So my brand new, $375 ($460CAD all told) Ferndown Pipe showed up in the mail today. It's a nice beefy bulldog (I know, this thread is worthless without pics, they'll get here eventually) with two silver spigot stems, one normal and one Churchwarden (naturally).
The Briar looks good, but the polish on the hardware honestly isn't the best I've ever seen, and there actually is some heat colouration on the collar on the shank, but what tipped the boat was one of the silver stem tips was mostly covered in tarnish. Not being familiar with Silver, all I saw was a piece of metal with dark splotches all over it, you could see scratches and the weld was obvious.
Thus the tile of this thread, I was nearly convinced I had received some sort of a second. Justifying not returning it was the primary thought on my mind throughout the afternoon.
Thankfully I'm old enough to know now that nine times out of ten, when I'm in a fuss about something or feel ripped off, it's actually my fault or at most a trivial mistake.
After some time I put the pieces together, whipped up a baking soda bath, rubbed on some Paragon wax, and there we go, the shiny product in everyone else's pictures. No great injustice here, just a bit of oxidation during travel.
(Note: I only had to dip the silver in the bath for a few seconds, I was careful not to expose it or the Ebonite for too long.)
Also, I must put in a good word for the retailer, Pipes2smoke.com
That man knows his craft. Prices are good (definitely compare with James Barber though), the purchase felt highly personal, shipping was extremely fast, and I love the political commentary.
Highly recommended.
The Briar looks good, but the polish on the hardware honestly isn't the best I've ever seen, and there actually is some heat colouration on the collar on the shank, but what tipped the boat was one of the silver stem tips was mostly covered in tarnish. Not being familiar with Silver, all I saw was a piece of metal with dark splotches all over it, you could see scratches and the weld was obvious.
Thus the tile of this thread, I was nearly convinced I had received some sort of a second. Justifying not returning it was the primary thought on my mind throughout the afternoon.
Thankfully I'm old enough to know now that nine times out of ten, when I'm in a fuss about something or feel ripped off, it's actually my fault or at most a trivial mistake.
After some time I put the pieces together, whipped up a baking soda bath, rubbed on some Paragon wax, and there we go, the shiny product in everyone else's pictures. No great injustice here, just a bit of oxidation during travel.
(Note: I only had to dip the silver in the bath for a few seconds, I was careful not to expose it or the Ebonite for too long.)
Also, I must put in a good word for the retailer, Pipes2smoke.com
That man knows his craft. Prices are good (definitely compare with James Barber though), the purchase felt highly personal, shipping was extremely fast, and I love the political commentary.
Highly recommended.
