So I've been restoring some old pipes. Almost all of them that I have reqire the bowl to be reamed. I'm guessing the these pipes belonged to a hot smoker because there is some burned wood in a good percentage of them. Some are worse than others and I am trying to turn this issue into a lesson for myself. This leads to to some questions I have for the veteran pipe restorers out there.
First, after reaming, salt treatment and a retort I noticed some pitting inside the chamber on one pipe I have. The pitting doesn't look major. It's just a few scratches and small gouges. If I leave these pits there and smoke the pipes, do I have to be careful in the way I break them in? I would imagine that smoking them even a bit to hot would char the wood again. I don't want this to happen.
Should I instead ream and sand all the pits out so I have a nice and smooth chamber? In the later case I would be smoking in bare briar. Should I coat the bowl with some sort of pre-carb? I was thinking that I could mix a small amount of water or even honey with some ashes in order to have some protection for the briar.
Let me know what you think. I have a lot of pipes to get through and a lot to learn. I'd like to hear your ideas so I can get myself going in the right direction.
Thank you.
First, after reaming, salt treatment and a retort I noticed some pitting inside the chamber on one pipe I have. The pitting doesn't look major. It's just a few scratches and small gouges. If I leave these pits there and smoke the pipes, do I have to be careful in the way I break them in? I would imagine that smoking them even a bit to hot would char the wood again. I don't want this to happen.
Should I instead ream and sand all the pits out so I have a nice and smooth chamber? In the later case I would be smoking in bare briar. Should I coat the bowl with some sort of pre-carb? I was thinking that I could mix a small amount of water or even honey with some ashes in order to have some protection for the briar.
Let me know what you think. I have a lot of pipes to get through and a lot to learn. I'd like to hear your ideas so I can get myself going in the right direction.
Thank you.
