Savinelli Is Messing Up Badly

[kgs]

Over the past few weeks I have bought and returned several "high end" Savinellis. What a joke this brand has become. They all have stain in the bowl and even worse in the mortise. I have had too many bad experiences with stain in bowls and especially the mortise of pipes. Stain in the mortise especially imparts a very unpleasant taste to the smoke. Funny enough I dealt with this with a very expensive Dunhill. Like the idiot I am I smoked one of these Savinellis so now I cannot return it. I tried removing the stain from the mortise with alcohol but it did not budge. This weekend I will try removing it with acetone. Imagine spending several hundred dollars on a pipe to then have to do science experiments on it.

Here are some pictures of the one that arrived today. This is a Punto Oro Gold which is supposed to be a premium pipe. Can anyone explain why there is dark stain in the mortise?




Needless to say I will not be smoking this one. This thing is going back immediately and I don't think that I will ever bother buying another Savinelli. I don't know what the hell you need to do to find a decent pipe these days, but if anyone has a clue let me know.

Should I let the seller (smokingpipes.com) know? Do you think they can tell Savinellli to fix their crap? Do you think they care? Nobody seems to care about anything anymore.

 

[canucklehead]

For the price of a dip-stained white spot or higher end Savinelli you can get a pretty dang nice commissioned pipe from a reputable carver and specify where exactly you do or do not want the stain placed.

 

[monty55]

Hmm. Well, I'm not sure exactly what to tell you. I'm sure smoking pipes.com will accommodate you. I'm not so sure Savinelli will change anything.

If it bothered me the way it apparently bothers you, I would start with q-tips and denatured alcohol to remove the stain. Or just dump a bunch in an scrub it out with paper towels. It's really quite superficial... imo

 

[FurCoat]

While I don't like stain in the chamber and mortise, it doesn't bother me too bad. I just got a Neerup and spent 15 minutes with Everclear and some qtips to get it out, easy peasy. I would have cleaned it anyway as I do with any pipe before I put it to use. Now bowl coatings are a different story. I hate bowl coatings, so I get where you're coming from. It's like buying a car. If you buy a Ford you're getting a mass produced product and you get what you get. If you want different rims, trim or anything else the factory doesn't offer you have to go custom or make those changes yourself.

 

[STP]

No answer for stain in the mortise, but SPC usually post 4 pics of their Punto Oro Gold, which shows stain in the bowl. If this bothers you, then why make the purchase?

 

[BarrelProof]

I’d smoke the shit out of it and let the cake handle covering the stain I didn’t want to see.

 

[warren]

If a specific brand doesn't meet you standards the obvious response is to move on. Savinellis certainly isn't going change if they are selling pipes and turning profits.

 

[LeafErikson]

I would just move on from the brand. I've had two Peterson pipes that weren't up to my standard (one from SP). Upon inspection from their team when they received my return, they ended up fully refunding me, even after it had been smoked. Communicate with SP and see what they can do. I will absolutely never buy another newer Peterson as there are too many other pipe brands that I've never had a bad experience with. I suggest you do the same with Savinelli.

 

[AJL67]

I am thankful i just enjoy smoking pipes and don't get anal over stuff. Seems like it would take a lot of the relaxation out of the entire process. YMMV

 

[bullet08]

Savinelli now dip stains? Peterson was way ahead of the bell curve years ago! Only smoke Peterson, and never bothered me. I know chamber coating is something a lot of you guys don't like. Don't bother me, but I know a lot of you detect off flavor from it.

 

[kgs]

I am surprised with the responses thus far. I expected more people to be agree with me about stain tasting bad and about stain in the mortise being unacceptable shoddy workmanship.

For the price of a dip-stained white spot or higher end Savinelli you can get a pretty dang nice commissioned pipe from a reputable carver and specify where exactly you do or do not want the stain placed.

I just might do this. I have thought about it at least. For now I will stick to my cheap French pipes.

Hmm. Well, I'm not sure exactly what to tell you. I'm sure smoking pipes.com will accommodate you. I'm not so sure Savinelli will change anything.

If it bothered me the way it apparently bothers you, I would start with q-tips and denatured alcohol to remove the stain. Or just dump a bunch in an scrub it out with paper towels. It's really quite superficial... imo

As I said in my post I already tried removing it with alcohol and I cannot get the stain out of the mortise. I will try acetone next. Unfortunately, I have very sensitive taste and smell and so the taste of stain in the mortise is not at all superficial to me.

While I don't like stain in the chamber and mortise, it doesn't bother me too bad. I just got a Neerup and spent 15 minutes with Everclear and some qtips to get it out, easy peasy. I would have cleaned it anyway as I do with any pipe before I put it to use. Now bowl coatings are a different story. I hate bowl coatings, so I get where you're coming from. It's like buying a car. If you buy a Ford you're getting a mass produced product and you get what you get. If you want different rims, trim or anything else the factory doesn't offer you have to go custom or make those changes yourself.

I have tried removing the stain in the mortise with qtips and alcohol. It simply won't come out.

No answer for stain in the mortise, but SPC usually post 4 pics of their Punto Oro Gold, which shows stain in the bowl. If this bothers you, then why make the purchase?

View attachment 213158

The stain in the bowl is not readily apparent on the dark stain pipes such as the one I bought. There is dark stain outside and light stain inside the bowl. My picture was done with flash - the picture on smokingpipes was lit differently and it was not fully apparent that there was a light color stain in the bowl. All that being said, I do believe that stain in the bowl is much easier to address than stain in the mortise.

I’d smoke the shit out of it and let the cake handle covering the stain I didn’t want to see.

Oh I don't care about how the stain looks. I care about how the stain tastes. Also, I have never had cake build up in my mortise, so I don't think that would be a remedy for me. Do you get cake in your mortise? I have heard of this happening but I've never had anything close to a cake in my mortise.

If a specific brand doesn't meet you standards the obvious response is to move on. Savinellis certainly isn't going change if they are selling pipes and turning profits.

I agree with you. I think Savinelli is too busy coming up with cheesy designs and tacky styling to make a good basic pipe.

I would just move on from the brand. I've had two Peterson pipes that weren't up to my standard (one from SP). Upon inspection from their team when they received my return, they ended up fully refunding me, even after it had been smoked. Communicate with SP and see what they can do. I will absolutely never buy another newer Peterson as there are too many other pipe brands that I've never had a bad experience with. I suggest you do the same with Savinelli.

I agree. I think the big pipe brands are getting by on just their name and notoriety. I have cheap French pipes full of fills but with zero stain inside the bowl or mortise. They smoked perfectly and tasted great from the first bowl. To hell with Savinelli and to hell with Peterson too. Overpriced crap.

 

[kgs]

I am thankful i just enjoy smoking pipes and don't get anal over stuff. Seems like it would take a lot of the relaxation out of the entire process. YMMV

Like a few other posters you seem to think this is a cosmetic issue. I don't care how it looks. Why would anyone care about how the mortise looks? The problem is that the stain in the mortise imparts a bad taste that doesn't go away.

Savinelli now dip stains? Peterson was way ahead of the bell curve years ago! Only smoke Peterson, and never bothered me. I know chamber coating is something a lot of you guys don't like. Don't bother me, but I know a lot of you detect off flavor from it.

I'm not sure if they are dip staining. The stain in the bowl is a lighter color that on the outside. So it actually looks like they are intentionally staining the inside of the pipe.

I've had several older Savinellis and none had stain in the mortise. This is a new thing in my experience. I am still surprised that no one else can taste how foul it is to have stain in the mortise.

 

[Nitrane84]

Too bad about the pipe. From my experience smoking pipes has always been fairly accommodating. Not sure they can help with the one you smoked. Be careful with the acetone... it's nasty stuff

 

[kgs]

Too bad about the pipe. From my experience smoking pipes has always been fairly accommodating. Not sure they can help with the one you smoked. Be careful with the acetone... it's nasty stuff

Oh I am sure that smokingpipes would accommodate me. I'm not worried about that at all. But what should I know about acetone? I think I remember mixing acetone and styrofoam together in my hands when I was a kid. I think it is flammable too.

 

[briarblues]

I will not comment on stain in the chamber and mortise. I will say do NOT use acetone!!!

Mike

 

[Nitrane84]

Oh I am sure that smokingpipes would accommodate me. I'm not worried about that at all. But what should I know about acetone? I think I remember mixing acetone and styrofoam together in my hands when I was a kid. I think it is flammable too.

Just had to update our sds at work. It's bad stuff. We use it to remove loctite from fixturing we glue to pieces to be machined. I wouldn't be sticking acetone anywhere remotely close to anything I plan on smoking.

 

[Hillcrest]

I feel for you as I am sensitive to some irritants as well but I can't see any stain in your mortise on my laptop. It appears to be the same color as the blocks in their video on how they make pipes. Hope you can work it out ... I would try some light sand or emery paper on a thin pencil before chemicals. Just a thought ...

 

[kgs]

Being sensitive is no fun.

Your video is interesting. Go to 2:02 and you will see the man use a brush to put a purple-ish liquid into the mortises before he fits the stems on. That purple stain looks like the same stain I see in my mortise. Those pipes are judging from the yellow stems, I think, from the Miel series which get a very light stain which is nothing at all like the purple liquid he is putting in the mortise.

By the way, look at the first picture I posted. The whole mortise is full of purple stain. You can see the bare briar (which is a light ashy color) only inside the draft hole.

 

[Lumbridge]

Maybe try the salt and alcohol soak and then give it a good swab? Not something I'd worry about, but if soaking it in ~90% alcohol doesn't remove it, I'd be surprised.

 

[Lumbridge]

Being sensitive is no fun.

Your video is interesting. Go to 2:02 and you will see the man use a brush to put a purple-ish liquid into the mortises before he fits the stems on.

Interesting video. That purple stuff is being deliberately applied. I think maybe it's some sort of wax, possibly to assist in fitting the tenon into the mortise smoothly.