Yeah, those threads were weird.   I had hoped it was the all-thread, but I tried a number of different segments and they all threaded crooked.  In both ends of the pipe.

I definitely could have gone the spray paint route and continued on with the antiqued pipe.   But, since I had to purchase something (paint or pipe) and the prices at Grand Brass are pretty good (if you ignore shipping costs), I went with real brass.  (The antiqued pipe was steel.  A spec I had missed when I placed the order.)  I'll save the antiqued pipe for some future project.