I am a winner! Tsuge pipe! Woohoo!

[Sir Humpsalot]

[SIZE=4]I AM A WINNER!!!!![/SIZE]

I've been pining after a Tsuge ever since I saw my first one. The only problem is the nice ones cost $400+ for the Ikebanas. Sure, there's the Arashi line, and the Triangle line, but have you looked at them? If not for the name stamped on it, I honestly don't think I'd know them from a Stanwell or Peterson. The thing that saddened me about Tsuge pipes is that to get a pipe with even a hint of Tsuge style, you had to buy an Ikebana.

But then, this beauty popped up on eBay... It actually looks like a Tsuge!!! Sure, it's not as radical and wild as the Ikebanas, but there's a lot more than just a hint of the Ikebanas that I think are so awesome. And the grain just looks incredible. $68 shipped. Man that's gonna hurt my pocketbook, but it'll be soo worth it.

[Sir Humpsalot]

Maybe I'm coming down with Pipe Acquisition Syndrome? Maybe?

This just came in the mail today...




I am happy to report that the Nording seems to be a pretty good smoker.

The first thing I did though was to pack up the cob with some Squadron Leader. The draw was a bit stiff (even after taking out the filter). Is this normal for a cob? They both seem to be this way. The only problem I had is that the cob sure tasted like varnish when I was smoking it. YUCK!!! It really ruined my first taste of Squadron Leader. So I smoked some Squadron Leader out of the cob, suffering through the varnish taste, then pulled out the Nording.

When I went to pack the Nording with Old Gowrie (courtesy of RevSmoke), I was astonished at how big the bowl was! It's HUGE! I packed it less than a quarter of the way and puffed on it for 15-20 minutes. I got a little gurgle out of it about half way through, but slowing down my puffing seemed to cure that. The Nording whistled a little when I sucked on it dry (is that normal?), but with a bit of tobac and a less overly-enthusiastic draw, it quieted down and puffed quite nicely. It's sure a big bowl though! Almost seems like a waste of tobac, though I'm sure it'll be nice when I'm hanging around outside with good friends.

All in all, the Nording seems to be a pretty good puffer. Of course, I'm a newb though, so the Tsuge will probably give me a better idea as to how it compares to another more premium smoking pipe.

As for the Missourri Meerschaums, they reek of varnish. Hopefully that will diminish with time...

[Sawyer]

Nice pickup. Many of the Tsuge Ikebana Pipes are actually classic Danish shapes just like the lower graded lines. I guess there is a reason since Mr. Fukuda, who makes all the Ikebana pipes, studied with Sixten Ivarsson.

[Sir Humpsalot]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Nice pickup. Many of the Tsuge Ikebana Pipes are actually classic Danish shapes just like the lower graded lines. I guess there is a reason since Mr. Fukuda, who makes all the Ikebana pipes, studied with Sixten Ivarsson.

Interesting! Though to my untrained eye, all of the more interesting Ikebanas have a distinct commonality among them, for instance, they seem to have complex changing curves, very organic, as opposed to the rather mechanical simple arcs that define the visual lines of most pipes. From what little I've seen, that neat organic-aquatic design feature is only available in their Ikebana pipes.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Sir Humpsalot

Interesting! Though to my untrained eye, all of the more interesting Ikebanas have a distinct commonality among them, for instance, they seem to have complex changing curves, very organic, as opposed to the rather mechanical simple arcs that define the visual lines of most pipes. From what little I've seen, that neat organic-aquatic design feature is only available in their Ikebana pipes.

Check out these at cupojoes.

Tsuge Page 1
Tsuge Page 2

Some of the more complex Tsuge Freehands are somewhat unique, but they all still remind me of Danish Freehands.

[Sir Humpsalot]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Check out these at cupojoes.

Tsuge Page 1
Tsuge Page 2

Some of the more complex Tsuge Freehands are somewhat unique, but they all still remind me of Danish Freehands.

I definitely see the resemblance to Danish Freehands in the pipes in those links! Though I can't say I really like more than 5 or 6 of the ones you linked....

I suppose it's just the more "radical" Tsuges that I like so much...

[IHT]

i believe you can buy those same Tsuge's new on smokingpipes for $45 every now and then... we even had a thred dedicated to "big sale on Tsuge's" at one time... was a few pages long.
seems that smokingpipes has since ran out of them.
(not trying to burst your bubble of joy, just making an observation)

i've been planning on selling mine, which has outstanding grain, on ebay... i saw one go for $90 (double what they go for new) a few months back. i don't smoke mine anymore... might as well put it to good use.

edit: actually, a couple nights back i was checking prices on ebay and saw that auction, and a few others. i was planning on ebaying off a couple pipes and tobaccos between business trips, but life gets in the way.

[Sir Humpsalot]

Originally Posted by IHT

i believe you can buy those same Tsuge's new on smokingpipes for $45 every now and then... we even had a thred dedicated to "big sale on Tsuge's" at one time... was a few pages long.
seems that smokingpipes has since ran out of them.
(not trying to burst your bubble of joy, just making an observation)

i've been planning on selling mine, which has outstanding grain, on ebay... i saw one go for $90 (double what they go for new) a few months back. i don't smoke mine anymore... might as well put it to good use.

If you decide to sell, shoot me a PM, please, if for nothing else then to make me aware it's going on eBay.

And it's not bursting my bubble in the slightest. Though I lust after many of the Tsuges on SmokingPipes.com right now, there actually aren't any available under $300 that I particularly care for, this one on fleaBay just caught my eye and whether I could've gotten it for $20 cheaper 6 months ago is a rather moot point as I see it.

Edit to add: Actually, smoking pipes doesn't have any that catch my eye for under $540 right now. LOL. And I can't say that the above one is anywhere near as nice as those, but it catches my eye. What more can I say?

[IHT]

Originally Posted by Sir Humpsalot

this one on fleaBay just caught my eye and whether I could've gotten it for $20 cheaper 6 months ago is a rather moot point as I see it.

very true. wasn't trying to take away from the "win" or that you found a pipe you really like.
maybe we should revive THIS THREAD whenever they have more sales on the "Kaga" line (which does look a lot like some of the Ikebanas).

check post #95 for a photo of the same one you just got (bent pot), and #97 for one similar to the one i have (bent brandy).
nice pipes.

[Sir Humpsalot]

Originally Posted by IHT

very true. wasn't trying to take away from the "win" or that you found a pipe you really like.
maybe we should revive THIS THREAD whenever they have more sales on the "Kaga" line (which does look a lot like some of the Ikebanas).

Definitely. If this one smokes as good as I'm thinking it will, I'll no doubt start saving my pennies for another one.


But now... what about this "varnish taste" in my Missouri Meerschaum?

[Mad Hatter]

The varnish only lasts a couple of bowls. Smoke up!

[evazan]

Nice looking pipes. I remember a thread you posted here not too long ago about looking for one pipe and not wanting to spend more then 50 dollars. Looks like your heading down the slope head first though. I have so far been able to restrain myself and am just puffing on Cassano Vera and a cob.

[Sir Humpsalot]

Originally Posted by evazan

Nice looking pipes. I remember a thread you posted here not too long ago about looking for one pipe and not wanting to spend more then 50 dollars. Looks like your heading down the slope head first though. I have so far been able to restrain myself and am just puffing on Cassano Vera and a cob.

Hehe... you are indeed correct. The previous thread was more of a rush though, because my pipe broke and I needed another one ASAP.

I managed though, hobbling through the week with only two very poorly made cobs.

The plan was to just get something, anything, to tide me over until I could really find some pipes that jumped out at me. As it turned out, the Nording did just that so I picked that up along with two MM's. Then, lo-and-behold, I find the Tsuge on eBay and jumped at it.

I'd still like a couple more pipes, but at least I have enough now to hold me until I find them. That definitely allows me to be a much more discerning shopper.

FWIW, I stuck another pic of the Nording in the Show Your Pipes thread in the sticky. It's pretty cool.