Why a Reject?

[BingBong]

My estate Fribourg & Treyer "Reject" arrived yesterday, had a smoke in it and it's absolutely fine - so why was it stamped REJECT?

For the tiniest flaw, I suspect - a tiny void in the briar which had revealed itself in the making. What do you think?

 

[FurCoat]

That would do it.

 

[ssjones]

I could live with that flaw!

 

[Roach1]

I could live with that flaw!

Me too.

 

[tbradsim1]

I believe I’m a reject!

 

[BingBong]

I believe I’m a reject!

Me too.

 

[ItsKarl]

In a hole in the pipe there lived a woodworm. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of hobbits and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a worm-hole, and that means comfort.

 

[kcghost]

Manufacturers do weird things at times, but they know their market better than we do,

 

[William F.]

I definitely cannot add anything approaching an answer to your question but I do have one of my own:

Is it also stamped with the makers mark (presumably Fribourg & Treyer)?

If so, the company must have still been able to fetch a decent price for the pipe.

 

[Non-Mentholated Black Man]

I believe I’m a reject!

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ~ Isaiah

 

[Hillcrest]

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ~ Isaiah

4. Even his pipe was deemed of no account; a 'second'.

 

[BingBong]

I definitely cannot add anything approaching an answer to your question but I do have one of my own:

Is it also stamped with the makers mark (presumably Fribourg & Treyer)?

If so, the company must have still been able to fetch a decent price for the pipe.

Yes, F&T - I think that they were happy to sell it for less, maybe, with the caveat.

 

[BingBong]

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ~ Isaiah

But apart from all that, everything was tickety-boo.

 

[anotherbob]

Me too.

All the best people are.
But to the original question. Yeah that flaw is enough. I used to love going to this huge store near where I live that sold seconds. Sometimes it would be a tee shirt with three sleeves and other times a bit of cosmetic stitching was off. The best second I got was a pair of Doc Martin boots (green ones) that cost me less then 20 dollars the tongue in one of them was off center. It showed when unlaced but once you laced them up it looked the same as any other. The thing is in all of those cases not only would you be disappointed if you paid the full price for it, it would also likely sit on the shelf for a long while if it cost the same as a similar item in the same line without any visible flaws.

 

[OzPiper]

My estate Fribourg & Treyer "Reject" arrived yesterday, had a smoke in it and it's absolutely fine - so why was it stamped REJECT?

For the tiniest flaw, I suspect - a tiny void in the briar which had revealed itself in the making. What do you think?

View attachment 309422

Back in the days, some makers were VERY particular with their grading eg Comoy
Comoy’s top grade was the Specimen Straight Grains
Anything with the tiniest flaw was downgraded to Special Straight Grain or Straight grain. Often the flaw is not noticeable unless you search for it.
At a fraction of the cost of a Specimen Straight Grain or the now over-priced Blue Riband, these rejects are true bargains. If you like Britwoods

 

[AroEnglish]

Back in the days, some makers were VERY particular with their grading eg Comoy
Comoy’s top grade was the Specimen Straight Grains
Anything with the tiniest flaw was downgraded to Special Straight Grain or Straight grain. Often the flaw is not noticeable unless you search for it.
At a fraction of the cost of a Specimen Straight Grain or the now over-priced Blue Riband, these rejects are true bargains. If you like Britwoods
View attachment 309584View attachment 309585

I don't really know anything about Comoys except that Blue Ribands fetch so much. Why is that?

 

[OzPiper]

I don't really know anything about Comoys except that Blue Ribands fetch so much. Why is that?

“Blue Riband” was a term associated with luxury ocean liner travel at one time

When Comoy’s first brought out their Blue Riband line, they were one of their better grades.
But not top shelf, in my understanding.

I have only one Comoy’s Blue Riband.
To be honest I have cheaper pipes that smoke as well, with far nicer grain.
I feel they are overhyped and overpriced.
I would rather have a Special Straight Grain.

 

[runscott]

I assume this was a good deal (not me):

Rare Comoy’s Made Selected Straight Grain Vintage Pipe #28 Billiard NEAR MINT! | eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/166753967477