Problems With Recent Era Peterson Pipes?

flakyjakey · Sep 7, 2013

I was having a close look at my "Hansom" of the Sherlock Holmes Series last night. I bought it new because I wanted a large bowl pipe with a P-lip. It was not cheap. It is now well seasoned and it smokes well, but on close inspection the square silver ferrule does not fit flush with the stem and the depth of the circumferential cuts are not uniform around the top of the bowl. Further, the finish IMO seems a bit 'artificial' in that it looks like some sort of coating was applied to the briar. These are relatively minor build/cosmetic issues but I would not expect them in a high-end pipe, and in light of rebornbriar's comments in yesterday's "should I buy this Peterson" I wondered whether these sorts of problems are creeping in to new Peterson's pipes? Further down the scale I recently bought on eBay a new era "Captain Pete" which even after restoration is the worst smoker I have ever experienced. I am sending that one to reborn who has restored hundreds of Petersons to see what can be done.
Having said that I have bought 2 new Peterson Straightgrains from Cup o'Joes (for $$$) which look, and smoke, as good as anything in my collection and I am now half-way down the bowl of a Peterson's "Supreme" Silver Mounted Chimney which is also perfect in every way. But 2 out of 5 new era Petersons that IMHO are imperfect is not good odds IMO.
Has anyone else encountered such issues?

rcstan · Sep 7, 2013

They are out there, Peterson has ( had ) some QC issues, they are churning out a lot of pipes and perhaps some slip through the cracks. Some briars, no matter who makes them, turn out to be just bad smokers.

A good bit of the lower end ones have, as you said, "cosmetic" issues. I would reserve buying entry level Petersons from places that actually inspect every single pipe that they sell, such as Smokingpipes.com ; and I am not saying that just because I work in their estate restoration department ( just got my first paycheck ), but I have been a happy repeat customer there for the last year and a half or so.

flakyjakey · Sep 7, 2013

I hear what you say rcstan, but the "Hansom" is supposed to be a "high-grade". It's my own fault I did not scrutinise it properly when it first arrived - but it is a good smoker! Can you comment on the 'finish' - is it just my imagination?
PS Hope it was a fat pay check! lol

lordofthepiperings · Sep 7, 2013

Peterson's recent QC situation is well known. I'm guessing because the hobby is getting so popular so fast a few bad ones are slipping through the cracks and making it onto the market. I know they recently, we're talking the last five years or so, had their longtime silver smith retire. I'm sure he apprenticed a replacement or two, but I think this might have something to do with why bands aren't fitted quite so well lately.
Personally I have three Arans, 2011 Pipe of the Year rusticated, 2012 Pipe of the Year smooth, a Dracula, a Killarney, and a Dalkey and I've never had any problems with any of them. The bands are all done nicely and the bowls were carved well. The lower end ones do have two or three fills, but that's not out of the norm.

petes03 · Sep 7, 2013

I know some have had their flaws, but personally, I have 10 Petersons no older than 5 years, and I've had no such issues! Maybe I'm just lucky. Oh, I have another Pete on the way as well!

flakyjakey · Sep 7, 2013

That's good lordofthepipering. I think you might be right about the band fitting - it looks like it was "forced" to fit, rather than "made" to fit.

rcstan · Sep 7, 2013

I have a Kinsale XL26 ( same shape as your Hansom but without the Sherlock Holmes silver mount and nomenclature ), I bought this one used off eBay; all other things being the same it appears that it has some sort of polyurethane ( not shellac, as it doesn't come off with alcohol ) top stain to make it shiney, just like the Killarney series. I have two eBay Killarneys, one with the red polyurethane, and the other has had its top coat removed by someone, revealing a yellowish orange stain beneath, similar to the Aran series.

My eBay Kinsale also had some shellac applied post-factory by someone to make it even shinier, which subsequently has started to bubble and peel off. Pipe smokes like a dream and makes for a LONG smoke indeed, but I might have to strip the topcoat and start anew. Being that I only paid $45 shipped for it, I can live with that.

mrenglish · Sep 7, 2013

They have always had issues with bands on angled type stems like the Hansom. Even back in the day when I owned the first Sherlock series I had to send the Baker Street back to have the band fixed.
I know they are cranking out production and need serious work on their QC process but I have picked up a lot of Peterson's over the last couple years and they all have been smoking great and have been the easiest to break in in all my years of smoking/collecting Peterson's.
You are right, they should pay more attention to the quality of their higher end pipes. There really is no excuse for it. I am just saying it would not stop me from buying another Peterson, even their lower grades. Just need to check them over before purchase and/or first smoke.

rcstan · Sep 7, 2013

FWIW I have 19 Peterson pipes ranging from a Kapet to my newest addition to the herd, a 1999 9kt gold banded Straight Grain billiard :mrgreen:

None have any problems other than minor cosmetics ( fills and spills on the lower end smooth ones ) and an occasional off-centre airway.

flakyjakey · Sep 7, 2013

Thanks guys. Don't get me wrong - I'm a Peterson lover, with 11 pipes ranging from pre-1916 to the present day. All apart from Captain Pete smoke well (incidentally the best smoker is a pre-Republic, unadorned bent "Supreme" which draws like silk). Eight are silver or gold mounted, and the new Hansom is the only one with imperfect silver mounting.

dochudson · Sep 7, 2013

I have that exact SH pipe and as far as I can tell it's perfect as are several other SH's I own. I have a Dracula and several St Par's that have no problems. The vast majority of folks who claim Peterson has problems have not actual had a Peterson with a problem but they read it on the internet so they are required to pass it along as fact.

Sure you can get a 'problem' one but is the real problem the retailers not inspecting their goods before selling them?

petes03 · Sep 7, 2013

I forgot to say, as far as fills go, I do have a Shannon "03" that has a fill. As far as I can tell its the only one. My other Shannon, a B10, might have a very small one, but if it does its hard to see.

flakyjakey · Sep 7, 2013

Yes, dochudson, unscrupulous retailers can be blamed, but also gullible buyers (like me, lol!) who don't scrutinise the pipes before smoking!!

mso489 · Sep 7, 2013

All of my Petersons were bought new but date back two years or more, so if they were in inventory for a while,

probably go back three to five years. None of them have quality problems. I sort of feel I have my Petersons.

(Famous last words.)
Ireland has had a hard time economically in the last four or five years, a backwash to the global economic

problems, so it may be that in a push to gin up profits, they have cut corners and tried to increase volume

as the pipes have gained popularity. Does anyone else in Ireland make pipes? I'm sure they do, but I don't

know who.

rigmedic1 · Sep 7, 2013

This subject comes up every so often here, and it may be true! I was given an Irish Harp 80s, a $150 dollar pipe, which had been purchased off of Amazon. The stain was very light in spots near the waist of the bowl, and the stem does not fit flush. The stamping on the band is way off center. It smokes like a champ, and I love it, but it is not up to the standard that a $150.00 pipe should be.

I also have a 2009 St, Patrick's Day 150, another excellent smoker, but the stamp on the band is way off center as well and there is a hot spot on the port side of the bowl, which may be because the chamber is not quite drilled straight. This is more of an entry level pipe, but even so, the QC doesn't seem to be there.

I have many Petersons, from a Grafton to a couple of Churchwardens. Every single one smokes really great, and that is supposed to be why we buy them. Unfortunately, the fit and finish isn't what it used to be, and only time will tell if it will get any better.

bigvan · Sep 7, 2013

I wouldn't consider any Peterson, regardless of price, as "high end". Sorry about your problems with the Hansom, but these are not hand-made artisan pipes. They're not Dunhills. They're not Castellos.

bigvan · Sep 7, 2013

I understand, Roth. I was referring to Flakey's statement "These are relatively minor build/cosmetic issues but I would not expect them in a high-end pipe..."
I should have been more clear.

flakyjakey · Sep 7, 2013

How about "high price" then?

pipinho · Sep 9, 2013

There is no excuse to have issues like having stain inside the bowl. Look at savinelli, they make as many if not more pipes than peterson and their pipes are rock solid.

numbersix · Sep 9, 2013

I wondered whether these sorts of problems are creeping in to new Peterson's pipes?

Actually, I wonder if you might have gotten an older model that was hanging around. My most recent Pete's were flawless with no harsh break-in and they are fine smokers.
I continue to warn others that if you like a Pete, just be sure to look it over VERY carefully before smoking (check it, re-check it, and check it again). Plus remember that Peterson will repair your pipe free of charge within the first 90 days of ownership (and sometimes even beyond that).
IMHO, Peterson makes very handsome pipes and have a unique look all their own. Plus I like their history and the fact that they're based in Ireland (my Grandfather emigrated from Ireland in the '20s and smoked a pipe all his life).
And their silver work is quite nice too:

Problems With Recent Era Peterson Pipes?

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