Noticed quite a bit of Pete bashing here as re quality control. So, just thought I'd start a thread for sharing positive experiences just to balance things out a bit. I've bought 15 Peterson pipes, lower grade, higher grade, bought new, bought used, none older than late 80's and have never had a QC issue. Have even noticed some bashers saying while bashing that they've never bought a Peterson and I think perhaps a little personal experience might be a good thing to have prior to bashing the brand. :wink:
Never had a problem with a Peterson pipe
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I'm glad to hear you've had good experiences with Petersons. Other than to say some of them have shapes that are attractive to me, I don't have an opinion on Petes one way or another. But I guess the nature of the beast is that one negative review will often outweigh a dozen positive ones due to the "just in case" factor. It seems like the field is split pretty evenly between the likes and dislikes, though.
I have four and they all are drilled correctly, sound beautiful briar wood, silver bands, and all are keepers. Not sure if I will be adding any more, but happy with the four I do have.
I've posted repeatedly on Peterson critique threads, not to tell people they haven't had bad experiences, but to say that I've had good ones, with six Petes in my stable, from low to mid-range. I don't disparage people letting others know when things go wrong. foggymountain notes that he used to enjoy Petes and in fact sold them at a pipe shop in Manhattan, but finally had bad experiences with high end Petes and now won't buy them. This is based on fifty or more years of experience, so I take that as more than just one bad-apple pipe. I think the recommendation would be to buy Petes in person, or if you can't, supplement an online purchase with a phone call to get a staff person to look over the pipe for drilling, pipe cleaner clearance, stem fit, and overall fit and finish. I don't think the people with complaints are wrong. Petes are great looking pipes (to many of us) and I enjoy mine, because they're good pipes. I keep hoping these nudges will bring the quality up to standards that I currently associate with Nording, Savinelli, Stanwell and similar brands.
My Petersons:
1. 1920s straight apple ("Irish Free State) -- perfect, no issues.
2. 1940s system ("Made in Eire") -- one fill, perfectly drilled, nice stem.
3. c. 1970 Deluxe billiard -- perfect, no issues.
4. c. 2005 Kenmare bulldog -- no fills, sweet-smoking briar, super-tight draw.
5. c. 2010 Donegal Lovat -- perfect drilling, horrible stem, poor-tasting briar.
The plural of "anecdote" isn't "data," but I do think twice about ordering new Petes online.
1. 1920s straight apple ("Irish Free State) -- perfect, no issues.
2. 1940s system ("Made in Eire") -- one fill, perfectly drilled, nice stem.
3. c. 1970 Deluxe billiard -- perfect, no issues.
4. c. 2005 Kenmare bulldog -- no fills, sweet-smoking briar, super-tight draw.
5. c. 2010 Donegal Lovat -- perfect drilling, horrible stem, poor-tasting briar.
The plural of "anecdote" isn't "data," but I do think twice about ordering new Petes online.
I have twenty Petes. Mostly xl 21 but about a half dozen are mixed shapes. I haven't had a single problem with drilling in any of them.
I own Peterson pipes, Pre-Republic to the New Era. New Era pipes have issues, for example the Christmas 2015 999 I have gurgles, the draught hole is centered but over-drilled. My Peterson Aran 150 on the other hand has no issues. Peterson does have QC issues, critiquing is not bashing.
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
Cheers,
Chris :puffpipe:
I've owned roughly 18 Pete's. All the way from Pre-Republic to brand new in 2014. The only pipe I didn't care for was the brand new one. It was drilled corrected, but the finish was too "plasticky" for my likes, but even then it was a good smoker.
I've since sold, traded, bartered or given away every one of them, but not because they weren't good smokers, but because my collection shifted and I focused on American made pipes, specifically Kaywoodies.
:puffpipe:
I've since sold, traded, bartered or given away every one of them, but not because they weren't good smokers, but because my collection shifted and I focused on American made pipes, specifically Kaywoodies.
:puffpipe:
@1Coyote If you come across some good Kaywoodies, do let me know. I would love to have a 7 day set. American Vintages is something I collect.
Chris :puffpipe:
Chris :puffpipe:
1Coyote, I have 24 Kaywoodies (1924-1928) all push stem and three Kaywoodie (1919-1924) they are fantastic smokers. Three of my Kaywoodies have Gold Clovers.
@ new member "irishearl": your name wouldn't happen to be Peterson now would it? :D
I had one in the 70s, it was drilled fine. Like many contraptions dating back many years, the "system" did not do what it purported to. It did not stop it from gurgling, it merely collected the stinky moisture in a well that required cleaning and drying-out after every smoke. But it was the P-Lip that made me get rid of it. It was hard for me to clench, and the smoke burned the roof of my mouth.
Fast forward to the last couple years, I got a good deal on a batch of systems w/fishtails. Every single one of them was either drilled off-center, too high, or not enough. Several of the stems fit loosely and wobbled in the shanks, as if they didn't go in deep enough, or the tapers were mismatched. I have since got shed of all of those.
Currently I own one Pete, a non-system bent billiard with an orange swril fishtail stem. It is drilled perfectly, in fact a pipe cleaner passes easily. It smokes like a champ, is one of my faves. I've got another non-system fishtail estate coming, we'll see how that one is.
I reject the charactization of honest reporting of myriad, multiple and repetitive flaws as "bashing". Some Petersons smoke great. A lot of them have QC issues that impact the smokability. More than with any other brand of pipe I have encountered.
I had one in the 70s, it was drilled fine. Like many contraptions dating back many years, the "system" did not do what it purported to. It did not stop it from gurgling, it merely collected the stinky moisture in a well that required cleaning and drying-out after every smoke. But it was the P-Lip that made me get rid of it. It was hard for me to clench, and the smoke burned the roof of my mouth.
Fast forward to the last couple years, I got a good deal on a batch of systems w/fishtails. Every single one of them was either drilled off-center, too high, or not enough. Several of the stems fit loosely and wobbled in the shanks, as if they didn't go in deep enough, or the tapers were mismatched. I have since got shed of all of those.
Currently I own one Pete, a non-system bent billiard with an orange swril fishtail stem. It is drilled perfectly, in fact a pipe cleaner passes easily. It smokes like a champ, is one of my faves. I've got another non-system fishtail estate coming, we'll see how that one is.
I reject the charactization of honest reporting of myriad, multiple and repetitive flaws as "bashing". Some Petersons smoke great. A lot of them have QC issues that impact the smokability. More than with any other brand of pipe I have encountered.
I've got a dozen Pete's and no problems with any of them other than a bubble in the finish of a Fermoy bulldog.
All of them smoke fine with no gurgle or draw problems. I don't have any high dollar artisan pipes so perhaps my pipes all smoke terribly but I don't know any better ... think I'll stay the course with my Pete's and Grabows. :mrgreen:
All of them smoke fine with no gurgle or draw problems. I don't have any high dollar artisan pipes so perhaps my pipes all smoke terribly but I don't know any better ... think I'll stay the course with my Pete's and Grabows. :mrgreen:
Not a Peterson basher or huge fan. I have seven or eight Petes. All good smokers and sturdy as heck. Two bent billiards I got two years ago have fills. One has nine fills, and the other two, one large and one tiny. In December I called at the Dublin store and sorted through 30-40 pipes. Some dozen had poor, but not fatal, drilling. Came away with two black blasts and silver collars for less than $150. Very happy, and when I next get to Ireland, I will do the factory tour as well.
My father's side is also Scotch-Irish.
My father's side is also Scotch-Irish.
Am fortunate that none of mine have fills as I hate fills. Some manufacturers hide them better than others. Have a Willmer that has 6 pinpoint fills that are so well disguised you have to really look to find them. My pipe with the largest and most noticeable fill is a Savinelli.
I've never seen nor heard that the sump was for stopping gurgle. My understanding is that it is to keep the bottom of the bowl drier than a pipe without. My Pete's have all done that and done it well. The system pipes I own, six in all, seem to smoke down without a bunch of wet dottle in the bottom of the bowl, making for a nice dry smoke. The sump is a place needing extra care when cleaning, I've just never found the extra couple of seconds needed to be a problem.
I've never purchased a pipe on-line or without a close inspection so I've never purchased one which was not clean and well engineered. I have seen a few pipes with fit and finish issues, in all brands, over my years of smoking. I try to purchase from vendors who inspect and reject, never displaying nor offering for sale, poorly made pipes. To me that is a sign of a good store with knowledgeable staff. Stores which sell poorly constructed pipes are usually owned or staffed with people not knowing a good pipe or unwilling to spend the time and effort to maintain a good reputation.
I've never purchased a pipe on-line or without a close inspection so I've never purchased one which was not clean and well engineered. I have seen a few pipes with fit and finish issues, in all brands, over my years of smoking. I try to purchase from vendors who inspect and reject, never displaying nor offering for sale, poorly made pipes. To me that is a sign of a good store with knowledgeable staff. Stores which sell poorly constructed pipes are usually owned or staffed with people not knowing a good pipe or unwilling to spend the time and effort to maintain a good reputation.
One of the best smokers in my selection is a Sterling Silver 80s Bent Bulldog. It is Burley Flake dedicated and a true pleasure to smoke. I all so have an Aran 106 straight Billiard that smokes perfectly. My third and most recent Pete is a Killarney Canadian, and I can tell that this pipe just simply is not in the same league as the other two quality-wise, however I'm yet to detect a problem after smoking it a few times.
My biggest issue with the Petes was the odd looking P-lip, but I've now gotten used to them and I now see the strange tip as a mark of true Peterson character.
I remember at first I was impressed with big brand name pipes but I've discovered that it isn't the brand that makes the pipe, rather how well it smokes and how comfortable it is in the hand and mouth while smoking.
I still shop and purchase Petersons, but I'll always compare my options before making a final decision.
My biggest issue with the Petes was the odd looking P-lip, but I've now gotten used to them and I now see the strange tip as a mark of true Peterson character.
I remember at first I was impressed with big brand name pipes but I've discovered that it isn't the brand that makes the pipe, rather how well it smokes and how comfortable it is in the hand and mouth while smoking.
I still shop and purchase Petersons, but I'll always compare my options before making a final decision.
My first Peterson was a Churchwarden that I got as a gift in 1986. I have collected more than a dozen over the years, and only had one that I didn't like, an estate that never tasted good, no matter what I did to it. My favorite is a Grafton 999. The newest is a Dracula x105. I like Peterson's styling aesthetics, and find that they are as good as any other mass produced pipes on the market. I was especially impressed with the way my system pipes smoke.
Now, would I spend $300.00 on a Pete? Probably not. Too many great artisan pipes for less money. And there are many great mass producers out there too, I have a few Stanwells and Savinellis which smoke just as well. But nobody is perfect. No sense in bashing.
Now, would I spend $300.00 on a Pete? Probably not. Too many great artisan pipes for less money. And there are many great mass producers out there too, I have a few Stanwells and Savinellis which smoke just as well. But nobody is perfect. No sense in bashing.
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