Well, some people like it and use it.
I didn't like it and sold it.
I didn't have the courage to throw it in the trash.
Chinese Made Briars - Warning Will Robinson!
- Thread starter chopper
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I didn't like it and sold it.
I didn't have the courage to throw it in the trash.
Well now. I just bid and won (only bid) on a Road Town pipe. Looks like a "Decent" deal (hihi!), and for $25 delivered, if it is a piece of kindling, then, well, lesson learned. I believe it was fairly advertised - chinese made pipe - and is not 'pretending' to be anything other than a traditional bog standard good looking Canadian. "RoadTown HandMade" is all the markings, No pretend copycat marks I can see. Says Briar in the title. the infamous benandci is the seller. No issues there: I placed bid, won, paid, shipping already underway--from Arizona. I have nothing against more people and places making pipes (heck, I celebrate it!)--but quality control, toxins and working conditions are certainly a consideration. Is it better to support developing industry and opportunity or to boycott? Hmm. Something to think about when I fill the (sanded!) bowl of this new pipe...
I'm into fountain pens and have purchased quite a few pens that were made in China. I have two Wing Sung 698 and they happen to be some of the better writers I have that rival pens in the $100 range. But I get it, YMMV.
my first question of course will be: "is it briar?" Second: "is that real grain or brushed on paint / heat shrink illustrated plastic wrap?" ;-)
I like my Road Towns. The carver may be Chinese, but he is located in Canada. His shop makes several lines of pipes, SilverCastle is among those.
Yes, they are real briar, or mine are, at least. The grain is real, unlike some of the mid 80's Savinelli lines, which melted on me.
I'm sorry Chopper had a bad experience, but it reads as if he got a bad taste from the seller right off the get go. I've had several pipe deals in which I hated the pipes afterwards, because the seller was a complete asshole. They may have been otherwise, great pipes. But, that is just my guess.
The company is located in Canada, and probably looks like a sweatshop... but... that is just a guess. The Briary used to carry their pipes, and there was someone with a ton of their pipes at the New Orleans Pipe Show... nice folks. And, I believe that one of the sponsors here used to retail their pipes, maybe it was SP or maybe P&C when they were here. But, I run into their pipes every now and then in retail, and I have three of their pipes... the bamboo ones. And, I enjoy them.
Yes, they are real briar, or mine are, at least. The grain is real, unlike some of the mid 80's Savinelli lines, which melted on me.
I'm sorry Chopper had a bad experience, but it reads as if he got a bad taste from the seller right off the get go. I've had several pipe deals in which I hated the pipes afterwards, because the seller was a complete asshole. They may have been otherwise, great pipes. But, that is just my guess.
The company is located in Canada, and probably looks like a sweatshop... but... that is just a guess. The Briary used to carry their pipes, and there was someone with a ton of their pipes at the New Orleans Pipe Show... nice folks. And, I believe that one of the sponsors here used to retail their pipes, maybe it was SP or maybe P&C when they were here. But, I run into their pipes every now and then in retail, and I have three of their pipes... the bamboo ones. And, I enjoy them.
I would never buy something from China that I would put in my mouth. As far as I am concerned every thing from China is toxic and not fit for human consumption.
Briar is briar. Carver's skill and materials available results in a pipe. Now, briar is briar unless they harvest it from nuclear disaster site or toxic waste dump ground. I'm sure they import them from Europe. But the finish and the possible bowl coating is probably locally sourced. That's where my problem is. In China, they are finding toxic chemicals in baby formula. Why would I smoke a pipe finished with their finishing materials?
Every f’n thing in America was made in China, ha ha.
Everyone who says that they’d never buy anything from China. Where the F do you shop? All of the American companies use Chinese factories. Name one thing sold at a Mall in America, not made in China.
I swear, people setting around in Chinese made Fruit of the Looms and Chinese made blue jeans, Chinese made Nikes, Chinese made eyeglasses, eating with Chinese made forks and spoons, on Chinese made dishes… complaining about a pipe made in Canada by a Chinese man, saying they’d never put anything made in China in their mouth.
Reality people! Everything is made in China. Except these damn pipes.
I just don’t understand you people sometimes.
So,
You've never used a drinking straw, a toothbrush, or dental floss, or a soda bottle, or a drinking glass, or a fork and spoon from a restaurant, or possibly even silverware you bought at the mall? Hell, some snack foods are even made in China now.
I have one pipe from them, a simple prince shape...definitely a solid, middle of the road pipe, especially for under $20 delivered to my front door.
Not sure how made in canada occurs with this pipe? At least the one i 'won' says "Country of origin: China " and no mention of canada at all, and is shipping to me from Arizona. Who knows where they get the briar? According to this informative though simplistic brief, "Briar burls are not endangered and are relatively easy to purchase." I'm not expecting a master's creation...but if it's a fair dried briar and fashioned with even basic attention to lessions freely available from any number of pipe making forums, books and youtubes... it just might be a win-win!
My $16 ($25 with tax and shipping) Chinese Lumberman by Road Town arrived today. It really looks good! Sanded out most of the carbon coating that was in the bowl, swabbed it all out with everclear..and got it ready to smoke. In the hand, is darker than this full sunlight photo looks. Good trad pipe. Further update in the "What are you smoking" thread...
I hate to break it to the anti-Chinese crowd here, but there are toxic substances in many manufacturing processes -including the great U.S.A! (and other 'Western' countries)
Cosmetics, pesticides, cooking utensils, paints, furniture, plastics, vitamins, alcohol, textiles... holy shit. You could spend a lifetime cataloguing it all -some people do, and it's interesting reading.
Sad reality is that almost no country is "clean". Especially not the U.S.A., despite its otherwise greatness...
Propaganda does work well though, doesn't it? Fuck me. We have such a long way to go.
Anyway... here's a "Chinese made" pipe of mine. German ebonite, Italian briar. Boxwood... who knows, perhaps harvested from a chemical valley in China somewhere?
Great smoker. Happy to have it in my mouth. Compares favourably to any Danish, English, German or other country of origin pipe I have. In fact, it's actually better than a few which I paid 3x as much for...
There's plenty of shit the Chinese government does which is horrible. Doesn't mean it translates to everyone living there. Same for the U.S.A. and almost every other country I can think of.
Use your common sense and have a look at the quality of something, rather than being informed by the boiler plate xenophobic comments that are based on propaganda. It's embarrassing.
FYI, here's an interesting infographic of "superfund" sites in the U.S.A.. How did these sites get so toxic? Well... by making shit, of course.
Cosmetics, pesticides, cooking utensils, paints, furniture, plastics, vitamins, alcohol, textiles... holy shit. You could spend a lifetime cataloguing it all -some people do, and it's interesting reading.
Sad reality is that almost no country is "clean". Especially not the U.S.A., despite its otherwise greatness...
Propaganda does work well though, doesn't it? Fuck me. We have such a long way to go.
Anyway... here's a "Chinese made" pipe of mine. German ebonite, Italian briar. Boxwood... who knows, perhaps harvested from a chemical valley in China somewhere?
Great smoker. Happy to have it in my mouth. Compares favourably to any Danish, English, German or other country of origin pipe I have. In fact, it's actually better than a few which I paid 3x as much for...
There's plenty of shit the Chinese government does which is horrible. Doesn't mean it translates to everyone living there. Same for the U.S.A. and almost every other country I can think of.
Use your common sense and have a look at the quality of something, rather than being informed by the boiler plate xenophobic comments that are based on propaganda. It's embarrassing.
FYI, here's an interesting infographic of "superfund" sites in the U.S.A.. How did these sites get so toxic? Well... by making shit, of course.
like any where there is a big difference between someone trying to establish a good reputation and a fly by night company that pumps out crap for a fast buck.
Sure, it's impossible to avoid Chinese products. They are cheap and available everywhere. But when there is a choice and the alternative isn't going to break my bank account, I prefer something other than "Made in China". Nothing against Chinese people, just don't like commies.
I wish Everything we Americans purchase could be made in our homeland, obviously that will probably never happen. There are many items built in China that are of excellent Top quality in both materials and construction. The old adage "You get what you pay for" is almost always true.