Should I Return This New Pipe ?

edlogic · Mar 14, 2012

here are some pictures of a new Graco Safari that i just got in the mail

i have questions about it because this is the first pipe i have purchased other than my no name cheapo from the local store
1 - when i look in the bowl i see shiny places and i see dull places that look like dust or ash but it does not wipe off
2 - when i look into the shank i see the bore hole to the bowl is completely off center
3 - when i try to push a regular small diameter pipe cleaner through the stem it will not go through from either end - the hole looks so small that it seems that it would be quite hard to draw through to me
i think i could live with everything but problem 3 - maybe that is because i don't know what is good and what is bad
please look at these pictures and tell me what you think - would you pay $ 75 for this ?

thank you
bowl01

bowl02

stem01

stem02

stem03

shank01

shank02

marmal4de · Mar 14, 2012

No pictures are loading for me.
But back to your issues, the first one won't matter because your cake will cover it all up, for me the drilling is very important and off centre drilling is a deal breaker, lastly if it can't pass a cleaner send it back.

crpntr1 · Mar 14, 2012

Pics loaded for me & no I wouldn't keep it

edlogic · Mar 14, 2012

thanks for the advice - i have the pictures on my personal server and it uses a different port number - so that is probably why
i will upload them to a different server and change the links

Pics loaded for me & no I wouldn't keep it

thanks for the advice that is what i figured - no wonder customer service said ' well how do you like that ' as she was about to hang up the phone after talking to me about the pipe - at first she didn't even know what a Graco is - then she had a hard time understanding what i meant when i said the bore to the bowl from the shank is off center etc ...

adam12 · Mar 14, 2012

I wouldn't keep it either. Even if you have to pay a small fee for shipping, it's not what I would be happy with personally.

bigvan · Mar 14, 2012

$75 seems a bit much to pay for this pipe. I think your gut feelings are good ones; #1 is not a big deal, but #2 and #3 are. For about the same amount of money you could get a much better pipe, like Peterson, Brebbia, Parker, Savinelli, Stanwell, Boswell, Bjarne, etc.
My advice: return it.

adam12 · Mar 14, 2012

Dude let us spend your money for you.

edlogic · Mar 14, 2012

wow that was fast - thanks everyone

i sent them email with the pictures and asked for an RMA
i have an unfinished Savenelli Dublin coming in tomorrow from the same place
i sure hope it is in better condition

after i send this one back i think i will get a rhodesian like that

Dude let us spend your money for you.

one adam 12 one adam 12 - be advised - that is not a big 10 4 ( old cop tv show from the '70's )
hey - i am just getting started and i have to be careful because it will probably be years before i get another one

brewshooter · Mar 14, 2012

On #3, are you certain it doesn't have a filter in it that is blocking the cleaner? Stranger things have happened.

ace57 · Mar 14, 2012

SEND IT BACK!!!!!

marmal4de · Mar 14, 2012

it will probably be years before i get another one

That's what they all say!

edlogic · Mar 14, 2012

oh boy - in the middle of changing the links to the pics - i can not edit the first post any more

i will try to put them on again

edlogic · Mar 14, 2012

well - here are the pics again on my server

i could not get them to work on the remote server
bowl01

bowl02

stem01

stem02

stem03

shank01

shank02

bigvan · Mar 14, 2012

So you're thinking of getting a Savinelli, a Graco and a Brigham. Personally, instead of having 3 mediocre pipes, I'd rather have one GREAT pipe.
For about the same money you'd pay for those three, you could get a hand made pipe from guys like Simeon Turner, Eric Heberling (EJH pipes), Mark Balkovec, Andrew Peterson (Quad City Pipes), Jimmy Craig (Ashton), the list goes on and on.
Just something to think about.

edlogic · Mar 14, 2012

bigvan wrote

So you're thinking of getting a Savinelli, a Graco and a Brigham. Personally, instead of having 3 mediocre pipes, I'd rather have one GREAT pipe.

if i were as smart as you i wouldn't even be asking

now you know why i won't spend that much on a good pipe because i don't know what a good pipe is yet
looks like adam12 had a good suggestion -

maybe i should let you spend my money

tokerpipes · Mar 14, 2012

The drill hole on the shank is ok as it is a fully bent pipe. Its probably at an angle so it hits the bowl. The stuff in the bowl is no worry. Concerning the stem if a regular pipe cleaner won't fit get rid of it. If its a bent stem it may be that the hole was drilled and then bent after heating. Pinching the hole.
From my experience always check the cleaner on a new pipe. With you being a newby I would have suggested a strait pipe. You want to get familiar with cleaning a pipe before smoking it so you don't get frustraited.

edlogic · Mar 14, 2012

Brewshooter wrote

On #3, are you certain it doesn't have a filter in it that is blocking the cleaner? Stranger things have happened.

yep i am sure - the cleaner will not even make it through the stem from either end even when it is removed from the pipe and it is a regular small pipe cleaner

it stops at about the bend in the stem - it is bent quite a lot

i will put a pic of the whole pipe at the end of this post
what about the bowl - they are selling this as new - doesn't that look like it has been smoked ?
i am used to my cheap pipe that is really really easy to draw through - almost no resistance - this thing is hard to draw through the stem when it is removed from the pipe
is that usual ?
entire pipe

i am going to box it up and send it back

but not until after i get my other pipe tomorrow and see if it is ok
now to LUAB ( light up another bowl ) in my old pipe

is LUAB a new one i made up or has it been already used ?

maduroman · Mar 14, 2012

that's just dye from the finish on the inside...

bigvan · Mar 14, 2012

No, that's not usual.
It's a cheaply made pipe with a cheaply made stem. I'd get rid of it.

thesmokindragon · Mar 14, 2012

Yeah, save that $75 and put it toward a nice hand-made as suggested by one of the masters like Hackert, Balkovec, Boswell or Tinsky, etc.

Should I Return This New Pipe ?

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