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Ugly Pipe Contest

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  • edited January 2022
    That’s somewhat disturbing….. the Coyote and the Nording.  Nope, wouldn’t smoke those.
  • Is that a lighter, or is he trying to weld the top of his head shut?😳
  • @vtgrad2003
    Nothing like being judgmental is there?
    Nording has made a series of pipes like that with different motifs. I know one guy who has one done in a cartographer motif and a second one done with musical notes. He says they are both good smokers. 

    One on the online retailers have a number of the Nording Harmony Freehand available. Some have horses, dogs, hares, fox hunting or safari motifs.

  • @PappyJoe last year I picked up a estate Nothing Valhalla pretty much by mistake. It was mixed in with some other pipes I grabbed. I didn't even see it at the time. It is a phenomenal smoker. I wouldn't mind trying some of the other pipe they have at some point.
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited January 2022
    @PappyJoe
    I'm always judgmental, it's what I do for a living--hard to be a growth and development economist without being judgmental. That said, I can live with the motif's you listed, but the one I posted had a floral pattern on it and was just wondering exactly whom it would appeal to. 
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited January 2022
    @PappyJoe
    Duh...yes, I know that. Just doesn't seem like there are enough smokers in that category to justify the marginal cost of producing, inventorying, and marketing one. 
  • @vtgrad2003
    I always like to tell people there are more pipe smokers in the world than what participates on pipe forums. In my opinion, because I haven't done any hard research, for every pipe smoker participating on a forum there are probably 50 more pipe smokers who never participate in a pipe forum. Looking at it from an economic point of view, there are a lot of people on forums who say they hate Mixture 79 for example. Yet, the company still produces Mixture 79 because there are enough people buying it to make it at least marginally profitable.

    The same goes for pipes in my opinion, the pipe manufacturers wouldn't make pipes that they can't sell. 
  • @KA9FFJ
    My oldest son likes the Nording Freehand pipes. He doesn't have one of the Harmony series but he has three Nording freehand from other series. 
    My guess is that the Harmony series are done to cover flaws in the briar much like the reason leather clad pipes were made at one time. 
  • @PappyJoe
    For sure, you're right, but everything will sell eventually--just depends on the price you charge for it (i.e., you can't charge more than a consumer's marginal benefit, i.e., what they are willing to pay). The question is, does the marginal benefit of sales at least equal the marginal cost of production/storage/shipping/marketing. To me, if it were the case that this sort of pipe would "sell", they would make more of them, not just a one-off.

    But, of course, they could be experimenting with this motif to see if it would sell or not--and as I look on the SP website where this pipe was posted 2 days ago, yes, it appears as though it did sell. So maybe they have hit a niche market with females and gender-fluid non-binaries...a pipe for the LGBTQQIP2SAA individual  :D  I guess this is why it's in their "harmony" line! 

    But, it doesn't take away from the fact that it is ooogly and (as @Zouave put it) "girly"!  :D
  • @PappyJoe
    I've had a couple Nordings. There decent pipes IMHO. The challenge I had on a personal note, was that I got carried away and purchased what I would call, "rocking chair pipes". Couldn't clench them that well and simply got tired of the inconvenience of not having both hands available any time I needed them. On the plus side, they were very good smokers.
    When I come across a smaller Nording that tickles my fancy, I'll probably pick one up...

  • @PappyJoe
    Agreed...
    But then again, they're a company trying to make money by trying out new venues/markets. 
    Personally, I'm with you 100%, but I guess we can't blame them for trying...
  • @KA9FFJ
    I've always liked the look of Nording pipes, and their price point especially, but the one thing that keeps me from getting one of their freehands is that they don't seem to be good clenchers in general. They also seem to be heavy and I can only easily clench pipes under 2 oz, more than that and they start to affect my teeth and gums (even with rubber bits which I use on all of my pipes). 

    @Zouave
    That's a pretty pipe, how does it smoke? 

    @PappyJoe
    I agree with you on those metal stemmed ones...they probably cross over to the pot smoking crowd with those too. 
  • @vtgrad2003 it smokes fantastic. Better than expected. It has a very good draw and for a bulldog it's not a heavy pipe.  It's fairly small and light. For a pipe I picked up by mistake second hand, I'm pretty happy with it.
  • @Zouave
    I'm not huge on bulldogs, but there are some others in that line too...I may have to get me one.
  • @vtgrad2003
    Agreed
     When it comes to Nording freehands, it's very easy to buy too big unless a rocking chair pipe is what you're looking for. I learned that lesson as stated earlier.
    Yet because they are decent pipes, and I do generally like their designs, I'll still continune to eyeball the smaller Nordings...🤞

  • Ah, a Werner Mummert pipe, he does some odd stuff that's for sure, but at $850 its a non starter.
  • @mapletop

    Well, he does have one pipe that's a steal--a block of wood with holes in it for $1000


  • @vtgrad2003   Reminds me of modern art, which in most cases is not art at all
  • edited February 2022
    I like that pipe, just because it’s different, not that I would buy it.  It’s definitely on the “art” side of pipe design.   I think it is suppose to be a homage to a type of “modern” baby cradle by some famous engineer if I recall correctly?  Modern being 20’s-30’s Art Deco? I will have to look at the description again.
  • @RockyMountainBriar, @vtgrad2003;
    Seems to me if you lit it and set it down, depending on what it was set on, it would roll and maybe set something on fire. Sorry, old habits are hard to break.
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