The 2012 forum pipe thread (merged and edited for clarity)

[TheSmokeamater]

Since I am new here, I somehow feel a little uncomfortable in making the following suggestion.
Mind you, this is merely an idea I am throwing out there to gauge its feasibility, its popularity, and its pros & cons.

I was thinking that BoB should perhaps consider commissioning a custom designed pipe available for sale to all members who wish to own one. I know that some other on-line pipe communities do this, as well as “real world” pipe clubs. No doubt some of you reading this belong to such a club and own a specially commissioned pipe or two created for their brotherhood.

Surely the administrators and veteran members of BoB are aware that “club pipes” are something  similar organizations do.  This, which I believe to be true, and the fact that BoB does not have a club pipe suggests to me that the idea almost certainly had been considered, and with good reason(s) was dismissed. Again, I am new here and don’t mean to dredge up any sore points of contention or past disappointments. Please forgive me if that be the result.    

I used the BoB search engine before starting this thread to see if this has ever been discussed before. My search yielded no definitive result.  

Pros: It would be fun! Fun to vote on a design. Fun to wait for production to be completed. Fun to all get our pipes and brag about them, compare them, and talk about what blends we plan to dedicate them to. Lastly and most importantly, it would be nice to have a lasting, unifying, SMOKABLE symbol of the brotherhood.
 
Cons: Let’s face it. Times are tough! Not all of us will be able to afford a handmade pipe on a deadline. I myself sometimes find I am living paycheck to paycheck many periods throughout the year. Some will be left out.  While some may respond to this by saying, “well, that’s life”.  It is also, IMO, a bit of a shame and NOT in keeping with the spirit of having a club pipe in the first place.  

I look forward to your thoughts and opinions.  I am aware that I am not so adept at looking deeply into an issue. Often times I propose something like this and it is shot down decisively in a sentence or two and I feel foolish.  

So what do you think?

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I think some of the heart and soul of this idea is rooted with good intentions, but there's a few more bits to consider. One, we'd need to commission a maker, who would be seasoned, talented and willing to do such a thing--in that area, we're set. Also likely, the pipes would need to be of similar design with something to separate it from all the other briar out there. That means there'd have to be, either on hand or procured, a small fortune in briar chunks and stems, which, when turned, also need to be paid for. It'd be really hard to suddenly have even a small stock of limited edition pipes for BoB without someone first eating the cost, either us (as you pointed out, who may or may not be able to do so) or the carver, and to my knowledge, none of us here are philanthropic millionaires. Also, time--would a carver have the time to devote to such an endeavor? *shrug* Would it take forever just for any one of us to get such a pipe before the sentiment suddenly went sour?

It would be quite the undertaking, both on our part and whomever decided to take on the project.

It sounds satisfying yet irritating and time consuming at best and a logistical nightmare with people changing minds, suddenly not having funds, and someone getting possibly stuck with some burden at worst. Then again, I've been known to be a devil's advocate minority in my thoughts once or twice. :lol:

I love the idea, if it were simply available via magic.

 

[Fishfuzz]

Just the other day, I was pondering something like a dog tag/key chain/tamper concept that each of the members could purchase. Specifically in coordination in the Bomb runs, but it could be expanded further.

 

[Dutch]

It doesn't seem to me that commissioning a series of pipes, specifically for the BoB members would be any harder than a pipemaker's individually commissioned work. I'm sure that with a proper depisit, all monetary concerns could be alleviated.

Sounds like a very cool idea to me! 8)

 

[Hermit]

We've had a few.
Not for a while though.
The was the last one.

This one we sorta shared with the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club.

If some ambitious brother decides to bear the
burden of engineering a BoB POY, I'd most likely be in.

 

[Dutch]

Wow Hermit, I love that Tinskey doggie, very cool! :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Hermit]

It doesn't seem to me that commissioning a series of pipes, specifically for the BoB members would be any harder than a pipemaker's individually commissioned work. I'm sure that with a proper depisit, all monetary concerns could be alleviated.

Sounds like a very cool idea to me! 8)

It sounds easy, but the guy who steps up has to
deal with everything that goes wrong, everybody
who has an issue with his pipe, not to mention
getting people to agree on a maker and a shape.
We can pull it off if somebody wants to be a hero. :twisted:

 

[Hermit]

Wow Hermit, I love that Tinskey doggie, very cool! :cheers: :cheers:

You can still get one.
Mark liked it so much it's a catalog shape.
Shape 13.
I think Carlos put that one together.

 

[Dutch]

Wow Hermit, I love that Tinskey doggie, very cool! :cheers: :cheers:

You can still get one.
Mark liked it so much it's a catalog shape.
Shape 13.
I think Carlos put that one together.

Hermit, here's a pic of my only Tinskey. I am very pleased with it, and certainly plan on adding more to my collection.

 

[MisterE]

We made some preliminary inquiries about a POY project sometime last year. There was enough interest among the members to even begin the process. Our very own Yakslon was willing to do it, and went as far as to submit a prototype. Unfortuantely he fell ill before we could work out any details. The project fizzled after that.

It's an awesome undertaking. Also, after seeing the Tamp&Puff 2011 POY debacle, I cooled to the idea of taking the project on.

I think Carlos is the only one who has organized a BoB POY project successfully.

All hail Carlos!! :cheers:

 

[TheSmokeamater]

My SmokersForums Tim West from about 10+ yrs ago. I smoked it last night and it dawned on me to start this thread.

 

[Ocelot55]

Not that anyone is seeking my opinion here, but it seems to me that there are A LOT of brothers on BoB. So much so than one artisan might become overwhelmed with the work. Hypothetically, how many pipes are we talking about? There is about 2500 registered members, of course only a few hundred are relatively active and of those who knows how many would be able to afford a pipe. An alternative would maybe be to set up a limited run with a factory made pipe, something like a Peterson, Savinelli, or Stanwell. Certainly someone here has a good connection with some well established pipe factories, I mean, hell, the president of Brigham was on the boards just the other day.

Just throwing out ideas.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

*shrug*

We could take funds for 100 cobs and possibly have someone engrave the shanks with something Brotherly and bearing a date...that way everyone could get one. 8)

I didn't even know there was a BoB POY at any point. That Tinsky "BoB 13" is stunning.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Just the other day, I was pondering something like a dog tag/key chain/tamper concept that each of the members could purchase. Specifically in coordination in the Bomb runs, but it could be expanded further.

This is also an interesting idea. 8)

 

[Fishfuzz]

...the president of Brigham was on the boards just the other day...

I've only been on the board for a month, and must say I am impressed with how often the leadership of these large corporations have come here to answer questions and provide input. While I'm all for supporting the little guy as well, for a project such as this, a bigger manufacturer could provide a heavy cost savings.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I've only been on the board for a month, and must say I am impressed with how often the leadership of these large corporations have come here to answer questions and provide input. While I'm all for supporting the little guy as well, for a project such as this, a bigger manufacturer could provide a heavy cost savings.

I think "large corporation" is a bit of an overstatement in most cases... :lol: I get the impression that "big" pipe factories probably only employ maybe 100 people at most, and only a few instances. I'd wager the tobacco companies/distributors like Lane are probably where the bulk of the folks are.

It'd probably cost just as much to have a large company fit all of their gear for a run of 100 or so pipes than a single guy who's fleet of hand doing it himself. *shrug*

 

[Fishfuzz]

I actually just PMd Brigham to point him to this link.

Frankly, it might be better to find an existing pipe and have it custom stamped (or perhaps have the stem changed in some fashion), then designing from scratch.

 

[tiltjlp]

*shrug*

We could take funds for 100 cobs and possibly have someone engrave the shanks with something Brotherly and bearing a date...that way everyone could get one. 8)

I didn't even know there was a BoB POY at any point. That Tinsky "BoB 13" is stunning.

I've worked with Phil on several Corn Projects, and if there is interest, I could do it again. How it works is that we choose a cob model, I would suggest the new 5th Avenue, and they'll either lazer etch or ink imprint something like BoB 2012. The only thing is that the cobs would have to be ordered direct from the factory, and there would be a limited number, based upon interest. The price would be MM's selling price plus $4-$6 roughly, for imprinting. Based on how busy Phil is with the new crop, it could take a while for everything to fall in place. Here is the latest Project, a Pipe Chat Cob.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

JP, I wonder if they could put a rush on the cob bulldogs we talked about recently? :mrgreen: Nah, won't happen. Maybe in late 2014.

I have a couple 5th Avenue cobs, one with a VERY stout bowl, the other more of a tall chimney. They're swell pipes with just a little more room in the barrel for some bacca.

 

[s.ireland]

I think a BoB POY would be awesome. It would be difficult to decide which way to go though...

I seriously doubt any larger manufacturer would be interested in making a small number of pipes (even 100 pipes is not a lot for a company like Peterson to fuss with)

It would have to be a smaller number of handmades or even the cob idea would be cool. Cobs would allow more guys the chance to snag one or two (if it's cobs, I'm getting more than one!) but having Rad or someone do a custom design would be too cool to pass up!