Think of a floor drain in your basement, rather than a cartoon mouse hole in the baseboard.
Mike S.
Savinelli Punto Oro Gold Straight Billiard Drilled Too Low and Off-Center?
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Mike S.
I’ve had a couple Petes that I recently purchased with off centered draft holes, and running a pipe cleaner through them while assembled... fuhgeddaboudit, but all of my Savinelli pipes are dead center. I’ve certainly accepted my fair share of less than perfect pipes, and was fortunate that they all smoke fine, but I’d probably make an exception w/this one and return. I’d expect better for $200.
A more extreme example of the same - the bottom the the chamber meets the top of the draft hole, almost like a Falcon:
(Not really the same thing, because it was a very cheap pipe.)
I've wondered about extending the chamber down to make it look neat (since the draft hole is essentially the bottom of the chamber already), but it smokes okay & I don't know that it'll make enough difference to bother with.
(Not really the same thing, because it was a very cheap pipe.)
I've wondered about extending the chamber down to make it look neat (since the draft hole is essentially the bottom of the chamber already), but it smokes okay & I don't know that it'll make enough difference to bother with.
Some variance on center isn't a problem. Too low and you'll have potential moisture issues others have mentioned. Too high and you just will have waste tobacco you can't burn if it's egregious.
I don't see that it's a real problem....unless, bottom line, it is to you.
Returned it, bought this beauty instead from Tabaccheria Corti. My first Castello (I have five Savinellis already, so excited to expand my Italian horizons).
It's like getting a new car that the hood doesn't line up perfectly with the body. It doesn't affect how well the car operates, however it may or may not rattle. May or may not pop open on you while driving down the interstate. But, if you start up the car to test drive it to see for use, you can't return it. And, having a hood defect could affect your ability to resell it.
It's your call.
It's your call.
I went with a return. I have a $90 savinelli with better drilling than this had.
It's inexcusable. I would hope that they don't want to start getting the same rep Petersons have. And, I hope the vendor doesn't just reshelf the thing to sale to some other sucker. Savinelli needs to get a stern shakedown over this. Rattle their cage to make sure they do a better job of QC. Inexcusable!!!
Doesn't Laudisi own them both now? Pete and Sav are basically on the same tier of "really good factory pipes", so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Laudisi have the same QC standards for both.
I may be wrong, but I think they merely handle the distribution of Savinelli, and I am not sure how intrusive their investment in Peterson is. But regardless, it's inexcusable, IMO.
And, with Petersons, it may be that if they fixed all of the Pete problems, people would start to think that something was terribly wrong at the Peterson's plant, ha ha. It's like as if the Grateful Dead all of a sudden started singing on key, started playing their instruments well, and reduced all of their songs to under 10 minutes long, people would think they had lost their minds, ha ha. It's like Peterson's drilling is an epic 30 minutes drum solo with just random instrument sounds and feedback noise worked in, and their fans call it Space.
In all the years I purchased pipes, I never thought to inspect the draft hole. In hindsight, that may have been a good thing. I just inspected a random sampling of my pipes. Draft holes, not a one, dead centered. Personally, I couldn't send one out the door with even the slightest offset of degrees nor would I purchase one where even the slightest offset vertically or horizontally existed. Now, seeing this, I believe I am finished purchasing pipes.
Thanks for the thread. My joy is dead.
Thanks for the thread. My joy is dead.
I'm not much of a cage rattler, although I'd be surprised if they didn't do name searches on these forums periodically.
SP said they would do a full QC check. I imagine this will become an unsmoked estate pipe.
I am merely an expert in my own opinions, and thusly belong just to me. They do not reflect or represent this forum, the administration, nor are they a representation of any person living or dead.
No animals were harmed in the forming of my opinions.
I'm so starry eyed when I get a new pipe, I'm not sure I'd have the presence of mind to inspect it for flaws unless it just cracked in half. I'd go back to the retailer and find out if they can exchange this for a better example of the same pipe. For two hundred bucks, a pipe should pass inspection. However, it might just smoke fine; that's the judgement call, yours to make. Interestingly, the lower priced Savinelli pipes I've bought have been trouble free over many years. There may be irregularities I don't see, but they've been consistent and durable over, in some cases, decades.
No biggie, if hole is on the side it still draws, too low, fireplace mortar mix will raise it up and be a permanent fix, life has a lot more major problems than this.
I was likewise starry eyed... it really was a perfect pipe for me. Honestly, it was so gorgeous in every respect that the poor drilling really jumped out at me.
If it wasn't the most expensive pipe I've ever purchased, I would have given it a shot. Or, if I had smoked a pipe before where the draft hole was below the bottom of the chamber, and it had been fine, I also likely would have kept it.
I'm feeling smitten already with my Castello. Maybe I was just subconciously looking for an excuse to return the Savinelli, knowing that I've been wanting a Castello for a while anyway...
I have a Castello with an off-center draft hole in the bowl.
There are artisans in the $300 to 400 range who will give you flawless pipes. For instance, Jerry Crawford and Jack Howell. I'd look in that direction.
Oops. Looks like you've already pulled the trigger on the Castello. Never mind!
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