How Many Pipes Do You Try Before Giving up on a Brand

[zackery]

So I am looking for a new Peterson. I have two already: Dracula Bulldog and Sherlock Holmes. The Dracula was the second pipe I purchased and thought it looked cool in the store at the time. The more I use it, the less I like it. The red stem just isn't as neat looking as it was the first time I saw it. Can't say I like bulldogs much either. I only have the one though. It has something to do with the channel around the bowl. Now the Sherlock Holmes I rescued from a direct sunlight laden display case in one of those discount tobacco stores. It was some kind of anniversary/celebration deal that came with a Zippo (pipe insert included) that has Sherlock Holmes smoking a pipe engraved on the front. The bowl just doesn't hold enough tobacco for my liking. Then there is the oxidation but that wasn't the pipe's fault. I actually like the Zippo more than the pipe.
How many pipes do you guys go through from an individual brand before realizing you just don't like their product. Granted, a lot of this is user dependent. I just did a poor job of selecting. I am sure there are plenty of Petersons out there I would enjoy more. Just can't seem to find them. I looked at smokingpipes and a few piqued my interest but nothing really leapt out.
Does Peterson have a popular, particular, or famous line/series/shape I should take a look at?

 

[weezell]

Savinelli Pipes are good pipes for the money in my book...

 

[weezell]

And there is always meerschaums(just stay away from old cuttys, there shit pipes) :D ...

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

(just stay away from old cuttys, there shit pipes) :D ...

:rofl:

 

[zackery]

I love the few Savinellis I have. The authors in particular. I am actually looking for a smooth Menta 321 with just the right amount green swirls in the stem right now. Saw one on smokingpipes but someone got it already.
Funny you mention that too. I actually deleted the part in the OP about not having this problem with any other brand like my Comoys or Savinellis. I always (twice lol) choose the wrong Peterson.

 

[Chasing Embers]

A good company with large bowls and with acrylic stems that may interest you is Neerup.

 

[didimauw]

So far, my answer is two. Two attempts to like a pipe brand. Most brands I have enjoyed the only pipes I bought by them. However my two petersons didn't fit the bill for me, so I sold them and moved other pipes into the pipe stand.

 

[wyfbane]

Well, it is a buyers market. There are many brands out there. Way too many to be held back by a company that has not lived up to one's expectations.
That said, you seem to have a shape problem more than a company problem. If you are going through a 'bulldog bashing' phase, that is cool, but is it just Pete bulldogs or aaaaallll bulldogs? Does the Pete with that bowl too small bother you, while other pipes with the same size bowls titillate you? I am not judging, but you aren't judging workmanship or material quality but function and aesthetics.
You likely could find a large bowled Pete with a fishtail shaped black stem in a shape other than bulldog that would be nice. Of course you don't have to. If you swear off Petes, that is totally ok.
I agree with Duane. Neerup may be for you. they are an EXCELLENT value for the money, too.

 

[zackery]

That said, you seem to have a shape problem more than a company problem. If you are going through a 'bulldog bashing' phase, that is cool, but is it just Pete bulldogs or aaaaallll bulldogs? Does the Pete with that bowl too small bother you, while other pipes with the same size bowls titillate you? I am not judging, but you aren't judging workmanship or material quality but function and aesthetics.

It is a bit of both. The small bowl's form suits me fine but I have problems with the function. The Dracula is form. I like the overall shape and how it smokes but the groove below the bowl bothers me as well as the red stem and black finish. I apparently can't choose a Peterson that keeps me satisfied over time. I am not swearing off of Petersons was just wondering if they make a particular pipe that is more popular than others. Like are they known for making a certain pipe or shape I just haven't come across yet. The other thing is how many pipes should one purchase from a company before determining they are not for you. I don't want to channel Ahab in my search for a pipe.
It's not an indictment of Peterson or anything, in fact, it is quite the opposite. I want one just don't know what it is and have already struck out twice.

 

[warren]

Brand doesn't really enter into the equation. I am partial to Petersons though. The older members know the requirements that must be met before I purchase a pipe. A quick recap. A pipe must fit my eye, catch my attention in the display and be bent to one degree or another. I do not buy a pipe unfondled so, no online. The fit and finish must be flawless.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I don't want to channel Ahab in my search for a pipe.

We all have our white whale.

I am not swearing off of Petersons was just wondering if they make a particular pipe that is more popular than others.

It is my understanding that Peterson's 999 is the highest selling pipe shape at Smokingpipes.com.

 

[stickframer]

In hindsight, when I first started getting my feet wet in the pipe game, I made some pretty regrettable pipe purchases. Some of it could be blamed on brand, but mostly I just didn't know what I was looking for. I saw a cool looking pipe and pulled the trigger, only later to realize that I didn't really like the shape or finish or whatever. Not to mention knowing nothing about how a pipe is constructed. (stem fitment, drilling, button, etc.)
I didn't have any of the 'requirements' warren talks about, so I just call it building experience when I wound up with some pipes thst are now rarely smoked, rather than a shortcoming of any particular brand. Sure some brands don't catch my eye at all, which is cool I just don't buy them.
Learning what works or doesn't is part of the game, with pipes or tobacco I suppose.

 

[zackery]

. A pipe must fit my eye, catch my attention in the display and be bent to one degree or another. I do not buy a pipe unfondled so, no online. The fit and finish must be flawless.

Interesting. I can get with that. Have you ever smoked on any of them for awhile and realized you don't care as much for them now as you did then?
The only time I will buy a pipe online is if my brick and mortar doesn't carry it. The Savinelli Menta I am looking for is a good example. My brick and mortar has other 321s just not the one I want. With Savinelli letting go of their reps, they said they might not be getting anymore depending on how that whole situation turns out. I like using websites as a catalog of sorts. When something catches my eye I got to the store to handle it and purchase. Sometimes that isn't possible though.

 

[zackery]

In hindsight, when I first started getting my feet wet in the pipe game, I made some pretty regrettable pipe purchases. Some of it could be blamed on brand, but mostly I just didn't know what I was looking for. I saw a cool looking pipe and pulled the trigger, only later to realize that I didn't really like the shape or finish or whatever. Not to mention knowing nothing about how a pipe is constructed. (stem fitment, drilling, button, etc.)
I didn't have any of the 'requirements' warren talks about, so I just call it building experience when I wound up with some pipes thst are now rarely smoked, rather than a shortcoming of any particular brand. Sure some brands don't catch my eye at all, which is cool I just don't buy them.
Learning what works or doesn't is part of the game, with pipes or tobacco I suppose.

There is my problem. You put it better than I did I guess. It seems to only be Petersons that I have this hangup with

 

[sablebrush52]

I primarily buy pipes from long dead companies. Of course, the long dead companies whose pipes I buy were superb makers. So far, I've been lucky in that I've experienced very few clunkers, and if the first pipe I buy from a particular maker doesn't cut it, I move on.

 

[tschiraldi]

I bought 3 Petersons before swearing off then. The first was a P-lip. I hated the P-lip, so I bought 2 without. I found these lacking as well. No more Petes for me. I also had three Savinelli pipes with the balsa filters. No more of those! I guess the answer for me is three.

 

[jensen]

Zackery, yes I think you just did a poor job of selecting.
Of my smoked pipes - bought from new - 74 are Petersons.

Nothing wrong with them.

 

[jguss]

I'm with Jesse on this one. If it's a first pipe from a modern company or carver and I'm unhappy, then it's one and done. If it's a second or third pipe, and I liked the first one(s), then I might contact the company or carver and try to get them to make it right. Or I might not bother and just move along. It's what economists call voting with your feet. I take the same approach with restaurants: with places that are new to me the first chance is the only one; old favorites get a second time at bat. But then I live in an area with many great restaurants and can afford to be picky. When I lived in rural Tennessee the rules were by necessity more elastic.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never bought a pipe by a certain marque or maker and been so dissatisfied that I'd never buy another.
I think once you know what you like in terms of shape and sizing you can make much more educated guesses.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Of the handful of Petes I have, two of them needed 50 bowls before they settled in, and the other 6-8 did not.