Mr. Brog pipes

Zouave

Anyone have any experience with the Mr. Brog pipes? Any recommendations and or warnings?

motie2

Not pipes, although conventional wisdom says avoid the non-briar pipes. That said, as with any merchant, do your research;  
https://www.google.com/search?q=Mr.+Brog+review

My eldest son bought two items from Mr. Brog to give to me on Father's Day. One was a lovely ash tray with two pipe rests and a cork knocker incorporated into the design. Very nice.

The other was described as a tobacco jar....made of wood. Period. No seal..... and it's wood; porous wood. You would never even think of storing tobacco in it, unless the tobacco was double sealed in a ziploc.

Ashtray: Five Stars
Tobacco Jar: embarrassing P.O.S.

PappyJoe

Mr. Brog makes pipes out of briar and pear root. In fact, there are a lot of pear root pipes on the market and not all of them are bad. I personally have owned 5 Mr. Brog's - 1 briar and 4 pear root. I still have two of the pear root. 

There is not really much difference between pear and other hardwoods such as cherry or maple. One difference I've found between any hardwood and briar is that most briar pipes with the wall thickness being comparable will not get quite as hot to touch. The biggest difference is the cost of a hardwood pipe is way less than the cost of a briar or most meerschaum pipes. The most expensive pear root pipes I've seen, for example, has been under $50. 

Most Mr. Brog pipes are built for a filter so don't expect to be able to insert a pipe cleaner while smoking, unless you don't use a filter. If you don't use a filter it's more easy to burn your tongue.

Recommendation: If you are on a tight budget, a pear root pipe like those sold by Mr. Brog is an option.

Warning: It's not a briar. It may get hotter to touch than a briar with the same wall thickness of the bowl. You have to pay attention to breaking the pipe in. 

Zouave

Thanks @motie2 and @PappyJoe , I hadn't even considered that pear wood might heat at a different temperature than briar. All good things to consider. The advice is appreciated.

KA9FFJ

@Zouave My  son gave me a Brog full bent with 9mm filter. 
The finish was not all that good, but after giving it a spin 2 or 3 times, l thought it worth stripping and refinishing the stummel.  
Now it's not only a good smoker,  but a good looker IMHO...
FYI - It is briar...

Zouave

The prices are nice for the Mr. B's having never seen one in person I always wanted to know how they smoke. Looks like I'm going to have to give one a try. 

jfreedy

I have 2 Mr. Brog pear wood pipes. They smoke fine but feel kinda cheap to me.

Personally, I'd rather spend less $$ on a nice Missouri Meerschaum cob. My favorites are the Charles Towne Cobbler, any of the Cobbit series, The Emerald, and the Huck Finn (believe it or not... it has a great stem).

KA9FFJ

@jfreedy I really love the look of that Emerald you have...Great looking pipe...

bbrown626

I agree with jfreedy - for the money I would rather have a cob.  I have had mixed luck with Mr Brog. One broke a little too easy, one doesn't draw well, the rest were ok, but if you want a briar, spend a couple of dollars more and get a Grabow.

Winton

I bought a Mr Brog morta pipe. It was my only morta. I enjoyed it, but I no longer have it in my rack. I wonder where it went? Perhaps it is in my garage now. 

KA9FFJ

My son bought me a 9mm Mr. Brog Maestro 4 years ago. It may have been the luck of the draw, but it is a mechanically sound pipe.
The only flaw that I detected was a mediocre finish. I actually detected 2 drips on the lower side of the bowl. 
I stripped the stummel and 2-tone stained it, leaving the original color stain at the end of the shank and stamping.
I have taken this pipe to Europe, east coast, west coast any many places in between. I must say it has performed very well and continues to give me enjoyable experiences to this day...

johnspecht

I bought this one as a "COVID toy" (or perhaps a "Corona Pacifier?). So far it smokes great with either stem, although I had to sand the tenons lightly to ease up on the tight fit. The finish seems quite nice and durable so far, despite sweaty fingers from smoking outside in 100-degree summer heat.

johnspecht

Oops....the photo!

johnspecht

...and one more time for the win...

jfreedy

@johnspecht - both of my Mr. Brog's have wind caps. One broke off within a year of light use. So I probably won't buy another one, but the price is definitely tempting. They have some good looking designs.

motie2

This may be of interest, regarding Mr. Brog products
https://reviewmeta.com/brand/mr-brog

motie2

Mr. Brog - Polish pipes and the pride of Przemysl
https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/the-pipe-pundit/mr-brog-polish-pipes-the-pride-of-przemysl/

KA9FFJ

I have a Mr. Brog 9mm Maestro.  The finish wasn't quite up to snuff, so I stripped and refinished it. But as far as the mechanics, I would buy another one if the opportunity ever presented itself...

AceFour

I had a Mr. Brog estate blast.  Gave it to a buddy.  Not a bad smoke but it would heat up a bit.

Londy3

My vote for the cob. 
(A little late to the party)

Beetleman

Tale of two Brogs. Green is a great smoker, liked it so much I bought another. Red isn’t good at all. It might be fine if I ran a drill down the shank, but I don’t have a drill bit long enough for a Canadian. 

motie2

Brog made a nice ashtray.

RockyMountainBriar

Sounds like sounds like the red one might make good firewood😬