I got this gift for my fiancé who is currently deployed over seas. He loved it:) It only took him a couple days to make and he was happy to have a fun project to work on while deployed. I was a little skeptical about the quality of the tools and material but he said that it was everything was great and easy to make.

Also their costumer service is outstanding (specifically Josh and John)! When I original order the kit, it got lost somewhere along the way to Afganistan and they went above and beyond to make it right.

Wifey got this for me for Christmas this year, and while I have a number of purchased pipes, I really enjoyed making this one! As another reviewer said, it is not symmetrical and, had I had the belt sander, table saw, etc. that other pipe makers have, it would have looked a lot better. However, using my own elbow grease to saw and sand, and stain it myself was worth the effort and turned out pretty good considering.

Two things that they should include in my opinion that would put it over the top--a little carnuba wax to apply to the pipe after it is stained to give it extra shinyness. And, a little more stain would have been nice to have as well. However, the little instruction booklet was hilariously written and I enjoyed reading and laughing at the humor combined with the instructions!!

I received the pipe carving kit as a Christmas gift. The box was unsealed when it arrived and was missing the cross cut saw blade and the pipe carving instruction manual. I emailed the company that day (Dec 25th) and received a form email back that said they would not be open until Dec 26th (understandable). However, it is now the 29th and I have still not heard from them. Not very good!

My wife bought me this as a Christmas gift and I absolutely love it. All I need to carve my first pipe. The packaging was exactly as it should be, not fancy, adequate for shipping. I can appreciate it. I've already begun to sketch my plans, its going to be a beauty.

This is my second year in a row ordering from Man Crates for my husband for Christmas. Each time its a hit! Good quality tools in a gift that challenges the recipient to use some creativity. I read that it wasn't a crate but I had the diabolical duct tape cocoon to enhance the experience. I recommend it! Great gift idea for the man in your life!

I bought this for my husband for his birthday. He had been talking about wanting to get a pipe for about a year. This kit was the PERFECT!! He was so excited to get started, he finished the pipe in 2 days! I already had to buy him a new briar wood pipe block yesterday. He already has plans on new pipe creations and others wanting in on the action!

This is the BEST site to find a gift for any MAN! I couldn't be happier with my purchase! Thank You, Man Crates!

Got the gift for father's day and finished it Saturday 7/11. Had a wonderful time laying out the lines on the block and was amazed at the quality of the tools that accompanied it. I definitely "lowered my expecttations". Turns out it is a great smoking piece of briar as well. GREAT GIFT.

AWESOME!!! I got it for father's day and finished it last night. It was my maiden voyage so it's not exactly symmetrical, but that is what gives it it's character. And it's a great smoke.

My buddies and I are always texting each other pics of our latest projects and cool stuff we're making. This was the perfect gift my friend who epitomizes manliness. He called me and was blown away by how great the set was and how much he's looking forward to starting on it so he can show it off to everyone when it's done.

It's also awesome that he's also going to be able to keep using those tools with all of other stuff he makes. There's no where else you can get gifts this cool! And it you haven't called in to talk to their amazing customer service yet, at least call just to hear the Christopher Walken impression!

My dad couldn't have been more excited and intrigued by this gift. Considering I told him to anticipate a package he was like a little kid every time Fed Ex drove by. As soon as he opened it and gazed his eyes upon a new project with all the tools and products he needed. Let's just say now he is planning on growing a beard and keeps calling himself king of the briar. Must have for fathers/brothers/husbands who enjoy creating things with their own hands.

We bought this for brother-in-law Robb, who lives in a house full of estrogen. After receiving this crate in the mail, Robb texted: "I received a Man Crate in the mail today. You don't know how badly I needed a testosterone filled package full of metal and manliness. Thanks for thinking of me on my soon to be birthday." (Followed-up with a couple of I love yous.)

The good news is that my husband loves his pipe carving kit and couldn't believe anything like this even existed. The disappointment came the second I got the box. The box on the outside was extremely damaged. I was glad that the kit itself was in another box, so that I could still wrap the box containing the kit, without worry... until I realized that there was no outer box. The site does show how it will ship, so I guess it is my fault for thinking the packaging would be presentable as the gift for which these items are intended. I ended up taking all of the contents out of the damaged box and throwing them in a used Amazon box so it could at least look presentable as a gift to give on Christmas. In spending $90 on a product and $20 on top of that for shipping, I expected better. Also, the personalized note i wrote for my husband was either not in the box or fell out of one of the holes in the damaged packaging at some point during shipping.

Lost my small collection of pipes and my large collection of wood working tools in a house fire. So my boys gave me this kit. The vice was sturdy enough and held in place but was almost too small. The floating jaw was on its very last threads when clamping the work piece at its widest point. The rasp was absolutely pitiful quality. The files were nice enough. The saw did what it was designed for. Wound up carving a lot of it with my pocket knife. But it made a very serviceable pipe and I enjoyed the experience tremendously.

I liked the kit but the biggest thing for me was that the bench vice is low quality. I had it tightened and yet the little ball and top piece would keep moving as I was cutting and sanding. It’s a bit harder to make precise cuts when you’re stuff is moving around and I was a bit disappointed. I bought it to try out a new hobby and I was a bit bummed at the price for a vice like that.

Truly amazing. I would only give advise to others to check the depth of the air passage. When drilled on my wood block, it went further than the heel of the chamber. This is minor, but causes no accurate measurement for determining size. I ended up sanding and noticed it was far past the heel. This makes it impossible smoke now. I will repair and stain it. Still an awesome gift. From the beginning, I realized it was off center on an angle, but I thought it would give it character. I received this as a gift.

I got this for my wife (despite the name of this site) who loves smoking pipes and loves making things. She loved!! The tools and the briar wood are high quality stuff, but the stem of the pipe was little lack luster. It looks like very cheap plastic. Great idea and majority of the stuff was awesome, just wished the pipe stem was a little higher quality.

I thought the $20 shipping was because it came in a crate!! Man"crate" what crap!!

Received this as a Christmas present and was excited because I enjoy working with my hands. The tools seemed decent but it was not upon trying them that I realized they are pretty cheap considering what the cost of this product is. The bench vice flat out sucks. I had to constantly keep tightening during the sawing phase and worse, a piece kept loosening that required an allen wrench to tighten, which did not come in the box. Thankfully I had the right size but if you do not own the correct size allen wrench, you are in for a terrible time sawing.

After cutting the bottom, I realized I sawed off too much and exposed a hole on the foot. Again, if you do not have the right supplies like wood glue, you are not only in for a bad time but you also many not have a pipe that is ever fully functional. After the filing and sanding, I attempted to glue a piece on the foot to cover the hole but it never quite came out correctly with gaps still exposed.

Only reason I did not give this product 1 star is because I did not want my mistake to be the reason for this product's failure. Yes, if you do make a mistake like I did, which is probably very common for people who have never done wood-working, this product is basically useless. Aside from that, the tools, especially the bench vice, could be much, much better. Total disappointment.

My fault i didn't read the ad completely. I justified the 130 $ total because my son would have cool crate as part of the gift. Although the kit is complete i will not likely shop or recommend man crates or man boxes to anyone !

Its not even the box in the picture. Kind of sad when the site is called man crates, not man cardboard boxes. Yes it says not shipped in a crate, small off to the side, not in description. Regular box, stamped and tagged for shipping. Not a nice package to give.