We often hear sayings like, "They don't make 'em like they used to", and people reminiscing about "The Good Ol' Days". Greg Pease gives it a shot. Let's see where he lands in his September column.
The Good Old Days?
The Good Old Days? - New Article by G.L. Pease for September 2022
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Great article and always learn a thing or three from these. 
I always enjoy reading Greg’s articles. I have an accumulation of old and new pipes. Greg may be right in that some of the new ones are superb smokers. My Cavicchi that I broke in on my birthday was wonderful from the start. As was an old unsmoked Sasieni I christened earlier this year.
That said, I paid a fraction for the Sasieni of what I paid for the Cavicchi and the Sasieni has history. In fact, my most expensive pipes have not been charatans, Sasieni, or even dunhill. They have been new pipes from “artisans” or modern factories. So there is that.
For me, I enjoy both but lean toward the older pipes due to their history and prices. I don’t know if “better” is the correct term but I reach more for my Charatans, Sasieni and Dunhills.
Thanks again Greg for the well done and thought provoking article!
That said, I paid a fraction for the Sasieni of what I paid for the Cavicchi and the Sasieni has history. In fact, my most expensive pipes have not been charatans, Sasieni, or even dunhill. They have been new pipes from “artisans” or modern factories. So there is that.
For me, I enjoy both but lean toward the older pipes due to their history and prices. I don’t know if “better” is the correct term but I reach more for my Charatans, Sasieni and Dunhills.
Thanks again Greg for the well done and thought provoking article!
I’m always glad to read where some other old man about my age realizes that the good old days are right now, and they won’t be as good as days yet to come.
Our pipes are exactly the same as our watches on our wrists, and the pens in our shirt pockets, and the lighters and pocket knifes in our front pocket, jewelry for men that might outlive us.
When my trophies at last I lay down, these articles will serve somebody else as well as they have served me.
Our pipes are exactly the same as our watches on our wrists, and the pens in our shirt pockets, and the lighters and pocket knifes in our front pocket, jewelry for men that might outlive us.
When my trophies at last I lay down, these articles will serve somebody else as well as they have served me.
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From this article :
"Even if a pipe was good and smoked heavily, it would eventually reach the end of its useful life, either through just being “smoked out,” or suffering a broken tenon or........"
I have had at least 3 pipes over the years, reputable brands, that just stopped smoking well. I had to abandon them. I'd like to know if others have had such experiences. ??? I've never heard anyone say that pipes have a limited life. But that's been my experience with a few of them.
"Even if a pipe was good and smoked heavily, it would eventually reach the end of its useful life, either through just being “smoked out,” or suffering a broken tenon or........"
I have had at least 3 pipes over the years, reputable brands, that just stopped smoking well. I had to abandon them. I'd like to know if others have had such experiences. ??? I've never heard anyone say that pipes have a limited life. But that's been my experience with a few of them.
This reminds me of my childhood, in the seventies, in my grandmother's village where I grew up. The wonderful tobacco tobacconists, the market square, with those mixed smells of fruits, vegetables and smoked fish, cheeses, homemade cottage cheese. The sound of the church bells, the streets wet from the rain, the smell of the kitchens of the bars, and the traditional pastry shops, we only had two television channels. My God, I want to go back to the seventies.
Very interesting article. I had never thought that it could be difficult to judge pipes of yore by using the estate market. One thought I did have was, since there are certain brands that are more populous on the second hand market then one could possibly be able to make assumptions in regards to which old pipe brands tended to make better pipes than there competitors.
That really is an interesting angle on pipe durability. I'd like to see pictures of smoked out pipes and info about what happens when a pipe is smoked out. I am guessing that the pipes have to be heavily smoked to wear them out. I have heard and read of people who would replace their pipes annually, and the people doing the replacing were all-day-every-day smokers.
What do you recall about the three pipes that stopped smoking well?
I'm repeating myself but.... I had an uncle who would smoke his pipe (Yello-Bole} until it got clogged then he chucked it and bought another one. Whereas I, who he made fun of for buying quality pipes, am still smoking those pipes I've had for almost 60 years.
I have a few pipes with such comically thick walls that even if they burned out in spots, they would still have plenty of wood to keep on puffing for many lifetimes. And I don't smoke impatiently or hot enough to damage a pipe like that anyhow.
With a more standard to thin wall thickness, the quality of the wood is obviously much more crucial.
With a more standard to thin wall thickness, the quality of the wood is obviously much more crucial.
Look up 'salt & alcohol treatment' here. Basically you fill the bowl with salt and then Everclear (best, isopropyl will work also they say) and let it sit until it dries (a day or so). Don't get any alcohol on the outside of the bowl. And you need to plug the shank with a pipe cleaner or something. That should refresh it.
Sometimes when they start getting 'off', a good cleaning and rest will do it (less extreme than above). Of course, you may need extra pipes to make up for the ones resting!
I find myself agreeing with Mr. Pease a good deal here. He implies it, but I will say it directly: people have a tendency to get drunk off nostalgia. Make a fairly niche product that has a devoted fanbase, and good portion of them will eventually opine about how the product was better made during the days of their youth. Sometimes this is true, sometimes not. But I think the human memory has a way of sweetening certain reminisces beyond their actual quality.
For example, I have a soft spot for Smith & Wesson revolvers. If you go to, say, one of their social media pages where they showcase one of their newer revolvers, you'll almost always find a few boomers griping about trivial changes and make paeans to the old world craftmanship that apparently all the older wheelies were subject to, unlike the crass new guns of today. Some of these criticisms are valid, to be sure, but what animates them all, generally speaking, is not objective criticism, but a devotion to an exaggerated past that they unfairly compare the present to.
To offer a particular case from the example above, when S&W reintroduced their K-frame .357s, they fixed what were design flaws in the old models, namely, they beefed up the forcing cone (which reduces flame cutting) and used ball-detent lockup to keep the ejector rod more securely in place. Whatever one's opinions are on the new K-frames (and there are, believe me, very valid gripes to be had), any objective person would agree that those two things are mechanical improvements to a classic design. But the hardcore nostalgia fans refuse to believe ANY S&W revolver made after 1989 can be better than the ones they already own.
Nostalgia gets in the way of viewing things objectively. That is also true of pipes.
For example, I have a soft spot for Smith & Wesson revolvers. If you go to, say, one of their social media pages where they showcase one of their newer revolvers, you'll almost always find a few boomers griping about trivial changes and make paeans to the old world craftmanship that apparently all the older wheelies were subject to, unlike the crass new guns of today. Some of these criticisms are valid, to be sure, but what animates them all, generally speaking, is not objective criticism, but a devotion to an exaggerated past that they unfairly compare the present to.
To offer a particular case from the example above, when S&W reintroduced their K-frame .357s, they fixed what were design flaws in the old models, namely, they beefed up the forcing cone (which reduces flame cutting) and used ball-detent lockup to keep the ejector rod more securely in place. Whatever one's opinions are on the new K-frames (and there are, believe me, very valid gripes to be had), any objective person would agree that those two things are mechanical improvements to a classic design. But the hardcore nostalgia fans refuse to believe ANY S&W revolver made after 1989 can be better than the ones they already own.
Nostalgia gets in the way of viewing things objectively. That is also true of pipes.
to RudyH : Well the 3 pipes were not over smoked, b/c I only smoke daily for a couple hours after dinner, and I had other pipes to rotate. Maybe something I did, but can't imagine what. I took good care of my pipes.
to romaso : Yes I've known and used that trick for about as long as I've been smoking. It didn't seem to help in the case of those 3 pipes.
to romaso : Yes I've known and used that trick for about as long as I've been smoking. It didn't seem to help in the case of those 3 pipes.
I think it's called "survivor bias."
It's the same with old houses, you hear people talk about how old houses were built stronger...but today we just see the most well built examples that stood the test of time, the poorly built ones have all fallen in or were demolished. It's likely the same with old pipes, the bad ones have long since been thrown away and we're left with the best examples.
It's the same with old houses, you hear people talk about how old houses were built stronger...but today we just see the most well built examples that stood the test of time, the poorly built ones have all fallen in or were demolished. It's likely the same with old pipes, the bad ones have long since been thrown away and we're left with the best examples.
Harry Hosterman took excellent care of his pipes, but as he’d say eventually he smoked the goodie out of them and tossed them.
I think most of us who buy used pipes have seen one that was soured. That’s what salt treatment is for.
If you believe some pipes are tastier than others, eventually they loose their goodie. They are still good, just not good enough to keep.
A footnote on GLP's insightful column: In the grand old days of pipe making, in the 1950's for example, pipe making was an industry with a production volume into the millions each year. This produced ardent competition, which in turn generated all kinds of additions the basics of pipe manufacture, some of them patented, others not. These included a vast variety of stingers, various carburetor contrivances, numerous "systems" to trap moisture, and an array of many other variations on the simple airway and chamber that make up the business of most pipes.
Many of these innovations are no longer made in pipes. Stingers are widely pulled out and discarded. System pipes hang on but are not broadly continued. So the good old days bask in a golden haze but are not widely imitated otherwise.
Many of these innovations are no longer made in pipes. Stingers are widely pulled out and discarded. System pipes hang on but are not broadly continued. So the good old days bask in a golden haze but are not widely imitated otherwise.
The trouble with briar smoking pipes is that every gadget, including Lee’s ingeniously simple hidden screw stem removable stinger fitment, requires a skilled worker to install something not free.
Since men no longer can smoke a pipe all day and stick it in a pocket between smokes, the market is now for larger, more luxurious briar pipes.
Look at what I just bought that should be in the mailbox tomorrow for $75.
There weren’t any name brand factory spigot pipes for sale fifty years ago, that I knew about anyway.
A man who earns a living wage can afford more and better luxuries than any other time in human history.
Just think how much better, our grandchildren will live, if they don’t listen to sour old men who’ve predicted the end of civilization for thousands of years, and been wrong every time.
I'm sorry but I can't agree with the notion that a pipe will wear out in time. Ok, maybe a thousand years.... If it's a quality pipe that is treated well it can go almost forever. The five Castellos below (yeah, I know, I've shown them before) have never had any "treatment" done to them, not even polishing. They've been smoked regularly for almost 60 years and still look and smoke great.... not even much in the way of teeth marks.
Good article. One can't help but feel the reverence he has for these pipes.
I'm partial to basic design in pipes, just an airway and a chamber, and mostly a fishtail bit, without any embellishments -- no stingers, filters, moisture traps, carburetors, metal work beyond a band ( if that ).
Just the essentials put together durably and done with artful design. Not all of my pipes fit all of those criteria, but most do.
Just the essentials put together durably and done with artful design. Not all of my pipes fit all of those criteria, but most do.