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tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
Yesterday I was checking out some antique shops with my wife and of course I am first and foremost looking for estate pipes or accessories. Only one shop we stopped in had estates. Out of the 6 pipes they had two stood out to me...a Castello sea rock in a large stack shape, definitely a very large pipe it had some deep tooth marks in the stem but it wasn't too oxidized. This was marked $40 if I recall. The other was a Ben Wade that appeared to have a few little fills and the stem was very oxidized. This was marked $20. Do you think those prices are good? Should I pick them up if they are there when I go back? The Castello seems like the better of the two pipes and would certainly be the largest of my collection. The tooth marks concern me as I have never attempted to restore an estate but I am handy with a lot of things an have done wood carving, metal work, and lots of sanding/polishing projects. Just curious...

 

spartan

Lifer
Aug 14, 2011
2,963
7
Considering most castellos are $300+ I would pick it up if you are confident you could fix her up.

http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/castello/index.cfm

 

grizzly86

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 5, 2012
692
1
I would jump on the Castello and if the Wade is a style you like go for that too. Try haggling with them too.

 

bigvan

Lifer
Mar 22, 2011
2,192
12
Yeah, I'd get the Castello. It sounds like a steal!
I'm no Castello expert (and there are quite a few out there), I believe they use acrylic stems so it may not be oxidation you see. Probably just age.

 

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
Sweet I knew the Castellos were popular and I saw the prices they were going for on smokingpipes today! It was in great shape just needed serious work on the stem or replacement. It was definitely an XL maybe 1.75" to 2" deep bowl. Had a little crystal inlaid on the side of the stem.

 

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
http://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/castello/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=104535

Looks very similar to this pipe but the bowl is taller and the stem was about a third of the length. If it did need stem replacement how would that affect the value?

 

photoman13

Lifer
Mar 30, 2012
2,825
2
Man I'm jealous. I go to antique stores frequently and see pretty much rough grabows for about what they cost new. You should jump on that.

 

voorhees

Lifer
May 30, 2012
3,834
937
Gonadistan
I'm with you photoman13. Seems out of the 17 estate pipes I have, the only one that is of better quality is an Edwards Squat Bulldog I found at a antique shop. The rest are Grabow,Medico,Kaywoodie types. Not that they are a bad thing, just what I typically run into.

 

mluyckx

Lifer
Dec 5, 2011
1,958
3
Texas
$40 for a castello 8O
As long as bowl isn't cracked or burned through.. get it. As Dave said, offer $25 (or $40 for the pair) and you'll end up somewhere in the middle. Once you get it, post some pics of that stem and you can get some advice

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,070
Maryland
postimg.cc
A $40 Sea Rock is a pretty good deal. Those stems are super tough acrylic, pretty hard to damage, so that must have been one heck of a clencher who smoked it. Any decent shop could make a replacement, but I'm not sure how many could add the Castello diamond and/or white bar. Walker Briarworks does a lot of branded stem replacements. Let us know if you grab the pipe.

 

taerin

Lifer
May 22, 2012
1,851
1
Oxidized stems are not an issue at all, get 600, 1500, and 3000 grit sandpaper. After all that sanding the stem will no longer be oxidized at all... This is the proper way to do it, walker briar works does sell very good products for clearing away oxidization that works well with sandpaper (that I personally use). It will look brand new for sure. The tooth marks can be removed by puting it over a flame very carefully, so as to soften it but not burn it. Bleach is harmful to the material the stem is made out of, pretty much any professional pipe restorer has mentioned it at some point, however it seems to be the preferred method on youtube. My personal feelings is, if you can't ingest it, don't put it on or in your pipe.

 

kabong30

Can't Leave
Jun 2, 2012
329
2
If your stems are not too awful I use baking soda, and more recently I've become a fan of Bar Keeper's Friend (I found it at Lowe's, but you can probably find it many places) mixed into a paste with a little water and just rub the hell out of the stem with it. It's labor intensive, but it's cheap!

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,070
Maryland
postimg.cc
Oh yeah, Castello stems don't oxidize....they are made of acrylic. Any plastic polish would bring back the shine, they are much easier to restore. (I use Meguiars)

 

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
Ok so I have actually convinced my wife that buying this pipe is an investment :mrgreen: I will be calling the shop tommorow to see if it's still there and pickin it up in the afternoon or Saturday. Crossing my fingers but most antique stores here are only open weekends.

 
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