How Flush are your Pipe Stem and Shank ?
- Thread starter LudwigB88
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I could live with that but it would annoy me. Technically not all pipes are flush there but that's a sore thumb. Makes me wonder if that is the original stem or a replacement from another similar pipe by the same maker. Seems like quality control should have done something about it before it left the factory. In fact most of the gaps I've seen that stand out like that have been because of after market type things.
At the end of the day it was me it would depend on how much I paid and how much the pipe kicks ass in other ways. If it smokes great and looks pretty otherwise a small flaw adds personality. If it's not an extraordinary smoker or a genuine stunner then it would be very dispointing.
If you decide to give it a go yourself:
For anyone wondering if it's a manufacturing error or QA failure, the answer is kinda sorta a little bit somewhat maybe.
It's the wood moving.
Does that mean that "bad" wood was used? Not necessarily.
It does mean that the pipe was manufactured quickly, and the stummel's internal moisture redistributed itself after everything was done.
The best artisan carvers let the stummel rest between shaping steps to prevent this.
Even factory-sized shops used to do it after frazing. Indeed, in Sasieni's "Joel days" days, they loaded them into a slow-bake oven to speed up the process. (Also to cause any weaker specimens to split. "Better now than in a customer's hands" was his reasoning.)
Anyway, if you decide to tackle it yourself, here's the procedure:
It's the wood moving.
Does that mean that "bad" wood was used? Not necessarily.
It does mean that the pipe was manufactured quickly, and the stummel's internal moisture redistributed itself after everything was done.
The best artisan carvers let the stummel rest between shaping steps to prevent this.
Even factory-sized shops used to do it after frazing. Indeed, in Sasieni's "Joel days" days, they loaded them into a slow-bake oven to speed up the process. (Also to cause any weaker specimens to split. "Better now than in a customer's hands" was his reasoning.)
Anyway, if you decide to tackle it yourself, here's the procedure:
That small of a gap wouldn’t bother me whatsoever if it smoked well.
Check out this hideous stem/shank connection on my meer. There’s a gap and it’s not perfectly lined up with the shank. I absolutely love the pipe and smoke it all the time as it smokes like a dream.
You ultimately have to make the call though. If that gap is going to bother you and prevent you from enjoying the pipe I would send it back. Marco graciously said you could so there shouldn’t be an issue.
Check out this hideous stem/shank connection on my meer. There’s a gap and it’s not perfectly lined up with the shank. I absolutely love the pipe and smoke it all the time as it smokes like a dream.
You ultimately have to make the call though. If that gap is going to bother you and prevent you from enjoying the pipe I would send it back. Marco graciously said you could so there shouldn’t be an issue.
I think that would bother the hell out of me until the nicotine released my body’s dopamine.
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I don’t see how a pipe maker would let a pipe leave the shop like that. But maybe it’s harder to get alignment then I know.
Today's meers are a different animal, quality-wise, than they used to be. Usually the mortise and airway are added after the fact, by eye, using hand tools. Misalignment is the rule. The only question is how much.
There's only two kinds of pipes. Ones that smoke well and ones that don't. A good meer with an open draw is too expensive nowadays for me to care about something that trivial.
That sounds right on the money George. Unfortunately, almost all meerschaum carvers seem to use factory stems with varying degrees of quality and button sizes. I'd rather have a modern meer with an open draw and a slightly misaligned stem/shank though than an older one with a tight draw.
I might be misinformed as I've never held one of his pipes, but I believe why Fikri Baki's pipes are so sought after is because he actually used handcut stems? I could be wrong so don't quote me on that, but I think I've seen some handcut cumberland and ebonite stems from that legend. I don't think there are many doing that today and Baki has been retired for some time now.
The draw on Baki's pipes was awful, I've only had one but it didn't stay long. The replacement screw in inserts have a better draw than the stock ones.
Interesting. I didn't know you had one of his pipes. Thanks for the info. I'm pretty satisfied with the 3 meers I have and will likely add one or two more while there's still a few places selling nicer ones with the tenon/mortise connections I like for 150 or lower. I have 1 Altinay, 1 Tekin, and 1 AGovem. All 3 have the permanent style tenons/mortise connection with a wide open (4mm?) draw. The ones I've been looking at adding are mostly from Ali.
I've got three from Ali that I'm quite pleased with. He does use the screw in inserts though if you didn't already know.
Awesome thanks for letting me know Embers. The ones I were checking out were either army mount or the permanent kind.
