pipemakersforum.com

Is anybody here associated with this group or know anything about it? Came across it last night and figured I'd bring it up here for discussion.

http://sparkyspipes.com/The_Pipe_Carvers_Guild.html

been curious about that myself for a while...
Especially this document has me wondering:
http://sparkyspipes.com/uploads/ThePipe ... Rankin.pdf

With rules such as this one:
No Guild member may sell through a professional brick and mortar shop, professional
online shop or business (not owned by the member) without the ranking level of Journeyman.
Violation of this may result verbal warning, removing of rank to a lower level or removal from the guild...

Not to mention the estimated 300$ price tag to have your pipes shipped to 5 different "judges" around the world, who get to test smoke your pipes in order for you to achieve a certain guild rank.

On the other hand, they claim TPC.com is a supporter of "the guild", so I don't know...


Sparky himself is on the forums though:
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=10364

So maybe he'll care to explain what I'm missing here?

As I understand it, the pipe carver's guild kinda does their own thing. The guys that I know who participate in the guild usually aren't very active here, even if they have an account. The guild system doesn't look like a terrible idea. At least it gives some leverage over newbies to not sell mediocre pipes. However, I think their "Journeyman" rank has the bar set too low. Things like visible scratches should NEVER be sold. The reason I'm not sure it's going to work in the long run is that they don't have many (if any) of the old guys who've been making high grade pipes for over a decade hanging out over there.

Hahahahaha That was a good read, check this out, one of the requirements to become a Master Magical Art Practitioner (or whatever) :
-Oom Paul pipe, finish of smooth and high contrast (properly drilled,
drilling like cavalier or any plugged drill will be refused). It must have a
hinged wind cap that is hand crafted

Damn, that means I will never make it if I don't make an oom paul with a hinged cap, I guess I'm worthless as a craftsman...

I agree with everything Jeremiah said. It could have the potential to be a good thing if there were some universally recognized masters running the thing. That's not meant to take anything away from sparky, but I think you need a very high level of clout for something like this to be what it was envisioned to be.

The whole wind cap thing made me raise my eyebrows as well.

Well speaking as an Adept (8th Level Briar Whisperer, I just need 10 more kills to rank up), and knowing just a little about this group of wunderkind, I will say that like most other exclusion/inclusion "paid my dues" groups of practitioners of trades, this one has value to those who value such things.

I'll tell y'all a story, and it's not really about pipes, but it's about people.

A guy around where I live moved in, started up a business, does Bobcat service and light construction - landscape, fences, decks. He did a few fences for a developer in one community, and suddenly he was "the fencing contractor for the development". I shit you not, he told a prospective customer that. He got in some other homeowner's face because they built their own fence, told them it had to be moved etc.... we did a measure, it was bang on the property line. It was fine.

I phoned the guy, told him I needed post holes on two properties in the area because I was building 400 feet of fence (a goodly amount). His response? "Oh, hey, great, I'll be there at 9?"

So he runs the swagger routine when he can, but the truth is, there's no such thing as what he calls himself, and when the real deal shows up he doesn't dare to face it the same way he faces people who don't know any better. This makes him a bully and a bit of a sham in my eyes, although I've never met a better cat pilot and he's been reliable as hell for my business (Fencing Black Belt, 10th level Mega-Adept Ass Kicking MotherFucker).

It's the way some people are. It's a way of seeming important in a community. It's a way of lending yourself credibility.


They can suck my cock, because that's what I think of this kind of shit.


Any questions?

Sas, you're just mad cause they didn't elect you the Grand Poobah of Hand-forged Wind Capped Oom Paul Mastery.

Don't rub it in Wayne!

Sasquatch wrote:
They can suck my cock, because that's what I think of this kind of shit.

Dude, why are you wasting time with fences ? You missed your calling in International Diplomacy.

I first read this about a month ago. I remember thinking that the whole thing sounded suspiciously similar to the rules and rankings my six year old had made up for his "spy club"

Ratimus wrote:I first read this about a month ago. I remember thinking that the whole thing sounded suspiciously similar to the rules and rankings my six year old had made up for his "spy club"

Your kid is a spy? That's awesome

Keep it going guys, this is a hoot!

Ratimus wrote:I first read this about a month ago. I remember thinking that the whole thing sounded suspiciously similar to the rules and rankings my six year old had made up for his "spy club"

Exactly! Like the "hangout clubs" we used to have in our camps in the woods around the village I grew up in, when I was 8 orso...

And afterwards: just like the rules we had in several gaming clans I was a part of!

Alden wrote:

Sasquatch wrote:
They can suck my cock, because that's what I think of this kind of shit.

Dude, why are you wasting time with fences ? You missed your calling in International Diplomacy.

The format of the guild is interesting and would be viable under a commitee of qualified leadership, but.... It is 2015! We have world wide communication on the internet, yelp, reputable dealers, forums, reviews, etc... A pipe carving guild is irrelevant no matter how well set up it is.

What serious new pipe carvers need is mentorship from an experienced maker. And that needs to be communicated to the consumer.

PremalChheda wrote:The format of the guild is interesting and would be viable under a commitee of qualified leadership, but.... It is 2015! We have world wide communication on the internet, yelp, reputable dealers, forums, reviews, etc... A pipe carving guild is irrelevant no matter how well set up it is.

Exactly so. Back when communication was both slow and bandwidth-limited, such organizations were good for both practitioners and consumers. Today they are superfluous in the extreme.

I can't imagine what the people behind it thought they could accomplish by trying to force-fit an archaic structure into the 21st century.

Though that assumes they thought about it at all, of course.

Oh. I know. Whippersnappers

Damn kids.

They need to stay off our lawn!

Can we vote to have Todd for our diplomat to the US? I think we can make this happen. Maybe that would ease the briar shipment problems.