Good day again all
Thanks for the kind words, but I think there are others that sell far more high grades than I do, and have far greater knowledge.
In some cases buying a pipe at just the right time will be break even or a slight profit. In 2003 if you bought new pipes by Peter Heeschen, Kurt Balleby, Tom Eltang, JT Cooke, Larry Roush, Brian Ruthenberg and a few others, and smoked them, then decided to sell them now, you'd probably do well. However IF you bought Dunhill, Castello, Stanwell, and the likes, you'd probably get 50 - 60% of the current new un smoked price. That might sound steep, but not really as prices on pipes have risen since 2003, the hit is not so large. The big hit comes when you buy a new pipe and decide to sell it within months, or days. As soon as the flame lights the tobacco, in a new pipe, ( in most cases ) the value drops 50%. Yes there are excpetions. Roush, Ruthenberg and JT Cooke will still get 70 - 80% of the new price and sometimes go for more than an un smoked pipe. BUT these are the exceptions.
I never suggest anyone invest in pipes for profit. That being said ..... I wish I'd bought more pipes from a few makers a few years ago and left them un smoked. Those are far and few between. No one really knows if a newer carvers skill will develop and IF they will stick with carving long enough to create a following.
With the world pipe market as it is, IF I was thinking of creating a collection or altering the direction of my collection, OR thinking of taking a step up in quality of pipes I was buying I'd be looking at a few US carvers as my corner stones.
I probably shouldn't offer suggestions as I know I'll leave someone off the list, but here goes.
Mark Tinsky - are you kidding me? You can still get a great pipe for under $200.00 ! Mark does not get near the recognition he deserves!!!
Rad Davis - sand of the Rad Davis and stamp Euro carver X's name and double or triple the price! Great shapes! Superb stems! Great smokers!
Russ Cook - Excellent quality. Great internals. World class stem work.
Brian Ruthenberg - these are smoking machines!!! Most open draw on the market today. You can still get a great pipe in the $250.00 range.
John Eells - I know many are going who? John quietly goes along making great pipes. Never gets any hype. John's skill at creating pipes is only topped by his abilities to repair watches. The man has exacting requirments for his pipes.
The above would be my corner stones. If I wanted to get into a higher dollar range, I'd also add Larry Roush, Jody Davis, and JT Cooke.
If I was into large pipes without a hesitation I'd seek out Paul Bonquisti's. No one cuts a large pipe and keeps the lines as nice as Paul. You look at one of Paul's pipes and from pictures you can't tell if it a group 2, 3 4 or a Magnum.
Geeez I guess I could go on and on about the US carvers. Look at Jack Howell, Will Purdy, Darius Christian, Michael Lindner, Todd Johnson, Alexy Florov, Ron Fairchild, Alan Stevenson, John Crosby and on and on. Right now there are a super group of US carvers and all are worth searching out. The skill levels of the US carvers is certainley on par with the rest of the world's best and better carvers.
The other HUGE advantage is they are almost all approachable. At shows or by email or sometimes the phone.
I can not suggest strongly enough that the grass is not always greener. Sometimes looking in your own back yard pay off big time.
Regards
Michael J. Glukler
That's no S on my chest, I'm just a regular man.