Bad Peterson Pipes - From Where?

[jpberg]

Warren, what is this, some kind of double dog dare to name names?
I purchased dozens of Petes from the mid 80's to late 90's. They were, on average, fine. In the last ten years, I've seen defects that would make your skin crawl - terrible drilling, entire bowls dipped in stain to the point of blocking the airway, poor silver and nickel work - you name it - it seems that at the very least there was a QC gap at the shipping door.
It doesn't matter who the retailer was, the defect wasn't their problem (only how they handled it with the customer), the problem seems to lie with Peterson itself, and from most accounts, they seem to take care of their retailers and customers.

 

[leacha]

I had some extra $$ so I thought I'd buy another Irish Made Army to go along with the 120 shape I have. I received it yesterday. The damn stem was made with a twisted bit! It feels funky in my mouth. F'n Peterson! The fourth one this year and the third being returned. I'm done with new Peterson pipes. You lovers can keep em.

 

[numbersix]

Peterson Pipes are made by people. They're not perfect. Neither are we. They make them by the thousands. One is going to slip by from time to time. But, are they a bad pipe maker? No, just human.

That's my feeling too. All of my Petes are equal to my other pipes (including my Dunhill and Stanwells) in smoking qualities.
They mass produce thousands of pipes for the entire world and when a small company makes that many pipes, there are going to be issues from time to time. As long as the company makes good on their mistakes, I will be okay with it.
I have several Petes and only one had an issue, which was promptly repaired by Peterson (along with an apology from the Managing Director and a leather pipe case thrown in for my trouble.) It was a hassle to deal with, but they did everything they could to make it right.

The fourth one this year and the third being returned. I'm done with new Peterson pipes. You lovers can keep em.

I don't blame ya. If I had the same experience, I'd probably feel the same. Fortunately, I have no had such bad luck with Peterson and continue to enjoy them.

 

[leacha]

I don't blame ya. If I had the same experience, I'd probably feel the same. Fortunately, I have no had such bad luck with Peterson and continue to enjoy them.

I still admire your spigots when ever I see a posting by you. I'd like one but I seem to prefer the traditional army type and I find silver banded pipes are a pain to keep from tarnishing (at least the six silver banded pipes I own)where as nickle...

 

[numbersix]

I still admire your spigots when ever I see a posting by you. I'd like one but I seem to prefer the traditional army type and I find silver banded pipes are a pain to keep from tarnishing (at least the six silver banded pipes I own)where as nickle...

Thanks leacha - I admit I am a sucker for spigots and I really appreciate Peterson's silver work. I will say the tarnishing isn't a major deal. I have a jeweler's polishing cloth always close at hand and in can have them all shined up in a few minutes (something I only do about once a month.)

 

[warren]

Now that the thread has been bumped and I've reread the messages I'll respond to those who have questions as to why I posted the query. I was interested in finding the vendors that do not inspect product when it arrives in the shop and simply place it for sale. Frankly, I was quite surprised at how many pipes with obvious defects were sold to customers by on-line vendors.
Obvious defects, bad staining, ill fitting or badly formed bits, broken or chipped bowls, etc. should all prevent the pipe from ever being offered for resale. Items with such defects should should be returned to the wholesaler or manufacturer or, the defects noted in the product description and the item sold "as is" if the vendor is determined to offer the item to the consumer.
At some point the retailer bears a bit of responsibility for offering an obviously defective bit of merchandise, at full price to the consumer.
All of this said, Peterson probably needs to beef up quality control and strive for a reduction in the number of defective products leaving the factory.

 

[prndl]

just goes to show.
recently purchased a peterson spigot 68 from tobaccopipes and an ebony system 312 from smokingpipes...the spigot was for my 64th birthday...the ebony was for getting over my 64th birthday.
admittedly, the eyes are not what they used to be but, I can find nothing out of line with either pipe...the draught is dead centered to the bottom of each bowl...there are no vampire shards protruding from either stummel or bowl, I've thumped each like they were hot watermelons on the 4th of july and can find no deadspots.
even separated the spigot and placed one end in each of my 4 year old grandchild's hands and told him to go shoot zombies out on the back porch...when he came back in an hour later (I had no idea there were that many zombies in the world today), both silver pieces were still firmly intact.
all that said, I have no doubt there some q/c issues somewhere along Peterson's manu./dist. line of travel...especially, with their marketshare.

 

[mso489]

Not to make excuses, but perhaps an explanation, the Irish economy has been a roller coaster, which has probably

made domestic sales rocky at times, and may have affected staff at Peterson. Ireland had a huge boom that lasted

almost 20 years, and now they are in doldrums and experiencing a lot of out-migration, young people leaving the

country for jobs elsewhere.
Equally of concern on this thread, the several defective pipes from Iwan Ries. I have had such a good experience

over years (and years) with IR, and their pipes have always been a pleasure to me, not a single clunker that I can

recall. I hope these problems are in Peterson's and Iwan Ries' past. My good experiences with both of them mean

a lot to me.

 

[ruscho]

I have had nothing but issues with Petersons pipes, even Royal ones.

Sold them all, except one flamegrain, whose stain came off the first time I wiped it off with a damp cloth, unsellable now...

 

[warren]

Ruscho: I'm curious, why wouldn't you return the one with the bad stain? Further, why would you sell pipes with issues and not simply return them for refunds or repair?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've had issues with both of the Pete's that I own, but I don't think it's fair to the vendors to have to quell through so many defective pipes. I really wanted to like them, because of Irish heritage and such. I saw this string when it first came out, and it just seems like a guy wanting to defend his favorite brand. And, so he should if he loves them. Peterson has a huge following, and I respect that. Just like guys who love their corncobs, Nording's or Grabows.
I had posted before about the issues that I've had with my Petes, but I'm not wanting to add to any anti-Pete or pro-Pete scuffling. I was just adding my story to the conversation. If you like a brand, I think that's awesome. They are an old company, and that gives the pipes a story (even if they're made elsewhere as rumored). Either way, enjoy your Petersons, mates, and be proud Pete smokers.

 

[warren]

It's not a matter of what's fair to the retailer, it's about keeping your customer base happy and coming back. It's all about doing what's best for the bottom line. While I do not expect the retailer to be
If I, as a retailer, were to maintain too large of an inventory to be able to inspect product as it arrived, I would most certainly inspect each pipe before packaging for shipment to a customer. I would much prefer to inspect it as it arrived so that I could return to the wholesaler any product which was not fit for resale. I much prefer the idea that retailer keeps abreast of the quality of the product, rather than relying only on feed back from customers. I'd want to be personally aware of the quality of the product I was selling.
Certainly smoking quality can't be predetermined as many factors unrelated to the pipe build enter into the equation. The end user may be loading improperly, lighting or using improperly prepared tobacco or; they may be a neophyte and totally without a clue. Nothing the retailer can do prior to shipping the pipe can identify those problems.
Further, if I am satisfied that the product shipped was fundamentally sound I can ferret out customers who might be taking advantage of my liberal return policy and keep tabs on the agency I use for shipping.
There is nothing complicated about good customer relations. It can be frustrating, expensive, and time consuming, but it certainly isn't complicated.

 

[ruscho]

Ruscho: I'm curious, why wouldn't you return the one with the bad stain? Further, why would you sell pipes with issues and not simply return them for refunds or repair?

Because not many places would let you return a pipe after you've smoked it a few times just because "it burns hot", "it gurgles", etc. All issues that are easily dismissed as "operator fault" The flame-grain was way past return period regardless. Didn't smoke it much because it was just too good looking to smoke
Plus, I don't know you guys do it, but to me it's simpler to just take 25% loss and move on, than having to deal with a company on the other side of the world to have a pipe fixed.

 

[jdto]

I haven't had much success with Peterson, so I no longer buy them, despite having a soft spot for their shapes and heritage. I don't know if it's a quality control issue, user error or just plain bad luck, but after going one for five with Petes, I'm happy purchasing other brands. I know they make good ones because they have a ton of happy customers, but I won't buy one unless I can inspect it first, a tough proposition given the lack of B&M Pete sellers in Toronto. I have bought all but two of my current pipes online from EBay, forums or various vendors or artisans. There are some great pipe makers out there who make pipes that smoke really well for me and perform well for my smoking style, so why force it with a brand that hasn't worked for me? Maybe one day that will change, but for now, count me out. I just chalk it up to the process of learning what I like and what works for me as a pipe smoker. I'd never say they a bad word about them in general, just that the ones I've had haven't worked for me.

 

[durham270]

I have had 21 Peterson pipes and they vary from low, mid to high grades and all have been very good smokers. I have purchased them new and estate from a local B&M, Smoking Pipes, eBay and one right from Dublin Ireland. I like all the Petes I own and they are part of my rotation.

 

[maxpeters]

I've purchased exactly 3 Peterson pipes. This was in the mid '90s or early 2000's. One was a Sherlock Holmes Professor, which I still have. The other two were also bent system pipes. I remember I paid between $175.00 to around $250.00 for each. I got rid of two because even though they were supposed to be one of Peterson's higher grades, after smoking them for a while, I found that they had fills in the bowl.

But even worse than fills, I found that each and every one gurgled really bad. The Professor that I kept still gurgles, but it does not have any fills. Besides I like the way it looks and feels very much, and I like Sherlock Holmes, so I kept it and may try to get it fixed someday. In the mean time I ended up breaking and stuffing the little Savinelli balsa filters into the supposed drain trap. That took care of the gurgles.

I say supposed drain trap because I don't think that they drill it deep or long enough, which causes it to gurgle, and there is no way to cure that with a pipe cleaner while smoking. Anyway, I don't smoke it a lot because it is such a pain.

I never returned any of the ones that I bought as I had already used them, but I will not buy another Peterson. For what they charge they should not gurgle the way they do, and they shouldn't have fills all over the bowl. I counted four fills on one of the ones I got rid of. I'm not one of the chronic Peterson complainers out there, but I won't buy any more.

 

[numbersix]

I cannot blame anyone who's had multiple bad Petes from refusing to buy another.
It seems like those of us who've had bad Petes have had A LOT of bad luck; one after another. Which is weird. Out of 9 Petes, I've only had one with a (minor) flaw (which didn't affect its smoking characteristics).
However, I've never owned a System Pete or a bent for that matter, all of mine are Billiards or Dublins.

 

[daimyo]

I have inspected Petersons with poor draft hole placement at several B&M's through the years. I used to smoke a lot less in general and alternated between pipes and cigars, so at the time I would only buy pipes in person. It also helped that I was in the lower 48 and traveling more. It never bothered me because I simply wouldn't buy them but I did make a mental note, especially if it was on one of their premium pipes. I'm sure it happens to all factory pipe companies but some simply seem better at weeding them out before they hit the market. I don't even remember the exact stores anymore but when I started reading up online, I found I was not alone in this observation. I would still buy a Peterson though, if I wanted one.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, the owner of the B&M that I hang out in rolls his eyes at the mention of them. He has to go through every shipment and send back boxes of duds, which he says he never has to do with other brands. This is what I meant by "fair to the retailers." However, if there was a straight pipe without the system that caught my eye, I would not hesitate to pick one up (after inspecting it). To me they're cheap enough that the risk wouldn't be too great, but I would also buy a good Grabow, Yello-bowl, Mr. Brog that caught my eye also. However, I think that other pipe manufacturers do a way better job at QC, which I think bumps Petes down in class and reputation, IMO. But, people love them, and I respect that.

 

[disinformatique]

I just got my second Peterson pipe, a Christmas 2014 B35 FT from UK and then I stumble upon this thread.

This is what irritates me about Peterson
1. My Aran 150 Bulldog (Plan) - The stem doesnt fit flush with the shank, the fit is tight and airtight but I still see some space between the wood and the lucite.
2. The Aran just dont want to stay lit for no apparent reason, resulting in the second highest number of relights I have to do with this pipe, the number one spot goes to my Nording Handmade Pocket Freehand.
3. Peterson pipes are too bloody small and being in India I cannot view the pipe anywhere and have to rely on online pictures which frankly make them look bigger than they really are.
Will post more feedback once I smoke and break-in the new Christmas pipe.
Cheers,

Chris