My answer to that question is always "I'm playing the odds". Every pipe is a crap shoot, in that know one knows how a pipe will smoke until it is smoked. I'm unaware of any pipe that is sold with a money back guarantee, that if it turns out once match is put to tobacco and the result is less than spectacular you can return it. No, it's more like, you bought it, you smoke it. That's the reason I stick to medium priced factory pipes. I don't feel as bad if I acquire an $80 pipe that doesn't taste the greatest than I would if I paid $800 and the pipe performed the same.
I don't know if I've just been lucky but of the numerous recent pipe purchases, only one has turned out to be a problem child and I'm still holding out hope that with a little more tutoring it will come around but even if it doesn't, I'm not out that much.
This is not to say I don't have my eye on a beautiful Rinaldo or Don Carlos, but unlike audio equipment or cars, where once you reach a certain price point, it's a matter of diminishing returns. With pipes a price point is a less reliable as a measure of performance, because pipes by their nature are natural, stereos or automobiles don't start as a plant in the ground.
I don't know if I've just been lucky but of the numerous recent pipe purchases, only one has turned out to be a problem child and I'm still holding out hope that with a little more tutoring it will come around but even if it doesn't, I'm not out that much.
This is not to say I don't have my eye on a beautiful Rinaldo or Don Carlos, but unlike audio equipment or cars, where once you reach a certain price point, it's a matter of diminishing returns. With pipes a price point is a less reliable as a measure of performance, because pipes by their nature are natural, stereos or automobiles don't start as a plant in the ground.