Great show Brian, thanks. I like your definition of high grade, there are certain artisans whose pipes hold their values and some even go up in value over time. People like Knudsen and Chonowitsch have a following where their older pipes sell for way more than they did when made. Recently Reiner Barbi died and his pipes are now going for a ton on the estate market where as before he died they did not. I own some artisan pipes that would not be considered high grade that in my opinion smoke better than the high grade pipes I had in the past. For example my Rad Davis pipes smoke better than the Barbi's I used to own and better than some of the Formers I used to own. I do believe that price does not guarantee a great smoking pipe. Back in 2000 a high grade pipe would go for 700-1000, now the prices are 1500-5000, are the pipes better because of the substantial price increase... I think not. I believe that only collectors buy these high grade pipes and I honestly think they buy them to look at and not smoke. I watch ebay a ton and I see many of these high grades being sold un smoked.
I have never been to an Ikea and honestly have no plans on going, but I can imagine it must be a riot watching people busting their asses just to avoid a delivery charge.
Nice interview with Parks, I would have liked to seen you ask him about his pricing in regards to how often does he sell his 1500.00 plus pipes. How long do they sit on the shelf, when he sells them to smokingpipes, do they pay him once the pipe is sold or do they buy it out right. If they sell one of his for 1500.00 does he get half? I know this may be a bit personal, but I would love to know how this stuff works. Does he age his briar for years before working on it, how many blocks does he have to throw out due to flaws, how many blocks does he buy at a time, does he ever buy Grecian briar or is strictly Italian. Has he ever experimented with oil curing and if not why? Does he kiln dry his briar or air dry it. What type of stem materials does he prefer, does he like the Germaan high grade vulcanite? Maybe with the next carver you can ask some of these questions.
I really do enjoy the show and I am sure they will keep getting better and better, thanks Kevin for providing us with some real great entertainment.
