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Third Time Is Definitely Charms
- Thread starter hoosierpipeguy
- Start date
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Until relatively recently in the US, pipes were considered a consumable item. An object with a limited lifespan. In addition, they were assembled from components that didn't age at the same rate. In the same way shoes had their soles replaced several times before the uppers wore out, and a new car needs several sets of tires over its life, a pipe was expected to have its stem replaced a time or two before it was "used up" and thrown away.
Remember: So-called "estate" pipes simply didn't exist until the 1980's, and pipes---with the exception of a handful of higher grade Dunhills, Charatans & etc, cased sets, and presentation pieces---were never purchased with the intention of keeping them all that long. Pipes were thought of simply as "tobacco access devices" by the vast majority of smokers. Once they reached a certain point, they were thrown away and a new one bought. Only if an old pipe was special enough that a smoker wanted to extend its life, or a new-ish one was damaged, was it repaired.
And those repairs were made in the same spirit as the original pipe. Any passably decent looking return to functionality was considered a "good fix." And arranging that fix was no more difficult than taking the pipe to any walk-in tobacco shop, of which there were many. (If they didn't have a repairman in the back, they sent batches of pipes a couple times a week to another shop nearby that did.)
No one expected such repairs to be "invisibly good" because they understood that pipes were factory made, and repairs could only be done by hand. And while such fine handwork was possible, pipes were inexpensive, so there was no demand for it.
Fast forward to the Internet, Scandinavian quality standards, artisan masterpieces, and hardcore collectors of so-called "estate" pipes in addition to contemporary art pieces. Those smokers---today's smokers---don't think of pipes as consumables, and have high technical and artistic expectations for repair work. But, being consumers, they are delighted that pipe repair's cost structure was previously based on mass-produced inexpensive pipes and "you can't tell if you squint hard enough" craftsmanship.
They're delighted until the new expectations + old price structure makes being a pipe repairman financially unsustainable and they go extinct, that is.
You have written many good things George but that may be the very best. And perhaps I should have understood that better. I never wanted a $45 stem. I tried to convey that when I sent the pipes in but apparently, I wasn't explicit enough. After reading what you posted, it is clear these first two repair shops are trying to maintain their price lists by turning out high volume in as short a time as possible. It's not that I didn't explain rather explicitly what I wanted, I failed to explain what I didn't want or maybe better said, what I was willing to expect. I guess in that light, I now understand a bit. "We have a nice Meer here with the usual crap stem, we'll send the nice Meer back with a repaired crap stem." To be honest, I think both of the first two failed to some degree or the other to deliver that even. I should have said "I am expecting a $200 stem replacement, if you can't provide that, please return it to me."
'No one expected such repairs to be "invisibly good" because they understood that pipes were factory made, and repairs could only be done by hand. And while such fine handwork was possible, pipes were inexpensive, so there was no demand for it."
This is well said and how a lot of us learned. We worked on what we now call "beaters" in the back of a B&M and you have 10 minutes to crank out a stem or 15 if the customer is nice. The two methods are clashing more and more every month. Nobody today would spend fifteen on a stem for a customer, I hope not, but it was the way of the world at one time.
This is well said and how a lot of us learned. We worked on what we now call "beaters" in the back of a B&M and you have 10 minutes to crank out a stem or 15 if the customer is nice. The two methods are clashing more and more every month. Nobody today would spend fifteen on a stem for a customer, I hope not, but it was the way of the world at one time.
@georged you summed it up perfectly. The Time West repair was actually pretty innovative, to join the old broken base of the stem to a new top half. But it's still just a clunky cheap factory stem ! It's maybe the fastest cheapest way to return the pipe to service, but why not make it BETTER than it was before ?
