When buying pipes at a premium price I always look for same with original stems. Logos some times missing because of careless buffing. When I ask some sellers on e bay when in doubt the common answer is they have limited knowledge in this area but whimidhedkmodhefen looking at others in the store they seem to have know a lot about pipes. I know that buyer beware comes into play here but are others here share my opinion that fellow collectors shy away from these pipes because of deminished value ?
Collectible Pipes Replaced Stems
- Thread starter Pipeoff
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Please excuse the typo but I think this maybe a new German word for getting screwed !
I'm with Embers on this one. Value means nothing to me. All do respect for those who buy pipes to sell and not to smoke but I'm a smoker. That being said for esthetics I want the original stem or I don't buy.
Do those of you who only buy pipes with original stems only buy vehicles with the original tires as well? A well made replacement should perform as well or better than an original. A poor replacement will perform poorly.
Personally I have no problems buying a pipe with a well made replacement stem, and as someone who makes replacement stems I often buy pipes with broken or altogether missing stems.
And for those of you who buy high end pipes only with "original stems", If you bought a pipe with a stem made by someone like @georged you wouldn't even know it, it would be indistinguishable from the original in most cases. There's a whole lotta Dunhills out there with Dibos stems that cannot be Identified.
Personally I have no problems buying a pipe with a well made replacement stem, and as someone who makes replacement stems I often buy pipes with broken or altogether missing stems.
And for those of you who buy high end pipes only with "original stems", If you bought a pipe with a stem made by someone like @georged you wouldn't even know it, it would be indistinguishable from the original in most cases. There's a whole lotta Dunhills out there with Dibos stems that cannot be Identified.
That wouldn't be safe to only buy a car with original tires. Well depending on how old it is of course.
Not even a comparison, tires are made to be replaced.
Even with a professional replacement it's still not from the original carver nor the original piece intended. No one is condemning you for liking them so please return the courtesy for those that don't.
Umm, yeah. What am I, a peasant?
In what way did I condemn anyone?
I simply pointed out that most people wouldn't even know if they a had a pipe with a high quality replacement.
This however is a condemnation of replacement stems and the people who make them. So
How do you quantify stem performance? CFM, airspeed, velocity, laminar flow?
I use a tiny flow bench and calculate the CFM/velocity for a working ratio of 6.2355521/4.89762
Well, maybe. I think the stem George makes will be of much higher quality than the one that he replaced, even if it looks the same.
If we’re talking “collectible” terms, I want and prefer 100% original if possible. Unfortunately, the tenon on an early Brebbia pipe broke and I will have to have the tenon replaced if I want to smoke it (and I do); 90% original is better than 50%, so it will be a necessary evil.
When it comes to Modern 1st Edition books, the original dust jacket must be present for me if at all possible—a facsimile jacket just isn’t going to cut it—in terms of monetary value, the facsimile in this instance is essentially worthless. With a Dunhill pipe, a George Dibos facsimile stem is preferable to no stem, but a nice original would be my first choice.
When it comes to Modern 1st Edition books, the original dust jacket must be present for me if at all possible—a facsimile jacket just isn’t going to cut it—in terms of monetary value, the facsimile in this instance is essentially worthless. With a Dunhill pipe, a George Dibos facsimile stem is preferable to no stem, but a nice original would be my first choice.
Bingo!
Fact is that unless you chaperoned said pipe from the production line to your pipe rack, without a break, you aren't in a position to know that the stem is original. When it comes to vintage pipes, the question gets murkier. A seller's claim of "original" stem on a vintage pipe doesn't mean anything to me, since they have no way to verify that the stem is original. It's just another meaningless selling point.
Some of the major collectors will happily commission George to make a replacement stem for one of their "crown jewels" because the "original" stem isn't good.
Short of commissioning a pipe from a carver, or possibly being the original owner, the "originalism" of the stem is inconclusive.
I would want the original mouthpiece. To me, it doesn't matter how well made the replacement is, the pipe is no longer original. Many times a well made replacement is higher quality than the original, but its still not the original pipe. Most High end collectors I've met insist on everything original for top dollar.
I @georged or @RustiePyles CPG made the stem I am okay with it. All others kills the deals.
Sure they do, but they have no way of knowing that a stem is original. It's a matter of faith, rather than fact.
I would respectfully disagree. Many collectors can identify replacements. Logo is a dead give away for one. Some logos are very difficult to reproduce, Barbi comes to mind..
And if Rainer Barbi made a replacement stem for one of his own pipes how would you know?
That's impossible today but if he did then it would be as good as original to me.