Butz Choquin Marco D + 9mm filter pipes Questions

[thebattleship]

Hi guys,
Wondering if any of you members of this esteemed forum own a Butz Choquin Marco D, because this pipe is proving to be quite a head-scratcher for me as my first 9mm filter pipe, and I definitely have some questions! I received it in the mail after buying it online, and was very excited to take it apart and look at it all and then smoke it. I disconnected the stem to discover what I believe is an "adapter" or "spacer" inside the stem - it is a hard brown piece of plastic with an airhole through it that fits snugly into the stem. This is not what is referred to as a 'filter', correct? Those are disposable as far as I always thought.
My predicament, if it even is one, is that using both a savinelli 9mm filter or this 'adapter' that came with the pipe leads to the pipe not drawing when I put the tenon all the way into the mortise. I think I understand why this happens - the adapter/filter is pressing flush against the bottom of the chamber under the draught hole (it is an oom paul; ive never owned an oom paul and have never seen a pipe carved like this in person yet), leading to zero airflow to the draught hole above. The pipe pulls PERFECTLY when I take the tenon a bit out of the mortise, but it is a really noticeable amount (the decorative band is not even flush to the mortise with the way it has to be), and I am hard-pressed to believe that this is supposed to be like this for me to smoke this pipe. Does this pipe REQUIRE only butz choquin 9mm filters? Am I a slow learner, haha? Please enlighten me, lovely folk. Happy smokes, everyone.
Edited to add the following: OH - what is also mystifying me is that, with NO adapter or filter at all, when I connect the stem and the bowl flush, the way it is supposed to be, the way the pipe is shown assembled online, it will not draw. Total resistance. That I have difficulty understanding, because there is space in the chamber for an addition 1/4inch of adapter, but when I put the tenon all the way in with no adapter, no air makes it to the draught hole. What the hell...

 

[rdavid]

Something doesn't sound right. Are you saying the pipe wont draw even with the supplied adapter and fully seated stem? Also a 9mm filter does the same thing?
I use 9mm filters often and I always thought they were all of a standard size.
OK. Just read your edit. Something definitely isn't right. Hopefully an easy fix.

 

[thebattleship]

Yes, this is concerning, and what is more concerning (and until your response I did not want to consider this possibility) is that I got this pipe in an order of two pipes from a low-volume Amazon retailer (not sure why I did that...silly me), and the other pipe, which was supposed to be a new Butz Choquin Gentleman No. 2 in black, appears to have arrived a used BC Gentleman Noir. 5. So, this order is messed up, almost maliciously so, because it felt like they ran out of BC #2s or misadvertised in the first place and just threw something into the box that looked the part, and now I am starting to think maybe they sent a somehow flawed Marco D as well? But that almost seems preposterous, this pipe looks perfect aside from this issue, having worked in customer service for many years I still must explore that this is somehow user error, but don't know how to proceed....nor do I know how to describe this issue in my refund statement until I understand this :S
Edited to add this: Thank you for your response by the way - I will provide a photograph and perhaps it will shed some light. What does not make sense to me is that the draught hole is so close to the top of the chamber, because it appears that the tenon just completely blocks it by sliding into the mortise. If there is a flaw here, I imagine it is in the location of the draught hole, and if that is indeed the issue this is a fatal, critical flaw.

 

[olkofri]

Yes, please, post photos. I'm scratching my head as well.
BTW, the length of a filter/adapter should be 35mm (1 3/8 in.).

 

[thebattleship]

Olko,
Yes, sorry, 9mm refers to the width, doesn't it? I am new to posting photos here, but have a few key ones that I will try to get up.

This is meant to illustrate the depth of the draught hole chamber, I know it can't quite do so effectively but I tried.

This is the ONLY way I can get this pipe to draw with filter, adapter, or neither. Notice the tenon is not fully in, considerably not fully in.

Pipe in fully assembled form, with decorative band flush to shank. It would be nice if I could smoke it like this, haha.

Along the lines of the theory that I'm somehow getting screwed by this retailer, I have noticed just one other weirdness with the pipe, and it is this weird, hard crud/debris inside the mouthpiece...but it is an unused pipe, so what could it be?

 

[rdavid]

I did see that same pipe on Amazon. It's a beautiful pipe and I wouldn't mind having one myself. I purchase often from Amazon but definitely not pipes. I've heard too many horror stories about fakes, seconds, damaged, crappy packing etc. Not to mention most reviews are absolute bullshit and customer service from most sellers is nil.
One exception is Tobacco Pipes aka tobaccopipes.com. A very reputable online retailer who also sells on Amazon.
I certainly hope you get this figured out. It seems to me as if the stem is bottoming out in the shank and is somehow blocking the draft hole. Also seems as if a filter or adapter might even make it worse but it's all guesswork until we get some good photos.
Oh and welcome. Your definitely in the right place for anything pipe related.

 

[rdavid]

OK. Got the pics now. Looks like that draft hole is WAY off. No wonder the stem blocks it.
As far as crud in the stem, I have received new pipes with polishing residues left behind. Not sure if that's what your seeing but it's a thought.

 

[thebattleship]

Panhandler,
I have had fantastic experiences with Tobaccopipes - lately I have been on a spree and have placed orders with several different places, but yes, I also succumbed to this Amazon pipe from god-knows-who...I think I need to get an immediate refund, and I think the issue is unambiguous as you say, just difficult to believe - the stem is bottoming out in the shank and blocking the draft hole. Would love to hear your further thoughts in light of photos.
It was also my thought that, if I could not get a draw with the stem all the way in WITHOUT an adapter or filter, then a filter or adapter certainly wouldn't help, only hurt, seeing as this is a space-inside-the-shank issue.

 

[thebattleship]

OK, thank you, I thought this might have been some eccentricity of oom paul's I was unaware of, but this is BS and I have to process this refund for sure. That's what you would do in this situation, yeah? Pricey pipe for totally unsmokable, lol.

 

[thebattleship]

Together with stem crud, I am not happy, so this one is going back along with the mistaken Gentleman No. 5. A shame, as I was looking forward to smoking this pipe.

 

[rdavid]

To me, it appears as if you got a bad pipe. In no way could I see how that pipe could draw properly with the draft hole where it is and the stem fully inserted.
There should be further input from other members here soon. It is Friday night after all!

 

[thebattleship]

Lol, yeah, it was driving me absolutely nuts. I'm looking at it and am like: "OK, that can't make sense...but what if there is something I don't know?!!!" The anxiety-trap always makes one doubt common sense. Would love to hear from others as well. I have been lurking for quite a while, have learned a ton around these parts, but these are some of my first posts, hoping to do an intro soon!

 

[rdavid]

Keep us posted on how this turns out.
Funny because I was shopping for an oom paul earlier today. That Butz is really nice looking. Now I want one!

 

[olkofri]

Yes, the 9 mm is the diameter, but there's also a maximum length for filters/adapters, which is 35 mm. If it's longer, you'll end with something like your picture #2.
The filter/adapter has to be gently pressed into the tenon, so that it stays put. Otherwise it'll just jingle all the time. Filters/adapters that are not inserted this way, might also cause the problem of the stem not being flush with the stummel. Regardless, what I see in photo #2 looks extreme.
The 9 mm is the diameter of the lux of the tenon, by the way. Methinks that if the filter/adapter is properly inserted, ergo kept in place with no jingling, there should remain some space in between the filter/adapter and the inner walls of the mortise, enough for air or smoke to flow into the bottom end of the filter and through the mouthpiece (this is the design for bent Brigham pipes, which use a proprietary filter). If you can't draw at all, then yes, you do have a problem.

 

[thebattleship]

Now that I know I will be returning and have the freedom to consider another pipe, it's still very likely I will get a Marco Panhandler, BC is one of my favorites, pretty indeed. My one trepidation is bowl size, and that's what oom pauls are for I suppose, but my larger pipes very rarely get smoked, I notice. My favorite pipe hands down right now is the BC Gentleman No. 2 nosewarmer (I was trying to order one in black for my friend with this failed order just so he could have the experience), and its moderate bowl size is just one of the things I love about it.
With respect to the original post, so far I tend to agree with you guys in every way and am for sure refunding...kind of fiendishly excited because, with a whole new pipe order on some other site, I will be able to stock up on accessories/a blend or two more with the free ship to boot Every cloud has a silver lining I suppose.
Olko, thank you for going in-depth on filters, this is useful to me - as I've mentioned, I have never owned a filter pipe.

 

[rdavid]

Tobbacopipes.com has the Marco C and Marco E in stock. I really do like the D best and will most likely get one when it comes back in stock.
I didn't really care for the look of paneled pipes but this one really pulls it off. Thanks.

 

[joharbor]

Well this is one hell of a coincidence because I am the reason why the Marco D is sold out at TobaccoPipes.com. I received it on Thursday and ran into the same exact problem that thebattleship described. At first I thought it was a mistake, that maybe they had sent me the wrong stem.
If you notice, the BC logo on his stem is different than the one in the pictures online. Every picture I've seen online has the BC* logo on the stem, while the one I received had just BC, which is what made me consider that maybe I had received a mismatched stem.
Same as thebattleship, if I don't push the tenon all the way in, I can smoke it. It just doesn't feel or look right. I'm in the process of returning it, and was trying to look for the same model somewhere else, when I stumbled upon this thread.
At least now I know I'm not crazy ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

 

[olkofri]

Joharbor, could you ask the people at Tobaccopipes.com about it? Maybe there is a certain way... I'm intrigued now.

 

[rdavid]

Different logo on stem makes me think they changed something for sure. Most likely an oversight of some type as this different stem obviously doesn’t work properly.
Please post any findings or info please. Curious to know if this problem extends to the other models.

 

[joharbor]

I gave TobaccoPipes.com a lengthy explanation and asked if maybe it was a mistake (I noted my observations on the different stem logos) but they didn't respond to my questions, they only offered a full refund, so I didn't pursue any further. Too bad because it really is a good looking pipe.