Good afternoon Gentlemen (and Ladies),
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and for those that attended, had a wonderful time at the Chicago Pipe Show. So this seller, "benandci", on Ebay that was recently discussed in a thread on here had a pipe up this weekend that caught my eye. As usual, i did my research and saw that these pipes, labeled "H.S. Studio" and being marked as "Hand Made" in China i guess, and could not find a damn thing on the pipe maker/company. Pulver's Briar in CA was the ONLY hit I got on google no matter what variation i tried to make with the pipe maker's name, and trust me i tried about 20 different variations. Pulver's had 6 or 7 for sale on the site but no real in depth information about the company/shaper or any website links to them. Therefore, i emailed them and asked if they could provide me with some more information regarding where they get them and what they thought about the quality of the pipes, since they sell them on their website. I am currently waiting on a reply there. After I won the auction, I emailed the seller and asked for similar information regarding the said maker/shaper and said i could not find anything about them online. Still waiting there as well. The shipping so far is great and i got an email Sunday morning saying it was shipped with a tracking number (obviously wouldn't go out until Monday). So at least i know there seems to be someone reliable and readily available on the other side, should i have issues or concerns.
To be honest, with the minimal investment i made, i'm not too worried if the pipe turns out to be a dud. Obviously i do not want this to be the case, but i loved the shape, curves and blast of the pipe and figured that the price was worth the risk and if someone outbid my max, oh well. I am very curious to see how the pipe looks and smokes, and rest assured i will let everyone know with a review once i test her out and break her in with a few bowls. Another curious thing about the listing i just remembered was the fact that they list the pipe as being made by "Huke", and say that he is a sculptor that has made well known pieces that are displayed in Hong Kong and Japan. After googling the hell out of this "Huke" character, all i found was an anime artist's nickname and another Japanese artist whose portfolio did not include the images shown in the Ebay listing. I'll post a link so y'all can check the original listing out for reference.
I wanted to create a post to share my experience so others can either purchase with peace of mind and more of a trust in the seller (if you have not bought from him before and have no experience with the seller), or you can use it as an example to avoid the seller's listing in the future (at my expense, lol).
Anyone actually have any experience with this seller or have any of you guys bought from him before? Anybody know anything about these "H.S. Studio" pipes or this "Huke" character? I am not saying the seller is being shady or mislabeling his listings, i just cannot find anything that further explains the product and where it came from. I could just be searching for the wrong thing and using incorrect key words on google, but i swear i have tried just about everything. Hopefully, a response from Pulver's Briar or the seller can help to put my mind at ease, but either way it will not fully rest until i have the pipe in my hand and get a chance to smoke it. I made the purchase and am fully prepared to accept the ramifications, whether positive or negative.
Thanks for reading the lengthy post, y'all!
Link to original Ebay listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUKEs-pipe-unsmoked-/221420872003?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=BnGAodRB096TX1Obq3HiWAtmJpA%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Pics from listing below:
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and for those that attended, had a wonderful time at the Chicago Pipe Show. So this seller, "benandci", on Ebay that was recently discussed in a thread on here had a pipe up this weekend that caught my eye. As usual, i did my research and saw that these pipes, labeled "H.S. Studio" and being marked as "Hand Made" in China i guess, and could not find a damn thing on the pipe maker/company. Pulver's Briar in CA was the ONLY hit I got on google no matter what variation i tried to make with the pipe maker's name, and trust me i tried about 20 different variations. Pulver's had 6 or 7 for sale on the site but no real in depth information about the company/shaper or any website links to them. Therefore, i emailed them and asked if they could provide me with some more information regarding where they get them and what they thought about the quality of the pipes, since they sell them on their website. I am currently waiting on a reply there. After I won the auction, I emailed the seller and asked for similar information regarding the said maker/shaper and said i could not find anything about them online. Still waiting there as well. The shipping so far is great and i got an email Sunday morning saying it was shipped with a tracking number (obviously wouldn't go out until Monday). So at least i know there seems to be someone reliable and readily available on the other side, should i have issues or concerns.
To be honest, with the minimal investment i made, i'm not too worried if the pipe turns out to be a dud. Obviously i do not want this to be the case, but i loved the shape, curves and blast of the pipe and figured that the price was worth the risk and if someone outbid my max, oh well. I am very curious to see how the pipe looks and smokes, and rest assured i will let everyone know with a review once i test her out and break her in with a few bowls. Another curious thing about the listing i just remembered was the fact that they list the pipe as being made by "Huke", and say that he is a sculptor that has made well known pieces that are displayed in Hong Kong and Japan. After googling the hell out of this "Huke" character, all i found was an anime artist's nickname and another Japanese artist whose portfolio did not include the images shown in the Ebay listing. I'll post a link so y'all can check the original listing out for reference.
I wanted to create a post to share my experience so others can either purchase with peace of mind and more of a trust in the seller (if you have not bought from him before and have no experience with the seller), or you can use it as an example to avoid the seller's listing in the future (at my expense, lol).
Anyone actually have any experience with this seller or have any of you guys bought from him before? Anybody know anything about these "H.S. Studio" pipes or this "Huke" character? I am not saying the seller is being shady or mislabeling his listings, i just cannot find anything that further explains the product and where it came from. I could just be searching for the wrong thing and using incorrect key words on google, but i swear i have tried just about everything. Hopefully, a response from Pulver's Briar or the seller can help to put my mind at ease, but either way it will not fully rest until i have the pipe in my hand and get a chance to smoke it. I made the purchase and am fully prepared to accept the ramifications, whether positive or negative.
Thanks for reading the lengthy post, y'all!
Link to original Ebay listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUKEs-pipe-unsmoked-/221420872003?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=BnGAodRB096TX1Obq3HiWAtmJpA%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Pics from listing below: