Whos goin to the NY pipe show?

[hyper_dermic]

Pipe show tommorw at the Ramada Inn in Newark, NJ
suppose to be the NY pipe show, but its really in NJ.. thats the case for most things. NY giants, NY jets, statue of liberty.. etc..

anyways, doors open at 10am....
hopefully i'll be there when the doors open, im going to stay at work a few hours late, take a nap and head over there.
If anyone wants to meet up, ill be the one in the paramedic uniform.
i dont think i'll stay long, but ive never been to a pipe show before.

Im lookin to pick up some aged baccy, odds n' ends like some paragon wax, a pipe stand, maybe a pipe bag, perhaps a lighter... all the stuff i would want to look at before buying. Oh, cant forget the pipes... but im on a budget. Im just looking for a cheap(er) pipe to bring around with me. Something small but pretty. Something under $150...

anyone been to one of these before?
what exactly goes on? do they sell tobacco at these things? how are the prices?



-hyp

[MeNimbus]

Hey Charlie....We missed you at the NY/NJ mini Herf a last weekend. I hope all is well with you

I had a great time with snowy and schnell987.

[OpusEx]

Originally Posted by hyper_dermic

anyone been to one of these before?
what exactly goes on? do they sell tobacco at these things? how are the prices?



-hyp

Yes, I was at the show a couple of years ago. The room it is in is small, but having been my first show it was a very nice experience for me. Prices are ok and you may be able to haggle a little bit. They do some door prizes I think too. You will not need to commit the whole day to being there unless you really want to have long conversations with a number of the people there, as I mentioned the room is small and you should be able to see everything in a couple of hours tops. I imagine you'll be able to find something you like in a pipe and some tobacco. Have a great time! I should add to be careful of how you get there too, as if you don't make the correct turn at exactly the right moment depending on which direction you are coming from it is easy to miss and then it requires some lengthy circumnavigating to get there (I obviously am stating this having learned it first hand LOL).

[hyper_dermic]

Oh good, that sounds exactly like what i was looking foward to!
thanks for the heads up on the directions... i live in the area, so i know the hotel they speak of... i pass it all the time coming home from NYC.

-hyp

Originally Posted by OpusEx

Yes, I was at the show a couple of years ago. The room it is in is small, but having been my first show it was a very nice experience for me. Prices are ok and you may be able to haggle a little bit. They do some door prizes I think too. You will not need to commit the whole day to being there unless you really want to have long conversations with a number of the people there, as I mentioned the room is small and you should be able to see everything in a couple of hours tops. I imagine you'll be able to find something you like in a pipe and some tobacco. Have a great time! I should add to be careful of how you get there too, as if you don't make the correct turn at exactly the right moment depending on which direction you are coming from it is easy to miss and then it requires some lengthy circumnavigating to get there (I obviously am stating this having learned it first hand LOL).

[mr.c]

well lets have all the gory details

[hyper_dermic]

Well, i went in looking for a small inexpensive bulldog to use as a travel pipe...
i circled round and round, almost settled on a bjarne, but ended up being lured away by a small sandblasted sarah eltang, its something inbetween a billiard and a canadian... it was perfect for a shorter smoke, and fits nicely in my pocket. i have a feeling my GF is going to try to steal this one away from me.

then a partal sandblasted blowfish by Dal Fiume Gabriele caught my eye... i couldnt decide between the 2, so i just got both!! (20% off.. couldnt resist!)
Ive been wanting a blowfish for a while, and this one was just perfect... not too crazy, pleasing to hold and look at, and not mass produced.

I prefer the pipes made in smaller quantity, and i was a bit disappointed in how few independent carvers there were. infact, many of the dealers didnt carry the independant carvers either.

Limited selection of aged tobacco(almost none infact).. i just grabbed a can of reiners long golden extra (i actually have some coming in on monday, but i couldnt resist )
Pipesandcigars had a table there, and all of russ' blends were there for sampling. i took a pinch of virginia spice home with me.. i should have been greedier and sampled some more now that i think of it.

all in all it was a good outing.. i spent more than i thought i would, but i got much better pipes than i thought i would.
Some vendors were very nice, some were total douchebags. Same goes for some of the buyers i met. I guess im spoiled by these forums where everyone treats each other nicely, and dont look down our noses at others. Some of the condesending remarks/conversations i overheard made me want to puke.
anyhow, its nice to be back in internet land... people really know their stuff online, but without the bad attitude.

-hyp

[hyper_dermic]

Heres a pic of the blowfish.. it doesnt do it justice...
you cant really see the awesome "spine" or "Fin" than runs down the middle of the pipe.

-hyp

[Bruce]

Nice Blowfish!
What were people saying that disgusted you so much?
Too bad about some of the vendors being rude, seems counter productive to their business.

I guess we were lucky at the St. Louis show, people in general were pretty friendly and the vendors had a decent amount of vintage tobaccos and one-off pipes.

The show I'm really looking forward to is Chicago. From what I heard that's the place for wheeling/dealing, rare pipes and vintage tobaccos......plus meeting the industry giants.

[mr.c]

Originally Posted by Bruce

Nice Blowfish!
What were people saying that disgusted you so much?
Too bad about some of the vendors being rude, seems counter productive to their business.

I guess we were lucky at the St. Louis show, people in general were pretty friendly and the vendors had a decent amount of vintage tobaccos and one-off pipes.

they did untill we got there

[hyper_dermic]

Heres something that bugged me...
I was outside in the smoking area when i overheard a conversation between strangers.

One was happily talking about his collection of a highly popular brand of pipe.
the other person who didnt know this guy, started laughing in a condescending manner. "oh you think you have a collection?" apparently the 1st guys 30-40 pipes doesnt qualify as a "collection" to the other guy.
no matter what anyone said or had, he had 50 more or 30 years older.
I had to go inside in order to stop myself from smacking the guy in his mouth.

That sort of attitude was present in the show and it annoyed me.
I found some nice people to chat with, but i could hear these conversations taking place and it bothered me.

And then there was the vendor who tried to make me pay 8 dollars more than the marked price on a pack of balken sorbane.
I asked the price and he quoted $30, then gave me a song and dance story about why it was clearly marked $22. "oh it was imported from italy by a friend, and i dont even want to sell it blah blah"
if you dont want to sell it, then dont have it on your damn table. Then when i ask if its an english blend (ive noticed that balken sorbaine comes in different blends, some of which i thought didnt include latakia) he gets all huffy and says that "if i have to ask then its not for me". I ask if there is anyone ELSE selling vintage tobacco and he says "oh wait i have a VA" "have you heard of GL Pease?" "ummm yea.."
He then pulls out an OPENED tin of Montgomery dated 05'.
thats your idea of a "vintage" tin...? an OPENED tin of 05 montgomery?
this was the guy who was collecting the money to get into the show, so i figured he would know who had what..

I cant help but to feel that half the vendors were there to just rip people off.


oh well, thats NJ for you.


anyhow, I chose to do business with a vendor who had Very fair prices, was nice and helpful, carried artist pipes of a wide variety, and was willing to haggle.
im actually quite pleased with the pipes i got and the price i paid. I went into the show looking to buy a bulldog, and i ended up getting 2 totally different pipes

-hyp

[inept]

I love Dal Fiume Gabriele. Ever since buying one, I'm constantly on the lookout for more.

[hyper_dermic]

So far, the one i have is a great smoker!, i have to fiddle a bit to get a pipe cleaner to pass, but i dont care because it smokes cool and dry.

Heres a link to the guy i got mine from, hes still got 4 left
http://www.jamesislandpiper.com/cata...aspx?cat_id=96
Nice guy, with good taste in pipes.
I think briar blues also carries Gabrieles from time to time.
According to Don Seatter, DG makes a rather limited number of pipes per year. Most of which end up being sold at the chicago pipe show.

[hyper_dermic]

in regards to the folks at the pipe show, heres a good analogy.
you guys familiar with the fat comic book store guy on the simpsons?
well image that guy, but fatter, and older, with a white beard.
now image 40 of them crammed in a small room.

got that image?
ok thats the pipe show

-hyp

[Kayak_Rat]

I was actualy reading on another boardhow some of the pipe makers and blenders have noticed an advanced amount of snobbery in pipping lately. Especially in forums. I am glad ours is so down to earth.

Congrats on the buy and enjoy for many years to come.

[mr.c]

Originally Posted by Kayak_Rat

I was actualy reading on another boardhow some of the pipe makers and blenders have noticed an advanced amount of snobbery in pipping lately. Especially in forums. I am glad ours is so down to earth.

Congrats on the buy and enjoy for many years to come.

I think thats more perceived than real. If you dont like aromatics your a snob. If you like vintage tobacco your a snob. Collect Dunhills -Snob. Bald and smoke pipes- really snobby. :} Pipers are a different group to be sure. Most of us here are converted cigar smokers and I think thats why you see the difference.