni second, an Old England bulldog which I purchased for $10.95 and it smoked great for years. So cheers and thanks for bringing a fond old memory back to an old time piper like me.

 

[riff raff]

Wow, Arthur Leonards was reputed to be quite a pipe shop, what an amazing experience.
I'm a fan of family era "Four Dot" Sasieni's, they smoke great and I've suspected the Old England line would as well. Lets see a picture of your new pipe!

Basically what you have with those wonderful Old Englands by Sasieni is a four dot with a surface flaw, always a great way to obtain a first class smoke for not a ton of money. It was about 1972, I was a graduate student in Portland, Oregon, and like all male graduate students in those days I was convinced that smoking a pipe would automatically add 40 points to my I.Q. in the eyes of all around me. So I saved my pennies and proceeded on a Saturday morning into downtown Portland  with Arthur Leonards pipe shop as my destination. It was one of the oldest and most respected pipe shops on the West coast at the time and was run by Louis Leonard, Arthur's son as Arthur had passed the baton to the next generation. By the way, Arthur Leonards shop was so well respected in the old days that he had the reputation of selling more Dunhill and Sasieni pipes than almost anyone else in the western U.S. Anyway I was on a tight budget and a young man by the name of Loyal waited on me and I told him I was in the market for a good quality pipe. He immediately suggested the Sasient 4 dot which was way out of my price range at $44.95 and after I mentioned my budgetary constraints he suggested a Sasieni second, an Old England bulldog which I purchased for $10.95 and it smoked great for years. So cheers and thanks for bringing a fond old memory back to an old time piper like me.

 

[SpeedyPete]

Bro RiffRaff, I'm still waiting for my "new" pipe and bought another one in the meantime. As soon as I've received them, I will post a picture, showing all of my Old Englands.