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Ageing without hoarding

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
It's here... and I'm having doubts. :001_unsur

It does sit, but not very stably, and only on certain surfaces. It's gone back in its box while I mull this over. It wasn't specifically sold as a sitter in their listing, nor in anyone else's, that was an assumption I made based on the stem shape and seeing occasional photos of them sat online. It has therefore not been mis-sold, nor is it defective.

Whatever I decide, I'm not paying "full price" for a mass produced pipe again. I'm sticking to cheapos and rejects, or if I ever do go much over my usual limit again, it will be a commission built to very specific instructions.
 
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AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Thinking out loud...

Pro - Gorgeous
Con - Price

Pro - Lid for putting it away part smoked*
Con - Only a semi-sitter

Con - Bowl mouth is 22mm
Pro - Tapers down to around 16mm*


* features I can't get in a sitter at my usual price cap.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
All the pondering so far, leads to one simple fact. I won't know for sure until I smoke it, at which point, it cannot be returned.

I do have an interested party, willing to rescue me from it, should it start irritating me as the topplers did before. But that would still work out to be a very expensive smoke or two considering the initial depreciation from that first smoke.

I'm not going to smoke it today.

I might smoke it tomorrow.

Things in its favour, are the tapered bowl, the fireproof hat, and those aesthetics that I'd never get on a sitter in my usual price range. It's still the right bowl volume, right shape, right bend, and right filter.

If I'm moving around the house, it will sit stable enough on a kitchen work surface. On other furniture, it may be OK so long as I don't bump into it, depending how much vibration comes up through the floor from me bumbling around. Anything that would cause a needle on an LP to skip for example, could cause this to faceplant and spill hot stuff. Or maybe even roll off and fall to the floor.

However, if I was to go visit friends, or join them in the beer garden at the boozer, I wouldn't be moving around as much as I would at home. If I did, the pipe could stay put till I got back, which means there's still use for this...

IMG_20200919_000132.jpg


I'm probably not going to be smoking this in my back garden while pottering around, nor having a bowl in this whilst attempting housework. I have the cobs or the more durable Falcon for that. So yes, it's not as stable as I hoped, but realistically, I'm not going to be able to get the aspects that I DO like about this pipe, in a stable sitter, without spending four to five times the price I spent on this one.

IMG_20201008_194046_edit.jpg


IMG_20201008_194210_edit_edit.jpg


Excuse the shoddy pics. My camera doesn't fare so well in artificial light.

There's one final niggle too, and this one might be the decider. My hand doesn't fall naturally around the pipe. My thumb and fingers seems to fall awkwardly on the edges of the triangular stem, which isn't particularly comfortable or secure feeling. Being larger bowled the Bermuda Bulldog doesn't have that issue.

It's packed back away for now, and I'll get it back out of the box again tomorrow. If it doesn't sit well in my hand then, I think it's time to get it packed back up and returned. It would be a shame, but if I learned anything from the topplers, it's that I have to be honest with myself if I don't like it, and it's no good just "trying" to like it.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Nah! It needs to go back.

I'm not paying that much for something I'm not completely happy with. I'll send them an email, and find out what the returns procedure is.

Oh well. False alarm.
It seems The ONE was just the 0.625 :tongue_sm
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Based on what you've said here, I'd recommend you send it back.

You've done all this work to get yourself to a point where you were 100% with every part of your kit. It would be pretty sad for the most expensive part of that kit to give you the most headache.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Based on what you've said here, I'd recommend you send it back.

You've done all this work to get yourself to a point where you were 100% with every part of your kit. It would be pretty sad for the most expensive part of that kit to give you the most headache.

Indeed! It's a real shame though. It certainly looks the part, but looks aren't enough for me to be happy with it.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Thanks guys 🍻

One thing handling a full price pipe has told me, is that I wasn't really missing out on that much with the cheapies. The drilling was comparable, and my Dunhill factory seconds even came precarbonised, which the Sav didn't. Ok, I didn't get the fancy hat and polished rim, and I just got a generic stem, but none of those affect the smoke, or the enjoyment I personally would get. I don’t really need a pipe to be an accessory. I just need to enjoy smoking it.

Then again, pricey watches never interested me either. A guy I worked with several years ago had a Rolex, and set his watch to the second every month or whatever. I set my £50 watch to the minute when daylight saving time started or finished. We both knew when it was lunchtime, or when to lock up for the day. :biggrin1:

Maybe something else will come along at a more Wanderer friendly price in future. If not, I might grab a meerschaum bowl for the Falcon ;) I am glad I tried it though, if only to reaffirm my rightful position in the shallow end of the pool 🤣
 
Funny story about my experience with a Rolex. Received it as a service award from a previous employer. Heavy beast and, after the first year and a bit, would never keep decent time. It would alternate between bouts of running fast and slowing down. SOLD it for about 75% of retail.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
The Tortuga set off on its return journey this afternoon. I still feel somewhat disappointed as to how unsuitable it was, although I'm kind of getting used to it now, as I've tried several pipes this year that didn't work for me. Each one taught me something though, and took me one step nearer a line up I'm fully happy with.

Now it's a waiting game. Something will crop up that fits the bill eventually. In the meantime, I'm going to grab a few small cobs. I need one to play along with the cob modding fun in THIS thread, and I'll probably chuck one or two more small cobs on the order. I've plenty of large ones, but not many with smaller bowls. I almost told them to exchange it for a Peterson Barrel on the returns sheet, but resisted and asked for refund instead. :biggrin1:

Only a couple of weeks till my birthday anyway, and the first of my locked away pipes can be had. Then the cob contest will keep me entertained a while, to help fill the gap before I get my other two at the end of the year. :thumbsup:
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Placed a little order this evening. I ordered a Little Devil Acorn for the cob modification event, and there was enough funds in the Baccy Bank to add on a Huck Finn cob, a Pony Express cob, and a few pipe cleaners.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
T
The Tortuga set off on its return journey this afternoon. I still feel somewhat disappointed as to how unsuitable it was, although I'm kind of getting used to it now, as I've tried several pipes this year that didn't work for me. Each one taught me something though, and took me one step nearer a line up I'm fully happy with.

Now it's a waiting game. Something will crop up that fits the bill eventually. In the meantime, I'm going to grab a few small cobs. I need one to play along with the cob modding fun in THIS thread, and I'll probably chuck one or two more small cobs on the order. I've plenty of large ones, but not many with smaller bowls. I almost told them to exchange it for a Peterson Barrel on the returns sheet, but resisted and asked for refund instead. :biggrin1:

Only a couple of weeks till my birthday anyway, and the first of my locked away pipes can be had. Then the cob contest will keep me entertained a while, to help fill the gap before I get my other two at the end of the year. :thumbsup:
The Missouri Pride is a favorite of mine. Small but adequate bowl, unfinished and light - great clincher.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
T
The Tortuga set off on its return journey this afternoon. I still feel somewhat disappointed as to how unsuitable it was, although I'm kind of getting used to it now, as I've tried several pipes this year that didn't work for me. Each one taught me something though, and took me one step nearer a line up I'm fully happy with.

Now it's a waiting game. Something will crop up that fits the bill eventually. In the meantime, I'm going to grab a few small cobs. I need one to play along with the cob modding fun in THIS thread, and I'll probably chuck one or two more small cobs on the order. I've plenty of large ones, but not many with smaller bowls. I almost told them to exchange it for a Peterson Barrel on the returns sheet, but resisted and asked for refund instead. :biggrin1:

Only a couple of weeks till my birthday anyway, and the first of my locked away pipes can be had. Then the cob contest will keep me entertained a while, to help fill the gap before I get my other two at the end of the year. :thumbsup:
The Missouri Pride is a favorite of mine. Small but adequate bowl, unfinished and light - great clincher.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
T

The Missouri Pride is a favorite of mine. Small but adequate bowl, unfinished and light - great clincher.

I've so far got a Washington, a Rob Roy Legend, and a Mizzou. Of those three, the Mizzou is the favourite. I think the Huck Finn and Pony Express I have coming, are the same bowls on different stems.
 
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