Can This Be Saved?

[karam]

This is my first pipe, and the only one I've paid money for so far, a Savinelli 106 bought some 10 years ago. It also is one of my favourites as I really like the billiard shape and is dedicated to VaPers, which make at last 50% of all my smoking, I'm smoking it at least every other day, sometimes every day.

I was getting ready to go out with my wife on Saturday night for a late night stroll, it was left for drying and I absentmindedly pushed the stem in without looking, and with a bit of an angle when the shank exploded in my hands. I didn't know wood can break like that... I managed to fine two of the pieces but there is a tiny bit of wood still missing, I doubt I'll ever find it, although I tried.

Can it be saved? It still makes as good a seal as before, so it is perfectly smokable but I'd like to know if it's worth it. Guess what's worth it is up to me though. If anything it taught me to be very careful when reassembling a pipe...

 

[sablebrush52]

Sure it can be saved. The price of getting it mended will probably exceed the market value of the pipe.

 

[karam]

Thank you, that's what I thought. I don't remember what I paid for it but I have the feeling I wouldn't have paid more than 40-50 euros. Being the miser I am I'll keep it and smoke it and use it as an excuse to buy 1-2 new straight pipes.

Looking at these two:

https://www.savinelli.it/eu_en/hercules-matt-510-ex-p155mx-510.html?___from_store=rw_en

Peterson - 120 Irish Made Army

GQ Tobaccos specialising in Artisan & Factory Tobacco Pipes, Boutique Tobaccos, Snuffs and other smokers accessories

www.gqtobaccos.com

 

[mikethompson]

I agree it can be saved, maybe with a silver band around it too, but it won't be cheap. If you are already looking at replacements, maybe now is the time to get a new pipe.

That Peterson looks very nice. That stain and shape pair well with the silver trim.

 

[newbroom]

I have h'mad similar mishaps and managed to actually satisfactorily repair (not restore, mind you) a nice smoker I had dropped and broke the shank in half. A 2 part epoxy and I'm back in business. I just wish I had discovered the strength of this epoxy when I gave up on my 'shattered mortise' on my Brebbia which I did by not paying attention as I replaced the stem. I will attempt to save a Meer that I've had for a few years in the same condition.

 

[karam]

The thing is, it still smokes as I get maybe 0.5 cm of stem to go into the shank and make a seal. I'll look for epoxy resin for an attempt at repairing it so that it's not too obvious.

 

[PipesAndCigarsInFrance]

A bit of epoxy...then at worst use it to test dubious blends

 

[Eaglesgift]

Something similar happened to me the other day, only with a cheap Algerian pipe that I’d just acquired. Even after sticking it in the freezer, the stem wouldn’t come out and stupidly, I pulled on it and a piece of the shank snapped off, like yours but in one piece. I stuck it back together with a 2-part epoxy glue and you can’t see the join unless you look very closely. After sanding a little off the tenon, I’ve now got a usable pipe again. I’d definitely glue that back together if it was a clean break and the pieces fit together well.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Ouch!

 

[condorlover1]

A bit of super glue and a paper clip and you are back in business! Seriously you can have the stem silver banded by Northern Briars or Briarville and it will be as good as new. Why do you think so many old pipes have silver bands on them. It's for esthetics, its because some tit 100 years ago sat on it and busted the thing!

 

[didimauw]

Yes, super glue, stain and a Dremel it can be fixed easily.

 

[TheFall]

If you are the DIY type, reborn pipes has a lot of documentation on how to fix and restore pipes. When I started restoring pipes I got a ton of good information from that site.

I remember there was one article where a similar mishap was being fixed and they glued it with epoxy and banded it with a brass pipe crimp fitting that they filed down to take the center ridge out of and polished. It looked very good when they were done.

 

[mso489]

Since it is smokeable, I'd patch it up cosmetically to the degree possible, and smoke it until you can't. Meantime, get several more pipes likely to last some years, so they will become old friends if this one breaks beyond repair. I have the first pipe I ever owned, bought new in the 1970's, a Tinder Box St. Ives probably sourced from Chacom, a bent pot with a vertical saddle stem, about the most stylish pot I've seen, smooth finish, still smokes great. I'd invest in a new or lightly used pipe or several rather than investing in expensive repairs for this one. Many pipes will last a lifetime.

 

[Sonorisis]

I'd be inclined to measure its length and take its weight in grams and, then search for a replacement that will 'feel' similar in hand.

 

[mso489]

I wouldn't avoid Savinelli. I have maybe a dozen, some of them decades old, and I've never had an equipment failure with them. Other strong brands include Stanwell, Chacom, Genod, Kaywoodie, Big Ben, and many others. Despite some quality control complaints on Forums with Peterson, I've been lucky; my Petes are work horses.

 

[karam]

Thank you all, I'll try a bit of super glue and see how long it lasts. I am not inclined to try to make it good as new, but if it becomes passable I'll be happy.

In the meanwhile I got my eyes on a few pipes, and will be super careful in the future. Until of course it happens again!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Reminds my of my Blatter and Blatter that's been lying around in two pieces. This one I will have repaired, and with a silver band, as it's one I got at the shop in Montreal shortly after I resumed smoking.

Also, I wouldn't trust a glue job with this sort of break.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Could always use an old fashioned screw up metal hose clamp as the repair band if you didn’t mind the gardening look...

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yeah, but the fastening piece keeps catching on my mohair cardigan.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Now we don’t want that...maybe leather patches on the cardy?