I'm in China, and I need your help!

Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Growley

Growley

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 10, 2012
Messages
1,052
Reaction score
0
Hey guys and gals,

Well, I made it to China finally. We're out here to adopt our little girl, and we get to meet her for the first time today! I'll probably start another thread about that, because this one is more about pipes!

We're staying in this awesome hotel. In fact, it may be the nicest I've ever been in, and I've traveled a good bit so I'm not comparing this to a Motel 8 :D 

Last night, as we're walking to the elevators, my wife stopped me and said, "Brian look!". Low and behold, she was pointing at a very quaint pipe shop. I haven't gotten to visit it yet, but it looks like they've got at least 50 pipes. I'd love to buy a local pipe to commemorate this time in my life, and I'd love for it to be locally made...if possible. Do you guys have any brands you know of that I should look for?

Thanks!

Brian.
 
Wish I could help; I hope one of the brothers can. In any case, if you have the time, some images would be great! And again, best of luck with the adoption
 
I heard there are a lot of Chinese pipes made by Todd Johnson, well designed by him at least :)

rev
 
Here are some I snapped of the hotel lobby...

A lot of times the lobby looks amazing, and the rooms only look "ok", not the case here!

photo_10.jpg


photo_11.jpg


photo_12.jpg
 
Wow that's one hell of a hotel lobby.

I wonder what pipes are available in China? Maybe grab a good Italian made pipe if you can? Radice, Jacopo, Castello, Jacono, Ardor, Ascorti..
 
Great pics, Brian! Glad to hear you guys arrived safely.

If you're thinking about a locally made pipe (ie Chinese) there probably isn't much to go off of. I only know of one Chinese carver, P. Zhan.

I think your best bet is to buy a pipe to commemorate the trip, but maybe not necessarily one Chinese made.
 
tyler":wa7kam0b said:
Dunhill.
Click to expand...
If the Chinese treat pipes like they do wine (mostly interested in a few famous brands), that could be what is available
 
I went to the Dunhill shop in Shanghai. Not one pipe related item in the entire store! All clothes and accessories.

There are tons of tobacco shops in China. Almost all of them had pipes, too. What they didn't sell was pipe tobacco! Just cigarettes. In all of Shanghai, not one tobacco store I found sold actual pipe tobacco.:scratch:

Do get a knock-off Rolex, though. Some of them are actually really, really good watches in their own right.
 
Thanks for the thoughts. I would love to get a quality Chinese carved pipe, but didn't know if there were really any brands out there. The more I think about it, the more I realize that's probably not the case. So, maybe I'll just get a pipe I like, while in China to commemorate that way.

I looked over the shop well and saw some interesting options. I snapped some photos. They seemed to have three main brands, Peterson, CC, and Big Ben, with prices ranging from about $140 US to $410 being the highest.

Here are some shots...

(Most of these weren't Petersons, but you can buy the whole set for $2,178 Yaun) :lol: 

photo-1-1.jpg


(I might give this paneled pipe another look. It had a silver cap and maybe military mount. I didn't ask them to take it out...yet...)

photo-2-1-e1384165674686.jpg


photo-3-1-e1384165713702.jpg


(These weren't Savs, but I can't remember what brand they were)

photo-4-e1384165625828.jpg


photo-5-e1384165741951.jpg


...Also, I said I'd probably start a new thread about the adoption, but for my level of brain function and energy at this point, that sounds daunting. So, I'll just say, we've met her and now she's back at our hotel coloring with the kids. She's a wonderful little girl, and so far, we're all doing well.
 
That's one heck of a hotel! Is the pipe shop located in the lobby???

Congrats on the adoption too!
 
Great to hear the new addition to the family is fitting right in!

As far as the pipes, every piping man needs a Pete. I recommend getting one with a military mount or a Pete system pipe.
 
Awesome lobby. Congrats on the adoption. More children around the world needs a stable home. Congrats for the child as well on their new family. And really cool pipe shop.
 
Ocelot55":azpkk6wv said:
Great to hear the new addition to the family is fitting right in!

As far as the pipes, every piping man needs a Pete. I recommend getting one with a military mount or a Pete system pipe.
Click to expand...
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^! You can't go wrong with a Pete. Best wishes to you, your family, and the wonderful little bundle of love. :) 

AJ
 
Very happy for you sir! You've made it through the hardest part (supposedly) and your family is growing in what seems like a very positive way!

As for the pipes, being of Asian-American heritage, I can tell you the Chinese want to do 2 things: Make $$ and make it easy to get it from you. On behalf of the Chinese, I apologize for the state of things to a western disposition, but you have to understand it's a complete and pervasive cultural paradigm.

They will make things look more western, so they'll be more accessible. In the case of crafted goods like a pipe, you are not likely to know the "good" from the "bad" by name only. Nothing is sacred; you can get some nice deals, but more often than not things will be knocked off. :suspect: You're probably already wary of things, so I guess my advice is to aim low to avoid disappointment. :|

I understand that you're looking for a special commemorative item, but I don't know if it'll be quite up to par as the rest of the pipemaking countries of the world. The fact that the shop carries "other" makes might be promising, but you'd never until you smoke them and then is there any recourse if it doesn't turn out right? I guess that's the case for most things both abroad and domestically (USA for us I mean), so good luck!

Besides, couldn't you make your own "Chinese" pipe when you get back? ;) Just judiciously use bamboo and...
 
how bout make a pipe while in China? it would then be Chinese right?

Sorry I am not of any help, but Congrats on meeting the little one I hope everything goes well for you and your family!
 
MisterE":2nosawp3 said:
Do get a knock-off Rolex, though. Some of them are actually really, really good watches in their own right.
Click to expand...
I love this idea! Dangit..., now you got me thinking watches...
 
Top