I Bring You The Pipe Turds

[cosmicfolklore]

Welcome to the forums!!!

 

[warren]

Trying the old "kill 'em with kindness" and the "baffle with the bullshit" ploys huh?
It'll be interesting to see if either or both work.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

We brought some new blood into the forums anyway, ha ha! I hope you guys will kick your shoes off , fire up a bowl, and stay awhile. We discuss lots of stuff from pipe scandals, Lord of the Rings, whether a hamburger is a sandwich, and offer life advice to guys who have parents who won't let then smoke in the house. Pick your pipe topic, ha ha!

 

[buroak]

The market, and only the market, in the long term, determines who is a maker bad, good and superior pipes. Admittedly, in the case of artists, musicians and, yes, pipe manufacturers some customers can be led astray, at least for a while. Fads aside, consumers determine, through their spending, who or what is worth their money.
A new pipe smoker would do well to learn before spending moneys on pipes. "Caveat emptor" is still a phrase worth remembering. It applies to buying cars, homes, fur coats, toilets, pistols, cereal, eggs, underwear, etc. The alternative is to get a very liberal return guarantee on any purchase. This is particularly true when contemplating spending what is personally a large sum of cash for a pipe.
Worth remembering is that there are pipe smokers who do not see the pipe as art and are only in the market for a "pipe." They want something that isn't ugly, holds a bit of tobacco and delivers smoke to the mouth. There is a market for the so called "turd" pipe obviously. I suppose each of us has a personal definition of what is or isn't a turd pipe. Many here consider certain marques to be turd pipes. Many here, see themselves to be the final arbiters as to what is or is not an acceptable pipe.
This thread reminds me of the dog chasing its tail. We've caught the tail once or twice but, we will return again and again to the chase simply because it is amusing to do so. If we do not overstep Kevin's boundaries this thread could go on and on. In a sense while my count will go up . . . I will become deeply saddened.

Warren, I thought you were trying to boost your post count. You could have gotten at least four separate posts out of this.

 

[warren]

I forgot my plan! Damnitalltohell!
Sometimes I just get too wrapped up in the dialogue.

 

[desertpipe]

Thirty five to go......and counting.

 

[georged]

Flatticus,
Unless I read those five paragraphs wrong, you intend to keep chasing the guy who (figuratively) brake-checked you on the freeway.
Which begs the question: To what end, exactly, and for how long? You received his response. And what's next? Will you do the forum equivalent (continuing the road rage analogue, here) of brandishing a firearm to get him to stop in the road?
Or something?
I'm asking because this thread seems disproportionate, somehow. Like there's an axe-grinding backstory, maybe, or the anger-management thing I mentioned earlier.

 

[kola]

Damn! I just finished reading the entire thread from the beginning to end.
Who the hell is this Tad Jonason anyway? ... sounds like a silver-spooned richie rich kid who got is first online ass-kickin.'
I like my turds and I'll buy more turds. Unless King Tad somehow makes them illegal. Thanks for trying, bud, but most of us don't need your help.
...stayed tuned, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. Will more of Tad's buddies come to his rescue? Will Tad monopolize the pipe market and force us turdlovers to pay 2000 bucks for a pipe? And will he outlaw my beloved corncobs?
This saga will surely go down in pipe history...and IMO, that ain't a good thing.

 

[warren]

You've got it all wrong. He's not opposed to "turd" pipes. He's irritated with the makers of "turd" pipes. I think it's alright to own a "turd" pipe, especially if you are a novice smoker, or a piper with bad taste or a pipe that tastes bad.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Who the hell is this Tad Jonason anyway? ... sounds like a silver-spooned richie rich kid who got is first online ass-kickin.'

If you page back on the Radio Show tab he and Pete did an interview with Brian. It was the May 2nd show of 2014. He gives a bit of a background of who he is and what Briarworks is all about.
Todd Johnson is a carver who apprenticed under guys like Tom Eltang and Lars Ivarsson. He's been carving pipes since I believe 1999 or 2000. He's also apprenticed many of the bigger names in American artisan carving today.

 

[sablebrush52]

This horse has been flogged to a very fine paste.
So which is your favorite flavor of milkshake? Chocolate? Vanilla? Strawberry? Onion?

 

[moriarty]

I think this is one of the most interesting threads I've seen here. I see no dead horses.
Anyway, if we depart for a moment from Todd's ego and his inflated sense of his importance in the pipe world, what about his idea to create a guild of pipemakers? How would that play out? Would we get a higher quality of pipes and could smokers buy with more confidence?
Clearly some people would have to assume the role of judging which pipemakers are worthy of guild membership, and which not. That is unavoidable. As is the eventuality of having to boot people out of the guild if they do not match up to the guild's requirements. Especially if the guild membership starts to be used as a marketing statement for pipemakers - a mark of quality.
This might have worked in medieval German culture. I strongly suspect it would have only two effects here and now. Firstly there would be increased sales of pipes in the counter-guild pipe ("turd?") community - it would become cooler, more "Indie", and a lot of customers would react against the scent of someone else's authority or values being pushed on them. Secondly the pipemakers' guild would descend into in-fighting and internal spats over who is getting expelled and the behaviour of the guild leadership. I also suspect that most of the top pipemakers in America would not want to associate themselves with a guild and they will just carry on quietly making great pipes - so the guild would probably have little credibility and would merely seem to be a clique or gang of bullies.

 

[daveinlax]

Todd Johnson is a carver who apprenticed under guys like Tom Eltang and Lars Ivarsson. He's been carving pipes since I believe 1999 or 2000. He's also apprenticed many of the bigger names in American artisan carving today.

IMO for the internet generation of carvers an "apprenticeship" is a few hours of shop time not the traditional pipe apprentice of years of learning pipes starting with sweeping up, getting tea, buffing pipes, simple repair like bands, topping and staining. They learned complex repair, plugs, stem splices then to cutting replacement stems before they got a chance to make some pipes before being presented with their tools. 8O

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Even I am starting to feel like I am standing in horse paste now. There are many things that I think have been brought up that would make great threads all on their own, without having to strain the juices out of this one horse. IMO. I do hope some of these new guys who have done an elegant job of conveying either side of this for us will stick around. Start a new thread, or join in on some of our other discussions. It's great to get new blood that will keep us all from just agreeing with each other and getting the same old neophyte posts over and over. Besides, I think everyone was courteous and pleasant in disagreeing, IMO. Some of us welcome a higher caliber of discourse on more interesting topics. Thank you, this was insightful and fun.

 

[tyler]

What an entertaining thread. I love discussion like this that evaluates the heart of certain aspects of our hobby. I love the passions and the perspectives. Good stuff, imo, and not at a horse that's being beaten past the point. What else should we talk about, after all, but pipes, and with passion?
I'm the Tyler from the PMF thread, and it been very interesting to read how that thread is perceived here. That forum is a group of friends that welcomes anyone to join, but doesn't really think about the fact we are being watched by those not talking in the forum with us. (Though obviously, being a public forum, that's a possibility -- it just doesn't really cross your mind.) Anyway, it's been very insightful to understand how we sound to someone who may not know us.
At any rate, I have no desire to defend anything or anyone, I just wanted to say thanks for the very interesting read. I think discussions like this make the community interesting and, ultimately, better.

 

[tyler]

Double post.

 

[ejames]

I just finished reading this entire thread--now I'm thoroughly confused.Which is OK, as I am easily confused. I would like to know though, how to get on Instagram or what ever it is so I can sell some $400.00 pipes.

 

[daimyo]

Back off my honeypot ejames! Today only my "I hate Todd" turd pipe, hand carved and exquisitely finished by double wide, double guild certified, new and improved, master pipe smith Dustin! Hewn from the finest Grecian Formula briar available from Greece, New York. Dustin has been honing his craft over the course of 1440 minutes of blood, sweat and tears shed over spilled PBR. Dustin ensure you, his customer that he is fully bearded during all work preformed on your unique artisan pipe and that is smells like ylang ylang. Act now and receive my beer coozie with art work stolen from skateboard companies with no royalties paid to the talented and original artist!



Come on down to Dustin's pipe lot for more great deals!

 

[daimyo]

Forgot to list my price... $400!
All in jest, this has been a funny thread with lots of opinions and interesting takes.