Let's See Some Pictures Of Your Polinskis

[rtouve]

Nice pipes  

 

[ExcessEnergy]

Looks as if the word is getting out on Polinskis. I just checked eBay after admiring the ones on here and reading all the accolades and they're being bid up into the range of $120-255. One best offer starting price was $160. Looks as if the early adopters got a great deal. Ain't it always the way?

 

[Hawker]

Looks as if the word is getting out on Polinskis.  I just checked eBay after admiring the ones on here and reading all the accolades and they're being bid up into the range of $120-255.  One best offer starting price was $160.  Looks as if the early adopters got a great deal.  Ain't it always the way?

There are still some good deals to be had if you follow them. Last week a really nice looking bulldog sold for $78.00. It was a straight pipe otherwise I would of been bidding on it. Some weeks a pipe will sell for $150 -$180 then the following week an identical pipe will go for $80-$100.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

Thanks for the advice. I will try to keep an eye on them.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

The latest Polinski to be sold on eBay just went for $89.

 

[Pipe'n Prof]

Looks as if the word is getting out on Polinskis.  I just checked eBay after admiring the ones on here and reading all the accolades and they're being bid up into the range of $120-255.  One best offer starting price was $160.  Looks as if the early adopters got a great deal.  Ain't it always the way?

There are still some good deals to be had if you follow them. Last week a really nice looking bulldog sold for $78.00. It was a straight pipe otherwise I would of been bidding on it. Some weeks a pipe will sell for $150 -$180 then the following week an identical pipe will go for $80-$100.

I agree with Hawker. I was watching a bent 1/2 rusticated jumbo about a month ago and it went for $81. The next week the very same pipe went for $180. I was kicking myself. It just wasn't in the budget at the time. There are still good deals to be had, but you have to watch closely for them.

 

[d4klutz]

This one is just gorgeous.  I would love to have one with this color and grain in a full bent oom paul style.

 

[joshoowah]

There's a really nice Rhodesian Polinski with a yellow stem on eBay right now at like $29. I'd buy it myself if it didn't weigh 2+ ounces.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

There's a really nice Rhodesian Polinski with a yellow stem on eBay right now at like $29.  I'd buy it myself if it didn't weigh 2+ ounces.  

Yes, I was taken by it, too, but passed on it for the same reason.  But, then I bought this big, oddly colored brute:

Then I see that Tim West has a pipe that looks very much like a T. Polinski, but he has it listed as a "S. Polinski" and no one's really bidding on it.  Of course, it's used, but it's been cleaned up by Tim West, who knows what he's doing, and unless it's been egregiously abused, a used pipe usually smokes better than a new one.  So, I take a close look at it on the giant monitor, and, sure 'nuff, it's a T. Polinski, for sure.  However, Tim's a really nice guy and has always been really good to deal with and is always gracious when I call for advice, so I don't want to take unfair advantage of him.  I drop him a note, telling him I'm pretty sure it's a T. Polinski and he might want to consider changing his ad to draw the masses.  He says he'll do it, and he does, but he puts the change at the bottom of the body text of the ad description while leaving the original listing heading that calls it an "S. Polinski."  Even though it's a big, nice one, it gets very little action because of the headline name.  So, I pick it up at a bargain price.  But, hey, I tried to help.  So, here's Tim's Polinski, now mine:

The irony is that when I finally get a couple of Polinskis to test out what everyone on here is talking about, I'm away at trial, staying in a hotel where smoking ist verboten, and I'm stuck here for seven weeks.  The Polinskis and the unsmoked giant Moretti Canadian will just be gathering dust in their shipping boxes back in Laguna Hills.  So, not only will I catch hell from Kathy for buying three more pipes after promising that I wouldn't, but I can't even smoke the things.  Oops! Make that four . . . forgot about the Dunhill ODA bent I picked up on impulse between hearings.  She'll take one look at it and go "Ugh! Why'd you buy that old thing? It's not even clean!"  I've explained to her that they can be sanitized, gently cleaned and waxed to look almost pipe store fresh, but she remains unconvinced.  And there's also the issue of numbers, as in "Honey, you can only smoke one at a time.  What is the point of having so many?"  I look at her with mock determination and respond with my best John Wayne, "Different pipes for different missions."  Back to trial . . . sigh!

 

[joshoowah]

There's a really nice Rhodesian Polinski with a yellow stem on eBay right now at like $29.  I'd buy it myself if it didn't weigh 2+ ounces.  

Yes, I was taken by it, too, but passed on it for the same reason.  But, then I bought this big, oddly colored brute:

Then I see that Tim West has a pipe that looks very much like a T. Polinski, but he has it listed as a "S. Polinski" and no one's really bidding on it.  Of course, it's used, but it's been cleaned up by Tim West, who knows what he's doing, and unless it's been egregiously abused, a used pipe usually smokes better than a new one.  So, I take a close look at it on the giant monitor, and, sure 'nuff, it's a T. Polinski, for sure.  However, Tim's a really nice guy and has always been really good to deal with and is always gracious when I call for advice, so I don't want to take unfair advantage of him.  I drop him a note, telling him I'm pretty sure it's a T. Polinski and he might want to consider changing his ad to draw the masses.  He says he'll do it, and he does, but he puts the change at the bottom of the body text of the ad description while leaving the original listing heading that calls it an "S. Polinski."  Even though it's a big, nice one, it gets very little action because of the headline name.  So, I pick it up at a bargain price.  But, hey, I tried to help.  So, here's Tim's Polinski, now mine:

The irony is that when I finally get a couple of Polinskis to test out what everyone on here is talking about, I'm away at trial, staying in a hotel where smoking ist verboten, and I'm stuck here for seven weeks.  The Polinskis and the unsmoked giant Moretti Canadian will just be gathering dust in their shipping boxes back in Laguna Hills.  So, not only will I catch hell from Kathy for buying three more pipes after promising that I wouldn't, but I can't even smoke the things.  Oops! Make that four . . . forgot about the Dunhill ODA bent I picked up on impulse between hearings.  She'll take one look at it and go "Ugh! Why'd you buy that old thing? It's not even clean!"  I've explained to her that they can be sanitized, gently cleaned and waxed to look almost pipe store fresh, but she remains unconvinced.  And there's also the issue of numbers, as in "Honey, you can only smoke one at a time.  What is the point of having so many?"  I look at her with mock determination and respond with my best John Wayne, "Different pipes for different missions."  Back to trial . . . sigh!

Man..those two are giants. I can't go for pipes that big anymore. That just leaves more for you grab .

 

[ExcessEnergy]

We were temporarily excused from appearing in the trial today, so all counsel decamped from Chatsworth and returned to Orange and Riverside Counties, whereupon I discovered Tim West's Polinski in my mailbox at home (that would be the brown one pictured above). :cheers:   As soon as I unpacked the car, I packed the Polinski with Harbor Island (a local favorite sold by Newport Beach's HiTime store) and lit 'er up.  As it is an estate pipe, there was no need for break in.  I am happy and not a little astounded to report that it smokes just as coolly as reported by all of you, despite its relatively short 3.75" shank and stem.  I have never smoked a pipe that short that was so cool, not even my Dunhills and meerschaums.  Amazing! :cheers:  :cheers: I should add that it was not that I did not trust your judgment about these pipes (after all, I bought two of them), but I apprehended that you fellows may be less sensitive to the heat, being such avid pipe smokers and all that.  But you were right!   :cheers:  :cheers: 

On the other hand, it was not quite as dry as experienced by the others who contribute to this thread, requiring a pipe cleaner poke two times during the burn to the bottom to eliminate modest gurgling.  Of course, with such a short shank and stem, running a cleaner down it is no big deal, a far cry from the dexterity test involved in purging the gurgle from my giant Canadians.  And to think that I just spent a good deal on three more lengthy Don Carlos and Moretti super-Canadians (including the 10.25" one most recently discussed on the "Show us your Moretti" thread adjacent hereto) in my never-ending quest for cool-smoking pipes.  This Polinski cost a mere fraction of what those pipes cost, but delivers the same or better performance in a much more compact package.  Only the longest Moretti (at over 11" overall, which is also pictured in the Moretti thread) and the giant Don Carlos (10.75" overall) smoke as coolly as this little Polinski, with each costing about four or five times as much. 

And, quite apart from the cost advantage of the Polinskis, there is the convenience factor.  Only the most dedicated piper is going to carry around one of the super-Canadian war clubs to smoke at a remote location; they're simply too long for that, and might get broken (as indeed happened a couple of years ago to my first Don Carlos Canadian, about 8.5" overall, that I improvidently left at someone's house, whereupon it was "mysteriously" shattered into many pieces).  But one could easily put a couple of Polinski's in a jacket to enjoy when out and about.  Also, it uses nice, little standard size pipe cleaners instead of the two larger, more awkward sizes required for the war clubs, that can not be easily carried about without making them too bent up to be useful. 

I'm now awaiting the orange-colored one from Poland with heightened anticipation.  It, too, came at a sub-$100 cost, far below the aforesaid super-Canadians.  If the second one performs as well as the first, I may have to start selling Canadians on eBay after my two trials are over, so that I can buy more Polinskis.  Pretty impressive, I must say.  Thank you, brothers, for bringing Polinskis to my attention.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

"Man..those two are giants. I can't go for pipes that big anymore. That just leaves more for you grab ."

LOL!  I know you were kidding, they only look giant in the pictures.  They are actually well-proportioned for what they are and can be "clinched" if you don't mind stem chatter or use one of those rubber thingies.  This is a pic of my first smoke of the brown one that just arrived from Tim West, and, as you can see, the size is not all that overwhelming:

See?  I don't look so great, but the pipe looks modest and proportionate.  Or so it seems to me.

Well, back to work, alas! The trial begins again on Monday afternoon.

 

[Hawker]

Glad to hear your liking your Polinski's Excessnergy. It would be nice to see him list a few smaller pipes as massive seems to be his norm. If he posted a 4 3/4 - 5" bent square shanked bulldog I'm sure he'd get alot of interest.

 

[ExcessEnergy]

Actually, he does. He has offered some smaller pipes at the same time as these larger ones. I just wanted the larger ones because I noticed that all the people who were praising them on here seemed to have the larger ones.  He calls his Bulldogs "Rhodesians," even though it is a bulldog shape and not really a classic Rhodesian shape. He also occasionally offers pipes in more classic English shapes.

 

[joshoowah]

We were temporarily excused from appearing in the trial today, so all counsel decamped from Chatsworth and returned to Orange and Riverside Counties, whereupon I discovered Tim West's Polinski in my mailbox at home (that would be the brown one pictured above). :cheers:   As soon as I unpacked the car, I packed the Polinski with Harbor Island (a local favorite sold by Newport Beach's HiTime store) and lit 'er up.  As it is an estate pipe, there was no need for break in.  I am happy and not a little astounded to report that it smokes just as coolly as reported by all of you, despite its relatively short 3.75" shank and stem.  I have never smoked a pipe that short that was so cool, not even my Dunhills and meerschaums.  Amazing! :cheers:  :cheers: I should add that it was not that I did not trust your judgment about these pipes (after all, I bought two of them), but I apprehended that you fellows may be less sensitive to the heat, being such avid pipe smokers and all that.  But you were right!   :cheers:  :cheers: 

On the other hand, it was not quite as dry as experienced by the others who contribute to this thread, requiring a pipe cleaner poke three times during the burn to the bottom to eliminate modest gurgling.  Of course, with such a short shank and stem, running a cleaner down it is no big deal, a far cry from the dexterity test involved in purging the gurgle from my giant Canadians.  And to think that I just spent a good deal on three more lengthy Don Carlos and Moretti super-Canadians (including the 10.25" one most recently discussed on the "Show us your Moretti" thread adjacent hereto) in my never-ending quest for cool-smoking pipes.  This Polinski cost a mere fraction of what those pipes cost, but delivers the same or better performance in a much more compact package.  Only the longest Moretti (at over 11" overall, which is also pictured in the Moretti thread) and the giant Don Carlos (10.75" overall) smoke as coolly as this little Polinski, with each costing about four or five times as much. 

And, quite apart from the cost advantage of the Polinskis, there is the convenience factor.  Only the most dedicated piper is going to carry around one of the super-Canadian war clubs to smoke at a remote location; they're simply too long for that, and might get broken (as indeed happened a couple of years ago to my first Don Carlos Canadian, about 8.5" overall, that I improvidently left at someone's house, whereupon it was "mysteriously" shattered into many pieces).  But one could easily put a couple of Polinski's in a jacket to enjoy when out and about.  Also, it uses nice, little standard size pipe cleaners instead of the two larger, more awkward sizes required for the war clubs, that can not be easily carried about without making them too bent up to be useful. 

I'm now awaiting the orange-colored one from Poland with heightened anticipation.  It, too, came at a sub-$100 cost, far below the aforesaid super-Canadians.  If the second one performs as well as the first, I may have to start selling Canadians on eBay after my two trials are over, so that I can buy more Polinskis.  Pretty impressive, I must say.  Thank you, brothers, for bringing Polinskis to my attention.

It's not terribly large but it still looks hefty to me, particularly the bowl. Nevertheless, it does look like it fits nicely into the palm of your hand.

 

[Pipe'n Prof]

I own your pipe's twin. Of my four Polinski's, it's my favorite. Here it is next to a Peterson. It has smoked well for me over the past year.

 

[Pipe'n Prof]

What do all of you think about his new shapes and colors? I'm noticing a tend over the past month. He's starting to offer pipes in various unorthodox colors (e.g., green, blue, etc) and he is moving from the large, stout aesthetic to somewhat more whimsical shapes. I'm finding myself less enthused. Do any of you notice this trend?

 

[ExcessEnergy]

I own your pipe's twin. Of my four Polinski's, it's my favorite. Here it is next to a Peterson. It has smoked well for me over the past year.

[/quote]

Yes, I recall when you were comparing those two pipes' size earlier.  Glad to hear it performs so well. I'm anticipating its twin's advent even more, then.

As for the new colors, the orange one doesn't put me off, as it is close to some of the finishes on other, more well-known pipe carvers' products.  Not so crazy about blue and green, however, even though they are my favorite colors in other contexts.  Seems to me, in my rock ribbed way, that a pipe should still reflect what it is, i.e., that wood should look like wood, not a crayola.  On the other hand, when I was in college, my dad gave to me three of his pipes when he decided that he was not a pipe smoker, two of which were those high tech The Pipe pipes, a straight billiard with a royal blue exterior and a straight bulldog with a bright orange exterior (the other was a huge Golden Parker straight billiard).  I did not mind the crayola colors on those two ceramic and graphite pipes because it is in the nature of ceramic to be surfaced with vivid colors.  But weird colored wood pipes "jes' ain't nachrul!"  Seems to me that such pipes will have a more narrow appeal and that the eBay bidding will probably reflect that.  On the other hand, this means that we can pick up great smoking pipes at a lesser cost, provided that we can tolerate smoking a pipe that looks like a tropical frog.

As for the new shapes, some of them seem quite aesthetically appealing, but I was wary of the thermal qualities of the smaller bowls with short shanks and stems.  We know his briar is good, but the question is whether those smaller guys will smoke as coolly as the big bowl models like yours, above.  I think I'll wait until someone else tries one and reports back.  Here are a couple of examples of the smaller shapes that I thought were quite visually appealing:

And this one would have been good looking, if stained in more traditional wood colors, but, as it is, my reaction was "I don't think so":

It seemed reminiscent of this "frog" pipe by another Polish carver (admittedly, not Polinski) which evoked "Ewwww!  No!":

Whereas, I just noticed this filtered Polinski on eBay, which appears to be a more natural-colored stain version of the smurf pipe above, albeit with a somewhat different stem.  For my money, this one is the better-looking pipe (although I'm not inclined to buy filtered pipes):

And here's a picture of the same type of pipe as the smurf one above, but with a reddish orange stain, which I am not crazy about, but it still looks better than the blue or the pea soup green:  

 

[ExcessEnergy]

OMG!   :affraid: 

Polinski actually called one of the green ones "Mr. Frog" and here it is:

Looks like Kermit, dropped on a rock . . . . from very high up.

He could have called it The Exorcist.  ("Miss Blair, your pipe is ready!")

Whew!   :x   Pea soup, anyone?

Astonishingly, he has it for sale at a fixed price of $195!  :face:  If it actually sells at that price, that will prove past peradventure that it takes all kinds to fill the freeways.

 

[Pipe'n Prof]

Looks like Kermit, dropped on a rock . . . . from very high up.

 :lol!: Just too funky for me.