Busted up Vesz.

[rodo]

Received this Julius Vesz from my dad. It was gifted to him years ago. He smoked it for years and then had a doc say, "you are smoking that pipe too much." (He was.) He gave it up. The Vesz sat. But also...he had dropped the pipe and snapped the shank. He is not a big pipe guy and just got out the gorilla glue and put it back together (and smoked it frequently). Hm...not a great repair. The best part of the story is that he never, ever had a clue how much this pipe cost.

(First image is the silver band, a really nice element, with the remains of the shank inside. It lines up firmly with the remaining shank on the bowl and could be glued...)

Now I have it. I took it apart and have been in touch with the Vesz folks. My question is: are they likely to do anything besides glue it (more neatly) back together? I'm trying to imagine what a repair from Vesz might run and if it, in the long run, will make any difference. Not even sure how to think about it: would it make the pipe, I don't know, somehow more valuable, if Vesz himself did the repair? He would do it in some superior manner? Never had a pipe worth fixing before so I'm in the dark.

 

[georged]

Pipe makers rarely do repairs, even for their own stuff (though a few do). It's a surprisingly different "thing" than making them in the first place.

Having been previously glued complicates things. It can definitely be done, though.

If you're interested, you can watch such a repair being done in realtime where assorted issues are explained along the way:

Replacing a Snapped Off Shank that was Previously Glued

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[rodo]

Amazingly pertinent video! Thanks!

 

[OzPiper]

That pipe has a sentimental value greater than its monetary value.
I'd send it off to a repairer to get a "professional" job done on it.

 

[rodo]

Well, Part II. Packaged it up and took it to the USPS and...$40 to mail it to Canada. Wha...? Just made me rethink the whole issue so I unpacked it and started working it. Seemed likely to me that Vesz could have chosen to glue up the shank anyway so, I'm going to glue it up. Today I sanded/buffed out the burnt rim, looks okay, cleaned up the glue bits. I'm ready to glue it. Uh...what glue does one use for a shank?

 

[sablebrush52]

it. Uh...what glue does one use for a shank?

PM Georged

 

[craig61a]

George uses System Three T-88.

 

[rodo]

Thanks, Craig61a.

 

[rodo]

Okay, got the serious glue, lots of sharp things, a grinding wheel, kinds of sandpaper I didn't know existed (ie: 3000grit) and made it happen.
This is how it started. Burt bowl. If you look by the silver band you can see some of the gorilla glue that squished out. Turned out there were tiny bits of it all around the shank area. Ditto for this image re the glue.
Then post cleaning out glue remains, heavier sanding to remove the burn, then light (light!) sanding, cleaning off the old finish, then lighter sanding, some salt/booze soaking of the bowl, then careful re-glueing and polishing only with wax. The results:


Not sure Mr. Vesz would approve of the less glossy finish. (I think it looks just right.) The stem remains a bit loose. Should tighten up after the first smoke. I think it is ready. But I'll hold onto the bowl carefully to insure it does not go flying off mid-smoke!

 

[kcghost]

The pipe should a circle with a number in it. If the nomenclature Say "Hand Cut" then add 2 zeroes to the number and you have relative idea of price. I would never attempt to fix a Vesz pipe (I am rather clumsy), but would rather send to qualified repairman. I know Georged wouldn't do it but he'd know someone who would.

 

[sandollars]

Looks great! If that stem remains loose, try some bee's wax. It does wonders!

 

[rodo]

Good idea on the bees wax. I'll give it a shot.
Pipe is a 2000. Reads: Julius Vesz, Handcut, Canada, and has a A in a circle. So...it's worth A00? (-:

 

[sleepy57]

Nice repair (for someone who doesn't do that sort of thing all the time. As far as value, I cant imagine it is worth anywhere close to an undamaged Vesz....Just enjoy the pipe because it was one your dad smoked!