Charring At The Brim

Lightly smoked always scares me for an estate. It makes me wonder if there is a construction flaw. My best smokers get smoked the most. I've also never traded away a great smoker, regardless of the maker.
Is there a reason that the previous owner traded / sold the pipe without smoking the hell out of the thing? Did it give a sub par smoke so they got rid of it?

Although "lightly smoked" I guess could be a sign of something bad, to me it's just that. Lightly smoked. With the loss of B&M's and the increase of online sales, it becomes harder to really decide on pipes w/o holding it. Almost all my pipe were bought online, and even with good descriptions, sometimes I just don't like the pipe that much in person. I have gotten rid of many a pipe that was "lightly smoked" mainly because too short, long, tall, heavy,or just didn't feel right in hand. Doesn't really mean a bad smoker though. As for rim darkening, I kinda like it. Just seems to fit with the whole pipe thing.

I too appreciate smokingpipes.com writeups on their estates - you can always rely on them.
But I must to admit, I like my rims clean. I am always careful not to burn my rims and am successful most times.

Although "lightly smoked" I guess could be a sign of something bad, to me it's just that. Lightly smoked.

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Yes, in theory any pipe that was given up may be a bad smoker, but I've bought quite a few etstates and have had excellent success. My guess is that most who sell off a pipe are for reasons other than smoking quality. They may have to thin the herd or perhaps they're not happy with the shape, etc.
When I've sold pipes it was either due to financial constraints or simply a change in tastes.

Buying online is great for a number of reasons, but until you get the pipe in-hand, you really can't evaluate it. But smokingpipes has gone out of their way in a large manner to lessen the perceptual hurdle.
Their pictures are second to none. They probably have the best pictures on the internet.

They give elaborate specs both in metric and non-metric units.

They thoroughly describe each pipe both in terms of aesthetics and and in its overall physical condition.
There's a reason why sp sells a good deal of pipes. They, more than anyone else, put a pipe on the internet as much in your hands as possible before you actually hold it. If you look at other artisan sites, so much less care has been taken. It's an embarrassment that these products of exceedingly high standards of craftsmanship are so displayed.
If you stop to look over a pipe online, you are at least somewhat interested. If you are still looking 30 seconds later, you are interested. I believe it is at that point, when you're clicking off the characteristics that the pipe has as compared to what you want, the pictures are decisive. sp's presentation of the pipe are enough to actually close the buy decision.

^ Couldn't agree more with everything you said, Mike, well done!

I have purchased many estate pipes from smokingpipes.com and I agree that their photos, descriptions, measurements and the telephone conversations that I have had with them are courteous, honest and informative. The customer service at smokingpipes.com is second to none. The estate pipes that I have bought all of been actively investigated and I have not only saved countless dollars, but more importantly have ended up with some real winners. Have you ever had a poor Castello or Savinelli Autograph? Pipe for pipe a Savinelli Autograph are among my best smokers. Not the most expensive, just the best smokers. Just don't tell anyone.
Do not be afraid of buying a pipe that has been lightly smoked. Many pipers have given up smoking, have too many pipes, are upgrading their collection or they may really be from an estate being sold by the family. Whatever, the reason I have never thought twice about my purchases from smokepipes.com.

+1 on smokingpipes.com. They are truly awesome at repping pipes and their customer service is magnificent.