I Somewhat Like Fills

[mso489]

Maybe this is a sort of sour grapes, but I have a certain fondness for fills. I don't go shopping for pipes with fills, but on one or two unfinished Savs, I find that they stay in place and add an individualized accent to a pipe. In Japanese pottery, irregularities are considered expressive, natures way of adding an accent so a teapot or cup, etc., isn't too controlled or manufactured looking. In fact, in the tea ceremony, part of the ritual is to admire the tea service and its interesting irregularities. So with pipes, a spot or blemish, or a little odd grain can personalize a pipe and protect us from our perfectionism. This attitude certainly expands ones appreciation of pipes that may not attain an exquisite perfection but still have resonance. Like some weeds, fills on pipes can have a beauty and distinction of their own.

 

[aldecaker]

I prefer pits to fills, but for all the same reasons you like fills. Individual, natural-looking, etc.

 

[elpfeife]

I, too, have a pipe with a sandpit which I think adds a bit of distinction to the bowl. Now having a bunch on one pipe would be another story.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well, that's a refreshing take on fills! I don't mind them when they're practically unnoticeable, but I have two low end Pete bent billiards where they are very noticeable.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I don't like fills. However I'm ok with sandpits. A small flaw or two isn't that big of a deal, and being an organic material it should be expected. Of course a pipe with no pits or flaws of any kind is a wonderful thing, but on those that have them... leave it as is.

 

[jefff]

I don't like fills.... But I have a cheap Bjarne churchwarden that smokes so damn well the fills have become character to me.

 

[gmwolford]

I think I fall in the pit-over-fill group. That pink-putty just looks so out-of-place to me.

 

[pipestud]

I think I fall in the pit-over-fill group. That pink-putty just looks so out-of-place to me. - Greg

I'm with Greg and most of the others. I don't mind some minor natural sandpits as they can actually add sort of a rustic look to a pipe. Fills on the other hand can make a pipe look like it has the chicken pox or the measles after it has been smoked some. That doesn't excite me at all.

 

[daveinlax]

Maybe this is a sort of sour grapes, but I have a certain fondness for fills

Yeah but what if you paid top dollar for a smooth pipe and found an undisclosed "stabilization" of a couple pin prick pits? IMO clean wood is rare. 8O

 

[jpmcwjr]

I have a bent billiard that has a dozen or so fills, and I was thinking maybe I'd send it out to be fully rusticated or blasted. Or maybe I should just pick the fills out? Or maybe I should just fergeddaboudit.
It's a great smoker, well broken in, and I have some fondness for it. (A Pete Aran- smooth except the fills.)

 

[cullansghost]

One of my most used pipes is a GBD second with several fills. Made more prominent after sanding it down to a matte finish, which I like. She always brings me joy.

 

[mso489]

As noted, I am okay with fills that stay in place permanently. If they pop out and leave a gap, that's not alright. Also, I don't want that to be the first feature of a pipe I see. But a few beauty marks by way of fills, with a pipe that smokes like crazy, those come to be attributes. I have two or three unfinished Sav's that are supposed to have had fills ... that don't.

 

[phil67]

In Japanese pottery, irregularities are considered expressive, natures way of adding an accent so a teapot or cup, etc., isn't too controlled or manufactured looking. In fact, in the tea ceremony, part of the ritual is to admire the tea service and its interesting irregularities.

That may be true, but they don’t try to cover up the irregularities and leave them as they are. If you like the look of unpainted Bondo on a car and feel that it gives it character then I imagine fills on a pipe will do the same for you. As for me a certain well aged dull patina on a pipe will do it for me, but not fills as it’s, well... not a natural look and a flaw of nature that has been poorly hidden.

 

[deathmetal]

So with pipes, a spot or blemish, or a little odd grain can personalize a pipe and protect us from our perfectionism.

Humanity needs this. What we want is rarely what we need. Save us from our brains.

 

[mso489]

phil, it's somewhat how a fill is done as to how excusable it is, and I certainly understand those who don't want to see them at all. By tolerating and even enjoying a few discrete fills, I've enjoyed some pipes I otherwise wouldn't have bought. But if they repell you ... don't do it!