I've owned two Bjarne Viking Classics. I ordered them at the same time and have had rotten luck with both. The first bout of bad luck was when the tenon came out of the stem of one and stuck in the mortise. I pulled it out with pliers and used Gorilla Glue to mend it. It was never a great smoker and was promptly given to a friend that I didn't think would really take up pipe smoking anyway. I never removed the stem while the pipe was warm, so I can't say why it happened outside of bad construction.
The Bjarne that I kept was okay but definitely not my favorite pipe. After a good many smokes, it finally came into its own and eventually smoked better. The other day I smoked it outside and in the bright sunlight, noticed a crack where the bowl and shank meet from 9 O'clock to 3. The only reason I can think of for this must be due to atmospheric changes since I've never tapped it out on my shoe or anything else. I've since taken it off the rack until I decide what to do with it. JB Weld might be the answer.
I've searched forums high and low and every mention of a Bjarne Viking is nothing but kind words. Our own Dunedain seems to love his.
Maybe 2006 was just a bad year.
