ilikemyusername Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Is the quality of a km what it was a couple of years ago? I know there's been a lot goin on in Egypt and I was curious to know if that has affected build quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Nothing huh? What happened to the traffic on this site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 We've been having a redirect issue when folks search on Google, when you click the HookahForum result, it redirects you to some urlshort.info website instead of taking you to HF. It has resulted in people not being able to find the forum as easily, and a huge drop in new member registrations. Still waiting on it to get resolved... Some people say Khalil Mamoon's quality has gone down due to increased production, more models, etc. I would say that based off of some recent models I've seen, but the Khalil Mamoon Prince model I got recently is pretty awesome. Then again, it's a clone of a Syrian model Al Fakher used to make, so... :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CzechMate Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 yeah i always get that urlshort thing. Whats up with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 It's something affecting forums that are on the Invision Power Board platform. I'm encouraging the owner of Hookah Forum to convert us over to another platform. Hopefully it'll happen soon. We'll see. Now back on topic, as we have a thread already dedicated to the redirect issue. Thanks. :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wek-sos Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 The KM Prince I have seen in person looked great. However this may be their new focus, or produced in another factory for KM, due to the Syrian styling. Al Fakher dropped the ball on the Solids and KM picked up where they left off. I had a Trimetal from 3 years ago that had very clean welds. 5 year old Admiral that you could not tell was handmade, even had plated copper hose port and purge valve tubing! The quality dropped off in the last few years, my Mini Kamanja looked like solder was just dripped on to the stem at the hose port. Brass felt very thin (compared to my Mini Beast) and lightweight. The hose port metal was definitely a few mm thinner than most KM's, I didn't hold on to that one for long. This was the most recent KM I purchased, a few months ago. My Mini Beast wasn't even put together in a straight line, pieces were staggered upon each other. Other non-brass KM's like my Black Shareef noticeable gaps in the metals, which would trap water during cleaning. Unless you can see the pipe in person (or are willing to pay shipping + restocking fees), I would stick to Shika and Farida for Egyptian pipes. Much higher quality, and usually a better design as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattarios2 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 All the KM's I have ever had have always been either acceptable or above acceptable with quality. I have never had a KM that was bad quality and I have owned roughly 10 different kms since 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wek-sos Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) http://i.imgur.com/5BM6zr1.jpg The middle KM has the bowl port offset from the downstem, which was bent inside to accommodate this error. http://i.imgur.com/fyOiVh9.jpg This is the hose port on the other KM Beast that was assembled properly. Rough edges, didn't seal well with any grommet. Also note the "splattered" solder on the stem. http://i.imgur.com/ou5c6rc.jpg This is the best shot of the KM Admiral I had that was ~5 years old. Hardly noticeable, whereas the newer pipes look like they are constructed quickly and carelessly. Like Mattarios said, it's still acceptable quality. However, it's annoying to open a box with a new KM to see poor weld marks, misaligned pieces, poorly cut hose ports, etc... Nothing that really affects the pipe, but enough to make me find another brand of Egyptian pipes. Especially at $120 for a Mini Beast, there are better options for a lower price available. Edited March 28, 2014 by wek-sos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
â€On Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 KM has the occasional issue with their welds being kind of ugly looking, but I've never even heard of any of these welds being so bad that it caused a leak. What you have to understand is that they are brazed by hand, and even in people who know what they are doing, there is occasionally some issue. In the places these pipes are made, I highly doubt that ANY pipes are discarded, no matter how bad. So when someone new is learning to braze, they will have ugly joints, that's just how it goes. But honestly aside from cosmetics, every KM i've used has been pretty awesome, and I still consider KM to be the golden standard. That doesn't mean they are the best (currently I give that award to Hookah King), but it certainly means they are the middle of the road for quality, price, looks, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud-Hookah Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Other then cosmetics I love the pipes and its all I ever use. Anything hand made is going to have 'character' as I say, ever try to find a full set of hand blown glasses that all look the same... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agunn1231 Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 As others have stated, quality seems to be staying decent. From my experience I have had no issues with the KM's I have owned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 I'm pleased to report that it is in above functional shape. This particular pipe has 0 obvious welds and only one real flaw and that's the hose port has a jagged chunk of metal inside where the hose goes. It's nothing that a small metal file won't fix. I'm on an iphone as I don't have an internet connection at my new house aside for this wifi someone is so graciously donating to me. I can't quite figure out how to post pics from iphone but if there's a way to do it I'll figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Photobucket.com, then post the IMG code here. Or use Tapatalk and it's super easy to upload pics. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 Tapatalk eh? I'll check into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bawhee Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Very good to hear you got a sweet pipe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Tapatalk won't let me sign in... It says I haven't created an account and wants to know if I'd like it to create one for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Maybe it's meaning your Tapatalk account? It uses that to keep track of the various forums you log into via Tapatalk. That way if it's ever deleted from you mobile device, you simply log in once the app is downloaded again and boom, all your forums are there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 I dig it now... Pics to come tonight! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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