1st Estate Pipe Purchase Has a Demon of a Lakeland Ghost!

[ebnash]

I had one once that I went through all that you are, with the same results. I was just about to smash the pipe under the heal of my boot, when someone saved it by sending me a link to Greg Pease's blog where he details how he got rid of a hardcore ghost by putting the pipe stummel in charcoal and heating it in the oven. I don't remember the link, nor the temps and times, but someone who can do a better search than me should be able to find this info.

yes, I have the link to this article saved as a shortcut. That is the process I refer to as the last thing I'll try myself. Basically heat briar in oven @ 200F for 3 hours. Remove briar and fill bowl with activated carbon and place back in oven for 3 hours longer. I'm considering doing this but running the oven for 6 hours just seems wasteful. Maybe worth finding a cheap use toaster oven with thermostat and do it on the countertop? Lol

That way, if I pollute the toaster oven with rancid flowers, there is no damage.

Could you imagine smelling Lakeland everytime you preheat the oven? The oven would be in the trash right next to this pipe!

 

[ebnash]

This isn't worth the savings with an estate pipe on eBay, by the time you account for your own time. Unless the challenge is a hobby in itself. Pack it in rice or salt for a year and see if that draws out the evil spirits. I'd be genuinely tempted to toss it in the dumpster. Until recently, Stanwell sold the Sixten Iversson 86 versions made in Italy. I bought one new for a modest price, and it is a good pipe.

I agree, but I did not buy the estate for economical reasons. I've never owned an old pipe and this one struck the chord, so I thought I would give it a go. I really like Stanwell pipes as I own 4 that were purchased new. My only hang-up with most newer Stanwell is that they are primarily filter pipes. They seem to smoke "ok" without the filter, and in my opinion, the filter just causes more problems than good. Smoking without a filter just creates more places to condense liquid.

To be honest, and also quite the coincidence, I'm expecting a new Stanwell 32 Bulldog to show up today based on suggestion from you in an older thread I found when looking for clench-friendly pipes. I chose the "Authentic" version with no finish as it was pretty cheap and it will be interesting to watch it take on color from smoking and handling.

 

[ofafeather]

yes, I have the link to this article saved as a shortcut. That is the process I refer to as the last thing I'll try myself. Basically heat briar in oven @ 200F for 3 hours. Remove briar and fill bowl with activated carbon and place back in oven for 3 hours longer. I'm considering doing this but running the oven for 6 hours just seems wasteful. Maybe worth finding a cheap use toaster oven with thermostat and do it on the countertop? Lol

That way, if I pollute the toaster oven with rancid flowers, there is no damage.

Could you imagine smelling Lakeland everytime you preheat the oven? The oven would be in the trash right next to this pipe!

Wonder if a slow cooker would worker?

 

[americaman]

This is what George Dibos told me:

Use granulated charcoal (salt size pebbles). Fill the bowl. Take an eye dropper, or baby sucker thing, and then fill it with solvent alcohol (denatured alcohol). Leave it in a stand somewhere for several days. After a few days it will be evaporated, and the ghost will be gone. Just dump the charcoal out.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

It's not the same thing but I bought a beautiful Strambach calabash and the gourd absolutely stank. I honestly think the previous owner had been smoking weed through it and I thought I'd wasted my cash.

I didn't give up though and many high strength vodka treatments and months of resting did the trick, there wasn't a hint of the smell in the end.

As BROBS said time can really make a difference.

 

[saltedplug]

This is a lot of heavy lifting, but after paying for a pipe you wanted, especially if the ghostbusting works, look what you've got!

 

[mingc]

I have had a similar experience when soaking a stummel in alcohol. I believe it damages the silicates in the wood, basically “sealing” the pores of the wood (even possibly with tars or oils driving them inwards) and not allowing it to be absorbent to water anymore.

I have brought some back from this, by thoroughly washing the interior of the pipe and shank over and over with warm water and bristled cleaners etc. then let it dry for a LONG time. I’m talking months.

I suspect that the alcohol dissolved the gunk which deposited onto the wood because it wasn't flushed away. You solved the problem by later using water to perform the flush. Perhaps if you had used more alcohol (like the same amount as the water you used), the job would have gone quicker.

 

[ofafeather]

Just order some activated charcoal. Cheep enough to experiment with. My biggest problem with ghosting comes from estate pipes I’ve found or inherited that have been smoked for decades with American style aros. Some were my dad’s. Others were Flea market funds but that flavor seams to cut through most smokes. I haven’t done the salt/alcohol treatment on any of these but it think that charcoal/alcohol treatment might work better. Will have to do the Shank too.

 

[keith929]

This is an example of why I try to limit my estate purchases to SP.
While I still search Ebay for that elusive rare Peterson I keep my guard up against sellers without a large following and numerous positive outcomes.

 

[UncleRJ]

Sh

I

I

?????

 

[sandollars]

OR,

You could just learn to like Lakelands....

 

[shermnatman]

All easily exorcised by enjoying a bowlful of this timeless "clearing" classic in your disturbed pipe. I believe Fuld's shop is open until 7pm EST. Be sure to ask for Father Damien Karras; if you call to order.



However, be warned: The competing tobacconist across the street, Cap'n Howdy's, sells a counterfeit version of the original Fuld blend, called: Ghost-B-Gone; which is a sinister lie and a trick; as it will only invite more disturbing evil entities into your pipe to possess it. - Sherm Natman

 

[Ziggywm]

I've been smoking pipes for all of about 5 years now and never really had any interest in purchasing Estate Pipes because I think my expectations are always too high. Other than searching for that perfect birth year Dunhill, I'd decided that estates were not for me. I'm the same way with cars. I want to be the only one who has driven and maintained my vehicles because I basically don't trust anyone else to care enough to do it right.

Well, last week I stumbled upon an older 1960's era Stanwell 86 Sixten Ivarsson design on eBay and fell in love with the pipe. No filter, vulcanite/handcut stem, and looked to be in beautiful shape. The seller had good feedback and reasonable amount of sales. I received the pipe and as soon as I unwrapped it from plastic, I was face punched with a stinky rose perfume that was just overwhelming. I'll admit that my sniffer and sense of taste is very sensitive, but it was all I could taste or smell for a few hours.

I messaged the seller and basically said I was disappointed that he would not mentioned that it's got Lakeland in it and that the stem was quite gunky for an "expertly cleaned and sanitized" pipe. He offered a somewhat sarcastic apology and claimed he did not notice any ghost and that my expectations were too high. Also offered a full refund and paid postage to send it back. I considered it for a couple hours, but damn, I really like this pipe.

So I set off to do a bunch of internet searching on Lakeland and general exorcisms of pipe ghosts.

I started with cutting any cake back as close to the wood as possible. Then I sanded the bowl, pretty much back to fresh wood. Did a bunch of brushing of the draft hole, bowl, and shank with 151 Grain Alcohol and it obviously made no difference. Then, I decided to soak the whole briar in a sealed container of 100% propanol over night. After it was removed, I did more brushing and cleaning, but no real difference. The propanol bath wreaked of Rose Water and I'm wondering it I should have just left it uncovered, rather than sealed? Either way, I let it dry out after vigorous cleaning, and now it's sitting on my desk at work packed with used coffee grounds. I'll do this a couple times and see if it makes a difference before trying to bake the stench out with activated carbon pellets.

I think my sense of smell and hatred of Lakeland is going to leave this pipe unusable for me, but if all else fails, I'll try smoking a pouch of Five Brothers through it and see what comes of it. The tough part is that I only smoke 2-3 bowls per week and the thought of spending my precious piping time suffering through crappy smokes to cast away this spirit seems like a waste...

I would recommend that you ream if to wood. Using Everclear (grain alcohol) and a small needle brush clean the shank and draw hole completely. If the draw hole is smaller then 4mm or 5/32"I drill mine out, but only if you are up for this. This will definitely remove old tars. Now plug the tenon hole - I use a short length of wooden down- usually 5/16" in diameter. If that's too large use a pencil sharpener, but be careful not to crack the shank. Use salt without iodine, canning salt will do. Fill the bowl. Then add the Everclear over the salt and let the pipe sit fir at least 24 hours or longer. You can add more alcohol to top it up. When ready, throw the salt out and l I get the bowl to burn off any remaining alcohol. This procedure should remove all ghost smells. If not do it again.

 

[anotherbob]

OR,

You could just learn to like Lakelands....

I think that's your solution to everything. Your wife has left... well you could start learning to enjoy lakelands.
You know when you see a solid philosophy you have to give props is what I am saying.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Never been lucky enough to get a Lakeland ghosted estate. I get latakia from years past that's turned into ammonia.☹

 

[Ziggywm]

Wonder if a slow cooker would worker?

Actually, if the oven is electric and run on 220V, it would cost you less then a 110V toaster oven. Also, those toaster ovens have notoriously bad thermostats. When the fire department comes and they ask you what the hell you were doing there's going to be some razed eyebrows! ??

 

[ofafeather]

Actually, if the oven is electric and run on 220V, it would cost you less then a 110V toaster oven. Also, those toaster ovens have notoriously bad thermostats. When the fire department comes and they ask you what the hell you were doing there's going to be some razed eyebrows! ??

Yeah, toaster ovens are not great for that stuff.

 

[JOHN72]

Además, después de esto, se volverá irremediablemente adicto a las mezclas fuertes. ?

este tipo olió el humo de Big n Burley que venía de la ventana del tronco.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I agree, but I did not buy the estate for economical reasons. I've never owned an old pipe and this one struck the chord, so I thought I would give it a go. I really like Stanwell pipes as I own 4 that were purchased new. My only hang-up with most newer Stanwell is that they are primarily filter pipes. They seem to smoke "ok" without the filter, and in my opinion, the filter just causes more problems than good. Smoking without a filter just creates more places to condense liquid.

To be honest, and also quite the coincidence, I'm expecting a new Stanwell 32 Bulldog to show up today based on suggestion from you in an older thread I found when looking for clench-friendly pipes. I chose the "Authentic" version with no finish as it was pretty cheap and it will be interesting to watch it take on color from smoking and handling.

I like Stanwell pipes as well, now ,whether most are filtered or not this is wholly depending on the market, in Germany/Switzerland 90% are filtered pnes,whereas in the U.S and Demark not that much, yet all the older, Made in Denmark era Stanwells are non filter

 

[BROBS]

Just order some activated charcoal. Cheep enough to experiment with. My biggest problem with ghosting comes from estate pipes I’ve found or inherited that have been smoked for decades with American style aros. Some were my dad’s. Others were Flea market funds but that flavor seams to cut through most smokes. I haven’t done the salt/alcohol treatment on any of these but it think that charcoal/alcohol treatment might work better. Will have to do the Shank too.

SwRA is the worst ?