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puros_bran
Nightrider
Joined : 10 Dec 2007
Posts : 1499
Location : Lower 48
 |  Subject: Tsuge  Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:02 pm | |
| Anyone experianced in this brand of pipes?
Care to share your thoughts? |
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Puff Daddy
bIG bAD vOODO dADDY
Age : 44
Joined : 09 Dec 2007
Posts : 990
Location : Northern California
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:06 pm | |
| I have one of their inexpensive lines (a Mizki) and it smokes like a dream! I've not yet smoked one of the more expensive models but I have friends who own them and say that they are superb.
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These are horrible times and all sorts of horrible people are prospering, but we must never let this disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to annoy and hinder them at every turn.
I BLATANTLY ENDORSE    |
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Guest
Guest
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:11 pm | |
| | puros_bran wrote: | Anyone experianced in this brand of pipes?
Care to share your thoughts? |
I've owned over a dozen Ikebanas- somewhere around 20.
They're not too bad, but currently I only own 1. I guess that speaks to how I feel about them- my best word to describe Ikebana's is "inconsistent." |
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Danish_Pipe_Guy
Admin
Age : 32
Joined : 15 Dec 2007
Posts : 875
Location : Fenway Paaak: Boston,Massachusetts
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:45 pm | |
| The common feeling I get about them is that they're very attractive but don't smoke all that well.I've heard the same comments that Ian made at least a dozen times over the years.Having never owned one,I can't personally comment.Most are a bit too small for my personal taste...
Best,
Dock
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My Pipe Rack: http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/DockJPerry/?start=0 |
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tin man
Foiled Again
Joined : 10 Dec 2007
Posts : 181
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:26 am | |
| My first pipe, a Tsuge Mizki given to me by  for Father's day 2006.
Perhaps compared to a high grade pipe it is nothing to brag about. But it's a great little smoker and it represents true value. In my humble and inexperienced opinion, it is a much better pipe than a my Pete or my Stanwell in that price range. I've dedicated my Tsuge to VA/Pers and it's part of my regular rotation.
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bronxbill
Age : 61
Joined : 20 Dec 2007
Posts : 195
Location : Triangle area NC
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:55 pm | |
| I have a Tsuge Kaga; small pipe length wise but a good smoker. You can get them fairly cheaply at smokingpipes.com
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Duct tape is like the Force, it has a dark side and a light side and it holds the Universe together |
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jhuggett
BoB's Pioneer & Founding Father
Age : 36
Joined : 09 Dec 2007
Posts : 1739
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:36 pm | |
| I have a couple... a stack billiard and a straight Tokyo sandblast. The Tokyo is a great smoker at a very reasonable price for a bamboo shanked pipe. The billiard... well it sucks. 
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Jason |
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Rev. Puffer
Joined : 31 Jan 2008
Posts : 16
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:47 am | |
| A fine manufacturer, so many wonderful examples to choose from!
Puffer
www.pufferspipes.com |
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Guest
Guest
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:50 am | |
| | I wonder how many people here have experience looking at dozens and dozens of Tsuge's (Ikebanas) and smoking between 15 and 20- or more! |
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tin man
Foiled Again
Joined : 10 Dec 2007
Posts : 181
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:57 am | |
| | One? |
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Puff Daddy
bIG bAD vOODO dADDY
Age : 44
Joined : 09 Dec 2007
Posts : 990
Location : Northern California
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:32 pm | |
| | Ian Minton wrote: | | I wonder how many people here have experience looking at dozens and dozens of Tsuge's (Ikebanas) and smoking between 15 and 20- or more! |
How many people here have smoked 15 - 20 or more of any kind of pipe?
_________________
These are horrible times and all sorts of horrible people are prospering, but we must never let this disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to annoy and hinder them at every turn.
I BLATANTLY ENDORSE |
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Ol'Dawg
Age : 62
Joined : 03 Jan 2008
Posts : 451
Location : Northeast Georgia
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:46 pm | |
| | Puff Daddy wrote: |
How many people here have smoked 15 - 20 or more of any kind of pipe? |
Do Dr. Grabows count? If so, I've lost at least that many in the last 48 years due to carelessness/accidents while fishing, hunting, yard work, cutting firewood and similar activities. 
Jim
_________________
Not all rainbows end in a pot of gold. |
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Guest
Guest
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:07 pm | |
| | Puff Daddy wrote: | | Ian Minton wrote: | | I wonder how many people here have experience looking at dozens and dozens of Tsuge's (Ikebanas) and smoking between 15 and 20- or more! |
How many people here have smoked 15 - 20 or more of any kind of pipe? |
I have owned over 20 Tsuge Ikebanas. |
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Puff Daddy
bIG bAD vOODO dADDY
Age : 44
Joined : 09 Dec 2007
Posts : 990
Location : Northern California
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:27 pm | |
| Oh I believe you Ian, I just think your comment - though certainly worthy of merit based on your broad experience with the brand - is a statistical outlier in a place like this where most people would venture forth with an opinion based on one or two examples. I'm not trying to belittle your commentary and experience at all, but it sounded kind of like you meant 'My experienced opinion negates your marginal experience' when you said "I wonder how many people here have experience looking at dozens and dozens of Tsuge's (Ikebanas) and smoking between 15 and 20- or more!"
Maybe I just took it wrong, it's been a dreadfully long day. No offense intended. Personally, I think anyone who's smoked one or two has a valid opinion to give. Certainly the man who's smoked a whole bunch should be heard and his opinion given weight, but not more so than the others, necessarily.
I have one, it's not expensive, it smokes great. I'm not comparing it against other high grades when I comment on it though. Just a good little smoker.
_________________
These are horrible times and all sorts of horrible people are prospering, but we must never let this disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to annoy and hinder them at every turn.
I BLATANTLY ENDORSE |
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Guest
Guest
| | Subject: Re: Tsuge Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:46 pm | |
| | Puff Daddy wrote: | Oh I believe you Ian, I just think your comment - though certainly worthy of merit based on your broad experience with the brand - is a statistical outlier in a place like this where most people would venture forth with an opinion based on one or two examples. I'm not trying to belittle your commentary and experience at all, but it sounded kind of like you meant 'My experienced opinion negates your marginal experience' when you said "I wonder how many people here have experience looking at dozens and dozens of Tsuge's (Ikebanas) and smoking between 15 and 20- or more!"
Maybe I just took it wrong, it's been a dreadfully long day. No offense intended. Personally, I think anyone who's smoked one or two has a valid opinion to give. Certainly the man who's smoked a whole bunch should be heard and his opinion given weight, but not more so than the others, necessarily.
I have one, it's not expensive, it smokes great. I'm not comparing it against other high grades when I comment on it though. Just a good little smoker. |
Thanks for taking the time to explain- it was appreciated. Sometimes I am short not because I'm being condescending but because time is short for me- really, I'm literally always working:)
The place all this is coming from is not malicious or anything, it is this:
Tsuge is a factory whose name has literally been around for centuries. The family used to make samurai swords, which is now an extremely costly business with a limited market to sell to so they changed their model to pipes, and Fukudo went to Denmark to learn from Sixten Ivarsson- who is the one of the founders of the danish pipe movement. Obviously the shapes Tsuge's Ikebana line follow this as do many of the fundamentals. The older Ikebanas were amazing, the mechanics were solid, and the grading system had a solid baseline. Of late- and by that I mean the last 8 years I have noticed that the grading varries- meaning a C grade from 1999 might be be fundamentally gorgeous grain wise but one from 2005 doesn't match the quality and you have to pay an extra $300 to get the same thing. Further I have inspected many many many uber high grade Ikebanas in the $500 to $1000 range that were horrible as far as internal drilling was concerned. Slivers in the mortis area that would definitely affect the smoking characteristics of the pipe, very unusual channeling, all sorts of weird things going on that I was just turned off to. So I liquidated my collection and only saved one because the pipe smokes so darn good and because I smoked the pipe for the first time in Oregon on a camping trip.
I also think the bowl coating is to heavily applied and often muted the flavor of the briar. It was what convinced me that this could occur actually, previously I never experienced this with a bowl coating.
I think they're drop dead gorgeous shape wise though, and perhaps I'm just being too judgmental, but for $500 plus dollars I feel the consumer should get what he or she pays for that's all. I've never owned any of their lower priced pipes so I couldn't comment on them except to say that they've been described to me to be in the Stanwell category- and as far as I'm concerned that is the best bang for the buck pipe you can buy- so cheers to them for that.
Hope this helps, like I said I'm sorry for being short I know I do it from time to time. I just see something and comment forgetting about the whole internet thing as far as % of communication and all.
I appreciate the conversation on a subject that I very much enjoy:) |
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