Group Commission Purchase

[hoosierpipeguy]

There's a small group of us Pipe Smokers at the Cigar Family website. One of the guys has a good relationship with Martin Cermak and proposed a Group Buy with a CF emblem. Andy proposed a basic design, we voted on a few parameters and could even customize a couple of things. I opted for a .75 bore for example. Turned out great and the pipe smokes fantastic. Perfect bit for me, wide and thin, clinches like a champ.He even included a CF emblem. Mine is the second from the bottom. Of course, I feel like I got the nicest looking one. LOL

 

[scloyd]

I agree...the second from the bottom is the nicest. :roll: That's an awesome group of pipes.

 

[sfduke]

Martin did a great job with the group commission.

 

[buckaroo]

That's my kind of pipe. Very cool. Thanks for posting.

 

[josephcross]

Very nice!

 

[dmcmtk]

Nice looking pipes. The brindle stem goes well with the morta.

 

[rmpeeps]

Very nice! I watched that process and y’all pulled it off seamlessly. Two thumbs up for Martin & Andy. Enjoy those pipes!!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Very nice! I watched that process and y’all pulled it off seamlessly

Aside from each of us hitting pay with PayPal, Andy did this all himself. All the credit belongs to him.

 

[smittyd]

Very nice!

 

[npod]

:puffpipe:

::

:clap:

 

[tslex]

Nifty project, lovely pipes. Morta is next on my PAD-must list.
And I like the idea of a group commission a lot. Could be a great way to support an up-and-coming maker, for example. Economies of scale for the buyers, a body of work for the maker -- with multiple iterations. Win-win.
I would certainly give thought and support to any similar project here, although I admittedly would be in the group of participants, rather than an organizer -- that's going to take some time and energy commitment I couldn't make now. But if there is a willing cat-herder, and you want a "yes" and a check and a guy who will hit the group deadlines, let me know.
(I have tried to commission two pipes from new makers in the past couple of years and, in both cases, the maker lost lock on the project before we finalized. No harm, no foul, no money lost, no bad feelings. If they found other work -- pipemaking or otherwise -- good on them. But it's new makers I am most interested in trying to commission and it is new makers with whom that often proves most difficult. I'm 2-and-2 so far.)

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Nice pipes!!!

 

[crashthegrey]

Very nice. Now when do we do a group pipe? I'm sure it would be really simple to get all of us to agree on something.

 

[tslex]

"I'm sure it would be really simple to get all of us to agree on something."
The "all" part? NEVER.
But six or eight guys? That might could work.

 

[mso489]

I think that's super cool, a great idea. I suspect the maker was able to give a good deal per pipe because he could do each one in turn and learn the pattern. I had never heard of this commissioning a lot of pipes, but I think it is an excellent idea, if you can get that many people to agree on the design. In fact that is a remarkable accomplishment in itself. I happen to find the design most appealing.

 

[crashthegrey]

A lot of makers like to do group pipes. In fact, many carvers will tell you the only way to make money on pipes is to batch process. One at a time requires too many changes of setup. Keep your stuff ready, make 10 or 12 at a time, and you'll start increasing efficiency.