Peterson Pipe of the Year 2023

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irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,275
4,093
Kansas
I bought one yesterday. A Natural. I thought about buying one when the Smoking Pipes drop happened, but didn’t. Then I wished I had bought a Natural, went looking around, and found one.

View attachment 239592
Lovely pipe. Though I bought a rusticated, would have preferred a smooth finish for that pipe. But, when I bought on SP, the choice of smooth was in heritage finish, which I would have considered had the price not been $190+. Find that to be a bit over-priced as it is around $40 more than heritage finish in the Sherlock Holmes line which i think is a comparable pipe.
 

AroEnglish

Rehabilitant
Jan 7, 2020
5,177
15,235
#62
Lovely pipe. Though I bought a rusticated, would have preferred a smooth finish for that pipe. But, when I bought on SP, the choice of smooth was in heritage finish, which I would have considered had the price not been $190+. Find that to be a bit over-priced as it is around $40 more than heritage finish in the Sherlock Holmes line which i think is a comparable pipe.
Yeah it seems like Laudisi might be tinkering with the pricing and number of pipes produced to see where the sweet spot is for profits. Makes sense and we’ve collectively voted with our dollars by having the terracotta and higher finishes sell out very fast.
 
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scloyd

Lifer
May 23, 2018
5,972
12,225
My #81 was delivered today. Couple of interesting points:

SP's page on the pipe said it weighed 53.7 grams. I weigh it at 46 grams. I was put out that the pipe was over 50 grams, so pleased on this point of difference. (that is off by 15%, not insignificant) I use a restaurant quality digital scale.

I'm disappointed in the top button - it's barely there. I see Hawkeyelinus #49 is identical. My two other POY Petersons have a much better defined button. I'm going to email Peterson, and see if they will send me another stem.

View attachment 239587View attachment 239588View attachment 239589
 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
19,040
13,162
Covington, Louisiana
postimg.cc
@ssjones If it becomes a hassle with SPC, I'll trade stems with you. The top button doesn't matter to me.
Here's mine.
I emailed Peterson/Smoking Pipes and copied Mark Irwin. He thinks they will happily send me another stem. If not,I would take you up! I'm more of a teeth balancer, than a clencher, so I need that button top to be more promiment, for a tooth hold.
 

americaman

Part of the Furniture Now
May 1, 2019
946
3,127
Los Angeles, CA
Lovely pipe. Though I bought a rusticated, would have preferred a smooth finish for that pipe. But, when I bought on SP, the choice of smooth was in heritage finish, which I would have considered had the price not been $190+. Find that to be a bit over-priced as it is around $40 more than heritage finish in the Sherlock Holmes line which i think is a comparable pipe.
Thank you. Yeah, that could be the case. My friend who is a Peterson aficionado thinks that it could also be that this shape is more difficult to produce, due to the swan neck.

As far as the price, that was the main reason I didn’t grab one right away. I’ve bought four Former estates within the last year, all for less than this year’s Natural. In 2020 the Natural was $330, so about a hundred less.

Speaking of Former and testing the market, I noticed he keeps raising the price on his Rusticated Apple to test where the market is at, and it’s now over $600 and still sells out.
 
Jun 9, 2015
3,970
24,852
42
Mission, Ks
My #81 was delivered today. Couple of interesting points:

SP's page on the pipe said it weighed 53.7 grams. I weigh it at 46 grams. I was put out that the pipe was over 50 grams, so pleased on this point of difference. (that is off by 15%, not insignificant) I use a restaurant quality digital scale.

I'm disappointed in the top button - it's barely there. I see Hawkeyelinus #49 is identical. My two other POY Petersons have a much better defined button. I'm going to email Peterson, and see if they will send me another stem.

View attachment 239587View attachment 239588View attachment 239589
Looks like it was very aggressively buffed… 😢
 

NC TX ID pipeman

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 25, 2021
564
1,244
North Carolina,Texas,Idaho
Thank you. Yeah, that could be the case. My friend who is a Peterson aficionado thinks that it could also be that this shape is more difficult to produce, due to the swan neck.

As far as the price, that was the main reason I didn’t grab one right away. I’ve bought four Former estates within the last year, all for less than this year’s Natural. In 2020 the Natural was $330, so about a hundred less.

Speaking of Former and testing the market, I noticed he keeps raising the price on his Rusticated Apple to test where the market is at, and it’s now over $600 and still sells out.
Yep...I bought terracotta house pipe in 2021 for 350$ minus 10% VIPsale..TerracottaPub pipe was 320$ at that time..Now is 560$!! 60% increase!In early 2022 natural SH Lestrade was 350$ ..Prices of higher end Petes are increasing a little too fast for my liking...I am glad I 've got all I want from Peterson...Now I am only buying Danish,Italian and other estates
 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
6,087
16,690
The sharpness of the button is definitely a personal choice thing. Some people much prefer all edges and corners to be radiused, while other like crispy sharpness.

In this case the "violation" is a matter of not conforming to tradition, and therefore expectation.

Another "Thank you, Internet" situation in any event. Examined in hand at a B&M, no smoker would ever be ambushed by any pipe.

FWIW, I think Americaman's specimen to be about as good as pipes get. Period. Shaping like that is something only a couple dozen artisan carvers alive today could do (ask Sasquatch to describe how easy it is, rotf ), and it hasn't been seen from a factory in over a century.
 

americaman

Part of the Furniture Now
May 1, 2019
946
3,127
Los Angeles, CA
The sharpness of the button is definitely a personal choice thing. Some people much prefer all edges and corners to be radiused, while other like crispy sharpness.

In this case the "violation" is a matter of not conforming to tradition, and therefore expectation.

Another "Thank you, Internet" situation in any event. Examined in hand at a B&M, no smoker would ever be ambushed by any pipe.

FWIW, I think Americaman's specimen to be about as good as pipes get. Period. Shaping like that is something only a couple dozen artisan carvers alive today could do (ask Sasquatch to describe how easy it is, rotf ), and it hasn't been seen from a factory in over a century.
Thanks George. That’s what I noticed on this year’s release: gorgeous shaping.

I still have a couple of pipes I need to send your way.

And @NC TX ID pipeman, as for Danish pipes the only ones I own are Former, and they are incredible. The great thing about high end Danish estates is that there is a good chance the owner took care of them.
 
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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
19,040
13,162
Covington, Louisiana
postimg.cc
The sharpness of the button is definitely a personal choice thing. Some people much prefer all edges and corners to be radiused, while other like crispy sharpness.

In this case the "violation" is a matter of not conforming to tradition, and therefore expectation.

Another "Thank you, Internet" situation in any event. Examined in hand at a B&M, no smoker would ever be ambushed by any pipe.

FWIW, I think Americaman's specimen to be about as good as pipes get. Period. Shaping like that is something only a couple dozen artisan carvers alive today could do (ask Sasquatch to describe how easy it is, rotf ), and it hasn't been seen from a factory in over a century.
I have three new-era POY's, one an ESB sandblast. All three have terrific buttons. Like you always say, you can remove excess material, but you sure cannot put it back. I've taken a file to a few new Castello buttons that are way too aggressive for my tastes, an easy fix.

I added this to my email to Peterson & SP:

Unfortunately, because the pipes in this grade, sell out in minutes, there is no time to consider the details of the pipe you are buying.
 
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HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,857
42,247
Iowa
My #81 was delivered today. Couple of interesting points:

SP's page on the pipe said it weighed 53.7 grams. I weigh it at 46 grams. I was put out that the pipe was over 50 grams, so pleased on this point of difference. (that is off by 15%, not insignificant) I use a restaurant quality digital scale.

I'm disappointed in the top button - it's barely there. I see Hawkeyelinus #49 is identical. My two other POY Petersons have a much better defined button. I'm going to email Peterson, and see if they will send me another stem.

View attachment 239587View attachment 239588View attachment 239589
Mine has a softish transition as well and I have some other Plips that do and some that don’t. On a larger pipe I like it more defined, just my preference. Mine works just right for this pipe but I’m hopeful they’ll take care of getting it right if it isn’t to your liking.
 

HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,857
42,247
Iowa
Mine has a softish transition as well and I have some other Plips that do and some that don’t. On a larger pipe I like it more defined, just my preference. Mine works just right for this pipe but I’m hopeful they’ll take care of getting it right if it isn’t to your liking.
FWIW, the bottom of the Plip is etched nicely which is where mine balances - I “clench” loosely, more like a nice “hang” which it is doing right now!

I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t picked one up to give one a try (the pipe). For me it is a “just right” pipe and since I saw #149 was available in a rusticated ala @scloyd, went ahead and ordered a companion. It will be interesting to compare the two. The Rua just does its job as well as any pipe I have and better than most.