Just a note to let you know that I am currently stocking bags without stocks and can now ship “next day”. Very high quality and the leather used is the same as what L&M/MacHarg uses.
All the best,
Chris
the leather used is the same as what L&M/MacHarg uses.
Sorry, I always love sales pitch and that sounded about as valid as someone saying: ‘I use the same timber as Geoff Wooff so my pipes should be great too’.
disclaimer:
Not commenting here on actual goods, just on the pitch.
Ha! I always find it amusing that you folks “on the other side of the pond” use timber for what we in North America would call wood (no criticism, just noticing it). It make it sound like the set is going to be made out of big logs for Paul Bunyan or something (can someone dig up that old photo of the huge bellows?). 
Do you think it was necessary to post that Peter? It comes across as a personal attack.
Chris was simply letting folks know that the leather he uses comes from the same distributor that those other folks use.
I’m sorry Peter, but I do feel that was a bit out of line.
I do not normally respond to edgy comments such as yours Mr. Laban, but your analogy is completely incorrect. With respect, the use of the names you mention is not meant as a quality comparison (I did not say my bags were as good, better, etc.) but rather due to their widespread recognition it tells people the “type” of leather they are made from. Also, the use of the word “and” in the sentance ( “very high quality and the leather used…”) shows two thoughts and should not be misinterpreted as you have done.
All the best,
Chris
No Joseph, it would have been a personal attack if I had said anything negative about the product or the person at hand but I did get a giggle out of
the leather used is the same as what L&M/MacHarg uses
but that’s just me, apparently. If it puts your mind at ease feel free to delete posts here except the original one and give this a fresh start.
And you never know, Peter Laban, Chris’ bags may be the best available anywhere. Why do you assume otherwise? 
I did not assume anything. I was in stitches over what the pitch tried to imply, rightly or wrongly.
If you want to talk bag quality, riveting subject, will keep you glued to the screen. But for another thread.
Normally I buy my bags from NPU, but they do not sell any more/currently L&M bags, and Chris’ post gave me an inportant piece of information. Chris is one of the nicest persons of the pipe makers I ever worked with.
What would put my mind at rest, is that (prior to posting anything) people would weigh the consequences resulting from the content of their posts… especially when they are directed toward a specififc individual.
As far as what Chris posted; "… the leather used is the same as what L&M/MacHarg uses. " is quite clearly a statement of fact and not a comparison of his pipe bag’s quality to another manufacturer’s product.
An apology to Chris would be nice too.
All I got from it was an assurance about the leather itself, and that’s the first thing I question, and especially now: there was one piper at our tionól whose set was leaking big time, and for the life of us we couldn’t find anything amiss. Then we realised that the bag leather itself was the culprit; not the stitching, not the tying, but the leather. I was surprised how much air escaped from it.
Indeed, Mr. Dixon stated that he is offering a product (available for almost immediate shipment) and is using raw materials of some repute. Nothing more, nothing less. He made no assertion of “greatness;” it is a bit of a stretch to even find such an implication. Quite frankly, I don’t read any sort of salesmanship in his original post. He presents the facts that might be important to the potential buyer.
Indeed, Mr. Dixon stated that he is offering a product (available for almost immediate shipment) and is using raw materials of some repute. Nothing more, nothing less. He made no assertion of “greatness;” it is a bit of a stretch to even find such an implication. Quite frankly, I don’t read any sort of salesmanship in his original post. He presents the facts that might be important to the potential buyer.
Just my two cents…C.J. was nothing but helpful, honest & kind when I dealt with him. I was very sorry to have to sell the set I had of his (for financial reasons). But thought I’d take the opportunity to ask you, mark2olsen, how you are enjoying aforementioned sold set? 
I can’t wait to get back into piping…maybe my newfound poker hobby can fund a set. 
Anyone want to play some hold 'em for a set? It can just be a practice set, I’m not picky.
potential buyers like me for example. ill give you a call in a week or two, chris.
OK if we’re going to take that angle: I took the piss out of the underlying claim that I read into ‘I use the same material as..’ . And I took the piss because it means feck-all. What really would inform you guys is being told that a bag is tightly (hand)stitched and air tight or not as the case may be. For all you know from the information supplied you may get a riveted slightly leaking thing. Or maybe not, the information is just not there, just the suggestion that comes with ‘same material as..’.
What my comment implied was ‘it doesn’t matter what material you use, what’s important is what you do with it’ which in turn is a way of making you aware you may want to think about things like that (how is the fine leather actually stuck together, is that a good way of doing it, will it by the end of the day hold the air, will it last) and make a really informed choice about the stuff you buy. Will the outcome be you buy one of CJ’s, that’s fine by me, if that is the outcome of a rational consideration, not because you bought some virtually meaningless sales pitch.
Sometimes, perhaps, implying something doesn’t work quite as well as actually coming out and stating what you really mean… as long as it isn’t an attack on someone. It removes most of the risk of being misunderstood.
But from my experience, having to read the gazillions of posts here, I don’t think you have been anything but highly critical of Chris and his work. Criticism is fine, but every time he posts something you’re right there to take him to task for it and it really looks like you are stalking him. This recent post seemed even more so than most of the past ones.
Peter, I have a great deal of respect for you and your knowledge and I feel that you do this forum a very good turn by sharing yourself with us. But there are times where I honestly feel it might be better to just leave certain things (people) alone, unless it is a gross misuse of these forums by anyone of its other contributors.
Hi CJ:
My experience has been that use of porous leather is an issue for many pipe bags. I really dislike seasoning and I doubt that I am alone in this feeling. The L&M bags which you refer to (not sure about the MacHarg, nowadays) include a proprietary coating of some sort on the inside, smooth-side of the leather which renders it more airtight than the chrome/“elk”-tanning alone.
Since you did mention it, I’d like a clarification. When you say your bags are made of “the same material” as the L&M bags, do you mean that you have a source for elk-tanned leather with the proprietary coating?
It was my understanding that the latter product had disappeared from the open market in recent years - something about the (Canadian?) leather supplier discontinuing the product, followed by L&M buying the process and/or hiring the fellow who used to make it at the previous leather supplier. (I of course could be misinformed about this.)
If you have a source for the same leather including the coating then indeed this is important and valuable information for potential purchasers.
best regards,
Bill
for the record,
it is possible to leave one of those bags on a table, full, all day and it wont lose any air. I think that is impressive but what do i know.
At least thats what Bruce childress told me 
In case anyone actually wanted to talk about CJ’s bags…
If I may say so, CJ makes a terrific bag and is a lovely fellow…Very conscientious, quality work.
Doc