Just to know about these unique master pipe makers and be able to read their history is good enough for me.
Amen to that. I have an abiding fascination with the history and lore of pipes. And Sixten to the possibilities of pipe design is like JS Bach to the possibilities of musical expression. Both provided fundamental change in their respective fields, opening possibilities of expression completely unconsidered until they showed the way.
So would I spend a chunk of change to own a Sixten pipe? If I could afford it, yes. But as I can't, I'm content to know about what he did, experience the ongoing ripple effect of that, and get the benefit in less costly ways. It's not that I expect one of his pipes to perform better than any that I currently own. It's that it's a pipe from a master, for whose mastery I have the utmost respect.