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Help in Restoring a Falcon

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K

kirk13

Lurker
Oct 14, 2018
5
0
I recently won a Falcon estate pipe in an eBay auction. I suppose for £5 I can't complain much,but it has arrived in a heavily used condition. I wonder if you could offer me some advice on the following...
1) The Stem and humidome
The exterior of the stem is fairly tarnished. Can I use a metal polish like Brasso to buff it up?
The interior of the humidome is caked up with what I assume is tobacco juice and tar residue. It's a sticky looking deep brown concoction. Any ideas on what I can use to remove it?
I've had the unit seeping in neat vodka over night,but it's made no impression.
2) The mouth piece
This is looking very dull,and weathered. Anything you'd recommend,or should I stick to my model building fallbacks of Brasso and toothpaste?
3) The bowl
The interior of the bowl is heavily caked with...well,I don't know what! Any ideas of how to go about restoring the bowl to its former glory,both inside and out?
Any ideas or advice is very much welcome!

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
Since Falcon has recently been bought and moved to UK, I wonder if it wouldn't be more satisfying to buy a new one there. I'm not being a smart aleck; they are not terribly expensive, and you would have no customs, etc. People love their Falcons, and you'll have it for the rest of your life if you choose.

 
K

kirk13

Lurker
Oct 14, 2018
5
0
You're right,they aren't terribly expensive...about £30 as a starting price. But I get a lot of satisfaction from restoring,or repairing things like Zippo lighters and Swiss Army knives☺️
I find a particular joy in returning something that's been used and abused to working order and everyday use

 

mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
kirk, that makes sense. Your older Falcon was likely made in the U.S. when the firm was here. You'll restore it and it will be all your own.

 
mikethompson

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,337
23,495
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kirk, Welcome! Restoring and repairing pipes are a big part of why some of us are here.
As for cleaning out the gunk, have you tried using coffee grounds? That might loosen the tars. There are many good tricks for cleaning out stems.
As for the bowl, it sounds like it needs to be reamed out a bit?
If you can post some pictures that would be helpful!

 
paulfg

paulfg

Lifer
Feb 21, 2016
1,573
2,951
Corfu Greece
Since Falcon has recently been bought and moved to UK,

MSO you must be old if 50 years is recent.I think falcon have been made in Uk since early 60s :lol:
By 1961 production started in England. In 1964 the Alco was launched. In 1967 the Brentford was launched but in 1979 it was withdrawn from the market. In 1968 production of the Falcon in Chicago, U.S.A. stopped.
mind you I too often think something was recently only to find it was years ago

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
paulfg, the jokes on me. I read something that spoke of the Falcon relocation without specifying the date, and since I'm not a Falcon smoker I guess I took it as breaking news. The piece I read was a little misleading, but I'll take the blame. It didn't say they'd just moved to UK. Okay, so Falcon has been a UK brand for decades. Case closed. And true, I'm no spring chicken. Then there is Jobey, which seems to move regularly, but I won't comment without researching it. I think a GPS system is needed to keep track.

 
dochudson

dochudson

Lifer
May 11, 2012
1,635
12
Obviously remove the bowl then run the pipe through the dishwasher.

Ream the bowl the best you can then plug the bottom and do the salt or coffee grounds treatment.

Once happy with the inside give the outside of the wood a good cleaning with Murphy's Oil Soap.

 
mawnansmiff

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,423
7,367
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
If the humidome is caked in tar then simply stand it in a shot glass filled with pure alcohol or surgical spirit. After about 24 hours it should be clean.
Regards,
Jay.

 
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