Briarwood pipe losing color

[whovianpiper09]

Hello all,
I have owned a briar wood pipe for about a month. I cleaned my pipe with grain alcohol yesterday, and today I noticed that the ring on the bowl of the pipe and part of the stem area looks lighter compared to the rest of the stain/color of the pipe. Is this normal in where I would need to re-stain the pipe or is this not normal? I'm a beginner here so I have no idea what to do.
Thanks.

 

[dryseason91]

Might you have spilled some alcohol on the briar? I understand that that can damage the stain.

 

[petes03]

Dryseason is right, don't get alcohol on the outside of your pipe. It WILL remove stain!

 

[badgercat]

Hi Whovianpiper09,
The other two responses are probably your answer. Im curious as to why you would be cleaning your pipe with alchol after a month...that might be a little overkill.

 

[zack24]

Most pipes are stained with an alcohol based stain....and if you use grain alcohol, it will remove most of the stain on the surface...The good news, is you can get you a little Fiebings Leather dye in the appropriate color (see chart) http://www.fiebing.com/tips/color-charts-dyes-stains-antiques-2/ . Put a couple of drops on a rag, lightly rub the area and build the color back in...And then figure out how to buff the sucker, because you'll need another coat of Carnauba wax...And since you won't need the rest of the bottle, just send it along to me...

 

[whovianpiper09]

First, thank you all for answering my questions. I was thinking that the alcohol could have caused it, and I should have been more careful with my pipe when cleaning. Badgercat, I usually like to keep my things (except my room apparently) clean and in good order. It probably did not need a thorough clean after a month, but its just a bad habit I have over my things. I didn't want to damage the pipe. Second, is the pipe still smokable with the stain being damaged?

 

[papipeguy]

The pipe's smoking quality will not be impacted by the loss of stain. However, it is possible that the area where the stain is lighter may darken with smoking. If that does not bother you then you're good to go; if it does then follow zack24's advice.

 

[whovianpiper09]

If it gets darker that's actually fine with me. Thank you everyone for your posts.