Thrift Store Auction Win, Restoration Questions

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sw0snuff3r

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 3, 2014
239
1
A local thrift store holds silent auctions every month or two. If I'm in the neighbourhood I'll stop in to see what's up for auction. This is the first time I've seen anything pipe related since I started looking. I won this lot for $38CAD.

From the top:

Dun Rite 6 pipe stand with humidor

A pipe marked "Civic London" (I think it says Civic, the last letters are faded)

Medico Ventilator pipe

A dangerous looking GBD reamer

Varsity pipe

Medico churchwarden
I was mostly interested in the stand. I have a Dun Rite 10 pipe stand with humidor and this one would make a nice match to store more of my pipes.
I've never restored a pipe before and thought this would give me something to work on during the cold winter nights. The churchwarden is in decent shape but could use a good cleaning.
The Ventilator is also in good shape except the stem has been chewed up pretty badly.

The Varsity pipe has some bad rim charring and it looks like burn marks on the outside of the bowl. If it's worth it I'll refinish the wood, otherwise I may just clean it up and keep it around for a beater pipe.
The Civic pipe is in the saddest shape. Bad rim char, a small crack in the shank and the stem looks like something I wouldn't want to put in my mouth ever. Unfortunately I think it's the most interesting pipe of the bunch and would like to get it back into serviceable shape.

The reamer is pretty neat looking but I don't think I'd want to touch a pipe with it.

Can anybody recommend a good resource to walk me through the steps to restore these pipes? I imagine I'll need to purchase some supplies to fix the tooth marks and clean off the oxidation and stuff but not sure how to start. Also, does anybody have any information on these pipes? I'm interested in the Civic and I've never seen anything like the Ventilator pipe before.

 

pruss

Lifer
Feb 6, 2013
3,558
370
Mytown
Nice haul, and certainly a group that will help you explore restoration.
There are plenty of threads here, but I'd highly encourage you to wander over to Steve Laug's blog.
This is a good place to start: https://rebornpipes.com/tag/a-beginners-guide-to-cleaning-estate-pipes/
-- Pat

 

sw0snuff3r

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 3, 2014
239
1
Thanks Pat. I just skimmed that and it looks *exactly* like what I was looking for :)
lol @ashdigger

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,130
6,826
Florida
I think you did ok with the rack/humidor/reamer.

The pipes are worth cleaning and smoking, but not for investing money to 'refurb' or restore, imho.

A dimpled stem will still pass air, and you can mitigate the appearance with heat and sandpaper.

The cracked shank requires both skill and good fortune. It might be a good learning project.

 
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