The Quality of the Briar

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Georged: and IF all these quality related high standards are respected and fulfilled by manufacturer,

it definitely may lead to price rising, Yes I do agree, but could somebody tell me why it wasen't this way back in the days say 1960 but it was obvious and natural thing that manufacturers and most any industry cherised these values and standards

still I keep asking what are doing quality control folks at plant if they won't like (or is this perhaps on purpose)to pay more attention to obvious manufacturing flaws evident in final product,for instance shoes and cowboy boots were much better of a quality say back in 1970 than they are today,regardless where produced domestically within U.S or abroad, I consider this like carelesness attitude of quality control folks to their main duties is nothing but dishonest,who is to blame I shall ask

 

[georged]

Georged: and IF all these quality related high standards are respected and fulfilled by manufacturer,

it definitely may lead to price rising, Yes I do agree, but could somebody tell me why it wasen't this way back in the days say 1960 but it was obvious and natural thing that manufacturers and most any industry cherised these values and standards

still I keep asking what are doing quality control folks at plant if they won't like (or is this perhaps on purpose)to pay more attention to obvious manufacturing flaws evident in final product,for instance shoes and cowboy boots were much better of a quality say back in 1970 than they are today,regardless where produced domestically within U.S or abroad, I consider this like carelesness attitude of quality control folks to their main duties is nothing but dishonest,who is to blame I shall ask

The short answer is cost accountants.
A cost accounting department's performance reviews are heavily based on how many things it can find in the start-to-finish process of manufacturing an item that the screws can be tightened on, expense-wise. This part made from slightly thinner sheet metal, that assembler's job combined with this one, use three-color art instead of four-color art on that panel, a Chinese bearing substituted for a German one, and on and on.
Every. Single. Cycle. Without. Fail... the process repeats. Whatever LAST year's cost's were, THIS year's must be X percent lower. "Or we'll start looking for someone who can do the job better!"
Did I mention that the $crew-tightening never, ever $top$?
The end result over time, of course, is the cheapening process becomes asymptotic in spite of internal pressures, and product changes (effectively) stop at the point where the function line and the customer tolerance line cross. Meaning where the product has been bled, reduced, diminished, lightened, made less durable, etc. to the very edge of utility---every last cent shaved to where the thing barely does what it's designed to do---AND enough people still buy it that it makes a profit.
But that's not all. Because humans tend to measure things against what they grew up with, the customer line flattens over time. (Expectations go down, which allows periodic further cheapening to not result in lost sales.)
That last bit also explains why what is acceptable today would have been laughed at 50 years ago.
The entire situation explains why I do what I do today. :lol:

 

[saintpeter]

But that's not all. Because humans tend to measure things against what they grew up with, the customer line flattens over time. (Expectations go down, which allows periodic further cheapening to not result in lost sales.)

Those sentences...so true and give me much to think about.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Georged, tell you what, whenever I start pondering over this current situation on the market and production whether is automotive industry, clothing or whatever I'm startled to learn how greedy and dishonest they are becoming in regards to consumers,

 

[mayfair70]

Coprolite pipes look and taste like shit. You'll pay out the ass, and no matter the engineering, they'll smoke like a turd. Crappy idea for a pipe. Had to get that out of my system.

 

[didimauw]

I have a question. I have noticed that no matter what pipe I smoke, they all taste like Carter Hall, why would that be? :mrgreen:

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

jpmcwjr

I am one guy who posited that two bent Aran's with P marking didn't smoke great when bought, but after many bowls came into their own, and therefor the problem could have been that the briar still had excess moisture, which was driven out by smoking dry and completely to the bottom. So the construction was ok.

That could just as easily be the smoker adapting to the pipe as anything.

 

[georged]

I have a question. I have noticed that no matter what pipe I smoke, they all taste like Carter Hall, why would that be? :mrgreen:

Imma gonna go way out on a limb, here---100% speculation, understand, just a guess---that maybe, I repeat: maybe, as in a possibility... it's because you only put Carter Hall tobacco in them?

 

[didimauw]

Georged, that may be true, but I think that has nothing to do with it... :lol: