Basket Pipes Revisited
- Thread starter mso489
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Finally got around to snapping a picture, crude though it may be...
According to Pipedia.org, Tinder Box's "Napoli" was made by Armellini,
and this one was literally a basket pipe.
According to Pipedia.org, Tinder Box's "Napoli" was made by Armellini,
and this one was literally a basket pipe.
I guess I got lucky. My dad probably paid less than $20 back in the day. Like I said, it was just a last minute Christmas stocking stuffer.
Amen & Amen, mso. I remember the old Napoli; I had one "in" Oom Paul too, so I kick myself now for not keeping it & bow to Cortez's dedication. I gave away a lot of my barrel/basket smokes over the years to help other people start on a decent foot. Had no idea those were made by somebody who'd be legend now. (A lot of my stock market decisions I regretted later too! :rofl
On basket jobs generally, it's sad & a catch-22 that only the people with experience & acumen are ones who can truly benefit from the venue.
I agree it is sort of a conundrum, like experienced pipe smokers who already probably have (at least) quite a few pipes are the ones expert at shopping for basket pipes. Still, a new pipe smoker who has reviewed a lot of online retail sites, visited some pipe shops and pipe shows, and otherwise informed themselves, probably has a start on evaluating what they see. In fact, it is a sort of good exercise in developing an eye for pipe quality. If in doubt, don't buy a pipe. Or discuss a potential purchase with the proprietor, if he or she is someone you've come to trust. They might be able to find something similar, not in the basket, for just a little more, that would fill the bill. Part of basket shopping is knowing the shop and its owner, and how dependable they are. Some are gold mines of information, others know little.
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