How Do You Determine the Cost of a Rescue Pipe?
PappyJoe
Master
Most of my pipes are "rescued" from antique/collectible/flea market and junk shops. What do I look for?
https://pappyjoesblog.com/determining-the-cost-of-rescue-pipes/
https://pappyjoesblog.com/determining-the-cost-of-rescue-pipes/
Comments
@PappyJoe Excellent blog as usual. And quite informative. There are several factors that come into play when I'm buying a rescue pipe as well, and you've pretty well covered them all. A chewed up stem is a big turn-off for me. Especially one that's screwed on with a stinger. I'm not a fan of pipes with stingers in them anyway, but I do have a few Dr Grabow and not that long ago picked up a Redwood Kaywoodie that I took a liking to. But at first I wouldn't buy it because once tightened it didn't properly line up and was off kilter. Later that day I found a video on YouTube explaining how to repair a pipe that won't align by heating up the stinger and giving it a twist. So I went back to the resale shop and picked it up, and repaired it in a jiffy.
I too am leery of pipes with excess cake. I've found a few that were so built up with cake you wouldn't be able to squeeze pencil in the opening. One of the pipes had so much cake that the bowl was starting to split.
But the main thing that attracts me to a pipe is the over all appearance and the style ... especially if it's something I don't already have in my collection. I also try to keep the price under @25.00 or $30.00 if it's a rescue pipe. Something that doesn't require much work. The most I ever paid was around $50.00 for the Thumbhole pipe I bought last year. Normally I won't spend that much - but it was very unique and I didn't have anything like it in my collection.