Is the owner of my B&M not as bright as I thought?

[quaffer]

I agree that the drilling being a hair off the bottom would not be a deal breaker on a small-bowled, inexpensive pipe that I really wanted. However, the issue here is that the B&M employee stated that this position is the preferred placement of the draft hole. Whether the advice comes from ignorance or a deceptive sales pitch, it's wrong.

 

[cynyr]

I don't have a lot of experience with tobacco stores, but I do have a great deal of experience with gun stores. You can only believe about thirty-forty percent of what you hear at a gun dealership, and I expect the ratio is about the same for purveyors of pipes and tobaccos.

 

[ssjones]

cynr nailed it. Lots of experts out there. I've found cigar store folks aren't really well versed in pipes, although they try to be. JM Boswell has been making pipes for 40 years, but I don't always agree with him when it comes to pipes or tobacco.