Why do we all love Peterson so much?

[Bullwinkle]

I have a love/hate relationship with Pete's! Love the shapes, I really do. But I absolutely hate the fills. Their QC is either pizz poor or they just don't give a $h!T!!! And I ain't talkin' low end pipes. I've found nasty fills in hi-enders also. They smoke great; but I hate knowing there is a fill in the supposedly hi-quality pipe I'm smoking!! OK, I'm done now!!! :evil: FTRPLT

got a picture or two?

 

[docwatson]

I love Peterson Pipes. It's all about the history, the range of sizes and prices, and the grain on some of them. Sure the lower grades have fills, everyone knows that, but the higher grades are fill free. You won't see a Supreme or a natural finish with fills, and yes, you will pay a price for the best, but it's no different than any other maker. As far as smoking qualities, some have been tough to break in and others a dream. And for not having a pipe cleaner pass through, if it's a system pipe you just remove the stem and clean from the other end while you're emptying out the system and cleaning that reservoir. My only personal preference is that I will not buy a rusticated Peterson. Smooth or Sandblast for me. And Sterling Silver Spigots, Silver caps, Silver bands, etc. Love the old world styles.

 

[Richard Burley]

My only personal preference is that I will not buy a rusticated Peterson. Smooth or Sandblast for me.

Many rusticated Petes are Amateur Night. Really crappy looking. Many sandblasts are "why did they bother?" But a good rusticated or sandblast Pete does exist, as many here know. I have a rusticated Donegal that I'm quite satisfied with. It's interesting that their standard shapes, also, vary quite a bit. Look at the dimensions of the same style number, for instance. I have a secret--don't tell anyone: I think the Flame Grain is the best deal out there, cost/quality-wise, for Petes. I like 'em, and I like Petes in general. But they can stick their bowl coating, just as Savinelli can stick their filters and gaudy shank embellishments.

 

[Briar Spirit]

I have a love/hate relationship with Pete's! Love the shapes, I really do. But I absolutely hate the fills. Their QC is either pizz poor or they just don't give a $h!T!!! And I ain't talkin' low end pipes. I've found nasty fills in hi-enders also. They smoke great; but I hate knowing there is a fill in the supposedly hi-quality pipe I'm smoking!! OK, I'm done now!!! :evil: FTRPLT

Now this does surprise me I must say, Petersons high-end pipes tend to have flawless Briar, the grain may not be as nice as some folk might prefer even with their straight grain pipes but that's just the nature of the Briar and personal preference to aesthetics. Some mid-range Pete's have fills in them that much I am aware of but the same can be said for many manufacturers, I wish manufacturers would leave the pits in the Briar well alone and leave the pipe 'honest and true'. Some folk wont touch a pipe with a pit in it with a barge pole but many folk who wont touch a pipe with fills in it respect the honesty of pits left showing, I for one am rather partial to pipes with flaws such as pits and weird grain, not so keen on a pipe having HUGE craters in them but that Briar should have been tossed in the bin not turned into a pipe.

I know that quality control had slipped in recent times with Petersons, I had a 317 which had the drilling so far off centre it was almost in the side of the chamber, still smoked like a champion though, I honestly thought Petersons had resolved the quality control issues, perhaps I am mistaken.

 

[leacha]

I love their shapes! Hate their engineering!

I purchased my first Pete, a 107 shape 2014 St. Pats, and the drilling was off. In my book totally unacceptable for a straight pipe. Wouldn't pass a cleaner. Returned.

Second pipe, an Irish Made Army shape 69, drilling was off and wouldn't pass a cleaner. Also noticed the well. I was afraid this would gurgle with any moist baccy. Returned.

My third Pete is an an Irish Made Army shape 120. Wow it passed a cleaner but still has that well/gap. Maybe that may work like a mini reverse calabash pipe. I decided to keep this one and smoke it. Smokes good but is a little hot towards the bottom of every bowl. Still not a fan of that well/gap. Turns out that is how they drill all new pipes. Supposedly for the filter market.

My third Pete is a 309 system standard which I traded for. I sent it off to Walker Briar for a cleaning and to fit a traditional army shaped stem. Great freaking pipe! Smoke great. Feels great. Looks great. What more can I say. I very been on the hunt for additional 309s but haven't found any I feel are worth it.

So to sum up my Peterson experience. I love their shapes, I hate their engineering except for the system pipes.

 

[monbla256]

Another aspect of this is that Peterson is one of a very small group of pipe making firms from what many consider the "Classic Period" still in business today, and this gives the firms products a certain "aura" many newer firms don't and will not have !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Hermit]

I like mine, but they're not my top favorites.
My first pipe was a Pete. I have five of
em now, fortunately only one P-Lip.

 

[Idlefellow]

Is this where someone posts the old "It's a Peterson thing; if you have to ask you wouldn't understand" ?

 

[KevinM]

I have a baker's dozen of Petes. My faves are 999, 80s, 408, 150, 03. The peculiar thing about Petes is the "pass a cleaner" business.  All my Pete's of the aforementioned models pass a cleaner. However, they do so intermittently. They may pass a cleaner on first try and then do so only after repeated attempts, or they may just not be in the mood at the time. But I do like my Petes a lot, partially because of the marque's long tradition. The one time I had a clear defect in a new Pete, Angela Fortune, at Sallynoggin (sp?), was wonderful. My older Petes seem to have better finishes and stamping than the newer ones. That could be an opinion that has a lot to do having more older Petes than new ones. I've even grown accustomed to the P-lip, though I still have a preference for the fishtail. Petes are real value choices, imho.

 

[lowflyingpenguin]

Almost all my Petes were bought new in the '70s. I also have a pre-Republic that I just love. The new ones I have are the Dracula and the Mark Twain I just picked up in Ireland.

I don't recall any of my '70s pipes as having any bowl coating back then and they were a son of a bitch to break in. I do remember at least some of the old ones I have had stain IN the bowls which made for an interesting experience until I got some miles on them. The pipe cleaner test doesn't work with the system pipes because of the deep well and the sharp angle of the draft hole into the bowl. Even my 70s Irish Army billiard system pipe has a small well under the tobacco chamber of the bowl with the draught hole sitting a bit above what one would think would be the bottom of the bowl. It's also hard to pass a cleaner through the P-lip stem because of the initial curve after the button.

 

[flyguy]

My number one consideration is how the pipe smokes. I own 2 Peterson System Standard 302s that are the best smokers in my entire collection. I reach for them constantly.

 

[RobJ]

I like my Petes though I only have 2 both picked out by my son for me as birthday gifts when he was a young teen. Both are great smokers though the Killarney bent rhodie has something strange going on with the ring on the mortise but I'll need to start a thread about that problem elsewhere when I can take some photos.

Anyway, I ordered a Peterson System Standard XL315 estate from Viking on Friday night. I was browsing pipes online, my wife saw this one and said buy it. I immediately did of course having been well trained to respond to female voice commands. She just loves Sherlock Holmes, as do I, and decided I needed a similar pipe; who am I to argue?

I have 16 oz. of P&W #515 just waiting for my new arrival.

 

[SpeedyPete]

....... my wife saw this one and said buy it. I immediately did of course having been well trained to respond to female voice commands ; who am I to argue

Never argue with your wife, you know women are always right.

 

[RobJ]

Absolutely. I have four sisters so by the time she got me in high school the fundamentals were well in place.