Pipe Purchase Learning by Experience/Mistake

[mso489]

Part of the fun of shopping pipes is making some endless online or physical excursions to look at pipes, most of which you won't remember. Mostly this teaches you a lot, and results in some fair, to good, to excellent, to outstanding pipes, at appropriate not budget wrecking prices. As with any other activity, you make mistakes, and you also learn from those. Here are a few of mine, and you might want to share a few of yours:
Gosh, that was a pretty French-made pipe, a graceful arching slightly bent smooth Dublin with the most lithe shank and stem, really beautiful. Except, something about the airway always snagged pipe cleaner fluff, something I'd never experienced before with any of dozens of other pipes. Boring out an extra thin airway on a delicate pipe, wasn't likely to work. I eventually traded it off after clearing that airway bowl after bowl until the pipe wasn't pretty to me any more.
A great basket pipe, a "Made in London" traditional straight billiard that made you hear British patriotic tunes in your head. But the bowl cracked where it met the shank. I donated it to a friend who needed not much mileage in the smoking department.
Then there was that Ben Wade, an impressive blast panel billiard that was love at first sight. Somehow the finish never eased into a well-loved, well-used patina, and I finally traded it off toward a pipe I liked better. Nothing wrong with it, it just didn't age well, looked a bit plastic after years.
So live and learn. Several pipes started out problematical and blossomed, big time, but that's another story, another post. What are your learning experiences?

 

[deathmetal]

I got one of those cute 320 shapes from Italy. Lovely little pipe, but unless I am sitting still with nothing to do, not very useful. Dedicated to Prince Albert because it smokes so well in it.
Good thread idea.

 

[Chasing Embers]

What are your learning experiences?

"Dunhill" does not mean better than a cob.

 

[olkofri]

...one of those cute 320 shapes from Italy...

I think SPC should include a penny or something for reference in their product photos. It's difficult to assess just how small or massive a pipe is, even when its specs are fully given. Looking at a 320 on their site, it looks like a chubby little thing; however when I googled for photos of "320 vs. 321", whoa!

 

[fitzy]

Yeah I've bought a few heavy pipes that just aren't fun to smoke. Now I try not to go over 1.5oz.
Also I had a Sav pot that was wider than it was deep and it was a bitch to pack and light. Ended up trading that one back in.
Oh and I have a Chacom that smokes ok but the fricking stem is crap and ridiculously hard to pass a cleaner through.

 

[aquadoc]

I learned the hard way to ask here before buying a pipe. The collective knowledge here is worth it's weight in platinum.
Dunhill might not mean better than cob but I would like to have my birth year back that was my dad's.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have totally re worked my pipe collection about 3 times now. My first collection consisted mostly of high end Danish pipes ( Former, Balleby, Matzhold, Reiner Barbi and hand made Winslows) and straight grain Italians like Castello, Radice and Viprati( still think Viprati gives the best grain for the buck), and a few straight grain Brits like Upshall and Dunhill. All of these pipes were group 5 and bigger. I took no notice of the stems or the weight of these pipes and smoked a variety of English and other types of vapers and va flakes.
Fast forward a half a dozen years and I sold off almost all of my danish pipes except 1 Former and 3 Winslows and all of the straight grain Italians and British pipes. I then went on a mostly British pipe spree for a year or so again not taking stems or sizes or weights into consideration when buying.
Finally after listening to Big Vance who was a long time member here, I bought my first Rad Davis pipe. It was an a epiphany as his pipe smoked better than any pipe I had previously owned. The stem was the most comfortable I had ever put in my mouth. The pipe smoked as dry as anything I had ever smoked especially when I smoked outside in the Florida humidity. It never needed a pipe cleaner to soak up excess moisture, ever. Even to this day it has never needed a pipe cleaner. I then sold off all the British pipes except one Willmer and one Lane era Charatan and then began to collect No. American artisan pipes exclusively. I ended up with 20 Rad Davis pipes, around 10 from Brian Ruthenberg, and 2 each from the likes of our own Zack, Trever Talbot, Bruce Weaver, Ryan Alden, and singles from Abe Herbaugh, Scott Thile, Steve Morrissete, Michael Parks, Michael Butera, Stephen Downie and Tonni Nielsen.
During this time of buying No American pipes, I also came up with my personal set of criteria for buying a pipe. It consisted of weight of pipe (45-60 grams), size of pipe ( group 4-5 ) stems,( high quality German vulcanite) and the button on the stem,( all stems had to be hand made and really comfortable), and shape of pipes to smoke my flakes. I was finally buying pipes that fit what I was smoking ( 100 percent flakes at the time). When I looked at a new pipe, I would think to myself how would this pipe smoke my flakes. I had finally reached a place where my pipes were the perfect ones to smoke the flakes I enjoyed.
Recently I began buying some Pre Transistion Barlings because of our own Sabblebrush aka Jesse. He would go on and on about his precious Barlings so I finally had to see what he was talking about. Well I bought my first one and then had to buy another 4 as he was right on about how great they smoked and how nice the stems are. All the Barlings I bought fit into my criteria and everyone smokes like a champ. I am currently not looking at pipes to buy, I have enough. Before my sabbatical I bought out a collection of AAA Straight Grain Willmers as I began smoking other cuts of tobacco besides my flakes and the deal on these was tough to pass on. Willmer uses some of the best wood I have ever smoked, have comfy stems and are great for smoking some of the aromatics I have added to my cellar.
I still cannot believe it has been 20 years since I bought my first pipe( Savinelli Linea Piu 5 Apple). My collection has been completely re worked and the only pipe I have from that first stage of collecting is my first pipe the Sav.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I still cannot believe it has been 20 years since I bought my first pipe

I hear you. I'm coming up on 30. 8O

 

[stickframer]

My pipe buying is still evolving, but thank goodness it's slowing down. I didn't know anything about pipes for the first little bit haha.
Now I look for traditional shapes with vulcanite stems, within the right weight range for me, medium sized bowl (grp 3-4?)
I do all my pipe shopping in Brick & Mortars, where the selection is not always sufficient to meet my criteria, so if I compromise on one or two things that's when pipe buying mistakes happen to me.

 

[cigrmaster]

stick, have you thought about buying pipes on line? It is not as scary as it sounds. There are some great estate sellers like

Briar Blues

Smokingpipes

Marty Pulvers

MKE-LAW pipes
Ebay is risky if you don't know what you are looking at. There are some great deals there if you know the market. Pipestud always has some great deals on his ebay sales if you again know what prices should be. If you ever want any help, please feel free to get in touch with me. I love spending other peoples money. :mrgreen:

 

[stickframer]

Thanks Harris haha :mrgreen:
I've spent a bunch of time poking around those sites and I agree, they are all great.
When I reach the next level of PAD I'll keep them, and you, in mind. :lol:

 

[mso489]

Interesting reflections, all. cigarmaster, that's quite an epic with three complete revisions on the concept of your pipe stable.

 

[warren]

I learned from the owner of the now defunct local pipe shop. He knew pipes, salesmen and manufacturers. I miss his knowledge. To his imparted knowledge I added as I learned what I liked. I can brag that I haven't purchased a stinker in near thirty years.

 

[lasttango]

Most of my best smoking pipes are not my expensive ones.
If I buy a pipe and it is too handsome, I tend to procrastinate lighting it.
If I buy a pipe that is too expensive I tend to procrastinate lighting it.
Perhaps I should not buy expensive pipes.
I keep buying bents, and I have yet to find one that I enjoy smoking.
Almost all of my best smoking pipes are saddle stemmed billiards, princes. pots and skaters.
I don't like smoking pipes that I can't clench.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Interesting sttory Cigarmaster, I've been doing this dance before,learing all this hard way,becoming more experienced,first of all specs(bowl-weight and stem material) are what started to matter ,me now, just about what you was telling,I'm not more felling in love at first glance, pipe itself may look stunning but then comes those specific criterias and thats what I'm paying my attention today.even sometimes it happens size descriptions are not correct on the sellers web site,which is more than ennoying to notice once you've gotten your brand new pipe on hands,

 

[5star]

Good topic !
I’d say the biggest error I’d made is going overboard with PAD in the beginning. So, I probably have far too many pipes that I now consider ‘o.k., but nothing special’. That money would likely have been better spent on far fewer higher grade & custom made pipes instead. Even modest cobs can add up, if you buy a lot of them (and they have about zero resale value).
I have taken this lesson to heart, however. I have passed up a few pipes with the idea of buying my next briar from a custom maker. And, I don’t yet own a good meer. I now have a good maker in mind & will buy one of his rather than spend money on meers that I’d probably be dissatisfied with. As in so many areas, if you buy quality you only pay once.

 

[wasnsfisher]

Have alot of Pipes. Dunhills included. Have yet to aquire a Blatter & Blatter. Will be my next purchase if I can find one that grabs me. OH yea, still on the prowl for a Hatfirld/MaCoy Cutty.