Why is it so Hard to Find a Sub $100 Pipe That is Drilled Correctly?

[Perique]

I think pipe making (on a large scale) mirrors the general decline in quality of goods that we see all around us. It's a function of mass production. The good news is that there's a vibrant market in estate pipes. I would gladly pay a premium for an estate pipe that's been cleaned and polished from an estate vendor. It will have been made with greater care and appreciation, by an actual craftsman (if not an 'artisan'). And I can find a wide selection in about the same price range as a modern Sav /Stanwell/Pete. Like most products, these brands have been bought and sold over the years and are nothing but a name, bearing little to no resemblance to the smaller, specialized companies of decades ago. It's not about craftsmanship, it's about shareholder value.

 

[cigrmaster]

greatsteaks, I totally agree with you. How freaking hard is it to drill a straight hole into the bottom where it belongs?
Sasquatch, you are a pipe maker, how hard is it honestly. I know for a fact you would never put you name on a pipe that was not drilled right, you would think people would take some pride in their work. If every pipe smoker would not accept a pipe that did not pass a fluffy pipe cleaner and was not drilled right, these companies would get their act together pretty quickly.
I think we should start a campaign to educate all pipe smokers and to tell them to send them back...........whose with me???

 

[Perique]

Cigrmaster, I think you nailed it. As with any product, nobody would put their name on a shoddy product. But when it's the corporate name (the corporation having bought the older, respected brand name) not the craftsman and not the owner, and it's an hourly wage worker who has no loyalty to the company that has no loyalty to him, these are the types of products you get.

 

[metarzan]

You are right and I haven't bought a new briar from a B&M in years.

 

[cigrmaster]

roth, you are so right. These sellers should be ashamed of themselves for pawning this crap off. When I went to my local b/m a while ago and looked at a bunch of Petersons and saw nothing but poor drilling, stems not fitting flush, fills galore, I asked the owner why doesn't he send them back. He shrugged and said it is what it is and then he added, you don't buy this junk anyway so why are you looking at them. I actually was thinking about buying a higher line Pete because I had heard the better ones are good smokers. I didn't tell him that after his comment, but after seeing all the lousy pipes, I made up my mind to never support a company that sends out this type of junk. I really like the looks of many Pete's but they will never get a dime from me.
It made me think that the factory will not take these back and that the dealers are stuck with them. I am going to ask when I go in to get a pipe he is having re stemmed for me if he is in fact stuck with these things. If he is not stuck with them,then I am going to ask him why would he sell it to some uninitiated smoker and doesn't he feel bad for doing it. I can be blunt so I have no problem saying it to him.

 

[nsfisher]

I shall say it again, Check out Mr. Brog. They are $100.00 quality pipes, with a less than $40.00 price tag.

 

[bigvan]

"Check out Mr. Brog. They are $100.00 quality pipes, with a less than $40.00 price tag."
That's because they're pear wood, which is not the same as briar. The "apples to oranges" comparison is apt.

 

[nsfisher]

That's because they're pear wood, which is not the same as briar. The "apples to oranges" comparison is apt.

I dissagree. Not only do the Pearwood smoke as well as many Briars, Mr. Brog also makes some very fine Briars.
Example for one is the #66, and I believe I paid something like $38.00.

 

[vaboatbuilder]

the highest end pipe in my colection is a sav. its a fair smoker but the best are my kaywoodys and yello bowels.

 

[lordnoble]

I LOVE my Savinelli Natural billiard It has a nasty fill at the top, but I didn't buy the pipe for looks it's my workhorse. I abuse the crap out of it and it smokes like a dream. It also is missing the area for the balsa filter so there is no need for an adapter. I want get some more, but my local B&M doesn't have them any more and every time I go to an online cellar I always get sidetracked by the tobacco and end up feeding my TAD monster. Someday...
-Jason

 

[sasquatch]

How hard is it to drill a pipe acceptably? It's a challenge, but not that hard. To drill a pipe perfectly takes real skill and .... time. And that's what these cheaper pipes lack. If I gave any one of you guys a bucket full of stummels and said "Here drill the airway in these." I suspect you would screw up more of them than you'd get right. The tolerances are pretty tight.
So what you are seeing is people trying to hammer out 100 pipes a day because the big companies are having trouble staying alive - employing ten people and keeping the electical bill paid requires cash. So when you see a company like Stanwell basically close up a functional and fully geared shop and lay everyone off and take the manufacturing (ie sell the rights to the name?) to some place in Italy.... you know times are tough. The result is, these guys seem to be trying to sell more pipes, or knock a few bucks off some lines, and it seems like concomitant with that is that we are seeing a lot of flaws in workmanship.
But again, you get what you pay for, more or less. Dropping 200 bucks on a Peterson gets you a better Peterson, by and large, than dropping 80.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I have two Savinelli's and they are both well constructed for a mass produced pipe. No issues them at all, and only paid $52 and $60 respectively.

 

[ejames]

I have a bunch of under $100 pipes in my collection that are not "optimally" drilled. Also have a bunch of under $100 pipes in my collection that are.Actually with a couple of exceptions, all of my pipes are under $50.00.

Could it be,that I just don't know what a good pipe is--don't know what I'm missing? Does my Tim West or Curt Rollar really smoke better than my Grabows,Medicos,Alphas and Brighams?

 

[nsfisher]

I have a bunch of under $100 pipes in my collection that are not "optimally" drilled

Could it be,that I just don't know what a good pipe is--don't know what I'm missing

Na mate. You an me both. I too, have a few pipes that are not perfectly drilled and I don't find one iota of difference in them. I don't care how much one pays for a pipe, who the maker is, or how good or bad it is drilled, if you push it when smoking, it is gonna run hot and/or gurgle.

 

[ejames]

Na mate. You an me both. I too, have a few pipes that are not perfectly drilled and I don't find one iota of difference in them. I don't care how much one pays for a pipe, who the maker is, or how good or bad it is drilled, if you push it when smoking, it is gonna run hot and/or gurgle.

Thank goodness! I thought maybe there was something wrong with me,that I was nuts or somethin' !!

I think it's more OCD -- and rightfully so -- for someone who spends $100 (or many hundreds) on a pipe to expect perfect construction.

Agreed! Even the under $100 pipes should be well made!

 

[wildcat]

Actually with a couple of exceptions, all of my pipes are under $50.00.

You an me both.

Same here.

 

[portascat]

Actually with a couple of exceptions, all of my pipes are under $50.00.

As are mine. I have a couple pipes that cost me more, but only a few. In fact, if my memory serves me well, the most expensive pipe in the house is a church warden my wife smokes that I bought new for her for ~$120.
I smoke a lot of estate, I smoke a lot of mid range (Bjarne, Aldo, etc.). I have a two pipes that ran at higher than $100, but both were gifts, and actually not my best smokers although they smoke well enough (two GBD).
My very best smokers, the ones I reach for over and over, are some adjustomatic grabows I managed to steal from Ed James when he dipped once to deep into the bottle, a Mitchell Thomas (an Aldo second), a Bjarne Viking Classic, and a Convertti Series III I picked up, on a whim, from smoking pipes.com estates.
I was almost ready to be very mad about the Convertti, as the stem was very loose and nothing was said about that in the description of the pipe. But I fixed that at home, and the pipe really turned around at that point. It is a pebble grain rusitification with a lucite swirly stem and a little gold band. Kind of pimpish, or maybe just Italian. But, I really like the damn pipe. And it was about $50 to the door.
I probably don't look as closely at the fills and the off center drills and such as I ought to. I am so very glad my wife didn't, either, when she met me.

 

[wildcat]

I probably don't look as closely at the fills and the off center drills and such as I ought to. I am so very glad my wife didn't, either, when she met me.

I resemble that remark!

 

[bobpnm]

I'm not that knowledgable on manufacturing processes for the lower cost pipes that are "machine made". I don't understand why pipe companies can't employ the same kind of modern technology that has revolutionized other kinds of manufacturing. Firearms are an example. I have $2,500 custom 1911s that at the time they were built, we're only possible because of very skilled pistol smiths. I have several others that are much newer and because of modern manufacturing technology are almost their equal. In fact, except for aesthetics, they may be functionally superior. It's amazing what $500 will buy now from a company like Sig Sauer. Why not pipe manufacturing?

 

[portascat]

It's amazing what $500 will buy now from a company like Sig Sauer. Why not pipe manufacturing?

And they get their share of returns, too. I know, as I sell them.
Seen IWI "Desert Eagles" that stovepipe every other round, Gen 4 Glocks that refuse to slide into full battery without a little assistance, Kahr CW's that nobody wants once they actually get to hold them and feel them....