I picked up a box of 8 old pipes at a local antique store. I wasn't looking for anything special except some old pipes to practice repair on. They were all pretty crusty. This one showed some potential so I went to work on it. It's a Sunrise "Tawny Grain" Vintage Briar #104, related to Comoy, somehow. Immediately upon hitting the bath water I saw what I really had. Fully one third of the stummel turned jet black. This pipe had suffered a catastrophic burn-through. So, I started sanding away at it, and sanding and sanding. Finally I cut through the residue from the crevice through which the damage seeped and got down to undamaged briar. The usual clean-up and polish commenced from then. Sure, I could pack it up good with pipe mud and hope for the best, but I have no need to smoke it, and--knowing its history-- I'll never sell it. Someone else, through ignorance or avarice, might. Buyer beware!
