Remember that cork covered pipe I stripped and reworked? I was holding out for a push stem. Thought that would be the way to go. But I came across an old amber stem from a cracked meer years ago. Decided it might do the trick. So I resized the mortise for the fitting:
We escaped the New Orleans area yesterday instead of hunkering down and waiting out Mardi Gras. (Okay, two of my sisters came to visit so we went antique shopping in Mississippi instead of going to parades." Anyway, checked out a antique mall/boutique in Laurel, MS and was surprised to find one booth with 75 pipes (I counted). The highest quality pipes I saw was Kaywoodie and Dr. Grabows. The rest were no-name basket pipes or inexpensive pipes from Whitehall, Britannia, etc.
I passed on all of these pipes for three reasons:
1. They weren't made by carvers/brands I am looking for these days. 2. They were in horrible condition. How bad? Several had burn throughs in the bottom of the bowls. A lot had cake so thick you would be hard pressed to put a pipe cleaner through. Some had stems that were bitten though. That being said, most of them looked like they could be saved. 3. The price. The owner must have heard that some people collected Kaywoodies and Grabows and decided that people were willing to pay good money. He had them priced from $50 to $75 EACH. The rest of the pipes were priced from $30 to $50 dollars.
I love Grabow, but I would never pay more than $35 for one especially when you can get a "smoked but rather clean" condition Savinelli from SP for $60 or $70, or even a new Rossi (which are pretty good smokers) for $50 or so.
@PappyJoe I am really surprised at the prices that guy was asking! He must be counting on the rich and uninformed! I would have laughed and called him crazy, but it probably wouldn't have done any good...
Have an Echt Bruyere from my STL pipe show shoe box. It had no connector, so I decided to use what I had (a dowel rod), drill an airway, turn it and stain it... It didn't look good and I wasn't happy...
By the way, every Echt Bruyere pipe pic I've seen in a similar style, has the snap cover lid. As you can see, this one does not. There's not even a HINT of where a hinge or snap markings used to be. Anyone out there have a revelation they'd care to share concerning the lack of a wind break cover?
@KA9FFJ if I'm seeing right, there is still the metal ring around the rim, yes? Three things could be done in silver. 1. A pierced cap could be made that would have to be tension fit into that ring. It wouldn't be as good as a hinged cap as once it gets hot you wouldn't want to touch it. 2. If that metal ring can be removed, a hinged cap could be soldered back on and then fitted back onto the briar. More pricey because your getting I to silver tubing and fabricating a custom hinge. 3. No cap at all. Usually those pipes don't use Sterling. So Im not sure what temperatures that metal ring could take in terms of silver solder. Worst case I would have to fabricate a new rim/mounting ring as well? Not sure what sort of cost it would be, but it would be a fun project to mess with.
Remember that ugly little meerschaum I rusticated? Well, it turns out there was an internal hairline crack in the shank I couldn't see... Yep, it gave way and I lost a good 3/4" of that shank! I cut the shank back to good meerschaum, and proceed to put an extension on it and refit a stem. I'll let the work cure for a couple of days before trying it out. Once again, SO FAR, I've saved it from the trash can...
Should have done this a long time ago. For those of you that have the machinery, equipment and the money to acquire more; and a tendency toward perfection and better-than-new repairs/restorations, this YouTube sight is for you. This man is a PROFESSIONAL!
High Grade Pipe Repair and Restoration...
After viewing a few of his segments, post what you think... His attention to the TINIEST of detail is uncanny...
It’s been awhile since I worked over a pipe. Today I received this beauty in the mail😉. I like collecting “strange system” pipes. This one, called an AIR-VENT, has a couple of tiny airways each one drilled through at a steep angle from the top outside 1/8 from the rim into the bowl. They enter the chamber about 1/3 up from the floor of the chamber on either side. It was not terribly dirty, so I got on the refurbishment right away. These “before” pictures are from the EBay auction.
I cleaned out the tiny airway tubes with a tiny drill, wiped the outside with Murphy’s Oil Soap, scraped off the rim lava lightly with a knife after and during soaking the rim with Martin-Senior Professional Glass Cleaner. I reamed and cleaned the cake nearly to bare wood, cleaned the shank and stem internals and the stem externally with the Glass Cleaner then Everclear. I wiped out the bowl with Everclear as well. Then off to the buffer, finished with Carnauba and a polishing. I inserted the drill into the airways in a couple of pictures so you can see how they pass through the bowl.
@Zouave It turned out pretty nice, thank you. The grain on one side is great, the other is so-so, but the is only one smallish fill, and it’s on the shank….on the top of course😖
@Londy3 No, nothing different. Thinking about it, air will take the least path of resistance, i.e., the top chamber, so the holes are effectively neat little brass inlay accoutrements….unless the top of the bowl is plugged, or nearly so. Maybe that’s the key, it might “correct” a pipe that has been packed too tightly🤔. I suppose an infinitesimal bit of cool fresh air might come through in a well packed pipe, but it is not noticeable, to me anyway.
these downloaded out of order, but after receiving the box of smashed clay pipes from goodwill, I decided to try to get them back in some sort of order. So I cut some copper sheet, rolled it down and made a sleeve to fit flush on the stem. Some JB weld and a decorative rope around the break and it turned out halfway decent. Now I have about 10 more to fix.
@jacobramsey74 hopefully you are talking about loose or tight stem? If so then my vote is no. Dry graphite for a tight tenon, maybe beeswax for a loose one, or the old flame/push against a flat surface trick. If you are talking about using Vaseline on the outside of a pipe bowl, again, my vote is no. Hand rubbed Paragon or Halcyon wax, maybe olive oil in a pinch. I have used a very light coat of good Butcher Block treatment which is mineral oil, beeswax, carnauba wax on occasion.
Comments
But I came across an old amber stem from a cracked meer years ago. Decided it might do the trick.
So I resized the mortise for the fitting:
I like it...
I passed on all of these pipes for three reasons:
1. They weren't made by carvers/brands I am looking for these days.
2. They were in horrible condition. How bad? Several had burn throughs in the bottom of the bowls. A lot had cake so thick you would be hard pressed to put a pipe cleaner through. Some had stems that were bitten though. That being said, most of them looked like they could be saved.
3. The price. The owner must have heard that some people collected Kaywoodies and Grabows and decided that people were willing to pay good money. He had them priced from $50 to $75 EACH. The rest of the pipes were priced from $30 to $50 dollars.
I love Grabow, but I would never pay more than $35 for one especially when you can get a "smoked but rather clean" condition Savinelli from SP for $60 or $70, or even a new Rossi (which are pretty good smokers) for $50 or so.
You can get a new, never smoked Grabow for around $39.
I am really surprised at the prices that guy was asking!
He must be counting on the rich and uninformed!
I would have laughed and called him crazy, but it probably wouldn't have done any good...
It didn't look good and I wasn't happy...
There's not even a HINT of where a hinge or snap markings used to be.
Anyone out there have a revelation they'd care to share concerning the lack of a wind break cover?
The latter looks a hell of a lot better than the former.
2. If that metal ring can be removed, a hinged cap could be soldered back on and then fitted back onto the briar. More pricey because your getting I to silver tubing and fabricating a custom hinge.
3. No cap at all.
Usually those pipes don't use Sterling. So Im not sure what temperatures that metal ring could take in terms of silver solder. Worst case I would have to fabricate a new rim/mounting ring as well? Not sure what sort of cost it would be, but it would be a fun project to mess with.
Is that the original stem?
@PappyJoe
Good question... I assumed it was since they were both in the box together.
But at this point, I have no way of knowing for sure...
Yep, it gave way and I lost a good 3/4" of that shank!
I cut the shank back to good meerschaum, and proceed to put an extension on it and refit a stem.
I'll let the work cure for a couple of days before trying it out. Once again, SO FAR, I've saved it from the trash can...
For those of you that have the machinery, equipment and the money to acquire more; and a tendency toward perfection and better-than-new repairs/restorations, this YouTube sight is for you. This man is a PROFESSIONAL!
High Grade Pipe Repair and Restoration...
After viewing a few of his segments, post what you think... His attention to the TINIEST of detail is uncanny...
It turned out pretty nice, thank you. The grain on one side is great, the other is so-so, but the is only one smallish fill, and it’s on the shank….on the top of course😖
Very nice job on this pipe. Great looking grain. So, do you notice anything different with those side holes?
No, nothing different. Thinking about it, air will take the least path of resistance, i.e., the top chamber, so the holes are effectively neat little brass inlay accoutrements….unless the top of the bowl is plugged, or nearly so. Maybe that’s the key, it might “correct” a pipe that has been packed too tightly🤔. I suppose an infinitesimal bit of cool fresh air might come through in a well packed pipe, but it is not noticeable, to me anyway.
That looks great, nice save!
😳 sounds bad, and I’m not sure I want to know 😬
hopefully you are talking about loose or tight stem? If so then my vote is no. Dry graphite for a tight tenon, maybe beeswax for a loose one, or the old flame/push against a flat surface trick. If you are talking about using Vaseline on the outside of a pipe bowl, again, my vote is no. Hand rubbed Paragon or Halcyon wax, maybe olive oil in a pinch. I have used a very light coat of good Butcher Block treatment which is mineral oil, beeswax, carnauba wax on occasion.
I posted a draft on accident lol. What I meant was is vasoline okay to use on a tight stem?