Shiny Pipes Tracy Mincer Pipe

[aquadoc]

I was gifted a Tracy Mincer pipe purchased from Shiny Pipes as NOS. It tastes awful. After doing a close examination, I realized that the signature was lacquered over so thickly that is was smooth and that the finish had "run" marks in the lacquer. A alcohol bath has resulted in very thick cake or pipe mud releasing from the "wallowed" out bottom of the bowl and small pits inside the bowl. And a torrent of black crud, does not look like cake, is being released. WTH? Does SP coat the bowl to look new? Or as protection? Or...?

 

[ashdigger]

Doc, put up some pics. You've got me interested.
Also Shiny Pipes and gifted sounds inconsistent, incongruous and downright odd. No offense.

 

[Chasing Embers]

The few pipes I've purchased from them have had no issues. Something does sound off.

 

[clickklick]

Shiny pipes... here we go again!

 

[buroak]

Shiny pipes... here we go again!

This is always a grand ride. Wheeeee!

 

[aquadoc]

Ok, is there an issue with Shiny Pipes that I am missing? My wife, in her help to enable me to again enjoy pipes, bought me a pipe from SP. It was a freehand and she saw me looking at various freehands on EBay. So she bought one within our budget. Ash, photos of the bowl?

 

[ashdigger]

Pipe, bowl and anything.
I didn't want to come off like a jerk, well not a giant one, so that's great about your wife.

 

[aquadoc]

Bottom of bowl. It is the very lower part of the bowl that was once smooth. Now, a cavity. I have never smoked a bowl all the way to ash. Not close in this pipe. I can photograph the container and the "gunk" but it does not seem relevant.

Color loss after approx. 3 minutes in alcohol. I imagine much will come back with carnauba. But I tried to strip one of my pipes for days and did not come close to this much lightening accomplished in minutes.

I just find this a bit off. I am not sure anything was wrong in the first place. Just wondered if a coating is normal and the bottom of the bowls transformation is a bit distressing. In any case, it seems like there is plenty of wood and I can make pipe mud to rebuild bottom. No burnout. Just odd, as I stated earlier.

 

[buroak]

Geez, Shiny Pipes are known around here for their shenanigans, but they have clearly sunk to new depths.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Every time I browse pipes on Ebay, Shiny Pipes shows up, and I've forced myself to look away from some beautiful pipes. Why? Because nearly every time the name has popped up here on the forums it's been a horror story of one sort or another. And they use some insanely good photoshop skills to make a nightmarish pipe look immaculate. I believe it was Woodsroad (correct me if I'm wrong) who posted a pipe including photos of the pipe from Shiny Pipes. It was a great looking pipe... dang near flawless. But then he showed the photos of the pipe he received and it was a disaster of fills. It's stories like that and like this that I think has probably saved me some serious disappointment.

 

[kirkland]

"Shiny Pipes" is run by some snooty little witch. I wouldn't buy a pipe from her ever."Shitty Pipes" is a better name. But you did mention that it was gifted to you so is there the possiblity that the gifter made the alterations ?

 

[peteguy]

Shiny Pipes has done more harm to this hobby than anyone I can think of. I can't say anymore or I will get banned.

 

[woodsroad]

Might have been me, but I don't remember that. I do know that I've been less than pleased with my purchases from ShinyPipes.

 

[pitchfork]

I think this is your pipe.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-039-s-TRACY-MINCER-Freehand-Estate-Pipe-VERY-NICE-z81-/262845602777?nma=true
It was sold as used, not NOS, but I can't think of an innocent explanation for whatever is going on at the bottom of the bowl.

 

[peteguy]

Bowl has been coated in the photo fo sho.

 

[aquadoc]

Pitchfork, Thanks. Yes, that looks like it. I can only think that my wife was made to believe it was as that is how she presented it to me. In any case, it did look, externally, almost perfect. So it was not a stretch for me to believe that it was NOS as she thought. And the bowl did look unused. Of course, she knows less than me and our naivety could explain her thinking it was new, more or less.

 

[alialansari]

A while back I purchased a couple of pipes from Shiny Pipes that I never got around to smoke. I had better check them out!

 

[ssjones]

I have three pipes from Shiny Pipes, all with no complaints. I've come to know her personally as well and find her to be a fine individual, outside the pipe world. Like many estate (and new pipe) vendors, they do coat their bowls. I just wipe them out with a paper towel soaked in alcohol.(and all three bowls were mint). I assume she coats for asthetics,as there was no reason to coat the bowls for repairs,etc.At least not on the pipes I bought. There are some vendors that I wouldn't use, Shiny Pipes is not one of them.

 

[ssjones]

I can't imagine why you soaked that strummel in alcohol. Carnuba wax will not bring the color back, it will need to be restained (an easy task).

 

[aquadoc]

Maybe not my best move with the soak but I did not like the heavy lacquer and I wanted a good soak to attempt to kill the taste. I thought I might have to restain. In any case, that is the least of my problems with this pipe. Water under the bridge now.