I picked up a couple of estate pipes two weeks ago that had definitely seen better days. The Savinelli was in better shape but the Comoy was beat to hell and gone.
Here's the Savinelli - a bent Dublin that might be a little Zulu and/or Yachtsman.
It was very dirty and had a lovely buildup of caked on saliva.
The Comoy was in brutal shape. The rim of the bowl was badly bruised and the stain was gone in a hit and miss fashion. Plus, I don't think the previous owner had ever run a pipe cleaner through the stem. The stuff that came out of that lovely gray swirled acrylic stem was a stomach churner.
Thanks to some coaching from Al and Nic I started work on the Comoy and carefully sanded the Comoy rim. I didn't go as low as I wanted because it would've substantially changed the bowl height. My primary concern was changing the integrity of the bowl.
Next, both bowls got an 18 hour bath in medical alcohol that stripped off most of the finish. Here's the end result.
With everything cleaned off I was able to make out that the Comoy was a Silver Cloud Model 788.
I sanded here and there, scrubbed this and that and reamed out both bowls. I started out with a diluted stain of Fiebings Light Brown and it really looked like hell. I finished the staining going full strength with the Light Brown and have, so far, applied two coats of Halcyon II.
Here's the Comoy:
And here's the Sav:
And the two together:
Both stems were very loose and a little beeswax from Beewrangler did wonders on the Sav, but the Comoy will still need a couple of bowls smoked through it. Also, the Comoy rim will never be attractive but that was my big compromise with this patch-up job.
Cheers.
Fnord
Here's the Savinelli - a bent Dublin that might be a little Zulu and/or Yachtsman.
It was very dirty and had a lovely buildup of caked on saliva.
The Comoy was in brutal shape. The rim of the bowl was badly bruised and the stain was gone in a hit and miss fashion. Plus, I don't think the previous owner had ever run a pipe cleaner through the stem. The stuff that came out of that lovely gray swirled acrylic stem was a stomach churner.
Thanks to some coaching from Al and Nic I started work on the Comoy and carefully sanded the Comoy rim. I didn't go as low as I wanted because it would've substantially changed the bowl height. My primary concern was changing the integrity of the bowl.
Next, both bowls got an 18 hour bath in medical alcohol that stripped off most of the finish. Here's the end result.
With everything cleaned off I was able to make out that the Comoy was a Silver Cloud Model 788.
I sanded here and there, scrubbed this and that and reamed out both bowls. I started out with a diluted stain of Fiebings Light Brown and it really looked like hell. I finished the staining going full strength with the Light Brown and have, so far, applied two coats of Halcyon II.
Here's the Comoy:
And here's the Sav:
And the two together:
Both stems were very loose and a little beeswax from Beewrangler did wonders on the Sav, but the Comoy will still need a couple of bowls smoked through it. Also, the Comoy rim will never be attractive but that was my big compromise with this patch-up job.
Cheers.
Fnord
