(original thread: Any Tips on Restoring a (Potentially) 100 Year Old Meerschaum? :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/any-tips-on-restoring-a-potentially-100-year-old-meerschaum.80667/ )
Hey guys, so I posted a few weeks back about a potentially 100+ year old meerschaum pipe that I bought online, its been on it's way this whole time but finally arrived from Scotland the other day. And this thing is adorable, I knew it was going to be small but it's about 2/3rds the size of what I was expecting and it's beautiful.
In the listing pictures it was shown that the stem had been taped at some point in it's life and I knew ordering this pipe would be a 50/50 chance that the shank was cracked and the pipe inoperable, so when I finally received the thing I was obviously holding my breath removing the tape. Unfortunately once it was off I was met with what I had hoped against, a small crack and a chip on the end of the shank. Even still I was happy to have the piece and was ready to clean it up and put it up on a shelf for display, but upon running a few tests (blowing/drawing very gently into the pipe while covering the bowl and listening for air leakage) I was super relieved to find out that the pipe is actually airtight despite the crack! After some cleaning this thing appears to be in working order, I have yet to smoke it but from what I can tell so far I believe it'll be just fine.
So I went about removing the stem, it's obviously a somewhat shoddily made acrylic replacement but it unscrewed quite easily. It's not a very snug fit and the stem meets the shank only when clocked a few degrees to the right (which is probably the reason for the tape) but even when turned to line up there's no air leakage. When I saw the threaded tenon sticking out of the pipe at first it looked like it was rusted metal, I figured someone must've attempted to restore the pipe to working order at some point since the tenon was a separate piece from the stem and the shank. Okay not terrible as long as it works... Finished cleaning and realized that the tenon was translucent, not metal at all but it appears it might actually be the original amber tenon!
Now that begs the question: How did the shank crack if the tenon is still in place? There's some discoloration on the end of the shank that may either be from the tape or could have possibly been from a silver band that either fell off or was removed. That could be a possible and probably likely explanation, but I suppose I'll never know for sure. Really wish it had come with the original amber stem even if it was broken... The case is also in very good condition and despite having that old musty antique smell it works just fine.
At any rate, very happy with the outcome of this and I'll have to send it out to get a new faux amber stem and the silver band replaced at some point. Pictures are below and thanks for all of the insight and help from everyone in the original thread!
(Edit: For some reason Imgur jumbled all of the pictures so they're now appearing out of order)
Hey guys, so I posted a few weeks back about a potentially 100+ year old meerschaum pipe that I bought online, its been on it's way this whole time but finally arrived from Scotland the other day. And this thing is adorable, I knew it was going to be small but it's about 2/3rds the size of what I was expecting and it's beautiful.
In the listing pictures it was shown that the stem had been taped at some point in it's life and I knew ordering this pipe would be a 50/50 chance that the shank was cracked and the pipe inoperable, so when I finally received the thing I was obviously holding my breath removing the tape. Unfortunately once it was off I was met with what I had hoped against, a small crack and a chip on the end of the shank. Even still I was happy to have the piece and was ready to clean it up and put it up on a shelf for display, but upon running a few tests (blowing/drawing very gently into the pipe while covering the bowl and listening for air leakage) I was super relieved to find out that the pipe is actually airtight despite the crack! After some cleaning this thing appears to be in working order, I have yet to smoke it but from what I can tell so far I believe it'll be just fine.
So I went about removing the stem, it's obviously a somewhat shoddily made acrylic replacement but it unscrewed quite easily. It's not a very snug fit and the stem meets the shank only when clocked a few degrees to the right (which is probably the reason for the tape) but even when turned to line up there's no air leakage. When I saw the threaded tenon sticking out of the pipe at first it looked like it was rusted metal, I figured someone must've attempted to restore the pipe to working order at some point since the tenon was a separate piece from the stem and the shank. Okay not terrible as long as it works... Finished cleaning and realized that the tenon was translucent, not metal at all but it appears it might actually be the original amber tenon!
Now that begs the question: How did the shank crack if the tenon is still in place? There's some discoloration on the end of the shank that may either be from the tape or could have possibly been from a silver band that either fell off or was removed. That could be a possible and probably likely explanation, but I suppose I'll never know for sure. Really wish it had come with the original amber stem even if it was broken... The case is also in very good condition and despite having that old musty antique smell it works just fine.
At any rate, very happy with the outcome of this and I'll have to send it out to get a new faux amber stem and the silver band replaced at some point. Pictures are below and thanks for all of the insight and help from everyone in the original thread!
(Edit: For some reason Imgur jumbled all of the pictures so they're now appearing out of order)