Do Not Overlook Chinese Pipes!

[woodsroad]

To clear, I am referring to the current state of affairs, not what happened under Mao (40-80 million killed), nor am I referring to the US government's treatment of American Indians, or the testing of various forms of chemical warfare on it's unaware citizenry.

Unfortunately, the good citizens of all countries are at the mercy of their government.

That depends whether a country has Rule of Law or not. China does not. The US isn’t perfect, nobody and nothing is. But given that we are, by almost any measure, the most diverse country on earth, that we have the most advanced and comprehensive Constitution on the planet, and a justice system that operates freely and openly (mostly) and where it fails has mechanisms in place to be self correcting, well, we’re all just damned lucky to be here.

All governments are not equal, not by a long shot.

 

[gervais]

This post has inevitably turned slightly political. I should have known

 

[gervais]

That depends whether a country has Rule of Law or not. China does not. The US isn’t perfect, nobody and nothing is. But given that we are, by almost any measure, the most diverse country on earth, that we have the most advanced and comprehensive Constitution on the planet, and a justice system that operates freely and openly (mostly) and where it fails has mechanisms in place to be self correcting, well, we’re all just damned lucky to be here.

All governments are not equal, not by a long shot.

I use to feel lucky to be Canadian, until the Liberal government started prohibiting all of our firearms. We can no longer purchase any type of handgun, AR platform, and most semi-automatics have all been prohibited... Hopefully that all changes after the next election...

 

[brian64]

The western world as a whole is just not as far along in the process...but there's been a "long march through the institutions" going on for a very long time now.

As @woodsroad said, the USA has been buttressed by its Constitution (flawed as it is) which has kept us thus far from falling as far in that direction as many other western nations have.

 

[georged]

For anyone wondering why a pipe guy in the Midwest could care about China's approach to getting on in the world, it came about following actual peripheral involvement with its methods. (meaning I personally know some of the people who were directly affected).

In this case it was a high level example of "Why spend time and money to invent or develop something if you can just steal it?"

In a nutshell, the top guy in quantum physics at Harvard University was bribed to install spies throughout the laboratories there under the guise of a lab assistant exchange program. The idiot was caught, convicted, and after serving a sentence will never work again (that he wasn't executed for treason will forever be a mystery to me), and the incident couldn't/wouldn't have happened if the idiot had simply said "no" when approached, but that's beside the point... it is a clear cut example of how China behaves to get ahead. Not only without shame, but they're mystified by why anyone would behave otherwise.

The hell with that, I say.

Now and forever.

 

[dd57chevy]

I hear a hammer being raised :10 , 9 , 8 ,7 .................

 

[carp rides again]

I was going to say I recently picked up a HS Studio pipe that looks and smokes great, but I don't think that's what this thread is about anymore

 

[craiginthecorn]

At the 2024 Chicago Pipe Show, Guohui Zhang (GH Zhang pipes) and his brother Guiding brought hundreds of handmade pipes made by Chinese artisans. They were beautiful and many had a distinctively Asian design aesthetic. I bought one of the artisan pipes and also a couple of GH Zhang's pipes. They are all extremely well made. The GH Zhang pipes are mostly based on shapes licensed from well-known artisans with handmade mouthpieces.

As for the politics, we're not talking about steel, routers, or lithium batteries. The pipes we're seeing at pipe shops, shows, and most online stores are made by individuals, even the "factory" pipes. They're just good, hard-working, industrious people well deserving of our respect and business.

 

[gervais]

At the 2024 Chicago Pipe Show, Guohui Zhang (GH Zhang pipes) and his brother Guiding brought hundreds of handmade pipes made by Chinese artisans. They were beautiful and many had a distinctively Asian design aesthetic. I bought one of the artisan pipes and also a couple of GH Zhang's pipes. They are all extremely well made. The GH Zhang pipes are mostly based on shapes licensed from well-known artisans with handmade mouthpieces.

As for the politics, we're not talking about steel, routers, or lithium batteries. The pipes we're seeing at pipe shops, shows, and most online stores are made by individuals, even the "factory" pipes. They're just good, hard-working, industrious people well deserving of our respect and business.

This is exactly what this was about brother. Thank you for putting that so perfectly.

 

[woodsroad]

I suppose that if tyrany treats you well, it’s all OK.

 

[warren]

They're just good, hard-working, industrious people well deserving of our respect and business.

How in the world could you have confirmed such? I remember a US Vice-president upon returning from a tour of Magadan, in the Russian Far East, affirming the Russians there were good, hard working people. In fact they were in the gulag to die, building roads and working in Stalin's gold mines.

 

[craiginthecorn]

How in the world could you have confirmed such? I remember a US Vice-president upon returning from a tour of Magadan, in the Russian Far East, affirming the Russians there were good, hard working people. In fact they were in the gulag to die, building roads and working in Stalin's gold mines.

It sounds like it is highly unlikely that there is anything I could write to persuade you. However, I do have some personal experiences that inform my position.

I served as the liaison for the Chinese carvers at the 2024 Chicago Pipe Show. I know a few Chinese carvers and one factory owner. I also have a decent understanding about pipe production in both artisan and factory settings. The GH Zhang "factory" is no more a factory than Kaywoodie -- a one-man operation. It's hard for me to believe that the CCP is too focused upon dominating the pipe world and enslaving artisans in order to do so. In fact, the Chinese artisans and companies that came to the Chicago Pipe Show required a letter of invitation before the Chinese government would grant them permission to come. If the CCP had dreams of pipe world domination, these people wouldn't be needing to obtain permission -- they would have been ordered to come.

 

[warren]

I seriously doubt those folks were allowed to travel to Chicago simply to sell pipes. Most likely "hand-picked" for the mission. That is simply not in keeping with the goals of Chinese government. I believe you are being naive to believe such was the case. There's a reason they are so successful in setting up "extra-governmental" organizations in our country.

Having worked in Russia I can tell you, not withstanding Russian and Chinese protestations, the Russians do not trust the Chi-Coms one iota. The CCP is a, not so, veiled threat to every other country in the world. They are an existential threat to us, self-declared in fact.

 

[Zamora]

It sounds like it is highly unlikely that there is anything I could write to persuade you. However, I do have some personal experiences that inform my position.

I served as the liaison for the Chinese carvers at the 2024 Chicago Pipe Show. I know a few Chinese carvers and one factory owner. I also have a decent understanding about pipe production in both artisan and factory settings. The GH Zhang "factory" is no more a factory than Kaywoodie -- a one-man operation. It's hard for me to believe that the CCP is too focused upon dominating the pipe world and enslaving artisans in order to do so. In fact, the Chinese artisans and companies that came to the Chicago Pipe Show required a letter of invitation before the Chinese government would grant them permission to come. If the CCP had dreams of pipe world domination, these people wouldn't be needing to obtain permission -- they would have been ordered to come.

I always forget that Kaywoodie still exists, let alone as a one man operation. I believe he runs Yello-Bole as well

 

[Briar Lee]

Id like to create this thread to address a misconception that may or may not be prominent among this group of fine pipe smokers. It is regarding pipes of Chinese origin.
Now I do not doubt for one minute that there are some nasty, ugly, and maybe even unsafe Chinese pipes making their way over to America. However, this is not true when we are comparing these to artisan pipes from China. I have a particular example here that is quite honestly one of the most beautifully crafted pipes I have ever had the pleasure of holding, and the grain quality is Also undeniably near perfect. This is a Chinese made pipe from an artisan that goes by the name "Cai Dou". In all honesty, I don't know anything about the maker of this pipe, only that it is of Chinese origin, and I'll also admit that I was a little hesitant to pull the trigger when I saw "China" on its origin label. It's a bent pot/Eskimo shape and absolutely stunning in every way. Drilling 110% perfect.
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Do not overlook Chinese Artisans!

Remember Econ 101 and all that stuff about comparative advantage?

America can (and does a little) raise coffee in Hawaii and we could raise coffee other places.

But why would you beat yourself up trying to raise coffee in America when Brazil and Columbia are so good at it?

Until 1962 that held true for the finest cigars. Winston Churchill smoked Cubans. A fine Havana became shorthand for the best cigars in the world.

About a week ago a gaggle of American billionaires announced a 500 billion dollar investment in developing artificial intelligence.

Then a flat out Red Chinese communist little corporation spent about five million dollars to develop the best selling app on Apple and the investors in Nvidia suffered a 600 billion dollar equity loss in one day, the largest loss in world history. Elon Musk has a net worth slightly over 400 billion. 600 billion is more than the market value of Boeing, Airbus, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis all combined.



Briar is a commodity on world markets.

I can make a pipe in my garage but nobody would buy it.

That incredible pipe wasn’t made by forced Chinese child labor in a factory.

And if tariff that pipe 100% it would still be less than half of what it could be made for anyplace else on earth.

The Chinese have had a comparative advantage for artistic detail work for thousands of years.



And they don’t seem to care much to lose a few millions of their own citizens here and there.

I used to have a Baptist preacher friend we called Brother Billy who accepted an appointment to be the Chaplin of the Shriners. Brother Billy reported to us that whenever the Shrine met, they rode motorcycles through hotel lobbies, got riotously drunk, chased women of low virtue, and swore like sailors.

I wish I’d said it, but his own brother Norman said Brother Billy, you can try changing the Shrine or it can change you.

One good thing, is we have a whole lot of ocean between here and China.

If we dont want to go there, it would be very hard for them to come to us.

 

[woodsroad]

Remember Econ 101 and all that stuff about comparative advantage?

America can (and does a little) raise coffee in Hawaii and we could raise coffee other places.

But why would you beat yourself up trying to raise coffee in America when Brazil and Columbia are so good at it?

Until 1962 that held true for the finest cigars. Winston Churchill smoked Cubans. A fine Havana became shorthand for the best cigars in the world.

About a week ago a gaggle of American billionaires announced a 500 billion dollar investment in developing artificial intelligence.

Then a flat out Red Chinese communist little corporation spent about five million dollars to develop the best selling app on Apple and the investors in Nvidia suffered a 600 billion dollar equity loss in one day, the largest loss in world history. Elon Musk has a net worth slightly over 400 billion. 600 billion is more than the market value of Boeing, Airbus, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis all combined.

View attachment 367829

Briar is a commodity on world markets.

I can make a pipe in my garage but nobody would buy it.

That incredible pipe wasn’t made by forced Chinese child labor in a factory.

And if tariff that pipe 100% it would still be less than half of what it could be made for anyplace else on earth.

The Chinese have had a comparative advantage for artistic detail work for thousands of years.

View attachment 367835

And they don’t seem to care much to lose a few millions of their own citizens here and there.

I used to have a Baptist preacher friend we called Brother Billy who accepted an appointment to be the Chaplin of the Shriners. Brother Billy reported to us that whenever the Shrine met, they rode motorcycles through hotel lobbies, got riotously drunk, chased women of low virtue, and swore like sailors.

I wish I’d said it, but his own brother Norman said Brother Billy, you can try changing the Shrine or it can change you.

One good thing, is we have a whole lot of ocean between here and China.

If we dont want to go there, it would be very hard for them to come to us.

But not our allies. They are already reaching out and touching them.

 

[Brendan]

Yeah and not 'good' touch..

 

[mikethompson]

Did someone say Chinese pipes?

 

[Briar Lee]

But not our allies. They are already reaching out and touching them.

My own grandmother was such a stern Prohibitionist and Isolationist, she used to ask me, exactly what spot, did Hitler invade America.

And I’d reply grandma, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor!

And she’d reply exactly what business did America ever have taking over Pear Harbor from the Hawaiians.

The truth was, she lost her first finance in the Argonne Forrest a month before that war ended and her only boy volunteered for the next war.

The red Chinese threaten every nation, that we were told as children communist Vietnam threatened.

How’d that war, work out for us?

And now that China threatens Vietnam is sort of evidence of cosmic justice.

We must protect vital home industries but I can’t see Dr Grabow and Kaywoodie and Missouri Meerschaum threatened by $200 Chinese pipes.

 

[Brendan]

Did someone say Chinese pipes?