Quote Originally Posted by NWSmoke View Post
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.