Savinelli: Nay or Yay?

[Fight'n Hampsters]

Fight N Hampsters

Here is a before and after pictures of my Savinelli Series III Unfinished Billiard. I only used Bee's wax and mineral oil, lightly sanded prior. Did not notice or see any of the 11 huge fills on the pipe until after the Bee's wax was applied. Of course P&C would not exchange, even though it could not be sold. This is the pipe that I received with NO hole drilled on the stem. In the second picture you can see 6 fills, look close on the bowl and you'll see the 6th, 5 others on the other side. But, after over 450 smokes the color is a nice natural dark chocolate and those fills stand out like a sore thumb...lol. It is an outstanding smoking pipe and it was broken in after just 5 uses.

KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

Sweet pics!  It turned out quite nice.

Mine have a few fills in them too, but the great smoke and price ($50 at the time) compensated for it.
in the pics I saw before I bought mine they all showed fills so I was prepared.

 

[Richard Burley]

Wow, Pipes & Cigars is making quite a reputation on this forum. Never had a problem with them, but youse guys are giving me the willies.

Hard to believe manufacturers can't come up with something better to use for fills in briar. How long have they had, 150 years? And if you know that the pipe is going to color, why not use a darker fill? I have no objection to fills in a beater pipe--unless you can see them in a rainstorm at midnight while staggering home drunk.

Savinellis? They're a mix of good, bad, and indifferent. I have some you'd have to pry from my cold, dead hands. Others, like a Duca Carlo with a strange fissure cutting across the worthless grain and smokes, not quite bitter, but sort of "nicotinic," I would give away to anyone depraved enough to want it. (Bent 616, my favorite bent shape.)

What I don't like about current Savinellis is their ubiquitous filter cavity--not much choice there--and that most of their lines are "whored up" with, to me, garish stem and shank embellishments. But that's just moi.

 

[Puff Daddy]

... most of their lines are "whored up" with, to me, garish stem and shank embellishments. But that's just moi.

Not to derail the subject but this is my opinion of what Peterson is doing as well. Paying less concern for good engineering and quality control and more for flashy colorful presentation to attract young hipsters, or whoever it is that is buying these blue, green and yellow pipes that won't pass a cleaner, gurgle within seconds of ignition, but get tons of kudos on facebook because they look cool in a selfie.

 

[Lonecoyote]

To the top two above me that responded to this thread^^^^^^
I totally agree with you both! Give me an older Savinelli or Peterson any day of the week. Would not spend a nickel on any of their new ones. Also agree, Peterson pipes are not as they use to be, what's with the lacquer finish that bubbles and the draft holes that are so far off!!



KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

 

[Puff Daddy]

Peterson pipes are not as they use to be, what's with the lacquer finish that bubbles and the draft holes that are so far off!! KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

It's even worse than that. After years of people asking that system pipes be made with acrylic P lip mouthpieces so they'd stay nice and shiny for decades, they finally released the newest system deluxe pipes with acrylic P lips. But, they are not drilled with the graduated bore, so they are not system pipes any longer. Cheaper, easier, but worse. :x

I give you the deluxe non system pipe :fpalm:

 

[Lonecoyote]

Puff Daddy
Thanks for sharing, it's worse then I thought. So far I've repaired 2 of the Pete lacquered pipes, complete sanding and rustication. Two coats of Bee's wax and mineral oil mixture and both now have a natural dark chocolate color. My opinion on why these pipes were finished with lacquer, to many sand pits that were filled...." it's a cover up job "! The rusticated design took care of that.


KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

 

[kaitlyn3837]

Wow, lots of interesting information on both Savinelli and Peterson! Thank you all for adding to the knowledge of the board!

 

[AdamCordray]

Yeah I'm not so taken with the new Peterson designs, or Savinelli designs for that matter. I'm much more likely buy an good condition estate Stanwell, BBB or GBD instead of a brand new Pete or Savinelli in the same price range. The cost would be the same, but the quality differential is major.

 

[Lonecoyote]

Dr. Adam, well said and couldn't agree more! My Stanwell pipes are all good smokers, quality materials and well crafted with NO fills....enough said.



KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

 

[Old Nate]

I am a huge fan of Savinelli. Peterson, not so much... but every Sav I have and all the ones I've seen look good and I don't see any problems for what they are. My Savinelli pipes are all workhorses in my rotation. I smoke my 677 Roma Sav more than any other pipe and it is always a great smoke! I have more expensive pipes and prettier pipes, but there is just something about that first Savinelli I ever bought that delivers.

 

[KevinM]

As a matter of personal taste, I have a marked dislike for "rusticated" pipes that have perfectly symmetrical and consistent rustication. To me, they say "we churn these out by the busload" I especially like Ashton rustication, most especially when it looks like it was broken off the plant, drilled and fitted with a nice mouthpiece. I don't award extra points for silver or shiny touches. I'd say that the brands being discussed having these traits seem to be showing evidence of non-smoking MBAs in positions of influence at the manufacturer.  Quality briar, a comfy stem, good drilling and better-than-just-decent craftsmanship are appreciated. Just me, YMMV.

 

[fsu92john]

I am a huge fan of Savinelli. Peterson, not so much...

Ditto. This is me in a nutshell.

 

[Puff Daddy]

The thing about Peterson is, if you get an older system pipe or high grade in good condition, it's most likely a good pipe. The newer pipes are show, not go. But then Stanwell too is all about the older pipes. The new ones are OK and smoke better than the new Petes, but there's something lost that can't be refound after the factory change. Danish mojo gone, pipes now just "Meh" :|

 

[Vito]

All my Savinelli pipes are pre-2005. The last one I bought was a Long John bent in 2004, and it's still pretty fussy about what I smoke in it. It doesn't seem to like most Ginnyweeds.

All the others are quite a bit older. I've found that the best smokers are either unfinished, or natural finish with wax only.

There is a line that are fabulous smokers—Punto Oro Corallo—a rusticated natural finish with exceptionally porous briar that colors like a meerschaum. Apparently it's not in production any more...at least, it's not listed on Savinelli's website. It's not to be confused with the current Porto Cervo "Corallo", which is not even close to being the same thing.

Savinelli also had a line of seconds called Estella that are awesome smokers. All the Estella pipes I have seen are very craggy rusticated jobs, and they tend to be fairly large. The two I own are superb smokers. Like the Corallos, they're no longer in production, but you can find them as estate pipes.

My other Savs vary from decent to excellent, but as with most pipes, it seems that the older the wood the better the smoke.

 

[monbla256]

I have over a dozen Sav's half are blasted Punto Oro's , one Guibleo d'Oro smooth straight grained and the rest are from the old Champagne series and EVERY ONE is a SUPURB smoker and well made pipe. Several (5) of my Punto's are from the 4 digit model number era which would be pre 1975 as i understand it. I'd put ANY Guibleo up against most Artisan pipes as well as ANY Dunnie made today and purchase the Sav over them all the time !! The Guibleo series is probably the FINEST production pipe made today IMHO :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Lakebound]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread. But, I actually prefer Peterson's, Savinelli's and one more little known brand: Cayuga Oil Treated pipes from Flint, Michigan.

I've read about the Peterson vs. Savinelli debate on other venues and have to admit that I prefer the way a Peterson smokes after about a dozen bowls and I also enjoy the same from a Savinelli in a shorter period of time and really like the balsa system as well.

Frank

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread. But, I actually prefer Peterson's, Savinelli's and one more little known brand: Cayuga Oil Treated pipes from Flint, Michigan.

I've read about the Peterson vs. Savinelli debate on other venues and have to admit that I prefer the way a Peterson smokes after about a dozen bowls and I also enjoy the same from a Savinelli in a shorter period of time and really like the balsa system as well.

Frank

Resurrect away!

 

[Vito]

...Stanwell too is all about the older pipes...there's something lost that can't be refound after the factory change. Danish mojo gone, pipes now just "Meh" :|

PD: I haven't tried any of the Stanwells made at the relocated factory. I'm a little curious to see what they're like, but frankly my curiosity isn't enough to make me spend any buck$ on one when I have so many wonderful Stanwell smokers that were made in Denmark.

As for Danish mojo, I dunno. A lot of good pipes come out of Denmark, so I suppose that, statistically, the "Made in Denmark" stamp is prolly a pretty good assurance of quality. Whether it's an assurance of value is another issue entirely...by which I mean smoking quality per dollar spent. To wit, does a $5,000 Rasmussen really provide a smoke that's 100 times better than an old $50 Stanwell? The question is preposterous.

Of course, that's not the only reason folks buy expensive artisan pipes. They buy them for all sorts of reasons, many of which have little or nothing to do with their quality as smokers — speculation, collecting, trading, bragging rights, or just because a certain pipe strikes their fancy and they can afford it. Value is subjective, and beyond things like quality of materials and engineering, there are few absolutes.

But if smoking quality is the most important criterion, then some of the best values can probably be found in old wood on eBay. What's more, if you adjust for inflation, today's prices on meerschaum pipes are an absolute steal. Fifty years ago, not everyone could afford to give themselves the treat of the meerschaum experience.

For that matter, a well-seasoned corn cob pipe is still one of the best smokes available. No bragging rights, but you can't beat the value.

Anyhow, as far as briar pipes are concerned, the takeaway from all of this (for me, anyway) is something I've learned from owning over 200 pipes across over 54 years of being a piper — namely, there's no blanket "Yay or nay" answer about pipe brands without a whole lotta qualifications and stipulations as to model, year, finish, and — as always — the subjective preferences of the smoker.

I can tell stories of my experiences with marque X, Y, or Z, but that doesn't necessarily translate to others. Part of the fun of pipe smoking is the adventure of discovering what I like, and I imagine that's true of most others too.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

As a matter of personal taste, I have a marked dislike for "rusticated" pipes that have perfectly symmetrical and consistent rustication. To me, they say "we churn these out by the busload" I especially like Ashton rustication, most especially when it looks like it was broken off the plant, drilled and fitted with a nice mouthpiece. I don't award extra points for silver or shiny touches. I'd say that the brands being discussed having these traits seem to be showing evidence of non-smoking MBAs in positions of influence at the manufacturer.  Quality briar, a comfy stem, good drilling and better-than-just-decent craftsmanship are appreciated. Just me, YMMV.

amen!

 

[Puff Daddy]

I haven't tried any of the Stanwells made at the relocated factory. I'm a little curious to see what they're like

Truth is they are well engineered, well made and made from good material. They smoke very well, good open drafts. They are better than any of the other production pipes in that price range that I've come across. What was lost is style. The older Stanwells were well made copies of famous Danish designers prototypes (Bang, Ivarsson, etc) and the factory production managed to do a good job of keeping clean lines and transitions in the shapes and preserving the style intended by the designer. The new Italian pipes seem to have lost this, with muted lines, generic looking shapes, and a dullness of form compared to the past production in Borup, DE. If a guy wasn't aware of or experienced with the past production quality then there would be nothing to complain about - Rather a generic looking pipe here but a damned good smoker. It's only when comparing the present to the past does one realize that the style has been lost. Whether or not that matters is an individual opinion.