PLANofMAN
Member
I recently purchased an estate pipe, to add to my growing collection of Stanwell 63 and 64 pipes. By rights, a sterling mounted pipe with a hand cut stem ought to be just a tad better than the average run of the mill Stanwell, right?
...eh, not really.
It smokes like a dream. Visually, it falls a bit flat. It's rather clunky. Feels rather like it was the last pipe made on a Friday afternoon.
The pictures don't show it well, but the back silhouette of the bowl doesn't follow the strongest grain line. It needs a millimeter or two of material removed where the bowl meets the stummel, to make the bowl shape graceful.
Examples of better bowl shaping on the same series of pipes:
My other gripe is that the stem is wider than the stummel, and visually, It just doesn't fit the pipe well. Perhaps if it was 'tavern' or 'demi-churchwarden' length it wouldn't be so jarring. The previous owner was a gnawer, and the bite guard is covering a hole on the top of the stem for now until I decide whether to fix it or replace/rework the stem entirely.
I do appreciate the teflon or delrin mortise under the sterling band. That was an unexpected bonus on this pipe, and is something I will look for on future pipe purchases.
Am I being overly critical of this factory pipe? Do you guys have a pipe that stir the embers of discontent whenever you smoke it? How did you resolve the issue?
...eh, not really.
It smokes like a dream. Visually, it falls a bit flat. It's rather clunky. Feels rather like it was the last pipe made on a Friday afternoon.
The pictures don't show it well, but the back silhouette of the bowl doesn't follow the strongest grain line. It needs a millimeter or two of material removed where the bowl meets the stummel, to make the bowl shape graceful.
Examples of better bowl shaping on the same series of pipes:
My other gripe is that the stem is wider than the stummel, and visually, It just doesn't fit the pipe well. Perhaps if it was 'tavern' or 'demi-churchwarden' length it wouldn't be so jarring. The previous owner was a gnawer, and the bite guard is covering a hole on the top of the stem for now until I decide whether to fix it or replace/rework the stem entirely.
I do appreciate the teflon or delrin mortise under the sterling band. That was an unexpected bonus on this pipe, and is something I will look for on future pipe purchases.
Am I being overly critical of this factory pipe? Do you guys have a pipe that stir the embers of discontent whenever you smoke it? How did you resolve the issue?
