Peterson Price points
- Thread starter instymp
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
In general,I have found that the “System “ pipes smoke well,and they come in at the 100 to 400$ range.
The “Derry” pipe I had was a bad smoker due to poor stem engineering.I don’t remember the price on it.
A lot of it has to do with the stem engineering.When ordering over the internet,you can’t take the stem out to look at the drilling,and design of the smoke passages.
The “Derry” pipe I had was a bad smoker due to poor stem engineering.I don’t remember the price on it.
A lot of it has to do with the stem engineering.When ordering over the internet,you can’t take the stem out to look at the drilling,and design of the smoke passages.
The only Pete I have is a Shannon bulldog, and I think it's quite a nice smoker. It's an entry-level Peterson (I think I paid $96 for it), but it's drilled straight, didn't have any stain inside the bowl, and smokes well. I use it primarily for Latakia/English blends. I don't have any experience with higher end Petersons.
The real spendy Petes are like a different brand, honestly. Or rather, were - my data is 12 years old. But I bought a Peterson 303, it was okay, and I was feeling rich, so I then bought the 140th Anniversary pipe for about double the cost of the 303. World of difference. The 140th had a much nicer stem (still P-lip, but good), the tenon was bevelled and polished, the whole thing just worked. I bought a bunch more petes of various sizes and shapes, and basically they are all mediocre or worse as smokers - gurgled like hell no matter what. Got rid of them all but the 140th and a "Professor", which smokes excellent too, but again, that's a pretty top-end piece.
Are all high-grade Petes better smokers? No. There's people who swear at some of the Holmes pipes, there's people who hate the little condensor in the Deluxe series pipes and House pipes... it's not a guaranteed win, and it's not like being expensive makes a pipe better - being BETTER makes pipes expensive because it costs more work to do. YMMV, yadda yadda.
Are all high-grade Petes better smokers? No. There's people who swear at some of the Holmes pipes, there's people who hate the little condensor in the Deluxe series pipes and House pipes... it's not a guaranteed win, and it's not like being expensive makes a pipe better - being BETTER makes pipes expensive because it costs more work to do. YMMV, yadda yadda.
Peterson prices have crept steady upward (of course) over the ten or twelve years I'be been buying them, so my idea of current pricing is skewed, but I have seldom payed more than $100 for a Pete, or not much more. To some what may be categorized as cheapies have performed extremely well. No quality control glitches that I have detected. Yes, I am a thrifty pipe buyer, but I'm not undiscriminating about airways and stems, finish and moisture. No gurgles, no weird spots in the chambers. The last Pete I bought was an unfinished bent Dublin from PC at $40, which is a lovely little clencher with an entirely ample bowl. I have a few much finer pipes, but this one fits right into the rotation and I look forward to smoking it, and the moderate price doesn't diminish the pleasure, or it adds to it.
If you only have 10 USD in your wallet, 80pounds is expensive. What is your definition of cheap/inexpensive? Give us a reference please. Some of Peterson's silver mounted pipes would be considered to be on the expensive side by some members. Dublins are not what I'd refer to as "cheap" but, they are inexpensive. Cheap, at least in the US, more or less, suggests a "shoddy" or, less than stellar, product. Peterson's usually seem to provide value for price.
My english is British so cheap would be the lower end of Petersons price scale.
I have noticed the silver mounted pipes are more expensive but I thought it was the fancy silver.
It haven't considered them because that doesn't appeal to me but it hadn't occurred to me
that those maybe are also better quality?
I have noticed the silver mounted pipes are more expensive but I thought it was the fancy silver.
It haven't considered them because that doesn't appeal to me but it hadn't occurred to me
that those maybe are also better quality?
"Quality" isn't one thing, in pipes. Your 80 quid Pete isn't going to disintegrate, it's okay quality. Is it smoking okay for you or is it a putrid wet disaster?
I prefer Castellos to Peterson, outright, at this point. Doesn't mean you do.
You are chasing down a definition, Husky, and it ... kinda doesn't exist. There's no single answer here. Having silver doesn't make a pipe better "quality". It makes it have silver. It may have better briar, it may have better stem work, but you can't really assess this stuff at a distance. I can't look at a picture of a pipe and tell you that it will be a better smoker than some other pipe. If you give my 40 pictures of absolutely every detail of a pipe, I could suggest to you whether it would be a better or worse smoker, maybe.
What problem are you trying to solve?
I prefer Castellos to Peterson, outright, at this point. Doesn't mean you do.
You are chasing down a definition, Husky, and it ... kinda doesn't exist. There's no single answer here. Having silver doesn't make a pipe better "quality". It makes it have silver. It may have better briar, it may have better stem work, but you can't really assess this stuff at a distance. I can't look at a picture of a pipe and tell you that it will be a better smoker than some other pipe. If you give my 40 pictures of absolutely every detail of a pipe, I could suggest to you whether it would be a better or worse smoker, maybe.
What problem are you trying to solve?
I am not trying to solve any actual problem but trying to get a grip on the variations.
In some other thread it was pointed out that spending more time on getting things right
in fabrication, "better quality", leads to higher prices.
The topic of this thread led me to believe that there are deliberately different levels
of manufacturing standards sold at different price levels within the Peterson range.
In some other thread it was pointed out that spending more time on getting things right
in fabrication, "better quality", leads to higher prices.
The topic of this thread led me to believe that there are deliberately different levels
of manufacturing standards sold at different price levels within the Peterson range.
"The topic of this thread led me to believe that there are deliberately different levels
of manufacturing standards sold at different price levels within the Peterson range."
Yeah, I'd say that's true. I mean, the first, most obvious cut-point is when they mill out a bunch of bowls (stummels), some of them are going to be amazing, some of them are going to be crapola. The amazing ones get earmarked to become Rosslares or Supremes etc, the crummy ones are going to get rusticated and become a low-tier pipe.
I'll grab you a picture of two tenons - one a "System Standard" and one a "high grade". You'll see the difference!
I don't know if it's "intentional" that a company makes a bad pipe, but for sure, there ought to be a noticeable tactile difference between a 100 dollar pipe and a 300 dollar pipe, you might get finer stem work, a thinner bit, a better button, better briar... lots of ways to decipher "better".
Lemme grab that pic.
of manufacturing standards sold at different price levels within the Peterson range."
Yeah, I'd say that's true. I mean, the first, most obvious cut-point is when they mill out a bunch of bowls (stummels), some of them are going to be amazing, some of them are going to be crapola. The amazing ones get earmarked to become Rosslares or Supremes etc, the crummy ones are going to get rusticated and become a low-tier pipe.
I'll grab you a picture of two tenons - one a "System Standard" and one a "high grade". You'll see the difference!
I don't know if it's "intentional" that a company makes a bad pipe, but for sure, there ought to be a noticeable tactile difference between a 100 dollar pipe and a 300 dollar pipe, you might get finer stem work, a thinner bit, a better button, better briar... lots of ways to decipher "better".
Lemme grab that pic.
There absolutely are different levels in every makers catalogue. The differences could be the quality of briar, meaning it is very light and the grain is outstanding. It could also mean a Hand drilled draft hole and proper cut stem. Lots of variables that you will learn along the way.
Here's two tenons, both Peterson "system" pipes. One is tiny, sharp-edged, and cut crooked. The other is larger, bevelled beautifully, fully polished, and really quite excellently made - it's a "cut" stem, from ebonite rod. The cheaper stem is a "molded" one, it turns gray pretty fast, and it was really thick at the bit. Garden hose.
But the big pipe cost literally twice as much as the small one too, and so it gets better "stuff" and it's done better. Result should be (and is in this case) that the pipe is much better as a smoker and it needs less maintenance. It's more comfortable. It's a "better" pipe! At twice the price.
So I can't say it's intentional that details are left out, but it's.... sort of necessary at a lower price point.
I had another system pipe, the XL05 (now the xl 11 I think, the big calabash shape) and it had yet another tenon shape for the peterson system, like there's no coninuity at all.
But the big pipe cost literally twice as much as the small one too, and so it gets better "stuff" and it's done better. Result should be (and is in this case) that the pipe is much better as a smoker and it needs less maintenance. It's more comfortable. It's a "better" pipe! At twice the price.
So I can't say it's intentional that details are left out, but it's.... sort of necessary at a lower price point.
I had another system pipe, the XL05 (now the xl 11 I think, the big calabash shape) and it had yet another tenon shape for the peterson system, like there's no coninuity at all.
- Status