I've been wanting to get a bamboo shanked pipe for some time, but they always seem to be either out of my price range, or ugly. Lots of artisanal pipes to choose from, too pricy for me. Factory made pipes either too expensive (Dunhill), or kind of crummy looking and also sell for more than it seems they're worth, (Yello-Bole).
So after looking for a while, I finally found two! One is a hand made pipe of dubious craftsmanship, and the other, yup you guessed it, a Jack Su pipe from H S Studio. (China) The little hand made pipe the seller said was made with cherry wood, black bamboo, and the stem is stabilized wood of some sort. This was one pipe I had to do quite a bit of work on before I smoked it. Not well made at all. Globs of glue at the shank bowl joint, plus some gaps there and at the stem, sanding marks on the bowl, and the button was a huge square thing. I managed to make it better by taking it apart and adjusting and re-gluing it, sanding it, and reforming the button. Still not a real quality pipe, but it looks better and is smokable. From what I've read, stabilized wood is food safe so I figure smoking it once in a while won't kill me. The bowl has a few tiny red spots that wouldn't come off, and a strange stamp on the bottom that looks like a Crusader shield with a gloved hand holding a cross. Amazingly, it's drilled fairly well, and has a wide open draw. Not a bad little smoker.
The pipe from the ebay store that sells the H S Studio pipes has some very interesting pipes for sale that I'd been watching for a while. I know these pipes and the seller have been discussed on the forums before, with some pros and cons. I just couldn't resist though, and found an interesting shape that finally not a lot of others seemed to have an interest in. I guess that the Jack Su pipes are more one of a kind pipe made by him, but honestly I could find little about him online. I removed the bowl coating as I really don't like them much, and I had no idea what they used to coat the bowls with. It's about 7 1/2" long and quite light at 32 grams, and it also smokes quite nice for a small bowled pipe. Fit and finish is very good too, but my only complaints are that it has a kind of odd smell when drawing through it before I smoked it, and the bamboo is kind of spotty looking. After cleaning with alcohol, and scotch it smelled much better. For $26 plus shipping I can't really complain. Having a little Bothy Flake right now.
Cheap little homage pipe:
Jack Su pipe:
So after looking for a while, I finally found two! One is a hand made pipe of dubious craftsmanship, and the other, yup you guessed it, a Jack Su pipe from H S Studio. (China) The little hand made pipe the seller said was made with cherry wood, black bamboo, and the stem is stabilized wood of some sort. This was one pipe I had to do quite a bit of work on before I smoked it. Not well made at all. Globs of glue at the shank bowl joint, plus some gaps there and at the stem, sanding marks on the bowl, and the button was a huge square thing. I managed to make it better by taking it apart and adjusting and re-gluing it, sanding it, and reforming the button. Still not a real quality pipe, but it looks better and is smokable. From what I've read, stabilized wood is food safe so I figure smoking it once in a while won't kill me. The bowl has a few tiny red spots that wouldn't come off, and a strange stamp on the bottom that looks like a Crusader shield with a gloved hand holding a cross. Amazingly, it's drilled fairly well, and has a wide open draw. Not a bad little smoker.
The pipe from the ebay store that sells the H S Studio pipes has some very interesting pipes for sale that I'd been watching for a while. I know these pipes and the seller have been discussed on the forums before, with some pros and cons. I just couldn't resist though, and found an interesting shape that finally not a lot of others seemed to have an interest in. I guess that the Jack Su pipes are more one of a kind pipe made by him, but honestly I could find little about him online. I removed the bowl coating as I really don't like them much, and I had no idea what they used to coat the bowls with. It's about 7 1/2" long and quite light at 32 grams, and it also smokes quite nice for a small bowled pipe. Fit and finish is very good too, but my only complaints are that it has a kind of odd smell when drawing through it before I smoked it, and the bamboo is kind of spotty looking. After cleaning with alcohol, and scotch it smelled much better. For $26 plus shipping I can't really complain. Having a little Bothy Flake right now.
Cheap little homage pipe:
Jack Su pipe:
