I Bring You The Pipe Turds

[warren]

Jorge: My folks used to get that note fairly regularly. In fact you could have used my name and I wouldn't have been offended.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Of course Peck, or I should reiterate, "I" can smoke a corncob as well as an artisan pipe. You might not be able to. I have a few Grabows I like to take for a spin occasionally also. I get the whole stemwork influencing the distribution of the smoke thing, but like p-lips, it just doesn't make that much of a difference to me. I smoke very slow, and the smoke distributes just fine in all of my pipes. You may just enjoy a different style of smoking, and that's ok too. If we were all just alike, what would be talk about, right?

I totally enjoy looking at pipes in your collection, Peck, and your take on artisans. I have learned a lot from your posts. But, I am one of those that also enjoys learning how to smoke a pipe, instead of relying on the pipe for my style of smoking. If that makes sense I just hang with a diversity of smokers. Some that have just one pipe, one blend, and variations from there. And, you've got your way, and I can totally appreciate that. It's just that not everyone has to have hand detailed stemwork, nor can even differentiate how that smokes. Some can't differentiate Virginias from VaPers. Some can't use a pocketknife.
Was your first pipe an artisan? If not, did you quit smoking a pipe? Heck, most of the factory made pipes filling warehouses to full, don't have any attention to detail in the stemwork, and yet people continue to smoke. That's all I'm saying. They enjoy it no more, no less than the finest of artisan collectors. YMMV ::

 

[tyler]

Jorge,

I am a teacher, and as such, I always stress out the importance of communication strategies. Say for example that John, who is a horrible student, never does his homework, plays up in the class and is always falling short of all expectations. When you write a note to his parents as a teacher, you don´t say things like "John is a horrible student, not only he plays up during the lessons and bothers other students, but that..." Instead, something down these lines will do just as fine: I have noticed John has not been doing his homework of late. I would expect from someone with his capabilities to pay more attention in the class to reach his full potential as a student. He has very good social skills, so I would expect from him more care with.... (bla, bla, bla).

I agree.
To be clear, what are you speaking of, Todd's note or the thread at PMF?
if you speak of Todd's note, the tone, especially at the end, is combative and inflammatory, thus this LONG thread. If I were Todd's editor, I would have rewritten several things. I'm not though, and Todd can speak for himself (and has briefly on this thread).
If you speak of the thread at PMF, please note that that thread was not directed to the "turd makers" whoever they may be, and as such stands apart from a teacher to parent note. It was instead a conversation among friends that forgot they were standing in public when they had the conversation.
In other news, I've been a teacher too. (I'm not any longer.). It's tought work, especially when dealing with parents. I salute you for your work.

 

[troutface]

Thank you Tyler for the kind words. I have been a professional woodworker my entire working life, going on 35 years. I have seen virtual newcomers to the trade doing excellent work and journeymen of 40 years doing mediocre work. Generally speaking the newbs do mediocre work and with diligence progress to doing fine work, which is as you would suspect. What may be surprising is that a journeyman of 40 years may do fine work, but he/she may not necessarily have a true passion for the work. He/she has high standards but does not consider it a "religion" per se. I have seen journeymen that fit this description and they are not as rare as you think. As long as they produce a quality product, who cares what their motivation may be? Often these journeymen have no say in the design of the pieces they build, therefore they have little artistic investment. I think this is true of many trades.
I know nothing of Todd Johnson. From what I have read here it seems he considers making pipes a religion. I think that's a good thing. If the intent of his article was to express frustration at pipemakers who produce shoddy work, especially newcomers, I understand his frustration. Perhaps he could have expressed it in a more polite manner. I believe he addressed that issue, yet some continued to flog him for another three pages. I'm still not sure what that accomplished. To me it seemed like a great exercise in futility, but it's a free country, so fire at will. When the dust settles each person will form their own opinion of the correctness and value of the arguments put forth, which is as it should be.

 

[warren]

trout: I'm well on my way to 2000 posts. Your logical observation is "harshing my mellow." The last thing this thread needs objectivity and reason.
I dabble in woodworking, not fine furniture, and totally agree. I want the competent journeyman working on the curved oak railing for my staircase. The rabid (woodworking is my religion), fully immersed in the project, artist is going to build my custom designed standing desk/reading station. Both projects will be well executed, the desk is going to be a work of art.

 

[cobguy]

I guess a guy could always do a blind folded smoke-off test (commonly known as a BFSOT) between a cob and a high-end briar pipe

Interesting indeed, the outcome would be.
Many eyes opened, I predict. ::

 

[warren]

To do such a test with pipes would be a technical nightmare. Each pipe would have to have identical stems and rest in a holder of some sort. The smokers could not be allowed to handle the pipes as they could discern the fit and finish with their fingers. The bowls would have to be loaded identically in terms of amount and compression.
Still, I would love to be there. Take the eyes out of the equation and you have removed one of the important senses for the full pipe experience. Yes it would be very interesting. I would still bet that a goodly number of very discerning pipers would be able to discern some subtleties which I and most others would not.

 

[troutface]

Warren, there's no way I'm gettin' near your marshmallows, so stop dreaming.

Some artisans are going to dedicate heart and soul to perfection until their hair falls out

Well that explains it. My dad said it was genetics and that I should blame my mom.

A lid for every pot.

I was going to say "an ass for every seat" but Downton Abbey was on and I was feeling especially prim.

 

[pipebaum81]

I really hope warren's 2000th post has the word "turd" in it.

 

[beastkhk]

I would love to have had one of those "pipe turd" equivalent sketches Van Gogh made prior to when post-impressionism got popular.
There is a price point where you are no longer paying for functionality of a pipe and more so the artistic aspect of it. There is no way to know down the road what will be "artistically" popular.
My advise would be to gather information about the pipe and artist you are purchasing from. 20yrs down the road the story behind the pipe and maker will contribute to its value. Even if it is a "turd", if it is one of the last ten in existence it is likely to be more valuable for that then if it came off an assembly line somewhere.(seems like common sense, but see a lot of threads on this site are asking for information on an estate pipe, if that had been included with the posting the pipe may have sold for more)
Edit: regarding "artistically" popular, I do acknowledge that certain pipe styles are timeless. My thoughts were more on the variations of executing those styles.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Maybe I am totally off base and 10 years from now I'll wonder what I was thinking.

I have a feeling not though.

This reminds me of a blind test with violins I read about a while ago (run by a university). Stradivarius vs. competent modern brands. Of course the ancient relics were not chosen as the best violins.
Troutface, I think you touch on the issue I was getting at with "work" quality instead of "passion" quality. Note that I didn't say that every piece of work is garbage, I'm just frustrated knowing that anything I dig my nose into ends up revealing that "craftsmanship" more often than not is just "salesmanship" in disguise, and the pruduct is secondary.

I don't think it's impossible for someone to do their best on every piece, but it surely is uncommon.

 

[sablebrush52]

I don't think it's impossible for someone to do their best on every piece, but it surely is uncommon.

Then I'm uncommon, because that's how I work. I have one lifespan, as far as I know, and I'm not going to waste it on making crap. That said, there are days when I'm not feeling the passion, but I know the standard that I have to hit. Other days it's such great fun to turn out a painting and I feel satisfaction at having learned something new, or delivered a good result. Some days I'm firing on all cylinders, others not, and they're both my best on that day.
And, BTW, I like to provide a good value for the money, an increasingly quaint notion in an increasingly mercenary world. But that's my standard for myself. I'm not going to tell others, unless asked, how to conduct themselves. But I do take notice of people whom I consider predatory and conduct my business with them accordingly when I can't avoid any contact.
Also, I don't think that offering consumers an education is a bad thing. You're free to take advantage of it or not. I've been fortunate that so many have shared their knowledge with me. If ignorance is one's bliss, stay ignorant.