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I bought this little guy to serve as an example to me of what a ~$500 pipe should like. Looked great on the website, but I'm not thrilled with it in person. Part of me feels like I should just "stop being such a hyper-critical nit picker," but I hold my own pipes to higher standards than this and I charge a third as much.

This pipe came from a pretty well respected maker, so I'm assuming it's just a fluke. But I feel pretty conflicted; I don't want to be an uppity customer, but I purchased this pipe for the sole purpose of inspiring myself and to give me an example of a higher standard to hold myself to. Then it ends up not clearing my personal standards. What the hell is going on here?

Several corners cut, there. The birch (or whatever it is) ring that allows wham-bam stem fitting, the wonky drilling, and the gnawed-by-a-hamster slot work.

What is going on, you ask? A lack of personal pride, if nothing else.

$270.00

I was sort of shocked when I saw my first "high grades" in person. Even the the artisan world brand name goes a long way. Worth is all relative.

Before the influx of Joe Blow pipemakers, the American artisan pipemaker's were in the process of really upping the quality standards. I think it's still happening but it's been muddied a bit.

Oh, and IMHO I don't think that pipe is worth $470. I personally think a sandblasted pipe priced above $400 should be pretty special in some way or another.

wdteipen wrote:Oh, and IMHO I don't think that pipe is worth $470. I personally think a sandblasted pipe priced above $400 should be pretty special in some way or another.

Based on reputation, I (foolishly) assumed the "pretty special" would be spectacularly precise shaping and mind-blowing fit and finish. Damn thing didn't hold up to any kind of scrutiny. I don't think this is an unreasonable expectation, and I will definitely return it.

The funny thing is, I bought this pipe to learn from and I feel I certainly have learned a lot. Just not what I expected to. Overall a confusing and somewhat depressing experience that has caused me to rethink quite a few things. It's like finding out Lance is juicing or that the Cos' is a rapist.

There's no substitute for holding pipes in your hand before buying. That's what makes pipe shows so valuable. I remember my first good look at high grade pipes in Chicago. I was surprised at how many pipe makers took obvious shortcuts and still demanded high prices. I think that mentality is much less common among US pipe makers.

sandahlpipe wrote:There's no substitute for holding pipes in your hand before buying. That's what makes pipe shows so valuable. I remember my first good look at high grade pipes in Chicago. I was surprised at how many pipe makers took obvious shortcuts and still demanded high prices. I think that mentality is much less common among US pipe makers.

We never learned that we could cut corners and get away with it. The American artisans shook up the old order by adhering to a very high quality level. Trouble is, many consumers honestly couldn't tell the difference.

Yep. I think pipe customers have very minimal education on what makes a high quality pipe. But that's not all that strange. It takes a pipe maker a long time (usually-unless the name is Mark Price or something) to learn how to make a good pipe. A customer who doesn't have that drive to learn all the details and just wants to appreciate the beauty they see, is satisfied not to know the difference. And most pipe makers are too kind to tell them otherwise.

Commerce and craftsmanship meet head on.
DocAitch

sandahlpipe wrote:There's no substitute for holding pipes in your hand before buying. That's what makes pipe shows so valuable. I remember my first good look at high grade pipes in Chicago. I was surprised at how many pipe makers took obvious shortcuts and still demanded high prices. I think that mentality is much less common among US pipe makers.

Yeah, I don't think the guy who made this thing took his time; he was definitely rushin'.

Ocelot55 wrote:

sandahlpipe wrote:There's no substitute for holding pipes in your hand before buying. That's what makes pipe shows so valuable. I remember my first good look at high grade pipes in Chicago. I was surprised at how many pipe makers took obvious shortcuts and still demanded high prices. I think that mentality is much less common among US pipe makers.

We never learned that we could cut corners and get away with it. The American artisans shook up the old order by adhering to a very high quality level. Trouble is, many consumers honestly couldn't tell the difference.

Right - striving for objective quality checkpoints is kind of something that most of the "serious" American artisans do, partly because we went through a much tougher school than some other guys in that regard, and partly because we had to make reasonably good stuff to sell it at all.

When you see a 500 dollar pipe or a 1500 dollar pipe with a crooked slot, it really makes you wonder what the f is going on.

Shit like this angers me because I consider my prices to be fair, and as it stands, my work at half that price is a tad bit better than that, consistently, and I'm always trying to improve. But as it's been mentioned already, the consumer isn't always as educated as they should be thanks to all the gimmicks and artistic license that has flooded the market. I do see things slowing making their way back to normal though.

If you could show a side profile it would be easier to tell because excellence in execution of design can play a part. Pricing has a lot to do with brand and reputation as stated above. As long as a certain standard is met and it is consistent, the pricing can be all over the place. Ultimately it is up to each customer to decide if the price is fair or not.

I would like to see A few more photos, but i think you have your answer. One or two of those issues could be overlooked, but I see about 6 things that stick out. a few of them are shortcuts, a few are errors, and a few are things that i have been taught are just plain "wrong". whether or not they are wrong to other pipe makers is opinion. Its a fine pipe at the right price, and I guess thats the problem you are having. I was just as shocked as the other guys when I saw "high grade" pipes with epoxy oozing out of inlays, slots that looked cut with a dremel and left at that, and shank faces half stained half bare briar. Its a pipe. I'm sure it smokes well. Im not knocking the guy BTW. you name your own prices, and build your own reputation. good, bad, or somewhere in the middle.

Is this a Wayne Teipen? That guy sux.

Nah, like I said before, the guy was "rushin'". He didn't give "two shits in" a can for quality control.

The shaping was absolutely gorgeous, which is why I deliberately left it out of the equation. My question maybe shouldn't have been "Is this pipe worth X" but rather "are these low standards normal on a pipe costing X?"

Manny, I'm with you. It drives me crazy how you can sweat bullets over this stuff and then get overlooked at a fraction of the price. I also think Premal makes a good point about the name stamped on the pipe. This begs the question, though: if the reputation of the carver factors into the price, how does one get such a reputation when they pull stuff like this? The shaping really was quite nice, but then we open the can of worms about the difference between a well executed pipe versus a pipe shaped sculpture you can smoke out of.

Anyway, I sent the thing back to the retailer today. I'll use the money I get back to buy some beard oil and a giant rusticated poker with an alien snot acrylic stem.

Good idea.

Better yet buy an Alden. Or a Teipen.

...and a giant rusticated poker with an alien snot acrylic stem.