Savinelli Issue

[craig61a]

I guess it all depends on how much you like that individual pipe. I’d try dampening the mortise as was mentioned, and letting it sit for a few days.

If that doesn’t work there are other options available to tighten the stem, or you could just send it back.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What a horrible let down and expenditure of emotions. You get a pipe that you're excited about, and it comes needing to be "fixed" so you can't just fire it up.
They might be right. Maybe just a drop of water, but still... I can understand your frustration.

It would be like me telling a customer, "Oh stones fall out of ring settings all the time, just lick the stone and put it back in."

Plus, you aren't guaranteed that this won't happen again.

Unless this was a pipe that I had been longing for, for a while, I would return it. If I kept it, I would probably smoke it less, just because of the negative feelings associated with the whole transaction. But, that's just me.

 

[Kozeman]

Yeah. Half the issue is that it's new and you rightly expect perfection from a quality manufacturer. The other bit for me is that,,, I as the owner should be the first one to door ding or scratch my own truck.

 

[prndl]

I would, personally, return it.


Anomaly or not, the agitation would always be at the back of my simple mind.

 

[BROBS]

They might be right. Maybe just a drop of water, but still... I can understand your frustration.

It would be like me telling a customer, "Oh stones fall out of ring settings all the time, just lick the stone and put it back in."

Plus, you aren't guaranteed that this won't happen again.

Unless this was a pipe that I had been longing for, for a while, I would return it.

That’s my worry. I’ve never had a stem that loose get what I would consider fully tight again.

From how loose he’s described I find it hard to believe it will get tight enough again.

Would be a different story if it was an estate from eBay. Then by all means “tweak” away with water and beeswax to attempt a tighter fit.

Looks to be a known/regular issue with those damned Savinelli pipes.

 

[brunot]

It sounds like it's a new pipe. My two cents are to return it.

Yes, things like these might happen. When I got my first Punto Oro, first thing I've found was a nice, fat crack in the bowl. Not too deep, but a crack is crack. I live in Europe and buy straight from Savinelli so I just called them up and they arranged a courier to pick up the pipe. I had it back in a couple of days after their artisan had a look and did a little bit of work. That's my expectation of customer service if I decide not to return it.

I would tinker around with it myself if it's an estate w/o a warranty or a rare pipe which only has a minor problem. The Fantasia line in this shape is going nice and strong, it's a regular pipe Savinelli sells... I'd return this one and just get another.

If it's as loose as you mention and you paid good money for a new product, IMHO it's not wrong to expect it to "work" straight off the bat. If that's not the case, it deserves either some compensation or resolution of the problem; and your participation in that is strictly optional.

 

[BlueMaxx]

Thanks everyone for the great responses.

I thought about it quite a lot trying to fall asleep last night.
And, as having been a woodworker and have a. fairly decent of its properties I totally understand what the intended fix should do.
B ut to me, here's the thing....a loose dovetail on a piece was never acceptable

What a horrible let down and expenditure of emotions. You get a pipe that you're excited about, and it comes needing to be "fixed" so you can't just fire it up.
They might be right. Maybe just a drop of water, but still... I can understand your frustration.

It would be like me telling a customer, "Oh stones fall out of ring settings all the time, just lick the stone and put it back in."

Plus, you aren't guaranteed that this won't happen again.

Unless this was a pipe that I had been longing for, for a while, I would return it. If I kept it, I would probably smoke it less, just because of the negative feelings associated with the whole transaction. But, that's just me.

Spot on post...thank you.

Really I just wanted to try a 320 which everyone seems to more or less rave about.

Last night I reordered another 320, a new one that popped up and loved the look and colors.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Would be a different story if it was an estate from eBay. Then by all means “tweak” away with water and beeswax to attempt a tighter fit.

Exactly, I might be more forgiving if I had gotten a deal on the pipe or if it was used, but at full price on a new one... nah.


Of course, I don't live in the Arctic tundra or in the desert. Has the OP ever had this happen with one of his other pipes?

Also, I run water through all of my pipes after each smoke. Have been doing this for over a year now, maybe two. If it was so easy to swell the mortise, I would have noticed by now.
I did have one where the moisture building up in the mortise made the stem loose, but not the other way around.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

That 320 is a pretty thing. I hope you get better luck on this go around.
I have never had a problem with a Savinelli. I love all of mine, but there are always going to be the odd situation here and there.

 

[BlueMaxx]

Here's the deal on the Fantasia rusticated, it is a nice looking pipe....and I had high hopes and expectations.

Here is the day she arrived along with some booty I acquired up in Bloomington. The little 602 on the left I got up there also, not from this other company. Feels and smokes great while working.



As I said earlier I used to work in cabinet shops and am a woodworker, I mostly concentrated on hand tools and solid woods.
I understand the properties of wood.
It is a living piece of material.
It does shrink and expand when the humidity rises, it shrinks when it becomes cooler or drier.
I get it.

However, if I produced a loose fitting tenon or dovetail and then told myself (or worse yet a customer)
"Nah, don't worry about it, as soon as the seasons change it'll be right as rain"
Then that is just faulty craftsmanship.

If you make a joint too tight, it can expand too much and break the joinery....so you take off a little at a time... but you can never put wood back on.

BUT, I am a new pipe smoker, and have never dealt with briar.

And I felt like my response from the company was like a new guy in the shop coming up to me and saying:

"Sorry sir, but I believe I have cut this board too short"

And me replying, "That's ok son, just run down to the basement and grab the board stretcher"

(there is no basement )

Briar being dense may come around, I will check later today...and all may be well.

It is in my basement shop with a relative higher than normal amount of moisture due to a lot of rain and cool temps around here.
Constant temp in the shop.
My woodworking pieces have not shown any movement, nor have my wooden planes been acting funny...and I have a bunch out right now in preparing for a big sale next month at a hand tool event here in Indiana.
I am thinning the herd.?





But the fact remains, and there are a lot of if's.

IF the material was properly selected and dried.
IF the worker did in fact correctly size the tenon and the stem.
IF the piece was truly inspected. (And the little slip of paper in the new pipe bowl said it was.)

Then it could only be three things..

1. The piece of wood simply may have been a little too wet and what fit and the date of manufacture has dried and shrunk and therefore it failed.

2. The inspector had a three martini lunch.

3. It was maybe one of those s*it happens kind of deals.

We shall see, and thanks to everyone for kindly responding and making me feel welcomed to do so..I know I can be a windy bugger.

 

[Pierre1965]

My new Porto Cervo 305 should be here either tomorrow or Monday. I'll let you know whether it's loose or not. The pipe will have spent several days in the cold while making it's way to me and it' likely to be near freezing when it arrives.

 

[seldom]

Ultimately a good pipe is a pipe that you enjoy. I don't think you'll enjoy the pipe you got, so the advice to send it back is sound. Here's wishing you many satisfying smokes with the new one you bought last night.

 

[Kozeman]

What are people's experiences with Briars. Do they tend to dry out with stor

My new Porto Cervo 305 should be here either tomorrow or Monday. I'll let you know whether it's loose or not. The pipe will have spent several days in the cold while making it's way to me and it' likely to be near freezing when it arrives.

Dry and cold as a witches tit here in Chicago. Received two Savinellis this last week and both were very tight fitting.

 

[BlueMaxx]

Update:

I came up from the shop and saw I missed a call and had a message...fumble thumbs me accidentally erased the message while trying to get it to go to speaker phone ?

Even though I erased the message the number was still in my "recent" calls.
I called back and It was from the company I purchased the pipe from.


I want to give the loudest and biggest shout out to the company I purchased this from !!

Let's just say they are a big player on this forum.

(still not sure if I should mention it because I do not want to get the fellow I spoke to in "hot water"....no pun intended.
He did an admirable job and tried his best.

I called back and spoke to a very pleasant young lady who said that this issue had reached the owners ears.
She spoke to me very kindly, offered me several options and deeply apologized for the initial handling of the call.

She offered a refund, or to pick a different pipe or a house credit on my account.
She also is sending me an UPS shipping label and I will go and drop it off today.
I offered to ship it on my dime but she insisted.

I told her thank you very much, but I would love to just have a same model pipe....and she is going to personally go select and inspect a 320 for me and ship it out and put the remainder on house credit on my account.

I immediately expressed my gratitude and told her that would give me reason to go spend more of my kids future inheritence ?

I have worked with a lot of companies both professionally and personally and with a lot of clients in my life.... but THIS was one of the most absolute best examples of aggressive, forward thinking customer service.

By that I mean I would bet a buffalo nickel someone may have read this forum thread there...and that is ok.
In fact that is a significant advance via social media on how to provide excellent customer service.

It was never my intention to denigrate the company, which is why I never named it.

Kudos Cassie, good on ya...ya made a fat ol' man very happy today.


Cheers everyone and thanks for all the comments.

M

 

[cosmicfolklore]

That's fantastic to hear!!! Awesome. If a company is going to be scoping out our forum, or sponsor it, then they must be the best of the best. And, it is great to hear something wonderful about one of them.

 

[danimalia]

Great news! I love my Savinelli and think you will, too.

 

[BROBS]

That "owner" posted in the thread.

 

[lightmybriar]

Definitely sounds just like Smokingpipes.com to me ?. Best in the business, in my experience.

 

[indoeuro]

I have two Savinellis. They're both tight as all getout, as is every one I've ever held. Bear in mind that I live in the coastal South, so wood acts different to the arctic hellscape of Indiana.
It sounds like you have very over-dry wood, but as you already have several Savinellis that don't have the problem and you're a woodworker... Go with your instincts on this one. If you're going to fork over a bill for something, best to be happy with it.

 

[Pierre1965]

Just as a follow up: I received my Savinelli Porto Cervo 305 (from SP) and the stem / mortise was quite snug even though it was cold the day it was delivered.
BUT... I purchased a Stanwell pipe from Ebay and it arrived today (again very cold day) and the stem spun freely in the mortise. I moistened a q-tip and swabbed the inside then reinserted the stem. I put it on the pipe stand to come up to room temperature. I struggle with patience so after waiting a (painfully long) hour I checked it and now it's "twist out" tight!
I wouldn't have know about that "trick" if you hadn't posted about their response. I'm not saying you were wrong to send your's back, but I purchased from a seller with a no return policy so I was thrilled when this worked as well as it did. I'm glad we both had a positive outcome to our loose stem dilemmas.