Got my pipe back from Norwood

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Dave_In_Philly

Dave_In_Philly

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So I am one who wholeheartedly recommends Mike Myers at Walker to anyone needing stem work done. My only criticism would be his backlog. I sent two pipes in to be fitted with new vulcanite stems and it took about eight weeks, not including shipping time.

Based on Mr. Cartaphilus' glowing recommendation of Floyd Norwood I decided to have a new stem made for an old Peterson 80s that currently has a very poorly made replacement stem. I put the pipe in the mail as I left the office last Tuesday evening, and it was on my doorstep yesterday (I presume it would have been here Tuesday had it not been for the holiday.) The stem is shaped perfectly. The panels are square, and the taper is spot on, and the button is just right.

At first there was an obvious problem with the draw, but I ran a pipe cleaner through and dislodged a few chunks of Lucite that seem to have hung on. The draw is still tighter than I expected, but not so tight that I anticipate a problem smoking it.

I opted for a Lucite stem as the pipe is a bit of a beater, and I didn't want to be bothered keeping the vulcanite is good order. I didn't specify a color, and just assumed that it would be black. I was wrong. Its a bluish-gray swirl that isn't particularly unattractive, but just isn't something I would have chosen for myself.

Also, I don't know who actually made the stem, but I corresponded with Ken, not Floyd.

If the pipe smokes as well as I expect it will, I will be sending more pipes to Norwood, but I'll be careful to specify the color of the stem I want.
 
Norwoods' is wonderful.

Stem work that made two pipes that I sent him into two wonderful daily smokers.

Highly recommend his shop.
 
Used Norwood twice, once for a friend who sat on his pipe like a dumbarse and cracked the shank, and once on meerschaum. Ace work, cheap prices and quick turnaround. :cheers:

Mike and Floyd are both as cool as they get.

8)
 
I had a good experience with Norwood on a new stem for a James Upshall Silver Spigot. He turned it around in a total of four days.

I'm considering sending my new Dunhill CK to him to put a plug in the 6 mm filter stem. He quoted me $9 for the fix...
 
From my experience I would NEVER Send a pipe of mine to Norwood again. They butchered a replacement tenon that had to be replaced again by Nite Owl. Those blind ftards sent the pipe back to me looking like it had a broken leg! I have plenty of pipes to smoke speed ain't what I'm looking for. :shock:
 
Well, I just got back a Charatan Canadian from Norwood and it looks great to me. I had dropped it and the stem just ticked the foot of a piece of furniture. Had no idea that vulcanite will snap just as readily, apparently, as acrylic. Pipe was returned in less than a week--over Christmas, no less. I'm not going to wait three months for a friggin' pipe repair; in that time I could get materials from Pimo, learn to do it myself, and be ahead of the game. I won't, though, because I rarely need the service. Knock on wood...er, I hope.

http://www.norwoodspiperepair.com/
 
Richard, post a picture of the pipe when you have time, thanks.

KEEP ON PUFFING!!!
 
This pic sux, but it's just a plain ol' regular size (5.75") Charatan Special, shape 0120. I like old Charatans a lot, but the shapes usually throw me off. This one is so conventional it hurts. Post-trauma--like, just now:

charat10.jpg
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Richard, thanks for posting the picture. Very nice pipe and the stem looks original. The pipe has a good looking grain, now smoke it for the New Year :cheers: :cheers:

KEEP ON PUFFING!!!
 
Back when Floyd ran the show at Norwoods and before I started making pipes, I sent probably ten or more pipes to him for repair and never had any problems and they looked new when I received them back. Have nothing but, GOOD to say about Floyd not to mention he was very helpful in pointing me in the right direction as how to repair my own. I would imagine his son is just as good being he was taught by him.
Also, I know if anyone was unhappy with his work he would have made it right at the drop of a hat. ;)
 
This is a Dunhill a friend of mine had re-stemmed by Norwood's recently. I think the pipe community is full of people who are too nice to make a fuss. Anyway, sending this out as finished product is imho unacceptable.

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That is sad Sas, I've never known Floyd to do such work, obviously things have changed there.
I would let him know about it so he can make things right and change the way things are done.
I'd hate to see Floyd get a bad rep after all these years of fine work. :oops: :(
 
My friend was dissapointed to say the least.  And the response from Norwood's shop was not real positive (EDIT: this is my memory of the situation from... 6 months or a year ago, my friend thinks he in fact did not contact them).  So, onward and upward.   Now, maybe they had a bad day, it happens.  But the fact that this would get out of a repair shop, and on a real nice pipe, and would be met with indifference when the customer questioned it.... yeah something's changed.
 
That sucks for the poor customer. Thanks for letting us know, Sas'. That pipe should have never been returned to the customer as is. Not only are there the holes but the jonction stem/shank seems incorrectly fitted as well.
 
I've seen some cheap stems on cheap pipes in my day, but never anything with holes in it. Looks like something defective picked up on ebay, imported from Dontgiveadamnistan. This inconsistency of Norwood is bothersome. Someone should take pity and send them a link to this thread.
 
Cartaphilus":1k9hcumm said:
That is sad Sas, I've never known Floyd to do such work, obviously things have changed there.
I would let him know about it so he can make things right and change the way things are done.
I'd hate to see Floyd get a bad rep after all these years of fine work. :oops: :(
Click to expand...
If anything there changed it was over 10 years ago when they butchered my pipe and they didn't give a fuck about it. :shock:
 
Bad news! I must have 10-12 repair jobs which were done by Norwood's and all of them were were done and no complaints from this customer. I am curious about what has happened to the business. These days it is getting tough to find qualified firms to make repairs.

Stinger
 
Sas, did you make an attempt to send the pipe back for a properly made better quality stem? That's a great pipe to have a stem with tiny holes on it.

KEEP ON PUFFING!!!
 
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