There’s a lot of hand work finishing every briar pipe, but there is a difference between a production factory pipe, where there are many many made to sell, and a hand made pipe that is also made to sell, and might still be made in a factory, but it’s made with a certain look, feel, and overall aura of righteousness that’s hard to describe.
I was excited to order a GBD Colossus earlier this week, and it arrived today.
A friend here advised me my GBD was a Post Corrigan pipe and not as high of quality as older GBD pipes.
That was an understatement.
My unsmoked GBD Colossus had a precarbonized bowl. It’s stained nearly black, as to hide any blemishes in the briar. The apple shape is simply carved.. The stem is cast lucite. The chamber doesn’t utilize all the briar. The water well doesn’t have a reservoir. The briar does shine, but it’s the shine of a cheap suit. The GBS logo is painted on. Although Colossus was GBD’s largest size, this is a big, but no where close to being a truly colossal pipe. And although the briar is stamped London England the original pipe sleeve says made in France, and the sleeve was for a sub brand sold in Germany.
I consider this worth the $100 I paid.
It looks like a million bucks, it’s a large and fancy looking pipe, it hangs and clenches perfectly, and it ought to be a good smoker.
But where is the line, where a pipe is truly hand or bench made, and a pipe is a good quality factory smoker like my new GBD?
Can hand made quality be defined?
I was excited to order a GBD Colossus earlier this week, and it arrived today.
A friend here advised me my GBD was a Post Corrigan pipe and not as high of quality as older GBD pipes.
That was an understatement.
My unsmoked GBD Colossus had a precarbonized bowl. It’s stained nearly black, as to hide any blemishes in the briar. The apple shape is simply carved.. The stem is cast lucite. The chamber doesn’t utilize all the briar. The water well doesn’t have a reservoir. The briar does shine, but it’s the shine of a cheap suit. The GBS logo is painted on. Although Colossus was GBD’s largest size, this is a big, but no where close to being a truly colossal pipe. And although the briar is stamped London England the original pipe sleeve says made in France, and the sleeve was for a sub brand sold in Germany.
I consider this worth the $100 I paid.
It looks like a million bucks, it’s a large and fancy looking pipe, it hangs and clenches perfectly, and it ought to be a good smoker.
But where is the line, where a pipe is truly hand or bench made, and a pipe is a good quality factory smoker like my new GBD?
Can hand made quality be defined?
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