I’m in the “have one and love it“ category, it has smoked beautifully since the very first bowl.
Tom Eltang Pipes
- Thread starter Tennessee Dave
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Thanks, Shane. I’m looking forward it. I actually emailed the Danish Pipe Shop to confirm that these were made by Eltang, because I couldn’t believe it was on sale for $217 (was $340). I’m not a guy that would pay big money for a perfect looking pipe; I just want it to smoke the way the artisan intended.
Here is what Nikolaj from the Danish Pipe Shop replied back with:
“All Copenhagen Pipes are made by Tom and sometimes Johannes from Suhr pipes help him. I cant give you a percentage but I follow their work close so I know this is how its done. The main reason why they are more affordable is that they use premade stems they adjust. If you buy a "normal" Tom Eltang the stem is made by hand from a bar of ebonite. This is almost just as much work as the whole wood part.
Hope this cleared up you questions.”
The Copenhagen Collection, I hadn't even noticed those! I better get off the DPS website...
Eltang's stemwork is said to be superior. Just curious, how can you assess his work with only the stummel? As he's selling the pipe for less, I would think the corner he' cutting is the stem, precut before he gets it and not as thinned for comfort by him.
Yes, the corner he’s cutting is the stem. The amount a stem affects the smoking quality of a pipe is debated. Some say you can have a replacement stem on a pipe and it won’t affect the smoking quality (but I’m sure a bad one will). I’m not a clencher, so it matters even less to me. What matters to me is how clean the draw is. If Eltang is finishing these stems off and shaping them to his liking, I don’t think he’s going to let one through with an obstructed draw.
Joura, my favorite pipe maker, is said to have awesome stems. I do notice that they are very flat with a clear draw, but other than that I don’t see the big deal.
For any premium product there will always be supporters and there will always be haters.
The supporters will fall into 3 categories: fans, converts, and guilt-praisers. The fans will love it no matter how good or bad the product is...similar to car brand fans. The converts will have found out that the product is far superior to their expectations and love it because of that impression. The guilt-praisers will hate the product but talk it up since they own one, don't want to look bad, and can't get their money back out of it.
The haters will fall into 3 categories as well: trend-buckers, stiffed lovers, and reverse-snobs. The trend-buckers will hate anything popular or beloved as they don't want to be one of those clowns that likes said item/trend. They want to remain uncool as that makes them cool. That is often what I am accused of being since I dislike the music of the Beatles. The stiffed lovers had a bad experience with the product and want to tell the world how terrible it is...P&C anybody? The reverse snobs are offended that anybody would dare spend the money on something so patently useless and will berate anyone who believes it may be worth the money (car analogy again anybody?).
It really comes down to what you, the buyer, wants. I have often found that paying that bit extra for quality will yield a more pleasing result for me. I have paid over $100 for a shirt which still looks good 15 years later whereas the Walmart special $15 shirts have invariably worn to a point my employers request I change them in less than a year. Another example is this, I have found that paying for my Audi and keeping up with the maintenance has made for a more enjoyable experience over the last 10 years than the previous 10 with my Saturn (no dig on Saturn, just different build quality and price to go with it). I have been told over those 10 years that I made a horrible choice, spent too much, and wasted my money...those opinions were just that though. It's all personal preference. Those others could have afforded the same car but chose a different path and good for them. I have chosen the cheap path with some things I buy too and don't regret it one bit.
If you can afford it without causing undue financial difficulty and want a particular item, go for it. The worst case scenario is that you don't like the item and take a bath on resale. If you can stomach that possible result, go ahead and buy it. If you can't, consider another option that works for you.
I have bought cheap pipes, pricier factory pipes, and some artisan pipes. Almost invariably for me (3 notable exceptions out of over 100 pipes) I have found that the artisan pipe or high end factory pipe smoked significantly better for me that the cheap ones. In one case, I have a Ryan Alden pipe that is amazing but only performs well with English/Balkan blends and it performs so well with those that I am disappointed when I smoke them in another pipe. However, if I feed that pipe a Virginia or Burley it will smoke significantly worse...I don't know why but it does. So, for me the upcharge was worth it even though I have to keep blend in mind with that pipe. Why do I still have and smoke cheaper pipes though? the wind here can routinely be over 30mph sustained and is usually at lease 10-15mph on a regular day. I don't want the nicer ones burned out by an errant round of gusty winds.
Last though. I am on several forums and another one is a bass forum. There are many who will not spend more than $250 on their instruments while others will spend $10,000 and up. Both sides believe they are superior with only a few willing to admit that the others have their legitimate reasons for liking what they like and that nobody is inherently inferior because they play the other type of instrument.
The moral of the story? Smoke what you like. If you are the happiest with an estate cob you dug out of your backyard, that's great. If you are happiest with an artisan pipe that costs more than most of our cars, that's great too. The only way to find out if it works for you though is..............try it.
The supporters will fall into 3 categories: fans, converts, and guilt-praisers. The fans will love it no matter how good or bad the product is...similar to car brand fans. The converts will have found out that the product is far superior to their expectations and love it because of that impression. The guilt-praisers will hate the product but talk it up since they own one, don't want to look bad, and can't get their money back out of it.
The haters will fall into 3 categories as well: trend-buckers, stiffed lovers, and reverse-snobs. The trend-buckers will hate anything popular or beloved as they don't want to be one of those clowns that likes said item/trend. They want to remain uncool as that makes them cool. That is often what I am accused of being since I dislike the music of the Beatles. The stiffed lovers had a bad experience with the product and want to tell the world how terrible it is...P&C anybody? The reverse snobs are offended that anybody would dare spend the money on something so patently useless and will berate anyone who believes it may be worth the money (car analogy again anybody?).
It really comes down to what you, the buyer, wants. I have often found that paying that bit extra for quality will yield a more pleasing result for me. I have paid over $100 for a shirt which still looks good 15 years later whereas the Walmart special $15 shirts have invariably worn to a point my employers request I change them in less than a year. Another example is this, I have found that paying for my Audi and keeping up with the maintenance has made for a more enjoyable experience over the last 10 years than the previous 10 with my Saturn (no dig on Saturn, just different build quality and price to go with it). I have been told over those 10 years that I made a horrible choice, spent too much, and wasted my money...those opinions were just that though. It's all personal preference. Those others could have afforded the same car but chose a different path and good for them. I have chosen the cheap path with some things I buy too and don't regret it one bit.
If you can afford it without causing undue financial difficulty and want a particular item, go for it. The worst case scenario is that you don't like the item and take a bath on resale. If you can stomach that possible result, go ahead and buy it. If you can't, consider another option that works for you.
I have bought cheap pipes, pricier factory pipes, and some artisan pipes. Almost invariably for me (3 notable exceptions out of over 100 pipes) I have found that the artisan pipe or high end factory pipe smoked significantly better for me that the cheap ones. In one case, I have a Ryan Alden pipe that is amazing but only performs well with English/Balkan blends and it performs so well with those that I am disappointed when I smoke them in another pipe. However, if I feed that pipe a Virginia or Burley it will smoke significantly worse...I don't know why but it does. So, for me the upcharge was worth it even though I have to keep blend in mind with that pipe. Why do I still have and smoke cheaper pipes though? the wind here can routinely be over 30mph sustained and is usually at lease 10-15mph on a regular day. I don't want the nicer ones burned out by an errant round of gusty winds.
Last though. I am on several forums and another one is a bass forum. There are many who will not spend more than $250 on their instruments while others will spend $10,000 and up. Both sides believe they are superior with only a few willing to admit that the others have their legitimate reasons for liking what they like and that nobody is inherently inferior because they play the other type of instrument.
The moral of the story? Smoke what you like. If you are the happiest with an estate cob you dug out of your backyard, that's great. If you are happiest with an artisan pipe that costs more than most of our cars, that's great too. The only way to find out if it works for you though is..............try it.
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One thing I forgot to put in my previous post is that there is an exception to most of what I wrote.
Occasionally you will find someone willing to be objective. It's rare but it happens.
I also forgot to put the example of a premium product I just don't get. That is Wagyu or Kobe beef. I grew up with beef as my family's area of the USA was/is a premium beef producer. I grew up with knowledge of meat judging and enjoying eating a great steak. When I got my hands on some top shelf Wagyu I was so excited...until I tasted it and it tasted nothing like beef to me. I'm sure If I had gone in with another perspective I would have experienced it differently but that was not the case.
So, I will leave the premium priced beef to those who can appreciate it and I'll happily enjoy my beef from the butcher who is 3 miles from my parents' house. For my tastes, that $8 steak will satisfy me more than any other.
Occasionally you will find someone willing to be objective. It's rare but it happens.
I also forgot to put the example of a premium product I just don't get. That is Wagyu or Kobe beef. I grew up with beef as my family's area of the USA was/is a premium beef producer. I grew up with knowledge of meat judging and enjoying eating a great steak. When I got my hands on some top shelf Wagyu I was so excited...until I tasted it and it tasted nothing like beef to me. I'm sure If I had gone in with another perspective I would have experienced it differently but that was not the case.
So, I will leave the premium priced beef to those who can appreciate it and I'll happily enjoy my beef from the butcher who is 3 miles from my parents' house. For my tastes, that $8 steak will satisfy me more than any other.
So what you’re saying is Eltangs are like Audis. Objectively nice but you’re paying a premium for the name and just getting a Volkswagen. I like the analogy. Does that mean Eltang smokers are like Audi drivers?
My wife constantly says our (her) next car will be an Audi. For the record I drive an Infiniti aka “couldn’t afford the Audi”.
Ummm, no.
What I said was that there is a difference in quality between a Saturn Ion and an Audi a4 special edition. If you want to make a comparison, then go with the one held up earlier with the Copenhagen Collection (VW) vs the Sara Eltang (Audi) vs Tom Eltang (Porsche)
Side note, my dad was a VW group mechanic for many years so in helping him I did a lot of work and test drives of Audis and VWs. They may share the same platform but there is a significant jump in quality of interior parts as well as other things such as engine management systems. To say they are the same is akin to someone saying that their Chevy Malibu is the exact same thing as a Cadillac CTS-V because they come from the same auto group. It's something the reverse-snobs say to make themselves feel superior.
As for driving the Infinity and "couldn't aford the Audi" then you couldn't afford sub-$1000 a year in maintenance on a 10 year old car...
I wouldn't underestimate the "set and setting". Some experiences are objectively better not just because of one particular thing, but rather a combination of many things.
Pipe smoking, for a lot of people, seems to be affected by this a great deal. We all have access to great blends, nice pipes in every price range, and generally know how to burn tobacco. Yet the experience is malleable, except maybe for those who lack emotion of any kind, which I am sure are out there and willing to say something contrary.
Best meat I ever had was in Brazil. And everybody knows Argentinians burn the best beef in the world.
However, during a road trip through the hinterlands of Brazil, the sun was setting and my family and I still had no place to stay. On a remote dirt road, removed from the better dirt roads by about 200km, we knocked on the door of a modest ranch because we saw the cow hands putting up their horses from the day.
"Come on in!"
They gave us a bed, and then they cooked slabs of beef on an old termite mound made into a BBQ. We ate pounds of beef like it was popcorn, got roaring drunk on some home made hooch and sang folk songs and played guitar into the the next morning when they took us out riding on the range to explore some waterfalls and rivers.
Best beef I've ever had, but who knows, maybe it was an average cut from an old cow.
Setting, to me, can play a critical role.
Chowing down on Wagyu or Kobe beef in a Tokyo high rise that takes 5 months advance booking may be an experience, but to me, I'm going to guess that they've got nothing on those cowboys on that dirt road in Brazil, because that's just my kind of setting that starts checking the boxes.
This is truth. I've chased a few experiences I had in my early 20s only to realize that it was the situation that made the experience what it was...and I ain't ever getting that back. Love the memories though.
Reading back, I think I may have misunderstood what you were trying to say with the last phrase. If it helps, I really like Infiniti as a car brand too as they were/are really interesting in their interpretations of their cars. Funny enough, I wanted an Infinity G series with the 4-wheel drive due to the snow where I live but couldn't afford one so I had to go with the Audi...
Just a few boring, unimaginative pipes from Tom Eltang.
Looks like he still has some learning to do, but maybe one day, if he tries real hard, he could become an employee for Peterson or Dunhill. But only if he starts making something that will catch their eye...
Looks like he still has some learning to do, but maybe one day, if he tries real hard, he could become an employee for Peterson or Dunhill. But only if he starts making something that will catch their eye...
You and I are friends now. Just an FYI
My Eltang came today. Appearance and fit and finish are outstanding. This is not a shape(Rhodesian) or size(just over 5 1/8 ") that normally appeals to me but the pipe spoke to me when I saw the photo. I'm in love right now. Of course the proof will be in how she smokes after a good slow break in.
A faithful companion if I’ve ever seen one! Very nice acquisition, Dave.