Possibly A Bad Peterson

[mhalzorn]

I just purchased my first pipe yesterday. It's a Peterson Donegal Rocky 05 Fishtail of which I love, however I'm concerned as the mortise is completely stained red, which makes me think that the airhole may be as well. The bowl looks to be fine but with just how much red stain there is in the mortise I'm worried. I'm also worried that the drilling was done poorly. The hole definitely rides higher than the bottom of the bowl. There's enough room in the bowl for me to place a pipe cleaner bent into a U shape into the bowl, then insert another pipe cleaner through the airhole threading the gap between the U shaped pipe cleaner.
I contacted the local retailer I purchased the pipe from and he stated the following.
"The gap you describe and show seems to be a fairly typical. Drillings that are dead even with the floor of the bowl both tend to create a gutter for moisture while the pipe is still new, and then clog as you build up a cake. Peterson also chars their bowls post-finishing. This is to help shorten the break-in period and remove any dye. As to the dye in the stemmel chamber - I have no idea why it wasn't drilled out. I'm sure that it's a natural and benign material, but I'll call next week when the distributor reopens and ask if they consider either of your concerns to be an exchangeable fault."
I'm saddened by his response as it appears as though I cannot return/exchange the pipe with him. Is he speaking the truth in regards to Peterson's airholes not lining up with the bottom of the bowl? Everything I've read has told me that if the airhole doesn't align with the bottom of the bowl that its poorly drilled. Do you expect Peterson to claim this as a legitimate fault? Did I just happen to get a poorly made Peterson, or am I over thinking it?

 

[jazz]

My understanding is Peterson dip the bowls to stain them and I would not be concerned about the stain in the shank for any reason. The drilling however, to my mind is badly done and frankly I would not be happy about it. I have another Peterson on the way and if it turns up with drilling like that it will be going back to them. All I can see happening there is a lot of wet and unburned tobacco collecting below the hole. None of my Peterson pipes nor in fact any of my pipes have a hole drilled above the base.
For me it is badly drilled.

 

[natibo]

I can't stress this enough, buy a Castello, Don Carlos, Ardor, Caminetto or a Radice. If you can't afford a new one, get an estate. Once you smoke on of those, you will never buy another Peterson again.

 

[buroak]

I agree with jazz that the staining is not cause for concern. The poor drilling is, unfortunately, very typical of bent Peterson pipes. None of my bent Peterson pipes is drilled even close to properly. I just layer pipe mud to create a false bottom in the bowls. Should you have to make such modifications to a new, supposedly quality pipe? No. Are they worth modifying? At least for me, the answer has been yes.
I should note that few pipe makers consistently manage proper draft hole placement on their bent pipes. When Kaywoodie was a high end maker, their full bent pipes were just as poorly drilled as Peterson pipes. My GBD, BBB, and Comoy's full bent pipes are also poorly drilled. In fact, the old full bent Dr. Grabow pipes in my collection are the best drilled bent pipes in my collection. My old Dr. Grabow Oom Paul is so well-drilled I sometimes take it off the rack just to marvel at the good drilling.

 

[pitchfork]

The contemporary preference for the airway to be at the very bottom of the bowl is just that -- a preference, and a fairly recent one at that. Peterson has been making pipes with drilling that is "wrong" for well over a century. I actually prefer the airway to be not quite at the bottom -- fewer clogs that way and less chance of gurgle. The space between the bottom of the bowl and the airway acts as a kind of sump to keep moisture out of the airway itself. At the moment, I'm smoking a fully bent Connoisseur/Ed Burak that is not drilled to the bottom of the bowl and it smokes PERFECTLY DRY. Every time.
I have a Donegal Rocky Lovat that I think had stain in the mortise, but I never noticed it. If I were the retailer, I'd exchange your pipe in a heartbeat. I think his response is a little disappointing, but there's nothing wrong, per se, with your pipe.
Lots of folks prefer the airway at the bottom of the bowl, and certainly good pipes are made that way. It centers the airflow and likely helps the tobacco burn to the very bottom. However, you'll also get more clogs from bits of tobacco flowing into the airway as you smoke. Again, it's a preference. And one that many feel strongly about.

 

[buroak]

I almost forgot to mention that, in my opinion, the retailer who sold you the pipe is utterly BS'ing you regarding the "woes" of proper draft hole placement. He is either ignorant of the product he sells or deceptive. Whichever is true, I would take my business elsewhere. Assuming you have not smoked the pipe, I would also, as a matter of principle, press the issue of returning the pipe.

 

[buroak]

Nothing I just wrote should be taken to mean that pitchfork is wrong in my view, only that the retailer seems to making stuff up to get you to go away. The points made by pitchfork are good and fair (not that my affirmation is needed), but they do not lead to the logical conclusion that the retailer is right in his claims about draft hole placement.

 

[mhalzorn]

I already smoked the pipe so I can understand why the retailer will not accept an exchange/return. However, I'm hoping that if Peterson states that the pipe does in fact have an exchangeable fault that he'll allow me to exchange/return it.
What's crazy to me is just how much disagreement there is about what is and isn't a fault. I've called a couple local stores and they've told me that this drilling is standard for Peterson's non-system pipes. However, as you can see others are informing me that its not typical. The same can be said for the staining. Most have agreed that the staining was done improperly and should be an exchangeable fault yet a few just not stated that it isn't an issue. I can literally taste the bitter nasty crap when I smoke the pipe. The airhole has to also be stained.

 

[xrundog]

A pipe bowl stained through and through is common. It has been for a very long time. I have a couple unsmoked 100+ year old pipes with completely stained bowls. I've never thought the stain had a flavor. The taste is more likely a bowl coating. I don't like bowl coatings and routinely remove them. If the high draft hole is really causing you problems, mud it up to level.
What you describe is not uncommon in mass produced mid grade pipes. You can go through the frustration of trying to return a lot of pipes, or modify what you have to fit what you want.

 

[mrenglish]

While annoying, the stain inside the draft hole can be removed. I use bristled cleaners and denatured alcohol and it takes about ten minutes. I have yet to see a Peterson that did not have to have the draft hole cleaned like this. For me, its just part of the brand and know its something I have to do. This could also be the cause of the taste you are getting.
As for the drilling, this is pretty typical on bent Peterson's and I've never had a problem with it. While some like to see the draft hole flush with the bottom of the bowl, in my experience, it does not make the Peterson improperly drilled or negatively impact their smoking.
For the stain inside the bowl, you can take some sandpaper and lightly sand it down. Make sure you are mindful of the inner rim while sanding. It does not take long to do just be careful.
I know this all sounds like a pain in the ass and since this seems to be bothering you its probably best to get it exchanged if you can. If you cannot, then use the methods above and you will be rewarded with a good smoking pipe. It may take a bit of time and a little effort but it will come through.

 

[toby67]

The way I understand the Peterson systems is to collect the moisture in the shank chamber seen in the second photo, the drilling goes on an angle from that chamber (2nd photo) to just above the base of the tobacco chamber (1st photo). This is the same with Blasted Peterson System I have and it smokes great, no tobacco gathers in the chamber as it still burns to ash. I would keep smoking it till your used to it and as Natibo mentioned above, buy estate pipes in decent condition, set you max price at half what it would cost new and you can't go wrong. My Peterson was an estate and I paid about $45 for it, about half the estates I have purchased are barely used and well worth more than I paid.

 

[warren]

Does it smoke well, or not? That's the only question that's pertinent. You purchased a factory made pipe that looks to measure up to their standards from my experience. My briars are mostly all Peterson and your pipe would appear to be technically correct. Again, how well does it smoke?

 

[pipebaum81]

I can't stress this enough, buy a Castello, Don Carlos, Ardor, Caminetto or a Radice. If you can't afford a new one, get an estate. Once you smoke on of those, you will never buy another Peterson again.

+10 to warren
Are we suggesting that .125" of a difference of draft hole alignment makes for a poor smoker or even a pipe to be unsmokeable? I am no a fan of heavy cake on the bottom anyway for the reasons given above ie obstructions and clogs to the draft hole. I'd venture to say that we'd be missing out on a lot of great smokers if we limit ourselves to the pipes that display only perfect technical precision.

 

[nurseman]

Dont smoke it - return it and insist on your money back. If you smoke it you can not return it . Pete's cost too much to put up with poor quality .
@ Warren - how is he supposed to smoke it when you can not return smoked pipes ? I think you overestimate the "standards"

 

[bigjohn]

I was speaking with a very well respected pipe maker about this very issue. I recently purchased a nice pipe from him in the $200+ dollar range and he asked me what I thought. I told him I liked it except for the drilling as it was not flush with the bottom. He told me this was by design for the same reasons mentioned above. Additionally, he said the last bit of tobacco does not smoke well so he expects that most people dump the last bit. Upon closer inspection of his other pipes they all were indeed drilled this way. As another said, this is a preference not a flaw.
He did offer to make me a new pipe drilled flush but i declined.

 

[dochudson]

if you bought it from a local retailer didn't you look at the pipe before leaving the store or putting your money down? if you bought the pipe, didn't check it out, took it home and smoked it.. exactly what do you expect from the retailer? as mentioned elsewhere Peterson has been drilling their bent pipes exactly like that for a very long time.

 

[warren]

nurseman: I believe mhalzorn stated, in his second post, that he'd smoked the pipe.
I'm speaking from forty years plus of smoking Peterson almost exclusively. I've been in the Peterson store numerous times and inspected many, many pipes. Peterson pipes range in "perfection" as the price rises. That said, I've yet to run into a Peterson that was not a good to great smoker. I'm sure they exist, any factory will have lapse in quality control now and then but, the pipe shown in the OP appears ready to smoke.

 

[mso489]

Since you have smoked it, and since this drilling seems to be fairly standard, I think I would go ahead and

smoke the pipe and see how it does. Pipes that aren't technically perfect often smoke well, or well enough.

If you don't want to go way up market for your next pipe, most Sevenellis are well engineered and run the

price range at every level. I think you'd be pleased with most any of those too. Stanwell is another amazingly

good quality pipe from fifty to hundreds of dollars.

 

[drwatson]

I have quite a few peterson pipes and they are all wonderful. It looks drilled correct to me, as that is how pertersons are. If you smoked it and dont like it, sell it. send me a pm i'll buy it.

 

[hakchuma]

you have to ask the question: is a $115.00 peterson worth it? After I received mine today I would say hell no. Not even close. I'm so upset that I would dare say they deserve an unprofitable 2015. I know I will never buy another peterson.