Old Pipes vs. New Pipes

[jguss]

One quick answer: a learning curve that generally started at 14.

The apprentice system survived in England at businesses large and small well into the 20th century. It was so prevalent in the briar pipe industry as to apparently be universal.

Here’s a sampling of now forgotten briar pipe workers who were 12 to 15 in the 1921 English census:



Note that this is far from complete; the search I performed was only intended to show that many boys and girls started working for pipe makers of all sizes as early as 12 years old. There are many instances I could cite of people who started in adolescence and worked in the pipe industry their entire lives. Unsurprisingly a number of the workers in this table had siblings and/or parents in the trade as well.

The point of course is that the level of skill consistently observed in pipes made several generations ago is at least in part a function of early mentor-based training embedded in a manufacturing culture of excellence.

 

[georged]

Yup ^^^^

In addition to the "10,000 hours to mastery" component of employees, manufacturing businesses in general thought that producing the best example of a Thing, whether coffee mill, anvil, firearm, or tobacco pipe was the point of it all. The only way forward. Make the best Thing you can and business success will follow.

Today, of course, that's been flipped upside down. Things are made as cheaply as possible, meaning as poor quality as can be gotten away with. Turned down to unacceptable, then the dial moved one click up. Also designed to fail (as soon as the mind of the public will allow it).

Economic scholars even have a formal name for today's Things:

21st Century Crapshitgarbagepukejunktrash

 

[jguss]

Crapshitgarbagepukejunktrash

I think that’s usually pronounced Yugo.

 

[georged]

I think that’s usually pronounced Yugo.

For anyone too young to know what he's talking about, it's a boat anchor that was manufactured in car form and actually sold as a car back in the 1980's ---

 

[sablebrush52]

The apprentice system survived in England at businesses large and small well into the 20th century. It was so prevalent in the briar pipe industry as to apparently be universal.

Here’s a sampling of now forgotten briar pipe workers who were 12 to 15 in the 1921 English census:

View attachment 406662

Note that this is far from complete; the search I performed was only intended to show that many boys and girls started working for pipe makers of all sizes as early as 12 years old. There are many instances I could cite of people who started in adolescence and worked in the pipe industry their entire lives. Unsurprisingly a number of the workers in this table had siblings and/or parents in the trade as well.

The point of course is that the level of skill consistently observed in pipes made several generations ago is at least in part a function of early mentor-based training embedded in a manufacturing culture of excellence.

Interesting that women learned to do the finishing, which aligns with what I've read from other sources, citing that they had more patience for the work than men.

 

[Alejo R.]

Interesting that women learned to do the finishing, which aligns with what I've read from other sources, citing that they had more patience for the work than men.

Wasn't that the job that Dolly Wood, Les's wife, did at Dunhill?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Wasn't that the job that Dolly Wood, Les's wife, did at Dunhill?

Dolly finishing Les’ Wood just doesn’t sound right.

 

[sablebrush52]

Dolly finishing Les’ Wood just doesn’t sound right.

Except to Les, who wanted more.

 

[HeadMisfit]

its not to hard to find photos of people working in shops making pipes, while SMOKING a pipe.

Now, you dont see that. Not in in the dunhill walkthrough videos.

Now, yes a few of the danish makers and some of the italian makers are smoking pipes AND making pipes. But 99% of what you get, your lucky if the person operating the machine even uses a pall mall..

What constitutes a good pipe has changed. Once, what ever you had was a good pipe. That meant if you were gifted a stanwell on your first job promotion, stanwell was a wonderful pipe that smoked well and tasted good. If you were gifted a Dunhill, well Dunhill was the bestest.

 

[dunnyboy]

I remember reading somewhere that new Castello pipes were as good, or better, than old ones. I don't know if this is true but if it is, I doubt it's by much. Since its inception in 1947 Castello has been led by only two men: Carlo Scotti, the founder, and Franco "Kino" Coppo, his recently deceased son-in-law. Of course, some flawed pipes slipped by them, but in general they maintained a very high standard. Stephanie Coppo, Scotti's granddaughter and Kino's daughter, now runs the business, which I think augurs well for the quality of Castello pipes at least for another generation. Leadership matters as much as the skill of the craftspeople.

 

[HeadMisfit]

I remember reading somewhere that new Castello pipes were as good, or better, than old ones. I don't know if this is true but if it is, I doubt it's by much. Since its inception in 1947 Castello has been led by only two men: Carlo Scotti, the founder, and Franco "Kino" Coppo, his recently deceased son-in-law. Of course, some flawed pipes slipped by them, but in general they maintained a very high standard. Stephanie Coppo, Scotti's granddaughter and Kino's daughter, now runs the business, which I think augurs well for the quality of Castello pipes at least for another generation. Leadership matters as much as the skill of the craftspeople.

in alot of family business, direct family ascension to control is more important that a continuation of quality.

Im more on the lines of, "has the new management kept the same employees working at the shop".