A Boil on the Bowl

madox07

Lifer

Dec 12, 2016

1,823

1,690

• Jan 6, 2018

• #1

Hey guys, any of you have any clue what might have happened here? As per the picture, a little boil apeared on my pipe bowl. Now I know I have dropped this pipe once maybe a couple-three months ago. I was sitting down, smoking, and it just slipped. Back then, when it fell on the tiled floor, there were no visible signs of damage, just a small scratch where this boil recently appeared. I have been smoking this Angelo regularly since, and noticed this only recently. Any idea if I can repair this, or is it worth a try? Will it get any worse? The boil is hard, I tried pushing it in with my nail, but no use.

 

huntertrw

Lifer

Jul 23, 2014

5,267

5,504

The Lower Forty of Hill Country

• Jan 6, 2018

• #2

Is your pipe varnished or shellacked? The reason for my question is that it looks very shiny.
If so, then perhaps there is a pin-hole in the briar which has allowed the heat in the bowl to bubble the finish.

 

madox07

Lifer

Dec 12, 2016

1,823

1,690

• Jan 6, 2018

• #3

Not sure to be honest with you, I think it is varnished ... the shininess is too thick to be shelllack. Might it be related to the the beating it took when it slipped out of my hand? I guess that if it was a defect in the briar, it would have showed a longer time ago. This pipe is in my rotation for roughly a year, smoking it maybe 2-3 times a week.

 

ray47

Lifer

Jul 10, 2015

2,451

5,612

Dalzell, South Carolina

• Jan 6, 2018

• #4

I've got 2 Falcon bowls that look like this and I've had them for many years. They both smoke just fine, so I wouldn't worry about your bowl. Sorry, but I don't know what causes these.

 

perdurabo

Lifer

Jun 3, 2015

3,305

1,575

• Jan 6, 2018

• #5

At this point, if that was my pipe, I'd let it sit in a container filled with a Everclear for a few hours. Strip the varnish off along with much of the stain. Use sandpaper to help strip it. Then I'd wax it with Paragon Wax. Apply a coat of olive oil. Then proceed to wax it a couple more times. Bet it turns into a beautiful pipe with no more boil problem. Plus itl'll smoke better. Mine did. The varnish or shellac made my pipe blister and it smoked hot and wet. When I stripped that crap off it smoked like a dream.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator

Staff member

May 12, 2015

24,708

27,310

Carmel Valley, CA

• Jan 6, 2018

• #6

It's probably unrelated to dropping it. Looks like a bubble in the varnish caused by heat. I suspect if you reheat it, pop it with a needle, you can press it back down so it's barely noticeable .

 

PaulTheScandinavian

Lifer

Jul 28, 2016

7,617

36,625

Finland-Scandinavia-EU

• Jan 6, 2018

• #7

in past I had similar occured with my Petreson Killarney which had high glossy finsh on it, it was quite a brand new when I smoked it with fully loaded bowl,the result was as aforementioned bubble.

 

W

wasnsfisher

Starting to Get Obsessed

Oct 28, 2017

116

0

• Jan 7, 2018

• #8

Strip it down to the bare wood, stain it an put a coat o wax on it Mate.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator

Staff member

May 12, 2015

24,708

27,310

Carmel Valley, CA

• Jan 7, 2018

• #9

That's a lot of work, and even radical when there are possibly solutions that'd take minutes and leave the pipe in very good shape!

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate

Nov 12, 2014

43,411

109,202

• Jan 7, 2018

• #10

I suspect if you reheat it, pop it with a needle, you can press it back down so it's barely noticeable .

Click to expand...

+1
I'll add that most of the time after pressing it down, buffing with a soft cloth can make them nearly invisible.

 

deathmetal

Lifer

Jul 21, 2015

7,714

32

• Jan 7, 2018

• #11

Better than a boil on the buttocks. Or as we call them, "flesh eclairs."

 

madox07

Lifer

Dec 12, 2016

1,823

1,690

• Jan 8, 2018

• #12

The reheating and using the needle doesn't seem to work. For now, the pipe smokes fine, should it start going south I may have no choice but to try and strip the varnish ... although it seems overkill for just a small boil.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator

Staff member

May 12, 2015

24,708

27,310

Carmel Valley, CA

• Jan 8, 2018

• #13

Way overkill.
How did you heat it? Do you have a soldering iron?

 

madox07

Lifer

Dec 12, 2016

1,823

1,690

• Jan 8, 2018

• #14

Do you have a soldering iron?

Click to expand...

Well if a soldering iron is what it takes to heat it, I have not done it properly. So how would I go about doing that without damaging the varnish surrounding the boil?