I can't afford a $1500 pipe so its not a big issue with me. The Peterson Company sells thousands of $100-$150 pipes. You can't afford to put too much quality control into that level of pipe.
Peterson "Makers Series" - Rant
- Thread starter codecreatively
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
The idea the you can get a flawless pipe in a standardized shape just doesn't stand up to the test of reasonableness. The number of truly flawless pipes are an unbelievably small percentage of overall production. Eliminating a sand pit requires reducing the size of the shape overall to maintain an even surface. That in turn leads to variation in the shape as well as increased cost of production. To give some perspective, Dunhill use to set aside their perfect stummels and then finish and offer them at prices considerable higher then is the case here. George's assessment is right on.
What are you guys talking about? Dunhill (to name just one outfit) turns out pipes by the dozen without big, obvious sandpits like the ones on the pipe in the OP.
Of course flawless pipes are rare. That's why they're special and expensive. No one here is disputing that, but what's particularly funny here is that this is a limited edition of 10 pipes made from bowls that Peterson carefully selected as the best of the best. Could Peterson really not find 10 bowls without several, obvious sand pits? Maybe! Or maybe, as the OP suggested, this is just Peterson being Peterson.
Of course flawless pipes are rare. That's why they're special and expensive. No one here is disputing that, but what's particularly funny here is that this is a limited edition of 10 pipes made from bowls that Peterson carefully selected as the best of the best. Could Peterson really not find 10 bowls without several, obvious sand pits? Maybe! Or maybe, as the OP suggested, this is just Peterson being Peterson.
I think there may also be a question about the "amber" stems. The scarcity and very high cost of genuine amber has already been referred to. SP has other Peterson pipes with "amber stems" up for sale, the lowest priced I can see being a $352 Spigot pipe. Is it likely, therefore, that the Peterson-sourced "amber" really is the genuine article?
Well, here’s a counterpoint. If SPC sent out an announcement, as they usually do I didn’t get it. So without this thread I wouldn’t have known these pipes were available. Now I’ve got a sweet box of pipe love winging its way to my house. Thank you Code for the heads up. I’ve wanted one of these amber stemmed jobbies for a while but most have had stubby stems that seemed impractical.
Yes, the price seems inflated but these pipes have something you can’t get elsewhere. You can grab an amber spigot from the blackswanshoppe for about $500. Some of those pipes look excellent. However, what you don’t get is a silver spigot on the secondary stem, nor a silver cap, you don’t get exceptional grain or a leather bag and a presentation box. From my vantage point the premium for the boxed set is slight to nonexistent.
Truth is I don’t smoke a ton these days so I like to keep a small roster of pipes that smoke exceptionally well and are interesting or special to me. I know this pipe meets one criteria let’s hope it hits the second too.
Edit: yes, the amber stock is genuine and was originally sourced by Peterson roughly 100 years ago, and has sat unused til this point.
Yes, the price seems inflated but these pipes have something you can’t get elsewhere. You can grab an amber spigot from the blackswanshoppe for about $500. Some of those pipes look excellent. However, what you don’t get is a silver spigot on the secondary stem, nor a silver cap, you don’t get exceptional grain or a leather bag and a presentation box. From my vantage point the premium for the boxed set is slight to nonexistent.
Truth is I don’t smoke a ton these days so I like to keep a small roster of pipes that smoke exceptionally well and are interesting or special to me. I know this pipe meets one criteria let’s hope it hits the second too.
Edit: yes, the amber stock is genuine and was originally sourced by Peterson roughly 100 years ago, and has sat unused til this point.
Bigpond - your comment about the amber stock is very interesting. I have a number of Victorian/Edwardian pipes (mostly Barlings and Carringtons) with lovely amber amber stems. So, if Peterson have had the stock for that long they would not have needed to pay today's premium!! It is nice to see amber stems making a comeback.
@BigPond - The announcement for these pipes was just the daily SPC email. Easy to overlook, for sure. I'm guessing it was handled this way due to the limited number of pipes in the release.
As to quality issues. I'm just as happy with my Rosslare 80S and my 2017 Christmas 03 as I am any of my "high grades".
-- Pat
As to quality issues. I'm just as happy with my Rosslare 80S and my 2017 Christmas 03 as I am any of my "high grades".
-- Pat
I'm a Peterson fan, with most Pre-Republic era pipes. I really like the Amber Spigot series when they were released and a few weeks ago, bought a smooth 999.
The amber stem story is detailed in Mark Irwin's blog earlier this year, but basically they found a supply of amber stems in a box at the factory.
https://petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com/2017/01/
When the pipe was delivered, I was disappointed to find several pits in the briar.
This was the worst of several pits.
At $500, I just couldn't live with that flaw. The vendor readily the pipe back.
I checked with every Euro vendor of these pipes, but couldn't find any 999 smooth that didn't have a flaw.
Even more frustrating, is that while they supply two stems (amber and acrylic), some of the acrylic stems have a silver inlaid P and some don't. Some of the amber stems have screw in bone tenons, some don't.
No Euro or US vendor was able to find for me a 999 with no pits and with a Silver P on the acrylic stem (no P was a deal-breaker).
I even tried for a shape 230, but no dice. So, I simply gave up.
The Makers Series pipes are beyond my means.
I'd love to see Big Ponds pipe, I hope it is as promised.
My 1990 Deluxe XL90 is flawless, and as George posted, we know that Peterson can get it done. I'm not sure why they didn't extend more of an effort on the briar of these Amber Spigot pieces.
Some are beautiful, but it is hit and miss. See the Black Swan gallery detailed here in Marks recent blog entry:
https://petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com/tag/peterson-amber-spigot/
The amber stem story is detailed in Mark Irwin's blog earlier this year, but basically they found a supply of amber stems in a box at the factory.
https://petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com/2017/01/
When the pipe was delivered, I was disappointed to find several pits in the briar.
This was the worst of several pits.
At $500, I just couldn't live with that flaw. The vendor readily the pipe back.
I checked with every Euro vendor of these pipes, but couldn't find any 999 smooth that didn't have a flaw.
Even more frustrating, is that while they supply two stems (amber and acrylic), some of the acrylic stems have a silver inlaid P and some don't. Some of the amber stems have screw in bone tenons, some don't.
No Euro or US vendor was able to find for me a 999 with no pits and with a Silver P on the acrylic stem (no P was a deal-breaker).
I even tried for a shape 230, but no dice. So, I simply gave up.
The Makers Series pipes are beyond my means.
I'd love to see Big Ponds pipe, I hope it is as promised.
My 1990 Deluxe XL90 is flawless, and as George posted, we know that Peterson can get it done. I'm not sure why they didn't extend more of an effort on the briar of these Amber Spigot pieces.
Some are beautiful, but it is hit and miss. See the Black Swan gallery detailed here in Marks recent blog entry:
https://petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com/tag/peterson-amber-spigot/
Barling could do it, and so could the top manufacturers. The reshaping to remove tiny flaws while retaining a pattern shape is called the "cut down" process and it was part of the regular method of turning out a flawless smooth hand carved factory pipe. A model pattern had to have some small allowances for variation, and when I put several of my pipes of the same model next to each other I can see the small differences. Also, they used to apply a fine thin coating of gum arabic to smooth the surface before final polishing, which would have hidden any remaining tiny pits.
These Petersons are beautiful looking pipes. I hope that they're beautiful smoking pipes.
The trick is not to "settle." Flawless pipes are not that hard to find if you look in the right place. The Peterson store in Dublin doesn't display anything but their best. James K. Fox only seems to have exceptional pipes on display when I'm in the store, which is not often, every couple of years or so.
Some of the finest looking briars I've seen over the years are smaller bowls. There is a reason for that and "sable" hit the nail on the head.
Good idea Warren so to Dublin,well what I think is that some of our days quality related promblems may be caused by the fact that many of those skilled workers with exceptional know how' are today in age of retirement,and those newer recrutis' haven't been on the production line long enough?
Not so long ago when I was on the mood of buying a Parker pipe and while proceeding with my order I asked that British vendor check the pipe for obvious factory flaws ,check the drill prior to despatching my order and they honestly did so eventually replying unfortunately we better choose not to send you this unique pipe because this very pipe has pits great in aboundance.
so was this story,today when ordering any pipe online(no other choice available)I'm asking vendors to check the pipe out prior to shipping,I hope some of them are following my instruction in some degree.
Hit and mis indeed, or If I'm gonna have me pipes only with dark finishes down the road,it may help some.
so was this story,today when ordering any pipe online(no other choice available)I'm asking vendors to check the pipe out prior to shipping,I hope some of them are following my instruction in some degree.
Hit and mis indeed, or If I'm gonna have me pipes only with dark finishes down the road,it may help some.
Are you buying pipes just to buy pipes? Insufficient number in the rotation? Just asking. I never feel the need to just buy a pipes. I sometimes feel the need to buy a particular pipe which meets my standards. It is usually a pipe I have stumbled across in a shop. But, I've never felt the need to simply go buy a pipe. If I purchased on line I'd try to have the same attitude. I've always got my eye out for a particular pipe. I just don't know it until I see. Well, I do know it will be "bent" to some degree or another.
This is somewhat poetic, but also common sense: when you encounter an object of beauty, you pursue it, but you never invert the equation and go looking for something as a surrogate to that role.
Am wondering if it's simply harder these days to find flawlees briar. Half my collection of Petes, albeit not a huge #, are smooth finish which run the price/quality spectrum from Shamrocks to deluxe system pipes. None of them are probably newer than 20 years of age as I bought most as estates, though none are pre-Republic. But not a 1 of them have any flaws in their bowls.
Al, I'm still blown away by the flaws in that Amber Spigot. I'm always one to come to Peterson's defense on these issues, but in the case of your 999 somebody seriously dropped the ball. At the price of those Amber Spigots, that stummel should never have been used in that series. A few flaws won't bother me, and in fact I think in some cases it adds character. But not in a pipe at that price range. You should send Peterson (and I love them but...) an email or a letter stating that they're obviously quite proud of the line for the cost they are asking... so they should show a little more pride in the briar chosen for them. If I'm spending that much money on a pipe I expect it to not have a flaw like that. I'm still disappointed in them for that mistake.
Still love Peterson though... just sayin :
:
Still love Peterson though... just sayin :
:- Status