$165 Northern Briars Mistake

[sasquatch]

Speaking as a pipemaker here for a sec, there's two sides to this. On one hand, you can get a pretty decent pipe for 165. But I challenge any of you to post a picture of a pipe for 165 or under that is flawless. You post the pic, I'll show you where I find the pipe "defective". Don't post if you are going to like your pipe less for what I might show you.
What does 165 dollars buy from a guy making pipes one at a time? Let's take a 20 dollar piece of briar and 5-10 dollars worth of stem material on an average pipe with a handcut stem. Pipemaker is out 30 bucks at this point. So if he sees 135 dollars for making a pipe (and if we are talking retail, he's seeing something like half the retail price, right?) it's less: possibly he's seeing less than a hundred dollars. How many hours should that pipe take? How long should he spend tweaking, re-checking, and perfecting it?
Is this an excuse to make a out of round bowl? No. But that's a very long pipe - probably couldn't be spun on the lathe, so it was shaped by hand. It's bound to be imperfect in this case. Could it be better? Yeah, but I think we are talking price-point again.
Lots of "big name" pipes show a lot more eccentricity than that for 300 bucks. Savinelli Autographs and Castellos come to mind. Doesn't make it "right" but it's certainly not unusual in a hand-shaped pipe.

 

[sasquatch]

And maybe what's really being said/found out here is that the OP prefers lathe-shaped pipes with better symmetry, and would be happier buying a Dunhill than a Castello, or happier buying a Peterson at 150 bucks than a hand-shaped pipe at the same price, and that's totally fair.

 

[rigmedic1]

1986 Sam Martin. Shows what a hundred bucks used to get you.

 

[hawk60ce]

Nice looking pipe, but I would be upset at $165 but that's me.

 

[dlattim]

Just my opinion here, but I think its a great looking pipe. That slight out of round problem wouldn't bother me a bit. I'd smoke it, enjoy it for what it is, and forget about it. If I ever even noticed the problem I would say it adds character to the handmade piece of art. Again, just my opinion.

 

[igloo]

Carved to the wood and not the preset pattern . Be happy it is unique and not perfect just like you .I personally think perfection is overrated and go out of my way not to find it .

 

[gnatjulio]

At first I was like what's the big deal, then I really noticed the bowl. At $165 that would bother me. Unless of course it was in the description.

 

[flmason]

If you have not yet smoked the pipe, perhaps the maker or store you purchased it from will give you a credit or gift card to use towards another purchase.
I hope all works out well for you in the end.
Doug

 

[philobeddoe]

I agree with others, I didn't see the offset until you mentioned it, but now I can't not see it. I believe Ian will correct the issue.

 

[shawn622]

I'm not one to complain, and like many others have said, I didn't see anything wrong with it at first. Now that I do see how off center the bowl is, I'd contact the seller and ask for at least a partial refund. For 165 buck, It should be spot on. That's just my 2 cents worth.

 

[zonomo]

maybe its an ugly ducking pipe and someday, she'll be beautiful in your eyes. You never know.....

 

[tbradsim1]

He"ll make it good,anyone that can"t drill a dead center hole even by hand shouldn't"t be making pipes, maybe too much of that British Rum. The old cajun

 

[portascat]

Had a girlfriend once who had one breast slightly larger than the other.
Didn't bother me one bit.

 

[tbradsim1]

Wasn't"t her breasts you were looking at. The old cajun

 

[joshwolftree]

seems like a good pipe to me...it's a little off center? aren't we all? If it bothers ya overmuch I wouldn't mind it visiting my collection. But then I smoke cob's and my most expensive pipe is under $90 it's those little imperfections that make me like the pipe. Gives it a personality. Makes it more than just a reusable cigarette, a nicotine delivery system, and turns it into art.

If we all had exact replicas of the Mona Lisa wallpapering our homes who would give a shite about the original?

 

[lordnoble]

That pipe is gorgeous. I see what you're saying, and I can't tell you how I'd feel were I in your shoes, but even at $165 (which I've never owned a pipe that I bought for that much), as long as the engineering is good, I'd be happy with it. It actually looks like it'd fit a little better in my right hand with it weighted that side. Anyway, I think that you have a valid point and if it bothers you as much as it seems, throw it up on eBay or Briar Bid and try to recoup some of you cash. I guarantee someone will buy it and probably love it.
-Jason

 

[zanthal]

Yeah I can see being upset after shelling out that much cash, but it's still a great looking pipe.

 

[billinsfl]

It's a handmade pipe, man. If it were a $12K Knudsen or Nordh, you would expect perfection: though you would still find something to indicate its hand made nature. It's far easier for fraised (machine made) mass-produced pipes like Petersons, Dunhills, etc to be symmetrical all the way around. But there will be flaws in those too. I have $1K pipes I can find flaws with, and it doesn't really bother me because the "Made by Hand" stamp reminds me what it really is. I have a $27 Dr. Grabow that is pretty darned symmetrical, and wonderful Peter Heeschen bamboo shanked cutty: not symmetrical. Guess which one I like best? As you examine more pipes, and continue your journey, you may come to accept this, not because you are lowering your standards, but because you will recognize and appreciate good hand work for what it is. By the way, $165 for a handmade pipe is a good price; I think you got a nice pipe. The gap in the stem can happen over time with even very expensive pipes, depending on how the wood dries with use.

 

[hans]

I didn't see the asymmetry either until OP mentioned it. mind you i read this mostly from my phone. that being said, unless they claimed it to be symmetrically perfect i wouldn't complain about it. It's a handmade pipe and it is beautiful. I don't think you made a mistake in this purchase but perhaps it is a lesson learned. if you want perfect symmetry don't buy a handmade pipe, especially at this price point.
i bet some people here would buy it off of you for little to no loss.

 

[gnatjulio]

So a handmade pipe is expected to be imperfect in its symmetry??? Just wondering as I've been looking at those Rad Davis and Mark Tinsky pipes.