Savinelli Punto Oro Gold Straight Billiard Drilled Too Low and Off-Center?

[sama102]

I just received my dream pipe – a straight billiard Savinelli 104 Punto Oro Gold – but it has an off-centered draft hole that comes in partially below the heel. Savinelli Punto Oro Gold Smooth (104) (6mm) | Buy Savinelli Tobacco Pipes at Smokingpipes - https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/savinelli/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=416038

My other recent Savinelli purchase, also a punto oro gold, likewise has an off-centered draft hole, but the hole comes in about even with the heel and smokes beautifully. My concern here is not so much the off-centered draft, which I've read is fine, but the too low drilling, which I've read is not. It failed GL Pease's "penlight test" here: Ask G. L. Pease (Volume 23) - https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/ask-g-l-pease/ask-g-l-pease-volume-23/

I haven't smoked it yet, because I am debating returning it (assuming I can). If it will smoke no problem, then I have no issues because it is beautiful, but I am concerned the too low draft hole will lead to increased moisture and moisture leaking down the shank and into the stem.

What do y'all think? Would you consider this pipe a good purchase for over $200?

 

[B18]

The off-center is minimal. If it was the perfect shaped pipe, than i would just keep it

 

[verporchting]

I wouldn’t accept poor drilling on any pipe, but damn sure not on a Punto Oro! Send it back.

 

[anotherbob]

I agree with the article it's not that big of a deal. Seriously never heard of this being an issue until people decided that they have to pass a pipe cleaner through a pipe. You know that issue that almost never comes up, seriously I've had one time I had to do it and that pipe had the issue of some idiot breaking a bit of pipe cleaner off in the stem (probably trying to get a pipe cleaner through it). Of course opinions vary but most of them are wrong Do you like the pipe does it feel right to you or doesn't it?

 

[sama102]

I did just read the last sentence, which implies that failing the penlight test doesn't mean much. I want to keep it – I've just never smoked a pipe with the draft below the heel. Mostly the opposite.

 

[mikestanley]

Most of the pipes I smoke were made by me. I don't have many tools so, it can be quite a challenge to get the stem to fit flush on the shank and the drilling just right. For me, it's probably a matter of luck more than skill.

I've made pipes drilled just as the one you show. Over time, I took the risk to re-drill the bowls just a smidge deeper. Before I did, the pipe constantly clogged and a pipe cleaner was useless in clearing the bowl. Once I got the smoke hole to enter the bowl properly, they smoke better.

I would contact the seller about the drilling. I'm sure the matter can be resolved.

Mike S.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Doesn't look bad to me.

Would you consider this pipe a good purchase for over $200?

You can find unsmoked estates for much less. Never paid more than $30 for any of these, and three of them were unsmoked.

 

[sama102]

@chasingembers – where did you pick those up?

 

[Chasing Embers]

@chasingembers – where did you pick those up?

Ebay, many of these came from there.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

but it has an off-centered draft hole that comes in partially below the heel.

I'm struggling to picture what this means. If the draft is below the heel, then is it coming out the bottom of the pipe?

 

[sama102]

Wow, you have a lot of those. I'm a small- and petite-pipe person. I prefer internal diameters less than 3/4 inch.

 

[sama102]

I'm struggling to picture what this means. If the draft is below the heel, then is it coming out the bottom of the pipe?

I guess the picture is not clear either, sorry. The bottom of the draft hole is slightly below the heel of the pipe. So when I push a thin dowel along the bottom of the airhole, the dowel has to climb up the end of the drilled airhole before it reaches the "bottom" of the heel.

In the picture you can see that the draft hole interrupts the circular tracing left by the bore that drilled the bottom of the heel. It's maybe less than 1mm jump "up" to the bottom of the heel.

 

[sama102]

I must have my terminology wrong. By "heel" I think I mean "bottom of the bowl chamber."

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't think that this necessarily means the pipe wouldn't smoke well, but yeh, for a Punto Ora, expect more. I actually prefer some of my pipes that are drilled a tad high in the chamber. If you get a droplet of water in there, it will gurgle like a MFer, because the water won't have anywhere for gravity to pull it. If it is a tad high in the chamber, the droplet can fall into the chamber.

 

[sama102]

I can't believe my first return might be on the "nicest" pipe I've ever purchased...

 

[telescopes]

I can't believe my first return might be on the "nicest" pipe I've ever purchased...

It’s because it’s nicest that you expect more. And you should. My SH Peterson has a draft hole that was too high. I finally filled the bowl up a bit with pipe mud. But I was not happy about having to do it. Smoked awful until I “fixed” it.

 

[fireground_piper]

On the up side, there's a million more pipes out there to re-spend that money on!

 

[sama102]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

It may smoke just fine, and it may not, but I'm not paying more than two-hundred bucks to find out.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I've even seen fills in Punto Oros. The only flawless Savinellis I've had have been the Giubileo d'Oros.

 

[sama102]

Thinking about just buying a Castello instead.