High Quality Pipes and Fills

[zack24]

One pipe maker I love is Kent Rasmussen. You'll see his best work as naked briar with a polished bowl- maybe 5% of his work and priced at $3k or higher. Much of his work has sectional blasting (hint- if it was perfect briar, he would leave it smooth and sell it for $5k). Even if you buy the best briar directly from the source, your lucky to have 5% come out flawless...half of it has small sand pits, which is where contrast stains come in handy, many of the others have larger sandpits-thank God for sandblasting!, and blocks with bigger flaws contribute to my ever growing collection of shop pipes...

 

[zack24]

It is such an eyesore and people who do that are blasphemers

...and Harris, we've had this argument usually after consumption of adult beverages....but it's really all in the execution- a prime example being this pipe by Tokutomi... Tokutomi

 

[mso489]

I have a small panel pot carved in Mountain Laurel by N.C. pipe maker Jerry Perry that is entirely smooth except for a patch of rustication on the back of the bowl facing the smoker, a kind of thumb grip. Various aspects of this please instead of irk me. It is a quiet addition with a thoughtful purpose, and though it likely masks an irregularity in the wood, it gives the pipe a touch of character and saves scarce Mountain Laurel pipe material, of which there is little enough around. Then add that Jerry's price on this was modest, I find the whole pipe a pleasing production. He and I have been on the same page about pipes since 2002.

 

[gloucesterman]

Even if you buy the best briar directly from the source, your lucky to have 5% come out flawless...

That pretty much say it all. Is the expectation of a flawless pipe a realistic one? Probably only at the high end or old estate market.

 

[seacaptain]

pitch, that is exactly what I am talking about and damn do I hate that look. It is such an eyesore and people who do that are blasphemers. I honestly cross off anyone from my list of makers who do that crap.
Here is another example of that swill.

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/japan/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=168662

I have to agree. This pipe is pretty bad for an "artisan" pipe.

 

[pitchfork]

Andrew Marks has been making pipes for almost 50 years -- there's nothing "up-and-coming" about him at all. That little pipe is definitely an acquired taste, but I've been a fan of his for years. The styling is quirky, but every single pipe smokes like a dream. The only reason I posted it is because I knew Harris would hate it. :mrgreen:
http://www.andrewmarkspipemaker.com/old-favorites.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJfbfSWEeoM

 

[cigrmaster]

zack, blasphemy, plain and simmple.
pitch, lol.

 

[saltedplug]

There would be no controversy about fills without smooths. A smooth is supposedly without fills that has grain to justify it's display. Smooths have the highest dollar value of all pipes, and as such are the most coveted. Most costly and most valuable set the buyer up for perfection, and fills become the irregularities in this otherwise very pretty picture. Given only two or three small fills, a pipe priced as a coveted smooth has 99% or more pretty surface with only very slight irregularity. But given the propensity of briar to be less than perfect, one wonders why the standard was begun that smooths must be totally free of fills.
That fills are commonly filled with putty adds insult to the injury of the irregularity. They are commonly done with putty that doesn't even come close to matching the finish, and thus call attention to their ugliness. I have a Hardcastle LB with eleven fills, but as I loved the shape and the pipe, I didn't return it or ask for a partial refund. I ignore them and enjoy the pipe.
Suggestion to pipe makers: leave the fills alone, and never putty fill.

 

[tobyducote]

I've spent time with Rad Davis in his shop observing him make pipes...the first time I was with him, I was amazed at the number of boxes of "pipe firewood" he had...these were pipes that had been drilled and shaped, anywhere from 1/3-3/4 of the way, and low and behold a flaw was discovered. A flaw that was past his standards. When a pipe maker spends as much time as Rad does on one pipe, all of this time and cost of resources adds up. I would have loved to walk out with any of those "rejects" that we're going to be gracing his fireplace that winter. But has has set a certain standard that he lives by and his expectations of his pipes are very high...and rightly so.
Working with wood can be very tricky and some pipe makers don't have the luxury of abandoning a piece of briar bc of a sand pit or flaw, and I'm ok with that, but at least price that pipe accordingly. Don't expect me to pay hundreds (>$300) for a flawed briar. I think these flawed pipes can allow consumers an opportunity to purchase a good artisan pipe at a discount. If an artisan carver chooses to sell a flawed briar, at least price it accordingly. It may give some consumers the opportunity to own a pipe by a maker that they might not ever be able to afford. I would never fault a carver for not selling a flawed pipe, but if they chose to do so, I would hope their ego wouldn't be so big as to think they could still price it at a premium just because their name was stamped on it.
As far as fills, I have my own standards as to price, maker, and shape. Sometimes I'm willing to accept a pipe with a fill, if it "speaks" to me. But it's on on a case by case basis.