The pipe arrived and checked the draught hole.
It's not high or low, just to the side a little.
No worries?
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Should I Care about this Drilling by Castello?
- Thread starter dog_park_piper
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The pipe arrived and checked the draught hole.
It's not high or low, just to the side a little.
No worries?
As far as smoking goes, I have a pipe that has boring exactly like this and it smokes fine with no issues. The biggest difference is that mine came in a bunch of pipes from a garage sale for $5. I think the big question might be whether you accept that “defect” at the price you paid for the pipe. If it were my pipe and I was bothered by the off center hole, I would probably send that picture to the place you purchased the pipe from and ask for some money back or to exchange. If it doesn’t bother you, I think it will smoke fine.
I doubt that will cause an issue at all but being a Castello, and the price you pay, I'd be inclined to return it.
That's a tough one.The hole looks off center, and yet it doesn't.Does it enter the shank off center?
If it's genuinely off center,I'd request an exchange, but if it's a trick of the light,I'd smoke it.
That's hard to tell from where I'm sitting.
If it's genuinely off center,I'd request an exchange, but if it's a trick of the light,I'd smoke it.
That's hard to tell from where I'm sitting.
It’s a premium pipe. It could still be a “good smoker,” but at that price, you’re paying for everything to be right and well-done. I’d say return or exchange it.
Doesn't look off-centre to the shank after playing with paint, but I could be wrong. Could it be that the drilling of the chamber could have benefited from a couple more millimeters deeper and to the right? Either way, I'd want any pipe priced above basket-level ($20-50) to at least look perfectly symmetrical on simple visual inspection.
You have a point with the chamber depth. If the chamber is not deep enough, then I agree with you other smokers and would request that Castello live up to their image and price point.
Absolutely, and I have been receiving reports of (sic!)several newer White spot Dunhills with similarly 'crooked drillings
I guess it doesn't worry me much. I suppose if you have any problems with you could complain then. Might be advisable to contact whoever you got it from and listen to their advice. Maybe even get an email from them so that you have documentation.
To my eye, it's not off center, Rather, the way the drill bit broke-out, into the chamber is "uneven." Almost every pipe I've ever purchased has had rough edges where the bore meets the chamber. It's the nature of the wood and its varying density, I suspect. Speaking of wood, that is a very (!) well aged piece of briar judging from its color. I'm betting it will smoke great.
Do you like this pipe? Do you like the look of the blast? Because the replacement will be different. And the drilling, while not perfect, isn't likely to affect the pipe's performance in any significant way.
Just read this today from the G.L. Pease archives on this site:
From Ask G. L. Pease September 2011 - https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/ask-g-l-pease/ask-g-l-pease-september-2011/
So, if it is a question of "will it provide a good smoke", chances are the briar should be first rate since it is a Castello (I also just recently read that their pipes have minimum ten year aged briar). Of course, you won't know how well it performs until you try it, but I'm guessing this slightly off-kilter drill hole will be a miniscule problem, provided everything else is in place.
From Ask G. L. Pease September 2011 - https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/ask-g-l-pease/ask-g-l-pease-september-2011/
So, if it is a question of "will it provide a good smoke", chances are the briar should be first rate since it is a Castello (I also just recently read that their pipes have minimum ten year aged briar). Of course, you won't know how well it performs until you try it, but I'm guessing this slightly off-kilter drill hole will be a miniscule problem, provided everything else is in place.
This is all good stuff to think about.
I just got back from the dog park in the rain where I smoked Stokkebye Cube Cut Burley (not in the pipe in the photo).
Having read your thoughts, research (Singularis), and fine computer-drawn lines (karam), I am inclined to keep it and put some cake in it.
Part of having a hand made pipe is
1) excellent quality should be expected and,
2) almost paradoxically, you're reminded in this way that you get what a human hand did, for good or for bad.
Isin't that odd? I'd be more put off by the issue had it been a Dr. Grabow.
But in a Castello, the same flaw can mean "yeah, a machine didn't touch this briar, see the proof?"
Art is so weird.
I just got back from the dog park in the rain where I smoked Stokkebye Cube Cut Burley (not in the pipe in the photo).
Having read your thoughts, research (Singularis), and fine computer-drawn lines (karam), I am inclined to keep it and put some cake in it.
Part of having a hand made pipe is
1) excellent quality should be expected and,
2) almost paradoxically, you're reminded in this way that you get what a human hand did, for good or for bad.
Isin't that odd? I'd be more put off by the issue had it been a Dr. Grabow.
But in a Castello, the same flaw can mean "yeah, a machine didn't touch this briar, see the proof?"
Art is so weird.
Fair point. I have a Charatan apprentice pipe (“Mountbatten”) drilled like this, and it smokes great. It’s a big bent billiard with a smooth finish and no fills, and it’s a better pipe than it has any business being. Because of the big old bowl, and the frequency that I smoke it to kick off the weekend, I sometimes call it my “Friday pipe.”
I've got $30 pipes drilled better, send it back.
Of the artisans I've known and had commissions from, slightly off drilling condemns the pipe to a shop piece or the waste bin.
cover up everything except the hole. It is drilled at an odd angle but the hole seems pretty centered.
Bottom line it's your money and you should feel happy with what you got out of it.
Bottom line it's your money and you should feel happy with what you got out of it.