I got this pipe a couple weeks ago. In the photo of all the pipes together it is the one on the top left.
I liked the shape alright but it was in pretty bad shape. The entire finish was bubbled and coming off. There were a half dozen large chunks taken out of it like the one pictured. I considered filling them but I didn't have any briar to make a putty with, so I went ahead and rusticated it. First, I soaked it in rubbing alcohol for a few days to get the old finish off, as well as lingering smells of something that should not have been smoked in the pipe to begin with. I used my pinky to sand the inside of the bowl with 100 grit sandpaper and then wiped it all out with acetone. I then cleaned the whole things again and ran some acetone through the pipe on a cleaner. I also sanded down the top of it due to a gouge there. Then I used a couple drops of boiled linseed oil to finish the outside. I will wax and polish the hole thing in a week or so once the BLO hardens.
I didn't even realize when I bought the pipe that the stem wasn't supposed to be gold. I thought it was actually supposed to be that color since it was so uniformly gold, but there was some chatter where I could see the black in one place. I used 1000 grit wet/dry, a paint stick, and the back of a very thin knife to get the gold off. I used the stick and the back of the knife as blocks to keep the lip profiled. I went over it with some 1200 after that. I then hand polished it with rubbing compound since I couldn't find the polishing wheel for my grinder.
The tenon is loose on the bit, but after I adjusted it, fits fine into the pipe. I intend to glue the parts together since that is how they appear to have been previously. The decorative ring thing is made up of 3 parts that slip over the tenon, which in turn pushes into the pipe. The part where it pushes into the pipe is loose. I can either heat it up a little and enlarge it, shim it, or put a drop of glue on it. Which one is the 'correct' way?
I liked the shape alright but it was in pretty bad shape. The entire finish was bubbled and coming off. There were a half dozen large chunks taken out of it like the one pictured. I considered filling them but I didn't have any briar to make a putty with, so I went ahead and rusticated it. First, I soaked it in rubbing alcohol for a few days to get the old finish off, as well as lingering smells of something that should not have been smoked in the pipe to begin with. I used my pinky to sand the inside of the bowl with 100 grit sandpaper and then wiped it all out with acetone. I then cleaned the whole things again and ran some acetone through the pipe on a cleaner. I also sanded down the top of it due to a gouge there. Then I used a couple drops of boiled linseed oil to finish the outside. I will wax and polish the hole thing in a week or so once the BLO hardens.
I didn't even realize when I bought the pipe that the stem wasn't supposed to be gold. I thought it was actually supposed to be that color since it was so uniformly gold, but there was some chatter where I could see the black in one place. I used 1000 grit wet/dry, a paint stick, and the back of a very thin knife to get the gold off. I used the stick and the back of the knife as blocks to keep the lip profiled. I went over it with some 1200 after that. I then hand polished it with rubbing compound since I couldn't find the polishing wheel for my grinder.
The tenon is loose on the bit, but after I adjusted it, fits fine into the pipe. I intend to glue the parts together since that is how they appear to have been previously. The decorative ring thing is made up of 3 parts that slip over the tenon, which in turn pushes into the pipe. The part where it pushes into the pipe is loose. I can either heat it up a little and enlarge it, shim it, or put a drop of glue on it. Which one is the 'correct' way?