Peterson Pipe of the Year 2023

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HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,604
41,079
Iowa
Wow, ordered on a Friday night and waiting for me when I got home today and didn’t do any express shipping. Rusticated No. 749 - a little Bear Blend - and enjoying right now. A little goopier than usual but just a matter of an extra ripped up paper towel to remove the coating, all looks good, silver bright and button a little more “proud” than the other one on top. This one is every bit as easy to smoke as the Rua - glad I was “influenced”. IMG_2823.jpeg
 

irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,158
3,809
Kansas
Wow, ordered on a Friday night and waiting for me when I got home today and didn’t do any express shipping. Rusticated No. 749 - a little Bear Blend - and enjoying right now. A little goopier than usual but just a matter of an extra ripped up paper towel to remove the coating, all looks good, silver bright and button a little more “proud” than the other one on top. This one is every bit as easy to smoke as the Rua - glad I was “influenced”. View attachment 240054
Got my rusticated one today.I think Peterson did a phenomenal job with this year's POTY. It's such a great shape. The tweed pipe sock is quite nice, too, though almost never use pipe socks. They even threw in a little silver polishing cloth.
 

Davy

Can't Leave
Nov 22, 2022
324
880
I am smoking my Terracotta (477/1100) and am now past the first half.

For a change, the briar is obviously decently seasoned. It smokes well. It keeps lit. The burn rate is very good. And the bowl doesn't get hot.

However, the stain is bleeding. I discovered a sandpit and, so far, one fill.

These were not visible before I started smoking the pipe.

So, it makes me wonder.

Saturating a pipe with stain to conceal defects is a practice which is certainly debatable.

To do this with $240 pipes is a harder pill, for me, to swallow.
 

HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,604
41,079
Iowa
I am smoking my Terracotta (477/1100) and am now past the first half.

For a change, the briar is obviously decently seasoned. It smokes well. It keeps lit. The burn rate is very good. And the bowl doesn't get hot.

However, the stain is bleeding. I discovered a sandpit and, so far, one fill.

These were not visible before I started smoking the pipe.

So, it makes me wonder.

Saturating a pipe with stain to conceal defects is a practice which is certainly debatable.

To do this with $240 pipes is a harder pill, for me, to swallow.
Sorry to hear that. I've had stain bleed issues with two or three Petersons but it has been awhile. The rusticated with the reddish/pinkish stain was the culprit twice and some stain bleed on the outside of the bowl with one of my SPD Terracottas, but it was minor. Part of the issue I think was the water I was using in that instance to clean out the bowl coating was too hot. On the two rusticated, stain would transfer to my hand when the bowl warmed up, and some transfer from some stain inside the chamber when wiping out the coating and wet paper towel on the outside of the bowl, but in all instances it stabilized quickly and no continuing issues. I guess I wouldn't say the staining is to conceal the defect, with few exceptions all their pipes get stained in some fashion, but the pit/fill should have been caught before staining I would think. Hope you get a resolution.
 

Civil War

Lifer
Mar 6, 2018
1,552
396
I am smoking my Terracotta (477/1100) and am now past the first half.

For a change, the briar is obviously decently seasoned. It smokes well. It keeps lit. The burn rate is very good. And the bowl doesn't get hot.

However, the stain is bleeding. I discovered a sandpit and, so far, one fill.

These were not visible before I started smoking the pipe.

So, it makes me wonder.

Saturating a pipe with stain to conceal defects is a practice which is certainly debatable.

To do this with $240 pipes is a harder pill, for me, to swallow.
I own several Peterson pipes and that's normal for Peterson.
 

Davy

Can't Leave
Nov 22, 2022
324
880
Sorry to hear that. I've had stain bleed issues with two or three Petersons but it has been awhile. The rusticated with the reddish/pinkish stain was the culprit twice and some stain bleed on the outside of the bowl with one of my SPD Terracottas, but it was minor. Part of the issue I think was the water I was using in that instance to clean out the bowl coating was too hot. On the two rusticated, stain would transfer to my hand when the bowl warmed up, and some transfer from some stain inside the chamber when wiping out the coating and wet paper towel on the outside of the bowl, but in all instances it stabilized quickly and no continuing issues. I guess I wouldn't say the staining is to conceal the defect, with few exceptions all their pipes get stained in some fashion, but the pit/fill should have been caught before staining I would think. Hope you get a resolution.
The last three POY I bought were smooth, bled stain and revealed defects that were not visible before smoking. The only one I have which did not bleed has no defects.
It's hard not to come to this conclusion, however much I don't want to.

I own several Peterson pipes and that's normal for Peterson.
Yeah, I hear ya. I bought over 80 Peterson over the last 10 years.

The stain bleeding issue is fairly recent. As for the defects, that's not recent at all. When I pointed this out on Peterson PIpe Notes, a POY 2021 Heritage with a price tag of $225 to have bleeding stain and fills, Mark Irwin told me it's not part of Peterson's ethos to avoid the fills, in other words as you say, it's 'normal' practice for the brand. However he did say the bleeding was not normal, which it isn't, of course.

Yet it stands to reason, as Russ Ouellette wrote once in an article for this forum, than any defects such as fills on a pipe exceeding $100 - 125 should not be. I agree with this.

Fills on a $240 is, simply put, disappointing.

These stain bleeding issues should not be happening. I know of no other companies that have this issue.
Yes, I know, it's all a work in progress. They sorted out a lot of issues at Peterson over the last few years for sure. :)

I sure hope Peterson will be able to resolve these issue in the near future.
 

pylorns

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
2,116
353
Austin, Texas
www.thepipetool.com
I knew I wanted to get a supreme or natural this year, I don't grab every pipe of the year or special edition unless there is something compelling. But this year got me. I woke up at 4am to check smokingpipes.eu and saw no naturals or supremes. So I checked smokingpipes.com in the evening and they had a handful of naturals.

I add a natural to my cart go to check out and its gone.

I add another one to my cart and push the payment button and error message its gone.

Yeah, smoking pipes allows others to add a pipe in your cart to their cart and pay for it before you can. SO finally I get another one added to my cart and paid for with receipt in hand.

5 minutes later I get an email that my pipe was sold and the other one processed before me. But I was in luck there was still one available and they sent me the link to look. I said I'd take it. Next, they said they'd drop it in the mail last Wednesday.

....And they didn't. I got on chat with them on Saturday and was informed it hadn't been shipped yet. They shipped it then and I got it Tuesday... and they gave me my shipping dollars back but still, not a great shopping experience.
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It's still a beautiful pipe, I've run a few bowls through it, passes the pipe cleaner, and smokes well. All in all a good pipe of the year. Kinda like my St. Patricks Day this year - which was well done.
 

Davy

Can't Leave
Nov 22, 2022
324
880
This does not bode well.

I was treated in a very cavalier way. They don't seem to take ownership for the issue.

I hope I will receive a better response to my last email.

So much for the Peterson 'Guarantee of Excellence' 1 year warranty against any manufacturing or material defect.

 

AroEnglish

Lifer
Jan 7, 2020
3,782
11,571
Midwest
This does not bode well.

I was treated in a very cavalier way. They don't seem to take ownership for the issue.

I hope I will receive a better response to my last email.

So much for the Peterson 'Guarantee of Excellence' 1 year warranty against any manufacturing or material defect.

Can you say more about their response?
 

irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,158
3,809
Kansas
The last three POY I bought were smooth, bled stain and revealed defects that were not visible before smoking. The only one I have which did not bleed has no defects.
It's hard not to come to this conclusion, however much I don't want to.


Yeah, I hear ya. I bought over 80 Peterson over the last 10 years.

The stain bleeding issue is fairly recent. As for the defects, that's not recent at all. When I pointed this out on Peterson PIpe Notes, a POY 2021 Heritage with a price tag of $225 to have bleeding stain and fills, Mark Irwin told me it's not part of Peterson's ethos to avoid the fills, in other words as you say, it's 'normal' practice for the brand. However he did say the bleeding was not normal, which it isn't, of course.

Yet it stands to reason, as Russ Ouellette wrote once in an article for this forum, than any defects such as fills on a pipe exceeding $100 - 125 should not be. I agree with this.

Fills on a $240 is, simply put, disappointing.

These stain bleeding issues should not be happening. I know of no other companies that have this issue.
Yes, I know, it's all a work in progress. They sorted out a lot of issues at Peterson over the last few years for sure. :)

I sure hope Peterson will be able to resolve these issue in the near future.
Have never had an issue with stain bleed, though have heard a number of folks complaining of some degree of it with the heritage finish with other pipe lines which i've never owned. I got the rusticated POTY primarily due to cost considerations. But, it is an advantage if one doesn't want to be surprised by a pit or fill suddenly becoming obvious.
 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,543
14,295
Red is a pig bitch color to work with in every circumstance from auto paint to fabrics to outdoor signs to tobacco pipes. It fades, it bleeds, it turns washer-loads of white clothes pink. That's its job in the world, to drive humans mad.

Blaming Peterson for this characteristic is silly. Either "twist scrub" your red pipes with a damp paper towel & re-wax occasionally, or don't choose a red pipe in the first place.

Regarding briar flaws, ALL briar blocks contain flaws without exception. The only question is how many of them intersect the "surface plane" (for lack of a better term) after the stummel is cut from the block.

If made one at a time by hand, a carver can (to some degree) creatively "dodge" flaws while retaining a pleasant shape.

If cut by a machine that uses a master copy---in the old days it was called "frazing", today they're starting to uses CNC machines---dodging flaws is impossible.

If the pipe is to be left smooth, the exposed pits and flaws must either be left as-is, or cleaned and re-filled like a dentist does to a decayed human tooth.

Blaming Peterson for using fills is again silly. To avoid fills and surface flaws, either buy sandblasted or rusticated pipes in the first place, or pay a premium price for the freak blemish-free rarity that turns up by pure chance. Meaning once in many thousand stummels.

What looks to me to be the ACTUAL problem in 2023 is the difficulty of selling no-two-are-alike objects to the world over the Internet.

In the old days you could pick up, handle, and eyeball every specimen for sale in a B&M to your heart's content.

Today, it's the polar opposite. Unless rare & valuable, you can't examine ANYTHING but a few photos. (And even if it is rare & valuable, you can only be provided with more photo angles and maybe a short video "tumble in space" view of it.)

And the "shopping cart" business is its own clusterfuck. Servers, bandwidth, security, etc. make that a complicated mess.

In short, if you're going to be unhappy, at least be unhappy about the stuff the makers and sellers of pipes are in control of.
 
Last edited:

Davy

Can't Leave
Nov 22, 2022
324
880
Red is a pig bitch color to work with in every circumstance from auto paint to fabrics to outdoor signs to tobacco pipes. It fades, it bleeds, it turns washer-loads of white clothes pink. That's its job in the world, to drive humans mad.

Blaming Peterson for this characteristic is silly. Either "twist scrub" your red pipes with a damp paper towel & re-wax occasionally, or don't choose a red pipe in the first place.

Regarding briar flaws, ALL briar blocks contain flaws without exception. The only question is how many of them intersect the "surface plane" (for lack of a better term) after the stummel is cut from the block.

If made one at a time by hand, a carver can (to some degree) creatively "dodge" flaws while retaining a pleasant shape.

If cut by a machine that uses a master copy---in the old days it was called "frazing", today they're starting to uses CNC machines---dodging flaws is impossible.

If the pipe is to be left smooth, the exposed pits and flaws must either be left as-is, or cleaned and re-filled like a dentist does to a decayed human tooth.

Blaming Peterson for using fills is again silly. To avoid fills and surface flaws, either buy sandblasted or rusticated pipes in the first place, or pay a premium price for the freak blemish-free rarity that turns up by pure chance. Meaning once in many thousand stummels.

What looks to me to be the ACTUAL problem in 2023 is the difficulty of selling no-two-are-alike objects to the world over the Internet.

In the old days you could pick up, handle, and eyeball every specimen for sale in a B&M to your heart's content.

Today, it's the polar opposite. Unless rare & valuable, you can't examine ANYTHING but a few photos. (And even if it is rare & valuable, you can only be provided with more photo angles and maybe a short video "tumble in space" view of it.)

And the "shopping cart" business is its own clusterfuck. Servers, bandwidth, security, etc. make that a complicated mess.

In short, if you're going to be unhappy, at least be unhappy about the stuff the makers and sellers of pipes are in control of.
If you intend to call someone 'silly', have the decency to quote the post you consider as such. So the person is aware of your opinion.
After reading your post I can only say this: you can't possibly be serious.
Only Peterson practices low standards of fills on so - called premium and high grade pipes.
Only Peterson manufactures pipes which are displaying recurrent issues with stain bleeding; regardless of the color.
Making it pass as industry - wide practices is, simply put, sad to read about.
Making it pass as 'normal' is even sadder to read about.
Promoting and defending, as you seem to be doing, low standards practices carried out only by one company, might certainly be to the advantage of that company. But it is not to the customers'.
I thought this forum was about informing pipe smokers but, sadly, it is not.
Why I still bother with this forum and some of its 'contributions' is beyond me.
But this one sure tops it.
 

NC TX ID pipeman

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 25, 2021
565
1,224
North Carolina,Texas,Idaho
Yep..it sucks to have fills on such an expensive pipes....I just recently checked Savinelli Punto oro pipe for 250$ and it did have 2 fills at the areas I could not live with...If good briar becoming scarce and expensive plus current inflation -the fills on 250$ will become new normal..Specially at the factories producing so many pipes...I almost stopped buying new Petersons unless very interesting model show up...I wish companies would made only 1st quality pipes but it would be very expensive for buyers and some people cant afford or does not want to spent money on pipes so there is price range for everybody...Maybe terra cota is not as high grade pipe as used to be and we need to adjust either not to buy them or buy them and live with it..
 

AroEnglish

Lifer
Jan 7, 2020
3,782
11,571
Midwest
Yep..it sucks to have fills on such an expensive pipes....I just recently checked Savinelli Punto oro pipe for 250$ and it did have 2 fills at the areas I could not live with...If good briar becoming scarce and expensive plus current inflation -the fills on 250$ will become new normal..Specially at the factories producing so many pipes...I almost stopped buying new Petersons unless very interesting model show up...I wish companies would made only 1st quality pipes but it would be very expensive for buyers and some people cant afford or does not want to spent money on pipes so there is price range for everybody...Maybe terra cota is not as high grade pipe as used to be and we need to adjust either not to buy them or buy them and live with it..
It seems like terracotta just slotted into the dark smooth slot for this release. Were the darks smooths know to have fills?
 

AroEnglish

Lifer
Jan 7, 2020
3,782
11,571
Midwest
What are we referring to as dark smooth?

The ebony?

The Heritage?
I meant that in last year’s release they had something called Dark Smooth which I think was above Heritage and Ebony. It seems like the Terracotta stain was made instead of the Dark Smooth.

Photo from All Pipes Considered: Peterson's Pipe of the Year 2022 | Smokingpipes.com - https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/all-pipes-considered-petersons-pipe-the-year-2022

(By the way if anyone has one of these let me know!)

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