I have eliminated over a dozen Briar's that I rarely, if ever, smoke any more. I kept only three Briar's and plan to add between six and eight new/estate briar pipes, which will leave me with between nine and eleven Briar Pipes. I plan to end my days with them, as well as two Meers and a dozen Cobs. I have decided to purchase three or four each, Italian and English made pipes.

For those of you who either own both and/or are familiar with both Italian and English pipes, which are your five to ten top makers from each country?

Your input will be very important in helping me decide on my purchases!

Hi Johnny, Italian pipes that I have smoked;
Castello
Ardor
Ser Jac
Savanelli
Cavachi in that order
Brit pipes that I have Smoked
Dunhill
Ashton.......I would rate these Ashton[Bill Ashton ] equal to my Dunhills & Castellos Ken
Pacem en Pundit!

English - GBD & Dunhill
Italian - Castello, Ser Jacopo, Radice, High grade Mastro de Paja's.

No real smoking of English pipes, but regarding Italians:

Moretti, Viprati, Spanu, Santambrogio, Croci, and Mastro de Paja. It really depends on what you want to spend and the shapes you prefer. I have a Pipa Croci billiard that I picked up as an estate for $19 including shipping. The thing is outstanding though it's a low end pipe. Castello, Cavicchi, Radice, Ser Jacopo, Le Nuvole are incredible.

In addition to the fine suggestions above, I would recommend older GBD's, BBB's, Charatan's, and Barlings. I also have several older Parker's and Hardcastle's that you might enjoy. FWIW, FTRPLT

For Italian pipes Radice is the brand I smoke the most that's still sold new. For Italian estates I shoot for Savinelli Giubileo D'oro pipes. Its hard to go wroing with either. A Giubileo in pristine condition can bring $300, but I have spent less than $100 for several nice examples. My one Castello is a great smoker, but the brand is overpriced in my opinion.

For English new pipes you might want to look into Northern Briars. I have only one, but plan to buy more. I think of them as Tinsky-like, reliable mid-grade for a decent price. For reliable estates, nice old Willmer pipes can be found with persistent searching, and estate Upshalls are a good deal I think.

Good luck!

Steve

Top 5 Italian
1. Cavicchi - fit and finish are awesome and a great value
2. Castello
3. Ser Jacopo
4. Il Ceppo
5. Savinelli

English
1. Ashton

My favorites in order of preference--

Italian
Castello
Radice
LeNuvole
Serjacopo

English-
If you have a bit of Irish blood you can guess.

Jim