I like it when the clear coat or wax wears away, leaving the pipe matte. Sometimes this happens quickly, and I like that. Sometimes it happens very slowly, with the matte area growing over many, many smokes, the glossy area shrinking. That makes the pipe unsightly, to me, during the long transition, but eventually it turns matte. And that's okay.
The worst finish of all for me is whatever my Kaywoodie "Redroot" is covered with. It's like plastic. It does not change. It gives the pipe an synthetic feel, and I think it even affects how the pipe smokes. I dislike that pipe for many reasons--but the main one is the plasticky coating on it.
I usually buy inexpensive restored estates. But sometimes I look at new pipes--inexpensive factory pipes, various brands. Sometimes I will read a review of a pipe that says something like: "finish bubbled or blistered on first smoke." Or I will read here a post about someone returning a pipe with a bubbled finish.
What concerns me when I read that is not so much whether the finish bubbled, but whether that bubbled finish will wear away, and if so, how long will it take.
So, for those of you who smoke inexpensive factory pipes, I have a question: what kind of finishes or coatings do they have? How have those coating changed over time and heavy use?
Brands I often find myself considering: Peterson ("short" or "Jr."), Chacom, Rossi, Ropp, Lorenzetti, Molina, and others.
Thanks!
The worst finish of all for me is whatever my Kaywoodie "Redroot" is covered with. It's like plastic. It does not change. It gives the pipe an synthetic feel, and I think it even affects how the pipe smokes. I dislike that pipe for many reasons--but the main one is the plasticky coating on it.
I usually buy inexpensive restored estates. But sometimes I look at new pipes--inexpensive factory pipes, various brands. Sometimes I will read a review of a pipe that says something like: "finish bubbled or blistered on first smoke." Or I will read here a post about someone returning a pipe with a bubbled finish.
What concerns me when I read that is not so much whether the finish bubbled, but whether that bubbled finish will wear away, and if so, how long will it take.
So, for those of you who smoke inexpensive factory pipes, I have a question: what kind of finishes or coatings do they have? How have those coating changed over time and heavy use?
Brands I often find myself considering: Peterson ("short" or "Jr."), Chacom, Rossi, Ropp, Lorenzetti, Molina, and others.
Thanks!
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