Over the years I have written numerous articles illustrating how the saxophone’s iconic image is used in everything from advertising to high art. Well today’s example of saxophone imagery is nothing short of exploitation.
Yesterday while browsing eBay I happened across something I hadn’t seen before: sax-shaped metal tobacco and pot pipes. 
Now I didn’t just see one seller hocking this product. Nope, I saw upwards of 20 selling variations of this same thing.
Talk about post modernism run amok… Just how many variations of sax-shaped metal tobacco pipes do we need in the world… 😈
As I was reading through the badly written descriptions provided by the various sellers in far-off countries—read China, China; or Beijing China; or Beijing, Beijing; or Hong Kong; or Taiwan; or variations and combos of any of the above—I was struck by the wild variations in descriptions and price.
One of the descriptions however, made me chuckle. I offer it up to you now for your amusement:
Small Saxophone Cigarette Smoking Pipes Metal Tobacco Weed Pipe Hookah Portable
Description:
100% Brand New,High Quality
Shape:saxophone
Color:As the picture shows
Size:10cm* 3.5cm
Material:Metal
Feature:
Compact and ergonomic design
Durable and can be used repeatedly for a long time
Made of high-quality materials, not contain any harmful objectsGreat for your father’s gift or for your friend’s gift
Package Included:
1 x smoking pipe
Doesn’t contain any harmful objects? 😆 That’s funny. If that is indeed true, it will only be the case until the tobacco gets put into it. 👿
Ergonomic design. Really? I’m not seeing the good ergos in its design. As a matter of fact, the small saxophones that I have adorning my shelves that look very similar to this, are not particularly ergonomic. Not to mention, what are you going to look like smoking anything through what looks like a toy sax? Your street cred will go down the shitter that’s for sure. 😆
Mmm… All this time I thought my Pink Panther was playing the sax… I guess I have to reconsider what he’s doing in my studio when I’m not in there. 😉
My favourite claim that the seller makes is that this sax-shaped tobacco & pot pipe is “Durable and can be used repeatedly for a long time.”
This seller from Hong Kong, Hong Kong, is selling these pipes for $1.89 US with free shipping. Yup, I’m sure you’ll get a durable pipe for less than 2 bucks. 😆
Look, I’ve got nothing against someone making a buck. And I’ve got nothing against smokers. Hell, I admit that I enjoy the taste of good quality tobacco on occasion. But everything about these sax-shaped tobacco and pot pipes is just wrong.
If you are looking for a paper-free way to enjoy your dried plant-based products, buy a good quality bong, or a real hookah. BTW, this is not a hookah… no matter what the seller tries to tell you in their ad.
Hi Helen,
This is just a Really Bad Idea™. Holding on to a smoldering metal pipe leaching industrial solvents into the tobacco could only be comfortable with the equally non-toxic specially tailored and color-coordinated asbestos gloves. 😉
There’s a reason why traditional pipes are made from briar wood or clay and often lined with meerschaum.
This might almost make sense if it were made of laboratory grade pyrex. The accessory screen already hints that this appliance is targeted for a different sort of flake all together from tobacco.
paul