Happy New Year

As I write this, snow is falling in south eastern Pennsylvania and Christmas 2017 has become a memory. The year 2017 has only 3 days left before it too passes into the realm of memory, and these are the days I typically find myself looking back over the past year and thinking about what the next year will be like. I’ve never been one for resolutions, but I’m an obsessive planner, and thinking of plans gives me an excuse to avoid cleaning the shop.

The past year has been an exciting one for CaneRodPipes.  We launched the business  at the beginning of the year and are proud to report that it has been a success. As I wrote in our 2017 Holiday Letter to our customers:

“I still recall wondering if I was making a mistake. The last thing I wanted to do was to turn my love of restoring old pipes into a job. Well, after making 32 stems, refurbishing 28 pipes, and doing more cob mods than I want to admit, it is clear that I had nothing to worry about.”

So with that in mind, why change anything? As a pipe repairman, I am firmly committed to the old adage “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” However change is sometimes necessary for survival, and is always necessary for growth.

In our case, survival reduces to the unsavory facts of finance. When you factor in the cost of supplies, actual time spent doing the work, time spent researching the history of the pipe or the necessary materials, and all the hidden costs like web site hosting, it is clear that there is just no way to survive as a full time pipe repairman. How do you tell someone that wants to refurbish a cherished factory pipe with sentimental value that the cost of refurbishment will exceed the original cost of the pipe? In my opinion, you don’t. I have a “day job” that provides me the luxury of doing the pipe work as a hobby. It’s a hobby that I am passionate about and in which I am dedicated to excellence. I won’t cut corners by using pre-molded stems or any of the other quick fixes that would lead to a higher profit margin. That would turn what I do into a job.

This is the underlying reason I decided to stop doing corn cob pipe modifications. I was spending a lot of time making cob mods like the Stubby Gent. I would turn and finish new shanks to the same level that I finish briar, turn custom delrin shank inserts for the mortise, hand cut stems, and incorporate stem adornments. When you are competing with guys that apply a heavy coat of brown lacquer and a factory molded stem to an $8 corn cob pipe and sell it for $45 you just can’t win. While I enjoy doing the work, and there are folks willing to pay for it, I am uncomfortable charging $45 for what is essentially a disposable pipe. And perhaps more importantly, I can use the time I was spending on cob mods to do something that provides greater value.

And that brings us to growth. What plans do we have for the future? Well, the first one is the blog that you are reading right now. I toyed with the idea of a customer newsletter, and might still do one at some point. I wanted some way to share progress on repairs, shop news, and tips and tricks. But I expect that I will veer off into musings on other pipe-related topics. I am also thinking about adding a “for sale” page to the website. I sometimes have refurbished estates that I sell, and other items like tampers or cob replacement stems that might be of interest. There are a few other ideas that are not yet fully formed. Hopefully I’ll be able to talk more about those in the second half of the year.

I wish you all the best in the New Year! Now I need to get back to cleaning the shop.