Savinelli De Luxe Milano 622 KS Restoration

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now

Apr 24, 2015

782

80

• Dec 17, 2015

• #1

When this beautiful Italian pot came it to me for a little spiffying, it was already in good condition. There were some areas of heavy scratching and the neon pink putty fills (I hate that stuff) had shrunk and dimpled, but not much other than that. I knew that I wanted to do something about the fills, but one of them sat right on top of the stamping and part of it even dropped down between the uprights (ascenders?) of the "N" in "SAVINELLI".
Here's the pipe on arrival:

 

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now

Apr 24, 2015

782

80

• Dec 17, 2015

• #2

I considered leaving the fill near the stamping alone, but I just couldn't. I felt that it detracted from the overall look of the pipe too much. So, with a lot of care, I picked out the old putty and refilled it with a mixture of briar shavings and CA. Here are a few photos of the progress:

You'll obviously notice the mottled appearance of the patch. That's because the photos were taken before refinishing and my patch method is to use a combination of briar dust and larger briar particles. The dust gives the patch some body to prevent it from shrinking. The larger particles (the lighter areas in the photo) will sand will provide exposed surfaces that accept stain. The final patch is darker than the surrounding wood, but the stained particles blend it a little. In any case, I think it looks way better than the pink stuff.

 

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now

Apr 24, 2015

782

80

• Dec 17, 2015

• #3

Here's the finished pipe (apologies for the glare and reflections; I'm still trying to figure out this pipe photography thing):

 

carbonmated

Starting to Get Obsessed

Dec 5, 2015

246

1

• Dec 17, 2015

• #4

Really nice work! I find it refreshing to see attention to detail, well done sir!

 

mvmadore

Starting to Get Obsessed

May 17, 2015

138

1

Northern NY

• Dec 17, 2015

• #5

That is some beautiful restoration work...

 

dmcmtk

Lifer

Aug 23, 2013

3,672

1,685

• Dec 17, 2015

• #6

Anthony, I forgot to say it the first time I saw the pipe, but the slot and button look FANTASTIC!

 

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now

Apr 24, 2015

782

80

• Dec 17, 2015

• #7

Thanks for looking, guys.
Dave, I think I may have a button fetish. Just picked up some new tools for working with them. Better tools = better buttons.

 

danielplainview

Lifer

Mar 30, 2014

2,853

78

wv

• Dec 17, 2015

• #8

You're a braver man than I, working a fill so close to the stamping. Fantastic work as always. That's a beaut. Nice stem work too. You can use the stem to comb your hair now.

 

gloucesterman

Lifer

Jan 4, 2015

1,858

11

Massachusetts

• Dec 17, 2015

• #9

Exceptional work. No need to apologize for the glair, not many have that problem. Nicely done.

 

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now

Apr 24, 2015

782

80

• Dec 18, 2015

• #10

You're a braver man than I, working a fill so close to the stamping.

Click to expand...

There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. The only way to know which side of the line you're on is by the results. I've been on the wrong side many times.

 

danielplainview

Lifer

Mar 30, 2014

2,853

78

wv

• Dec 18, 2015

• #11

I'm glad to see you're still rockin the Fraunchensteen avatar for pipesmag. Lol.

 

piffyr

Part of the Furniture Now

Apr 24, 2015

782

80

• Dec 18, 2015

• #12

I'm glad to see you're still rockin the Fraunchensteen avatar for pipesmag. Lol.

Click to expand...

I don't know what you're talking about, man. That's my driver's license photo.

 

jkrug

Lifer

Jan 23, 2015

2,867

8

• Dec 18, 2015

• #13

You did a great job bring life back to that pipe. It's a real beauty now. Well done. :clap:

 

fitzy

Lifer

Nov 13, 2012

2,937

27

NY

• Dec 18, 2015

• #14

Wow that's some excellent work.