Wow, I ordered this crate for my brother on the 2nd of December and they waited until less than a week before Christmas to email me that it is out of stock. I have been busy as work so I did not see the email saying my money had been refunded. When I asked my brother if he liked his gift, he said “what gift?” Terribly run business, I will never buy anything from Man Crates again. I will also tell everyone I know to not order from this disorganized, unreliable business.

Thanks for nothing,
Sandon

Order # N15229301

Been looking for a refill kit for over a year what to make more pipes and only need the pipe base and stem I already have the tools and vise.

Received as gift for Christmas and would work on it once in a while out in garage when it wasn’t too cold. Really liked that all the tools are added to my workshop, they are not one use and done tools. However I did decide to eventually use some power tools for shaping. Brought it in house this week as I am now going through the grades of sandpaper to improve the finish- wife was impressed with shape! I sand the pipe while she works on a yarn project, which will keep me from rushing through this part. I read the reviews before starting, holes are drilled well and I was slow and careful with cuts. She has bought me a pipe before, but the standard size is small, just larger then the bowl. I am making this with more material under the bowl, I realize weight is greater, but I can hold with 2 fingers and thumb- instead of the commercial pipes which is one and thumb. Great gift!! Have now sent different man crates to father in law and son- everyone loved em!

Got the kit from my sister and apparently she got the last one available for a while, I started on it the next day and was done about 2 days later. The files, saw, and sandpaper were all pretty good quality I can't say anything about the vice because I used my own but if you're looking for a good all around set you can't beat this one. Highly recommend it

I got a pipe kit for my birthday. The tools are ok quality. They can be used again for sure The briar block was not drilled very accurately. I carved the pipe. It came out nice. But the bowl had a sand pit and fell apart. I emailed mail crate and they sent me a replacement no questions asked. Excellent service. The replacement came and the stem was glued into the block of wood. That is strange. I was able to pull it out but it broke in the process. I can use the first stem there is nothing wrong with it. The holes into second clock was worse than the fist. Odd. The stems are some kind if plastic not vulcanate. Oh well it is fun to carve. I will use the files and vice again but The core of the box though is low quality. Pipe making stores sell seconds, my guess is they blocks are seconds.

I got this crate from my wife a couple years ago and finally got around to working on this yesterday and it came out great. My kit came with the older style vise as opposed to the one pictured at the date of this writing. I agree it comes loose during sawing and it does take some effort to keep it straight, so I'm glad to see it's been upgraded. I do feel like I may have received another customer's reject, as there was already a cut on one of the corners (made no difference to me) and the air passage hole had apparently been cut too deep and there's about a 1/4" deep hole on the opposite side of the bowl. I don't know how this will affect how well it smokes but I will find out! On to the positives- the stem is actually quite nice. I agree at first it looks like a cheap injection molded plastic but with sanding and polishing it's a nice hard shiny piece of Lucite (acrylic). It just has to be brought to its potential. It even took a nice bend after a soak in near-boiling water (must be done slowly). I'm impressed with the hand tools. The saw is a little flimsy but I think it's the nature of the type of saw required and not the one selected. files are all nice and the sandpaper is high quality. I used both stains as directed and then I oiled it. Might throw some wax on it too. Now my mistakes - I wanted the square stem and went a little too close to the stem hole on one side where I developed a crack. I had to cut down the wood side of the stem fitting, and therefore the stem extension as well, and I still had to fill the crack with epoxy. After some sanding and with the stain it looks almost like it belongs. Some reviewers complained that they went through the bottom of the bowl when cutting or sanding the bottom. Whoever prepared mine put a nice mark on both sides of the block which correlated with the bowl's bottom. This helped my designing but I don't know if it's there for everyone - I appreciated it. Overall, this was a fun project and it made me want to start making pipes!

I ordered this for my husband. He loves tobacco pipes. I thought this would be an awesome gift for him. He opened it and got right into it. He hasn't stopped talking about it. We had a piece that needed replaced and the company immediately fixed it. A+ on customer service.

My wife purchased me the pipe carving kit as a birthday present a little over a year ago. Saw, vise grip, sanding paper, briarwood pipe block, and rubbing finish.

I eagerly lined out my design and went to work with the vise grip and saw. The vise grip is cheap and dangerous if you rely on it to be an asset. Using the saw was tiring and an ineffective tool. I plugged in my drill sander and completed the desired shape within 30 minutes. Now that it's complete, I am happy that my wife through the means of man crate provoked me into a new hobby. That alone is worth the price.

Got the pipe making kit for my husband for father's day. He enjoys smoking a pipe and whittling and was thrilled at the thought of being able to make a one of a kind pipe to add to his collection.

I have many pipes in my collection, but this will be one of my favorites. Why? Because my daughter gave this kit to me, & I made it! I got it a couple of years ago, & I thought it would be too tough to make. I cheated a little - a friend of mine has a full woodworking shop, so I did the initial cuts there. Actually, I really only needed the band saw. Then I went home & fine tuned it with the rasp, the files, & the sandpaper. In a few hours, I had the pipe completed. The last step was 2 or 3 coats of stain - the character of the wood just jumped out! Let it dry for 24 hours. You have to "break it in" - start with a quarter of the bowl, then 1/2, then 3/4, then full. This puts a layer of carbon on the inside of the pipe. Smokes smooth, cool. No hot hand holding the pipe, either.
I would like to see a better stem with the kit. The pipe looks like pipes I've seen selling for over $100, but the stem, looks it should be on a Dr. Grabow.

Got this for my boyfriend for christmas. After he opened it he sat down and started making his pipe. It was an all day project that he loved doing. Will be ordering refill wood kit so he can make a couple more. Thank you for having a great MAN Gift

At first he was intimidated but instructions were simple to follow and my husband loved creating his beautiful pipe and wants to do more.

I got this awesome kit from Man Crates while deployed to Afghanistan. Not only was it really fun (and therapeutic) to carve away at the briar and watch the pipe take shape, but the quality of the materials and tools were surprisingly good. I would highly recommend this kit to anyone who enjoys pipe smoking, likes woodworking, enjoys artistic processes, or just someone who may appreciate a unique hobby project.
I should also say that I had an issue with shipping to an APO and the Man Crates customer service was superior! Seriously, second to none. Here's to the rise of Man Crates and the resurgence of masculine and gentlemanly hobby of pipe smoking.
I recommend The Country Squire for pipe tobacco.

My wife got this for my birthday. It came in yesterday and I finished it this afternoon. I’m very satisfied with it. It was a lot of fun to build. Tools are decent quality too.

My dad really loved this kit! Hours of entertainment! I had to pat myself on the back for getting this gift. He's already planning his next pipe.
Only negative: he said the stem is cheap, and is going to buy a new one. Maybe that's something that can be improved in this kit.

My son bought this as an XMAS gift and it turned out great. I used a dremel instead of all the files and it took me about 5 hours to complete the project. I have two to carve and made some mistakes on the first but have a fantastic one with the 2nd. If you finish sanding with a 1500 paper, the final wood is glass smooth - this is what I do with pens.

I bought this as a gift for a friend, then ended up getting one for myself! Really looking forward

Bought for hubby's birthday. delivered the day I asked for. He loved it. It was the first time in a long time I was able to surprise him.

My husband loved his Christmas surprise. He made a beautiful pipe and now is looking into doing the knife.

Bought this for my husband.....at first he was apprehensive about it, then got so into it, he had it done in 3 days......What an amazing gift idea. We sent pictures to your Facebook page!

I got this about a month ago as a random gift from my father. It's probably the best thing I've gotten in my adult life. It fits two of my hobbies, and it's good quality. (wood working and smoking). 10/10

I bought this for my brother. He loved it and had it built in a couple of weeks. We are both pipe smokers and think the finished product is awesome. He loved the project and proudly displays it on his mantle when not smoking it.

Excellent gift. I only wish someone would buy it for me now! Ha!

My boyfriend absolutely loved getting this kit. He started working on the pipe as soon as he could, and the pipe really did turn out beautifully. He said that the tools were much better than what he would expect from a "kit" type of project, and is excited to add them to his tool collection.

Customer service was awesome, and the direction booklet that came with the kit was both very helpful and very fun to read.

Even though the stem of the pipe isn't anything fancy, once it is sanded down to fit the rest of the pipe, it really looks pretty nice.

First purchase made and won't be the last. The old man was elated and this is the perfect equivalent to a bouquet, with chocolates, and stuffed animal. On the plus die it doesn't die or go to his hips! Nor is it turned into a toy for the dog. Flawless ordering process, received alerts every step of the way.

I was a little butt hurt when I read that the items don't ship in a crate, but that isn't enough to remove any stars. Plus the shipping cost would be horrendous which would ultimately be reflected in the price of the item.

Well I was very please with the kit. I got just want I wanted. It all worked out well. It only took me 2-1/2 days to make the pipe. I posted it to some of the pipe smoking facebook pages that I am a member of. I am getting a lot of likes. So you my be getting more request for this so you might want to plus up on stock in the warehouse. Thanks for a great product.