Mr Balandis Pipes??

[eggrollpiper]

Thanks for the info crash. I had been under the impression Balandis was just a Brog pseudonym. I wanted to try one of their briars but so far held off due to every Brog pipe I've had were drilled so far off center one side of the bowl would barely burn.

 

[eggrollpiper]

Abs and polyamide I think are covered under the acrylic umbrella. Synthetic as opposed vulcanite.

 

[crashthegrey]

abs or polyamide

Polyamide is basically what we call nylon, which you'll find on some older stems here, and ABS is Acrylonitrile butadiene, or injection molded plastic, like you'll find on some cheap pipes. I prefer the vulcanite, but Balandis has some Polish rubber stems that is essentially a natural rubber similar to vulcanite but native to Poland. I personally have found those stems to be incredibly comfortable.

Eggrollpiper, you're welcome. I thought that they were a Brog like company until I met the son of the owner. They had been associated with Brog but split over just those quality issues. Balandis uses individual carvers who carve under the Balandis house name, and everything I have seen from them is top quality. I get pictures from the guys in Poland making these pipes.

 

[mightytiki]

I placed an order on December 23, 2018 and have not received the pipe as of January 19, 2019. I notified them a week ago that I had not received the shipment and they said they would give me an update on the status. It’s been a full week with no update. I had to opened a case in order to begin the arduous refund process through Etsy and they came out of the woodworks to update me and say it wasn’t their fault. I don’t know what mail service they use but I’ve received shipments from all over the world to include: East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa and it has never taken nearly a month for something to arrive. So far, I’m not satisfied with their communication or lack of and their customer service.

 

[diverdoc]

Has anyone tried Mr. Balandis bog oak pipes?

 

[Paul lec]

I like pipes having an unusual blue highlight in them,my wife says if it was up to me all my clothes would be blue so I must just like blue! Anyway after reading this thread I looked at his pipes and saw several that had what I like,blue highlights. I ordered several this week,got a tracking e-mail,they seem to be moving around Poland,will keep you posted as to when I get them.

 

[Peter - CCB]

This guy is the worst experience I’ve had on eBay and only negative feedback I have ever given out. Ever.

He attacks everyone that has issues. I sent a long, overly nice message. Bought a pipe block. It came with half of it missing. Only about 1/2” of wood past the drilled bowl. On top of that, it was advertised as briar and its 100% peach wood. When I finally left negative feedback after being way too nice to this guy, only to receive an abusive reply, he says my name and where I live in his feedback reply to get some sort of revenge? There is a lot of bad stuff about him on the internet if you Google him. Sorry but worst experience I’ve had in the pipe world. I felt compelled to say this even if the thread is old. He will prob find this and make lies up. Look at all his replies to any negative feedback. Just my experience.
I’ve had a few mr brogs. I go through Vermont freehand and other well known places now.

 

[jorgesoler]

Honestly, the prices are low because they are in Poland. They make less money there, and we get the advantage of providing a price that they have trouble getting there but seems great to us. Like I said, mine have all been great. And I am getting more. I buy the briar over the pear wood, though.

Not true. They are cheap because of the laws of demand.