Chinese/Generic Pipes?

A hit of meth. Might not be suitable for your needs. :: You would probably be better off with a corncob than one of those pipes.

Not sure how the other folks on this forum will feel, but my guess is that it could actually be made of rosewood. But odds are they are not going to give you a good smoke. Most quality wooden pipes are made from briar root. Other, usually less expensive pipes use other materials, often with mixed results.
btw: Love Hong Kong. Been there a couple of times and enjoyed every minute of being there. I look forward to going back again some time.

Welcome to the forums
Most Chinese made pipes are very low quality, I would guess its probably made of walnut

The typical Chinese pipes sold here in the USA are very poorly made. That is not saying there are no quality Chinese pipes, but the exported pipes are really low quality for sure. I have seen a number of Chinese wood pipes that are claimed to be "Rhambutan" wood but I dont know what type of wood that is. I would recommend finding an American made Corncob pipe from Missouri Meerschaum company if you are interested in a good smoking pipe for very little money. They sell for under $15 here in the US and even with shipping to Hong Kong it should still be affordable.

There are corncob pipes being made in China that are sold here, but these are very poor quality and usually only last for a few smokes. A Missouri Meerschaum corncob should last for many years.

When the Canadian Box Pass last touched down at my place, I took out a couple of Chinese made rose-wood pipes. I can attest that the quality was atrocious (neither stem fit properly, one had a cracked shank that was repaired with what appeared to be tin-foil and epoxy, the engineering was no-where near correct, and worst of all, metal bowl-liners). I didn't venture to smoke from either - a poker shape made it into my sons toy-box after reshaping the stem and disinfecting the works; while a billiard shape is firmly planted in the snowman in my front yard.
I too love HK; lived on Lantau for a year as a teenager, the best times of my early life (although I hated the hovercraft ferries that ran between Discovery Bay and Central with a passion).

If you happen to run into any real Chinese Cultural pipes can you please PM me? So far I have acquired 4 cultural pipes (Indian lakota peace pipe, 2 Peruvian Pipes, and 2 Kiseru Japanese piple). When I searched for Chinese pipes, they looked like Kiseru's to me.

I would imagine you could pick up a fine pipe in HK. There are so many fine shops there, but I am not so sure you'll fine anything worth buying at a stall. I often wondered if Dunhills were well priced there, being a former British stronghold.

Yes, pipes are sometimes made from rosewood, and no, you don't want one of them. They burnout really easily.
You don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money to get a good pipe, but you do want to avoid the El Cheapo's.

Speaking of wood types, I understand briar is best, but what are other wood types used that are also pretty good? Such as Ash, Cherry, Apple, etc? Are pipes made from these woods decent/good to smoke from?

Other than briar the only other woods I've heard of that makes a decent pipe would be Morta, Cherry and Olive. I'd imagine there are others that one could turn into a smokeable pipe though to my knowledge the ones I listed are the more common woods (other than briar). I know Mr. Brog makes a very respectable Olivewood pipe.

Ok, so in my last trip to Hong Kong (I normally go back once a year) I bought one just to try it out. From what i gather it should be rosewood (I have another rosewood pipe and the subtle hints of the wood smell roughly the same) and they smoke alright, somewhat hot but bearable. I wouldn't say it's great but it's nothing horrid.

I only know rosewood from its use in guitars, but it's typically quite heavy -- it would be significantly heavier than a briar pipe. And, I'm guessing, it wouldn't be nearly as conducive to long-term smoking.
I know that non-briar woods have their fans. But, to me, a wooden pipe is a briar; anything else is just a knickknack for sticking on a shelf somewhere. And I would absolutely agree with the person here who mentioned that you should be able to find some fine pipes in Hong Kong. You'll just need to go to an actual tobacconist or pipe shop and avoid the street vendors altogether.
Bob

Stay clear away from a pipe like such. It will only yield poor smoking qualities.....

I have made a very conscious effort that anything I eat out of or drink out of , does not come from CHINA, much less a pipe, Daughters husband bought a set of Magnalite made in CHINA, wife just came back home after spending a week babysitting so daughter. Could go to a work related conference, wife brought her own USA made pots and pans, don"t trust it , you do not know how they made that CRAP. The old cajun

While i hate to generalize, the Chinese reputation for manufacturing with toxic compounds would suggest avoiding a Chinese made pipe (or Chinese made anything that goes in your mouth).

Rambutan is an extremely dense, rough wood -- and therefore would not breathe particularly well as pipes should -- from SE Asia, namely Malaysia, Zanzibar and Penba. It does have a beautiful color ranging from bright orange to flame red, but the grain tends to be irregular with wild streaks and figures. However, if you already bought it and take good care of the unusual pipe, it would always make an interesting addition to your collection. Certainly it is nothing to throw away. The final judgment is how well it smokes. As for the comment that most Oriental pipes exported to other countries are poorly made, that is true...but that is where a good restoration can come in handy. I happened upon a couple of very large-bowled churchwardens that caught my eye in a head shop late one night when I needed pipe cleaners and all of the regular tobacconists were closed and ended up buying both because they were cheap and the stems both broke. After setting them aside for a long while, I decided to see what was beneath the awful dark red varnish or lacquer used to stain them, and after sanding away I discovered they were very valuable old jichimu (chicken wing wood, so called because of the bright, iridescent, feathery quality of the grain that changed colors with shifting light the way a pheasant or a phoenix tail will. I restored one, and a friend who is a master at the craft did the other. The results are large cool bowls that smoke wonderfully and look beautiful. They're also quite durable. I've since added a Wenge wood pipe to my collection, which is African wood crafted into pipes by the Chinese mainly for export. These are both worth adding to your collection, if you can find a real jichimu as opposed to a Wenge pretender.
Rambutan Wood

Jichimu Wood Pipes -- A Blog of Mine

I would look for a Pipe Shop/Tobacconist if I were you. Might be able to get a European/American pipe or perhaps a proper briar pipe made by an independent Chinese Pipe Maker. 8)

The Chinese do good electronics manufacture, and have done some impressive stainless steel kitchen ware

which can be sold at incredibly low prices in the U.S. because of the Chinese controlling their currency value

(or so I have heard). Several of my favorite kitchen utensils are made in China. And of course, they were

manufacturing and exporting (!) huge commercial quantities of ceramic table ware while most of Europe was

still in a hunter-gatherer tribal mode. However, China has never had a tradition of making tobacco pipes,

that I know of. So most of their efforts are opportunistic commercial businesses that remain suspect. Some

of the rosewood pipes are probably okay for rosewood, but the Chinese have exported a number of toxic

and otherwise dangerous products, pet food among them, and infant formula. I just wouldn't buy or use

Chinese tobacco pipes. They may eventually come along and establish themselves in this area, but it will

take a long proving time to gain consumer confidence. Hong Kong has a vast trade with the world, and I'm

sure in the city you can get Savenellis, Petersons, maybe Kaywoodies; just convince yourself they are the real

item and not pirated knock-offs. I too have been to Hong Kong, while it was still a British Crown Colony, and

purely by chance happened upon a Chinese New Years parade with dragons operated by squads of acrobats,

in competition with one another. It was the most spectacular parade of my life, with an audience of probably

hundreds of thousands.