I was given a box of old pipes, most of which I will eventually sell off, but this one billiard caught my eye. It's a Wally Frank Sweet Root, marked as a Pipe of the Month Club. It was pretty dull when I got it, and the stem was REALLY oxidized.
Pipe Restoration #2 before Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
I removed most of the cake, leaving just a little char in the bowl. After giving the whole pipe an alcohol bath, I cleaned, oiled, and waxed the briar, which turned out to have some nice figure--not striking, but pleasing in a subtle way. The stem had to be lightly sanded and buffed to remove a couple tooth marks. There was one deep tooth mark on the underside that I left intact because, well, I didn't feel like filling it in. I also left a few old marks here and there on the bowl. I wanted this to look like a clean vintage pipe, not a new one, so I feel that leaving just a little bit of patina was the right way to go.
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Can't wait to get some tobacco into this pipe and see how it smokes. From the looks of everything, it should smoke pretty well.
Pipe Restoration #2 before Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on FlickrI removed most of the cake, leaving just a little char in the bowl. After giving the whole pipe an alcohol bath, I cleaned, oiled, and waxed the briar, which turned out to have some nice figure--not striking, but pleasing in a subtle way. The stem had to be lightly sanded and buffed to remove a couple tooth marks. There was one deep tooth mark on the underside that I left intact because, well, I didn't feel like filling it in. I also left a few old marks here and there on the bowl. I wanted this to look like a clean vintage pipe, not a new one, so I feel that leaving just a little bit of patina was the right way to go.
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on FlickrCan't wait to get some tobacco into this pipe and see how it smokes. From the looks of everything, it should smoke pretty well.
