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chromearty

Lurker
Apr 1, 2019
11
0
My apologies for introducing myself with a gripe. I am very new to pipe smoking and do enjoy it very much.
My first brand new pipe arrived today... A Brigham... yes the ones made in Italy instead of Canada. It is a shape 29 algonquin. After taxes it was a hundred dollar pipe. Well, it arrived about an hour ago in the mail, and the stem is about a 1/4" off true to the bowl. It does smoke of course... but as a newbie to the art... a bumer for sure.
Just a warning... don't buy new Brighams! I assume the old, proper Canadian made ones are great.
Cheers lads!
From BC Canada... the land of tobacco tax!

 

spartacus

Lifer
Nov 7, 2018
1,023
796
Mesa, Arizona
Sorry to hear about your pipe. If you haven't smoked it yet you can probably contact the seller for a replacement. If you have you might be out of luck.
Welcome from Arizona.

 

chromearty

Lurker
Apr 1, 2019
11
0
Cheers man... didn't notice till I was smoking it... mostly a warning to others to avoid the Italian pipes at least.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Chrome, no apologies; Forums lives on gripes to a degree. Do you mean that the stem is off center to the shank, or is the bit canted at the wrong angle. If it is the second problem and it is a push-bit pipe (the stem just pushes into the shank) you can adjust the angle by just turning the bit. If the stem and/or shank are just drilled off center, but you still have a straight airway, it's not as pretty, but will probably work fine for many years. I hope the pipe turns out to smoke well whatever the problem, or that you an get another one better crafted. Welcome.

 

aro222

Can't Leave
Mar 17, 2018
455
114
47
Toronto Ontario, Canada
Welcome from Canada

My first briar was a Bringham as well, bought it locally at a B&M

It is made in Italy and it smokes so good it is still in my regular rotation

It’s too bad you lucked out, however not all Italian pipes are bad. You just might have got a lemon. It happens...I know it sucks !

Hopefully this won’t turn you away from Italian made briars as they produce some of the very best pipes on the market today.

Anyway good luck and welcome to the forums

Cheers

7f9763b8-cad2-4c21-90b6-cd8a4eb9802f-600x383.jpg


 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,081
Carmel Valley, CA
Once your photos are on a photo hosting site (such as Imgur.com; Postimage; Dropbox, etc. Photobucket), or on virtually any site, including this site's album such as eBay, Amazon, you-name-it, select the full sized image, then Control-click (Mac) or Right-click (Windows) on the image itself, then choose "copy image location" or similar words. Now paste that URL (the full web address, which should end in .jpg or .png) into the IMG box in the reply window of the thread you're posting to.
The site's album is also a good choice for displaying photos, and the same method works for obtaining the image's URL for copying into the IMG box.
There are other good illustrations and steps on how to post photos in the "Latest Discussions" box,

LINK to that thread

 

bassbug

Lifer
Dec 29, 2016
1,112
905
I believe Brighams have an acrylic stem, no?
If so, hold it in very hot water (a little below boiling) for 5 seconds and try to bend it back into place. If its too stiff, hold it in the water for 10 seconds. It's easy to do.
I got a meerschaum pipe from SPC that showed up with the stem twisted by about 30 degrees. The hot water trick fixed it up in 10 minutes and it's a great smoking pipe.

 

shermnatman

Lifer
Jan 25, 2019
1,030
4,862
Philadelphia Suburbs, Pennsylvania
Chromearty - Welcome to the Forums! Glad to have you aboard.
You still have options at this point, so don't give up the ship just yet!
If this were my situation, the first thing I would do is to not smoke the pipe any further.
Secondly, I would - after taking pictures of the defect, as other have already suggested - contact the retail outfit that sold you the pipe and learn what they are willing - or unwilling - to do, to rectify the situation.
Thirdly, if your retailer is not willing to make an immediate adjustment to a pipe with a manufactures' defect - smoked, or otherwise - I would email Heather Balsillie at Brigham Corporate immediately. Email: heather.balsillie@brigham1906.com
Heather is a true champion in Brigham customer service, and in satisfying a Brigham customer.
The fine folks at Brigham take your satisfaction with their pipes very seriously; and they have a vested interest in your personal opinion of anything which carries Roy Brigham's name and imprint on it. I know this from first-hand experience with the fine, fine folks at Brigham; as well as their USA distributing-rep, Sutliff - where you will most likely be directed to send the defective pipe back to, if you are located within the USA.
Keep us posted as to how you make out; as I for one would love to read in your next post about how happy you are with a first-quality Brigham pipe in your mouth - as you sing your praises to Heather at Brigham in Canada, and the good-folk at Sutliff USA - Sherm Natman

 

rdavid

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 30, 2018
648
9
Milton, FL
Would really like to see a pic if possible. I just bought a new Brigham and it’s gorgeous!
Thinking sherm’s advice might yield some results. Good luck and please let us know how it turns out.

 

shermnatman

Lifer
Jan 25, 2019
1,030
4,862
Philadelphia Suburbs, Pennsylvania
Bassbug - That is indeed the URL for the Brigham webpage; however, what I provided to our new friend with the pipe issue, was the email address to the "Queen of Customer Service" at Brigham corporate; so that he is headed to the best person to work with him (in my humble opinion); if his retailer is unwilling.
Also, the upper-tier Brighams from France use Acrylic stems; whereas, the lower-tier Brighams from Italy use Vulcanite stems. Our new friends' Algonquin #229 (an otherwise fine pipe) has a Vulcanite stem. - Sherm Natman

 

bassbug

Lifer
Dec 29, 2016
1,112
905
I stand corrected.
I've never had to straighten a vulcanite stem, so I won't hazard a guess.

 

seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
2,958
10,405
Canada
Is the Brigham filter in correctly or is it loose? If it is loose the fit will not be flush

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
Not many factories turn out a perfectly symmetrical pipe. Better get acquainted with the custom market.

Expect draft holes to be off by 1/16” on average and stems are almost never symmetrical either. The more time you spend looking at an ordinary pipe the more a high grade pipe makes sense.
One time I spent about 20 hours re-shaping the square shank on a Brebbia Jumbo Bulldog. A ton of work just for some crisp straight lines. I’m sure a professional would be faster but if you think you can do better than the factories just give it a try.

 

chromearty

Lurker
Apr 1, 2019
11
0
Wow!! The responses are amazing.
I will work on getting a pic up for you lads. It did smoke fine, and I'm sure it will continue to do so. I was just surprised to see that from a reputable brand.
I wish I could individually thank all of you for taking the time to respond.
Cheers!

 

chromearty

Lurker
Apr 1, 2019
11
0
First attempt at pics
The first pic is to illustrate how off center she is, the mortis for the tenon was drilled off center is all. When the stem is all the way pushed in, there is a gap on one side while tight on the other.
https://flic.kr/p/2fppKTx
Second two pics are just to show how damn nice the book matched briar is. Shame someone drilled it after a few vino.
https://flic.kr/p/Tga4VC
https://flic.kr/p/Tga4HU

 

shermnatman

Lifer
Jan 25, 2019
1,030
4,862
Philadelphia Suburbs, Pennsylvania
Chromearty - I would like to get a look at something I am curious about upon seeing your pictures.
Would you be so kind as to take the pipe apart, and take & post two shots; one which shows the drill hole entry into the shank (yes, I realize this could appear dead-center at the point-of-entry, and yet, possibly be drilled internally on an off-angle which will not show); and secondly, a top-down shot of the stem by itself, laying over a straight pencil-line which is longer than the stem at both ends, and indicates were the center-line should be on a piece of paper under the stem? - Sherm Natman

 
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