It is rare to see marquee name collectables smoked into the ground, but this Eltang cutty was an absolute mess. No actual damage, but literally probably never cleaned once in its life. The shank was solidly blocked, the rim covered in carbon lava, the stem was deeply oxidized, and the carved surface was so packed with grime and dirt it was halfway back to being a smooth. lol (A particular bummer because sharp, detailed sandblasts and rustications are tricky to clean and restore/refinish properly. )
All's well that ends well, though. It even got "de-stunk" with a purification process. Except for the chamber walls, the pipe is now effectively new. To paraphrase the movie line, "How I love the smell of... nothing in an estate pipe's bowl in the morning!"
All's well that ends well, though. It even got "de-stunk" with a purification process. Except for the chamber walls, the pipe is now effectively new. To paraphrase the movie line, "How I love the smell of... nothing in an estate pipe's bowl in the morning!"