Estate Pipe Cleaning - When Is Enough Enough?

fluffie666 · Feb 10, 2017

This question is for those of us who look for, smoke, purchase and receive estate pipes. Personally, I love them. I have a few nice old pipes I've collected, some mid grade smokers and even some no names. I enjoy cleaning them up so others and I can enjoy the quality of an old smoker.

Lots of things can be done to an old pipe before it is loded up and fired again. I've seen folks at flea markets take old and burned up cobs, pay their buck and proceed to load them up with whatever tobacco they had in there pocket. Smokin' lovely again. I've come across pipes that needed a little attention and some that needed to be reamed, topped, reclocked, shined up, oxidation removed, retort, refinished, restemmed... etc. The list goes on and on. Some have burn out, burn through, bite through the stem, pulled out of a fire...

My question is personal in nature. I know all of us estate pipe lovers have our own threshold on how much manipulation on an estate aquisition is acceptable to us. I'm wondering, what's your threshold? When do you say, "I don't want that crap"? Or "That'll do". Or "Make this particular change so I can smok it".

Even on my no name daily smokers, I like to remove oxidation from the stem and wax it, remove rim char / blackening, I ream back cake to an "acceptable to me level", clear the draught hole, a few quick swabs of Everclear and then I'm firing up the Five Brothers to try and deghost. My estate pipe is now my pipe. I'm interested in hearing about your methods. There are so many.

jjjarhead · Feb 10, 2017

i used to only clean them before smoke because I lacked the resources to do a proper restoration. my process was: ream close to bare wood, dip pipe cleaners in 95% alcohol and run them through the stem and shank, clean gunk from shank with folded PC... and I'm done. put a softy bit on the stem and fire away. they may be ugly as hell but damn good smokers. but like i said, that's when i didn't have the resources (equipments, space to set up). As of right now, I'm setting up the workshop to do the full service, reborn pipes style. my ideal restoration process should be sanitation, repair if needed, cosmetic restoration, and finally polishing. when I'm done, those beat up pipes of mine should be shinny again!

jpmcwjr · Feb 10, 2017

I'm very comfortably retired, and with the few pipes I've found that need restoration— refurbishing is a better word for me— I've done what the devil cat above does, plus a though wash out with hot water as the last step, soaping off the outside, but not the chamber.

But since I have a large stable of good to excellent pipes, I am interested only in pipes that will be aesthetically pleasing as well as a good smoker.

pagan · Feb 10, 2017

Stem gets a complete sanitizing, oxyclean soak, remove any chatter if needed, and buffed/polished. The bowl gets reamed, salt bathe and then a retort, then smoke

tuold · Feb 10, 2017

I learned everything I need to know about pipe refurbishing from the military. It needs to be "Clean, Dry and Serviceable".

aimlesswanderer · Feb 10, 2017

Not only can I not get past the "ikky" concept of an estate pipe, I don't even know if I'd be willing to refurbish MY OWN pipes if they ever get to the state of some of the "projects" I've seen. I think I'd be more likely to consider it to have served it's time and move on to something new.
Now a pocket knife is a totally different matter. I'll use that till there's simply nothing left to salvage - but I don't put my pocket knives in my mouth.....

toobfreak · Feb 10, 2017

Clean and clean till no more dirt comes out, sanitize until the devil himself couldn't make it through. Then fix up and restore whatever needs taken care of to make it like new.
Once you do all of that you realize that there is nothing left of any previous smokers but the pipe itself and you either like the pipe or you don't! After the first bowl in your new pipe, the pipe is now YOURS.

jpmcwjr · Feb 10, 2017

Not only can I not get past the "ikky" concept of an estate pipe, I don't even know if I'd be willing to refurbish MY OWN pipes if they ever get to the state of some of the "projects" I've seen.

If you take care of your own pipes they won't need refurbishing. Refreshing, yes, but it's simple and effective.
Can't help with a general dislike of a pre-smoked pipe! Though the analogy of restaurant silverware could help some.....

aimlesswanderer · Feb 10, 2017

I don't think I've encountered any porous and absorbent restaurant cutlery, but I take your point :D I'm not looking for "conversion" nor to influence anyone else's viewpoints either. I'm just one less competitive bidder on ebay.
I do however find it fascinating to see the projects that folks do, and applaud those who turn cruddy old wrecks into gleaming treasures again. There's a real wow factor to many of them - not just in terms of the improvements, but also in terms of how bad the pipes got in the first place.

addamsruspipe · Feb 10, 2017

I ream them out down to the wood, remove any char on the rim, remove any oxidation on the stem and polish it till it shines again. Then I will white diamond the outside and then carnuba wax it. And that is only if like the org. look. If I don't I will sand down to the wood and stain/modify it till it's something different. At that point if I like I keep it if I don't I pass it on to someone who will enjoy it.

fluffie666 · Feb 11, 2017

Thank you all for the input. I'm just trying to get a sense of what you all might be doing with your pipes. I've come across a lot of different opinions ranging from "don't touch anything", "make this look pretty again", "strip this down and put a different color on", "clean this extremely well and then cleanse again by fire"... all the way up to "Yuk, I will buy a new pipe instead".

All are respectable opinions and to each their own. A persons pipe is sometimes such a personal item and everyone takes care of special things in their own way. And sometimes it's nothing more than a nicotine delivery system. I was just wondering about what your views are.

Thanks everyone for taking the time.
Cheers

mawnansmiff · Feb 11, 2017

Though I haven't done any in a while I do have a large boxful that need refurbishment. When I was actively pursuing that aspect of pipe smoking I would work on each pipe until it was as physically clean and sterile as possible then work on the bowl and stem to make them as aesthetically pleasing as I was able by means of fine grit papers, micromesh and various buffing compounds finishing with a luscious coat of Carnauba wax.
I don't think you can do anymore than that : puffy

:
Regards,
Jay.

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