Why are estate pipes ok?

[bersekero]

Thank you for the great post and info!
Your brother has excellent taste. Give him greetings from Greece!
I’ve tried a few Balkan Sobranie alternatives and I’m thrilled. My favorite is Samuel Gawith Balkan. Unfortunately, I’ll probably never get the chance to try the original.
PS. All hobbies demand time and money.

 

[FLDRD]

I refuse to buy a new car......

 

[bersekero]

For those who are not famlliar with pipe restoratiion read the maintenance thread on this site or check out Dad's Pipes or Reborn Pipes sites and look at the vast amount of work that goes in to cleaning, repairing and restoring the pipes. Look at the before and after pictures. There is a vast amount of information available on how it is done and it will help prevent damage to your own pipes by educating you on what can go wrong and how to correct it if you do accidentally damage a pipe. The more you know the better you will be.

I have purchased three 'estate' pipes, one was a Butz-Choquin calabash that had been cleaned by the seller. I then thoroughly cleaned the pipe myself, did a 24 hour alcohol and salt bath, alcohol cleaned the stem then polished it. Then let it dry ---- all before ever putting it in my mouth. The second was unsmoked and just needed a wipe down and the third I received in trade from my brother and I had to alcohol and salt clean it twice ,,, not because I was worried about germs but because he had smoked Balkan Sobranie in it for 30 years !! Learning about cleaning and restoration helped me get those pipes to a point where I was comfortable using them. I'm not advocating anyone do anything they are not comfortable with but rather understanding that this is a huge segment of the pipe smoking hobby.

Cleaning and restoration is one thing but how can you fix a very over-reamed chamber?
You can always build a thick cake of course.

 

[Hillcrest]

Cleaning and restoration is one thing but how can you fix a very over-reamed chamber?
You can always build a thick cake of course.

I have never had to do that but if I were to try I would first do my research.

Sodium Silicate "Water glass" :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance

I don't want to reopen a big can of worms here! Lol But I would like to try using the water glass - pumice - charcoal chamber coating mix to fix some estate pipes I have that have burnouts in them. I have used pipe mud before and have nothing against it. I would just like to try this...

pipesmagazine.com

That's why this forum is so beneficial !! The search bar above has all the answers you need. Good Luck !

 

[sablebrush52]

Cleaning and restoration is one thing but how can you fix a very over-reamed chamber?
You can always build a thick cake of course.

Sodium Silicate "Water glass" :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance

I don't want to reopen a big can of worms here! Lol But I would like to try using the water glass - pumice - charcoal chamber coating mix to fix some estate pipes I have that have burnouts in them. I have used pipe mud before and have nothing against it. I would just like to try this...

pipesmagazine.com

Besides this string, George Dibos has made a series of instructional videos on various aspects of restoration on YouTube:

 

[OzPiper]

Cleaning and restoration is one thing but how can you fix a very over-reamed chamber?
You can always build a thick cake of course.

JB Weld followed by SEVERAL layers of pipe mud

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

More often cheaper, already broken in, option for restorations, pick up classics with quality briar that you can no longer get otherwise, etc. ️

 

[HeadMisfit]

More often cheaper, already broken in, option for restorations, pick up classics with quality briar that you can no longer get otherwise, etc. ️

but damaged pipes are common.

Ran across a dunhill on ebay, there are several cracks in the rim that descend almost 3/4" of an inch into the chamber. ANd the cracks were from long ago as the pipes near 1/4" thick cake stops at the lowest crack.

perhaps one of those "angry wife hits pipe with hammer to damage it. And husband finds happiness in using that pipe to piss off the wife" situation.

 

[xrundog]

but damaged pipes are common.

Ran across a dunhill on ebay, there are several cracks in the rim that descend almost 3/4" of an inch into the chamber. ANd the cracks were from long ago as the pipes near 1/4" thick cake stops at the lowest crack.

perhaps one of those "angry wife hits pipe with hammer to damage it. And husband finds happiness in using that pipe to piss off the wife" situation.

Right! Don’t buy those.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

but damaged pipes are common.

Ran across a dunhill on ebay, there are several cracks in the rim that descend almost 3/4" of an inch into the chamber. ANd the cracks were from long ago as the pipes near 1/4" thick cake stops at the lowest crack.

perhaps one of those "angry wife hits pipe with hammer to damage it. And husband finds happiness in using that pipe to piss off the wife" situation.

…possibly. Just listing the potential benefits. And, I stipulate that some estates can have unrealized damage. That is why you should never buy an estate from a seller that does not have a reasonable return policy. However, if an estate Dunhill is purchased on an “as is” basis then the buyer knowingly takes a risk. ️

 

[HeadMisfit]

…possibly. Just listing the potential benefits. And, I stipulate that some estates can have unrealized damage. That is why you should never by an estate from a seller that does not have a reasonable return policy. However, if an estate Dunhill is purchased on an “as is” basis then the buyer knowingly takes a risk. ️

but just about every ebay seller now states no returns accepted..

 

[OzPiper]

but just about every ebay seller now states no returns accepted..

An automatic “NO” when I see that
Caveat emptor !

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

but just about every ebay seller now states no returns accepted..

I’d not buy from a seller who’d not accept returns. But, you do you. ️

 

[sablebrush52]

but just about every ebay seller now states no returns accepted..

eBay dictates the rules, not sellers. Check out eBay’s rules. If the item doesn’t live up to the seller’s description, they have to take it back, regardless of what they state.

 

[HeadMisfit]

eBay dictates the rules, not sellers. Check out eBay’s rules. If the item doesn’t live up to the seller’s description, they have to take it back, regardless of what they state.

And its an older ebay scam to demand the package be returned to an address that doesnt match the sellers ebay business address, and thus by doing so, the purchaser fails to get a refund.

 

[OzPiper]

And it’s an older ebay scam to demand the package be returned to an address that doesnt match the sellers ebay business address, and thus by doing so, the purchaser fails to get a refund.

Are you speaking from personal experience ?

I have read of instances of pipes (EBay UK) not turning up, then resold by Pitney Bowes.

Perhaps I have been very lucky.
The majority of my pipes are estates, many bought on EBay.

I have had nothing but positive experiences.
The very few times (2-3) when the pipe hadn’t met my expectations or failed arrive I received a full refund. No questions asked.

 

[HeadMisfit]

Are you speaking from personal experience ?

I have read of instances of pipes (EBay UK) not turning up, then resold by Pitney Bowes.

Perhaps I have been very lucky.
The majority of my pipes are estates, many bought on EBay.

I have had nothing but positive experiences.
The very few times (2-3) when the pipe hadn’t met my expectations or failed arrive I received a full refund. No questions asked.

Yes I have had instances of that scam happen to me. Its how I KNOW about it.

 

[ashdigger]

I’ve always received a refund. I’ve had several pipes purchased from England get confiscated and two I’ve repurchased from EbayUK. Kinda wild.

The closest I came to getting scammed was a seller from California who told me if I returned the pipe, since he had my address he’d mail me a box of shit loaded diapers.

I told him that if he did that I show up at his door and since he was a LA County employee I’d also go to his place of employment.

Mind you, I live in Las Vegas, but I kept my promises of violence coded.

I then calmly contacted eBay support and showing proof I tried to communicate with the shithead. I received a full refund

The epilogue is he did send me a box, not of diapers, but of dogshit.

I definitely drove to LA and resolved it. That’s all I’m legally allowed to say.

Your money is safe with eBay.

 

[sablebrush52]

And its an older ebay scam to demand the package be returned to an address that doesnt match the sellers ebay business address, and thus by doing so, the purchaser fails to get a refund.

I've never failed to get a refund. eBay repays you and then claws back the money from the seller in the case of a dispute. Just keep a record of the communication in case that you need it.

 

[Alejo R.]

alot of the estate market is indeed old men selling off old pipes. And to make that happen, you need to have an endless stream of threads on pipe forums talking about how pipes from certain pain years were 5-10 times better then what the same company makes now.

Hells, its also why you see people selling old dr grabow pipes on ebay and etsy, on forums telling us how the briar used in those pipes is better then the briar being used currently in most major pipe brands.

You're saying that pipes made today are better? Which ones? Compared to what?