Yep, ive bought 2, in my opinion, great pipes for about $260 total from SP recently. A rusticated System XL315, and a Sherlock Dr Watson. Ive seen none of the quality issues with these 2 pipes. Maybe im lucky.
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Are Pipe Makers Looney?
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It would be fascinating to know how many minutes they have in actually producing a finished pipe, from the first minute someone picks up the block and clamps it in the machine to putting it in the box. Then you can add all the other typical costs of running a business. I should have been an industrial engineer.
most people refuse to understand the concept that the cough "artisan" pipe manufacturing concept is to do anything to stand out.
Its like at the local pot shop i visited, they sell pot pipes that look like everything youd want and everything you DONT want.
Like the cute little pipe in green glass shaped like a baby gherkin. And the large donkey sized "manly appendage"..
Its not about quality, its about being different.
Its like at the local pot shop i visited, they sell pot pipes that look like everything youd want and everything you DONT want.
Like the cute little pipe in green glass shaped like a baby gherkin. And the large donkey sized "manly appendage"..
Its not about quality, its about being different.
There is that faction, but there is also another faction dedicated to producing well thought out pipes that don’t sacrifice performance for looks.
Forget about the baby geniuses and look at craftsmen who have spent years refining their craft.
It's an economic reality that mid ranged products have to have a wide appeal because they have to sell many. High end has to be more exclusive because they don't really need to move product in the same mass. Which translates that instead of having wider appeal, they need to have deep appeal. A Peterson has to sell many to pay bills, an artisan needs to sell a smaller number but they have to sell to someone that wants that pipe more then several other pipes. So it doesn't matter if all of us like it, just need one person to want it that much more then other pipes. So they have to be unique. That equals weirdness.
Adding fuel to the fire is there has never been a shortage of people in the world who go through life assuming the quality of a product is immutably linked to its price. That whatever costs the most must be the best. Period, and no argument.
Still more fuel is added by social circles where status is given to those who deliberately spend stupid money on consumer products that are absurdly---and deliberately---overpriced. Muti-thousand-dollar T-shirts, quarter-million-dollar handbags, and so forth.
The PipeWorld isn't immune to either kind of idiot, and the InterWeb makes reaching them easier than ever before.
Still more fuel is added by social circles where status is given to those who deliberately spend stupid money on consumer products that are absurdly---and deliberately---overpriced. Muti-thousand-dollar T-shirts, quarter-million-dollar handbags, and so forth.
The PipeWorld isn't immune to either kind of idiot, and the InterWeb makes reaching them easier than ever before.
Sorry. But Hermes saddlery is high quality. I don't know if it's worth what they charge, but the quality is undeniable.
its very easy to get caught up in the debate of what pipe is better, it dont matter. Afterall a person could spend 100$ on the giant donkey pickle pipe, and not get any better results then what the junkie gets from smoking pot in an empty beer can.
But spend some time diving on ebay for pipes. Alot of pipes by guys like eltang going for 80% LESS then what they charge on smokingpipes.com these days.
From my very limited experience with Hermes I would agree it's high quality. But I still think it counts to what George was talking about:
It's not the quality that's necessarily in question but the price.
Edit: If anyone's interested in podcasts, check out this one on Hermes that I had recently listened to (which is why it and LVMH were on my mind). The same guys also did one on Costco, one of my favorite stores.
Not all quality is immutably linked to price, but in the case of Hermès, they continue to manufacture in France, by artisans who produce the entire product. They don't use an assembly line, and the materials are top-of-the-line. For example, to make a crocodile bag, the animal must live many years due to the size of the piece of leather needed, and only the belly is used. So, getting an adult crocodile belly that doesn't have any scars is as difficult as getting a piece of briar that produces 360-degree straight grain. The price issue, as always, is relative. I suppose they're made for people for whom $40,000 doesn't make a dent in their wealth. The problem is the middle classes becoming obsessed with these products. In any case, it's not in the same category as LV, which are industrial products at an astronomical price.