How dare you imply that something shipped out of China may pose a health threat!
Chronicling An AliExpress Pipe For Science 2.0: The Re-Chronicling
- Thread starter mikethompson
- Start date
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now I don’t feel bad about selling mine for $15
Fantastic news!
Got a notification that my beautiful pipe has cleared customs!
Got a notification that my beautiful pipe has cleared customs!
It has arrived!
The packaging leaves a little bit to be desired:
But it looks like all the pieces were included:
The pipe itself, actually, doesn't look that bad. The stem fits well, and look its handmade! Sure you can date your Peterson's to the year, but can you date it to the month?
The packaging leaves a little bit to be desired:
But it looks like all the pieces were included:
The pipe itself, actually, doesn't look that bad. The stem fits well, and look its handmade! Sure you can date your Peterson's to the year, but can you date it to the month?
Well, it's fresh !
Almost straight off the press
The extras alone was worth the price of admission
Almost straight off the press
The extras alone was worth the price of admission
I know, right? Just look at that pipe bag!Well, it's fresh !
Almost straight off the press
The extras alone was worth the price of admission
That doesn't look like sandalwood to me. The sandalwood I've seen is light brownish yellow in color and has a very characteristic perfume, even after years.
The perfume was the reason why sandalwood was a prized wood often used for clothes chests
The perfume/odour also was a moth repellent
For my first test/experiment/whatever, I decided to look at the pipes finish. How durable is it? How deep does the staining go? How does it withstand normal use?
Test #1: The Finish Test
I started with 4 things a pipe will normally see in its lifetime; 1800 grit sandpaper, 200 grit sandpaper, a screw, and brake fluid.
After the 1800 grit:
The 200 grit next to it:
The screw:
Finally, the brake fluid:
Results: I'm a little disappointed that the light application of sandpaper took off the stain, and the briar / wood / semi-organic medium was so easily 'rusticated' by the screw. I was surprised at the brake fluid bringing out a nice deep colour to the stain. Is brake fluid better than obsidian oil? Perhaps that's first a future experiment.
Test #1: The Finish Test
I started with 4 things a pipe will normally see in its lifetime; 1800 grit sandpaper, 200 grit sandpaper, a screw, and brake fluid.
After the 1800 grit:
The 200 grit next to it:
The screw:
Finally, the brake fluid:
Results: I'm a little disappointed that the light application of sandpaper took off the stain, and the briar / wood / semi-organic medium was so easily 'rusticated' by the screw. I was surprised at the brake fluid bringing out a nice deep colour to the stain. Is brake fluid better than obsidian oil? Perhaps that's first a future experiment.
I’d be worried about the splits in the heel of the bowl (pics 2 & 3)
I think that's just the low quality wood used. It certainly isn't aged briar.
Burnout. The bane of the pipe smoker. Sometimes a pipe will develop a hot spot that gets worse and worse, until a burnout happens - a black blotch ruining an otherwise good pipe. How will this pipe react to a simulated burnout?
Test #2: The Burnout Test
A heat gun will be used to apply intense blast of heat to the exterior of the bowl, to see how much abuse this bowl can take.
Before:
After about 3 minutes of this on high:
We reached a surface temp of over 300 degrees F!
The side looked like this now:
So of course, more heat was applied:
Until it started to smoke, then this was the results:
Results: I honestly thought this pipe would burst into flames, and I'd have a lot of explaining to do around here. Clearly the wood was splitting and darkening, but nothing near the bubbling mess the other resin pipe was. While I won't be doing this test with any of my other pipes, I am genuinely impressed by its performance so far.
Test #2: The Burnout Test
A heat gun will be used to apply intense blast of heat to the exterior of the bowl, to see how much abuse this bowl can take.
Before:
After about 3 minutes of this on high:
We reached a surface temp of over 300 degrees F!
The side looked like this now:
So of course, more heat was applied:
Until it started to smoke, then this was the results:
Results: I honestly thought this pipe would burst into flames, and I'd have a lot of explaining to do around here. Clearly the wood was splitting and darkening, but nothing near the bubbling mess the other resin pipe was. While I won't be doing this test with any of my other pipes, I am genuinely impressed by its performance so far.