What’s the Deal with HS Studio Pipes?

[Jrsower]

Checking them out on eBay. But they seem weird. They aren’t briar as they’re always described as “wood craft”.

They look like they’re made in a mold of some kind. And they’re shiny like they’ve been coated with some kind of lacquer.
Bowls are black inside.

I’ve heard people say they’re fine pipes and I’d like to consider one but wanted to hear from others here first.

 

[DangerStranger]

Warning: Fraudster on eBay Selling Counterfeit Eltangs, Possibly Castellos Etc. :: General Pipe Smoking Discussion

The seller http://www.ebay.com/usr/benandci, sells pipes of dubious origin. A member on another forum noticed some iffy looking Castellos, and I thought the Eltang pipes he sold didn't look right either. I contacted Tom, and he just confirmed that the pipes are not his, but counterfeits. He...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[Chasing Embers]

They aren’t briar

Yep, they're briar and handmade. Got one for a Christmas tree ornament.

Chambers are black inside

Many often are.

 

[Toast]

This might be worth checking out!

HS Studio / Road Town Pipes :: Pipe Talk

I am seeing some pretty great looking pipes at low prices on these on ebay. Does anyone own these? Is quality good? Any concerns?

pipesmagazine.com

 

[Chasing Embers]

This might be worth checking out!

HS Studio / Road Town Pipes :: Pipe Talk

I am seeing some pretty great looking pipes at low prices on these on ebay. Does anyone own these? Is quality good? Any concerns?

pipesmagazine.com

Mine came from SPC.

 

[craig61a]

HS Studio pipes have been around for a while. Why somebody referenced an 8 year old post about some EBay scams yet I don’t know…

They’re made in China, not to terribly expensive, some wild shapes, and yes they are made of briar. I have 2 or 3, not bad pipes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

not to terribly expensive

No kidding, I think I spent $40 on mine.

 

[DangerStranger]

HS Studio pipes have been around for a while. Why somebody referenced an 8 year old post about some EBay scams yet I don’t know…

Because it is the same seller and same maker.

 

[chopper]

Checking them out on eBay. But they seem weird. They aren’t briar as they’re always described as “wood craft”.

They look like they’re made in a mold of some kind. And they’re shiny like they’ve been coated with some kind of lacquer.
Bowls are black inside.

I’ve heard people say they’re fine pipes and I’d like to consider one but wanted to hear from others here first.

HS Studio/Road Town are said to be made by various Chinese 'artisan' pipe makers.

I bought four in one order [The ebay seller got real shitty because I 'won' them for between $5-$10 each. Since then those auctions start off with a reserve price ]

They all have a chamber coating that tastes like the inside of a chemical factory [being Chinese made I should have known better] It's the only time I can recall having to dump a bowl.

After using sandpaper to remove the coating back to briar, that, pipe, a Road Town Poker, is an average smoker at best.

The 2nd one was a Dublin with a bamboo stem. I'd wanted a bamboo stem for some time but most are a bit pricey. The Road Town was reasonably cheap.

It's a poor design that makes it impossible to use a pipe cleaner, even after the mouth piece is removed so I only smoked three bowls in it. [The bamboo stem is permanently fixed]
After sitting amongst 20 or so other pipes for several months, the mouth piece broke in half. It wasn't dropped or abused. It simply broke by itself.

The other two Road Town pipes, that are sitting in a box, I will sell on consignment at my local 'tobacconists'. [After I've sand papered off the offensive bowl coating]

You get what you pay for. Unless I was after a cheap ornament, there's no way I'd ever consider buying a Chinese made pipe.

I'd much rather smoke an MM cob even if they were ten times the price of a RT/HSS crappy piece of crap.

TLDR? Road Town/HS Studio pipes are crap. [With a bowl coating of formaldehyde, lead and mercury that I suspect is radioactive . . . ok, I made that up but that's the impression I got as I nearly died from asphyxiation after a couple of puffs from collapsed lungs . . . well ok, I might be exaggerating a little but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth and an irritated mouth and throat]

 

[Chasing Embers]

there's no way I'd ever consider buying a Chinese made pipe

Ever hear of Sam Cui?

 

[chopper]

Ever hear of Sam Cui?

View attachment 102521

Not the name but I've seen a few that look similar to your pic and more than a few rather fancy HS Studio pipes that looked rather cool.

Notice that ^^it^^ has a bowl coating. I'd wager it tastes just like my RT.
Chinese manufacturers have a shocking track record of using nasty shit like formaldehyde [they love that stuff and use it for all sorts of applications] lead and mercury in their products.
Who knows what's been used in the pipes manufacture?

Nuh, never again would I buy a Chinese pipe. Not worth the risk IMO.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Not the name but I've seen a few that look similar to your pic and more than a few rather fancy HS Studio pipes that looked rather cool.

Notice that ^^it^^ has a bowl coating. I'd wager it tastes just like my RT.
Chinese manufacturers have a shocking track record of using nasty shit like formaldehyde [they love that stuff and use it for all sorts of applications] lead and mercury in their products.
Who knows what's been used in the pipes manufacture?

Nuh, never again would I buy a Chinese pipe. Not worth the risk IMO.

You'll not want any Japanese Tsuge's then. In a video I once saw, they use fish oil in their chamber coating though theirs as well as every other coated chamber I've smoked never tasted off.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I wrote the seller on ebay years ago when I first saw them, I was told that they were made in Canada by a guy with an Asian name I can’t remember now, but heck, I can’t remember most Danish or Russian names either. But, I bought two.

The bowls coatings reminded me of Petersons. They were briar. But my only complaint was that the bamboo separates from the stummel, which I had to reglue. I have since seen these pipes at other online retailers, including The Briary.
When I asked Skip at the Briary about them, he confirmed that they were coming from Canada, but he didn’t continue to carry them because of they came apart like mine did.

I removed the chamber coatings on mine, and now use them for Lakelands.
I had also made a post years ago about making new bits for them, because on their nylon bits were too soft.

I ordered another last year, because I just love using the bamboo pipes for my stronger lakeland blends, and it has been a much better smoker. Even the bit is vulcanite now and the coatings are much more clean.

I see them as just as much a risk as a Peterson, except not as ugly.
YMMV

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I will add that I am not saying that these are great smokers, nor is one good pipe an adequate sample to show a great improvement in their craftsmanship. My Ferndown's bowl coating was much more nasty tasting, IMO. And, I just felt that they needed a fair shake. China has some great pipemakers. And, just the fact that this guy is in Canada doesn't make him a great pipemaker.
I think that this guy and his studio get a bad wrap with these fraud allegations, which are ridiculous, and they pop up every time his pipes are mentioned.

I will also say that my opinions are merely my own, and do not represent those of this pipemaker, nor those of Pipesmagazine, nor any of their affiliates. I also make no claims about these pipes being any better than any other pipe. Now do I pledge any allegiance to Canada nor any Asian countries, nor their maple tress and Panda bears. The fact that I can't remember an Asian name, reflects solely on me, and does not reflect any racists thoughts or lack of empathy... well, maybe empathy. I'm not even sure what the fuck that means, fucking snowflakes.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I will also say that my opinions are merely my own, and do not represent those of this pipemaker, nor those of Pipesmagazine, nor any of their affiliates. I also make no claims about these pipes being any better than any other pipe. Now do I pledge any allegiance to Canada nor any Asian countries, nor their maple tress and Panda bears. The fact that I can't remember an Asian name, reflects solely on me, and does not reflect any racists thoughts or lack of empathy... well, maybe empathy. I'm not even sure what the fuck that means, fucking snowflakes.

Sounds a bit like the SNL Happy Fun Ball disclaimer.

 

[kcghost]

The Chinese are always looking for ways to separate us from our money. Many are quite good products and others are just garbage.

 

[mingc]

Checking them out on eBay. But they seem weird. They aren’t briar as they’re always described as “wood craft”.

They look like they’re made in a mold of some kind. And they’re shiny like they’ve been coated with some kind of lacquer.
Bowls are black inside.

I’ve heard people say they’re fine pipes and I’d like to consider one but wanted to hear from others here first.

I've a couple, including the one in my avatar, an 8" long monster with no fills. They're freehands, not machine fraised, though I suspect the stems are pre-molded. I have no doubt they're briar. The ones I have are a tremendous value for the money.

 

[ron123]

I'm definitely not a fan of all things Chinese in general and prefer to buy American goods whenever possible, but Xu Hai is considered to be one of the best of the current pipe carvers out there: Xu Hai - https://www.scandpipes.com/pipes/725-xu-hai/

As far as HS Studio pipes, the eBay seller might or might not be in on counterfeits along with selling HS pipes, but HS pipes aren't necessarily a scam. I haven't seen any so I can't comment on their quality but Marty Pulvers sells them on his sight, so that probably says something to some people. Personally, if I was in the market for a pipe in that price range, I'd probably go for something from Briarworks. I have a couple from them, and they're a great bang for the buck IMO.

 

[spicy_boiii]

I have a fancy one that had a terrible terrible taste when smoking. Life is too short and I never gave it a second chance.

 

[gamzultovah]

I smoke them and like them just fine. Their early bowl coatings did suck, but they have corrected that. I have gotten a few duds that went right into the trash but overall, I think they’re a good value that I’ll continue to purchase.