Has Peterson Quality Really Declined?

[bigpond]

One of my first pipes was a peterson Belgique, which I believe is one of their least expensive pipes with a vulcanite stem. The stem has not dulled or worn in the slightest since purchase.
I always wear a beeswax based lip balm while smoking and find this helps to protect the stems. I would suggest you try this if you re having an issue with vulcanite stems oxidizing very quickly. In fact, it's probably a good idea to run the lip balm directly in to the stem surface, let it sit and then buff it off. Seems like you may have acid-rich saliva.

 

[kirkland]

IMO Peterson pipes have "Petered out." QC is non-existant. Poor drilling, dipstaining (still), spray finshes, and that dreaded,awkward p-lip.

 

[davet]

IMO Peterson pipes have "Petered out." QC is non-existant.

Yes, that is why they only manage to sell two or three pipes a year.

that dreaded,awkward p-lip.

Many prefer that P Lip

 

[toobfreak]

I was about to come to the exact opposite conclusion, that while some people have had their druthers, that might have been a phase they went through, maybe some bad employee or something, that there have been too many new buyers of recent to get wonderful pipes to conclude that Pete's are anything less than going strong as ever. Indeed, there was a recent post showing new lines of Petes that if anything were the most beautiful I have ever seen come from them!
It is real hard to look at those pictures and not order another Pete.

 

[wyfbane]

I've had great luck with mine, if this thread is any indicator. Only new one I own was a Drac from a B&M so I could look it over. I am up to my 7 day goal so I'm not looking for more, but I love the ones I have. Highlight is a gold spigot pipe that smokes very well.

Bwa ha ha. That was me a year ago. I am up to 22. Many new, many cheap, none mangled.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

BidBond: Thank your for tipping me off, thats is the method what I practice mostly to vulcante stems, I'm thinking if peterson do uses a somewhat inferior vulcanite on their stems Because similar issues never occured with Stanwells nor with Savinellis..? Nevertheless , again, I do love Petersons particulary for one big reason:Their classic models shapes in truly British tradition, this why Its so hard me to keep from buying them further,and as a result of my dedication to traditional conservative shapes.I went on and ordered once agin a new Peteron pipe Yesterday,this time it is 80S bent Bulldog ,finger crossed now,

 

[kirkland]

Yep, there is high quality ebonite/vulcanite from Germany and then there are cheaper vulcanite types. The Peterson pipes I have or had oxidize terribly. No so with other pipes...and especially my cumberland stems. Another dig against the slow demise of Peterson pipes. Try sending back a new flawed Peterson pipe for repair or replacement, you might wait 3-6 months. Inexcusable. And don't forget to enjoy puffing that wonderful dipstain ! MMM...mmm.

 

[irishearl]

Obviously, folks have had variable experiences with Peterson pipes. As to oxidation, I have found them no better, no worse than other factory brands I have. As to dip staining, have never bought a dip stained Pete.

 

[toobfreak]

I've seen no issues with my Pete stems oxidizing any worse if as bad as any other pipe. Nor have I had any of them not smoke wonderful on the first bowl. Repair times, have never had a problem requiring a return so can't say. If I bought a flawed pipe new, I would think the retailer would take it back rather than returning it to Peterson themselves, right?

 

[tslex]

Interesting. Click on page 1 of this thread, to note this discussion began 4 years ago.
I'll say this: For reasons including cultural affinity, price point, styling (traditional), availability, cost/quality and many others, I have more Pete's in my racks than any other single maker. I long ago decided I don't like "system" pipes, so I don't buy those. I'm not a huge P-lip fan, but if an estate comes along that I otherwise want, a P-lip is not a dealbreaker.
No one would mistake Pete's for the very top end pipes on the market. But I have never gotten a bad one, or one that was a poor smoker.
ETA: It has to be noted that Peterson makes and sells a lot of pipes into the US market. At that volume, it's inevitable there will be a lemon or two. But the brand quality overall? Excellent in my experience.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I've seen no issues with my Pete stems oxidizing any worse if as bad as any other pipe.

I bought my first Peterson early 2013. I've never used anything on the stem. I have some Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil, I've only used it on a few of my non-Peterson pipes. I usually simply wipe the stem down after smoking, and the stem on that first Peterson is as black as the day I received it.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Toobfreak : Based on my experience in past concerning on the Peterson factory repairs under the warranty Period, I ve seen that even some Uk based tobacconist are hesitant to send pipe back to factory due to extremly long waiting period,they'd rather offer you some reimbursement,the same thing happened with one Italian based tobacconist with my Savinelli pipe I recently purchased, he better gave me back some $ than have pipe back to him.After all this I had to figure out how to be by myself consulting directly with manufacturer rep.depts, while Savinelli service was exceptional The Peterson equivalent was opposite and it real took some 3 months to get my pipe out of them.Savinelli sorted it out in 7 days.

 

[toobfreak]

Thanks Paul! That is very interesting. Of course, technically, your story represents just one "data-point" and it is possible that you caught Peterson on a particularly bad time and caught Savinelli at a particularly good time! But I might have heard similar stories before. Realistically, it suggests a couple things:
That maybe Peterson makes a lot more pipes than Savinelli?
That Peterson's business model is much less responsive to individuals whereas Savinelli is much more attuned to the individual?
That Peterson can have a whole boatload of repair jobs sitting around or too few people to do them to make it take them that long to turn a pipe around.
I don't know.
Frankly, with this group behind me, I think I'd be more inclined to tackle just fixing the thing myself.

 

[kirkland]

For the records..all my best smokers and most smoked (workhorses) are Petes...pre 1980. 4 high-end spigots, drilled dead-on, no flaws or fills and all with cumberland stems and fishtailed.
I just dislike the newer Petes and that "new guy" who runs the Peterson shop named Tom something or other.

 

[jensen]

kirkland, do you know Tom Palmer.......well I do and I like him.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

ToobBreak: Most probably your are in the right path, And to my own surprice, despite of these few drawbacks in past I still wonna keep ordering them med priced Petersons(this time awaiting to arrive 80S half bent bulldog,This something ridiculous,laint't it?)

 

[leacha]

Bottom line, whether its a Peterson, Savinelli, Castello, Dunhill or even a Missouri Meerschaum, inspect the pipe and if anything doesn't seem right, send it back.

 

[jensen]

Yes leacha.........end of story

 

[ravenwolf]

Any pipe brand will have variance.
I've gotten some ultra kick ass Petes from Al Pascia. I actually think that they handpick the best for their site. Found an XL305 in a finish not imported into the US or US carriers (as far as I can tell) - the thing could go toe to toe with any Dunhill Ring Grain sandblast. Like, perfect stellar ring grain.
So I know they are still turning out some tremendous pipes - you might just have to look around to find ones to your liking. I recommend doing it either in person or using an online vendor that uses lots of pictures and/or video.
Even a poorly drilled Pete, if smoked into submission, can somehow turn into a really great pipe a lot of times. How? Beats me, but I can't really complain. I know I'm not perfect... sometimes, a pipe can get along fine without being perfect too.

 

[bigbee]

A story:

The best pete I own is a standard system 303. It has had all the issues that make people fear the brand:

- dip-stained: first 50 smokes were not really enjoyable(bitter) and gave ruby red cleaners afterwards (yummy, I got that into my mouth a few minutes ago)

- stain has faded during cleaning/waxing ( I now use pure beeswax)

- fills

- poorly drilled: not dead-center at the bottom of the bowl.
Now it's my best pete - it smokes dry and has all the characteristics a briar pipe should have (nutty, sweet added flavor...)
After 2 years I have had to ream it already 2 times due to all the use and the irony is that I start to save it for special occasions now... due to its starting magical properties...

I have to add my other petes(also the older ones) did suffer less from these issues, but nevertheless, and I found some fixes for the break-in
You can ask: should a new pipe not perform great from the start? Should the engineering not be spot-on? Should they pay more attention to quality of the briar, staining, ... before they get a pipe out of their factory?

Based on my story, experience and their long history, I can only say: I'm a satisfied customer and convinced quality has not declined and I believe many are with me on that opinion.
But I respect people that have found other pipes of other makers that satisfy their needs for the price they are willing to pay for that. But the crusade some people are launching, one thread after another, maybe a consequence of the anonymity of the internet, makes me sometimes roll my eyes... my inner troll warms up and gets ready to participate in the flame war but then I smoke one of my petes and it does make me smile...