Considering a little pipe surgery. Input please.

[ichbinmuede]

What I've done kayak is if it's really bad hit the rim with 80 grit until I'm closing in to where I'd like and go to higher grits from there. I typically only went to 400 but it's probably best to go to 600. I've also heard with briar it's best to start staining at 220 but YMMV and all that. Just thought I'd chime in. :D

 

[unclearthur]

220 is plenty coarse enough to start. May take a bit longer but cleaning up the scratches with the next grit is a whole lot easier.

 

[990rick]

That chart of pipe shapes is cool. Very informative. As to the comment about just buying a new pipe — simply laying out more money is something anyone can do. I'm not going to abandon a good-smoking pipe just because it's not perfect. For me, making modifications to things so that they suit my purposes better is always an adventure and often actually works. And even when it doesn't work the learning is well worth the effort. Keep in mind that Edison didn't fail to produce a working lightbulb several thousand times; he just learned several thousand ways not to make a working lightbulb.
That being said, I have hit a bit of a bump in this road. In trying to decide which pipe to experiment with first I found I was much too fond of each candidate to risk ruining it. So I'm hoping I'll win an eBay auction for a bunch of pipes and have at least one I really wouldn't mind risking. In the meantime, my new Cellini/Chicago arrived and I'm now breaking in an unsmoked pipe for the first time. It's going to be a dandy. I can just tell.

 

[unclearthur]

Those Chicago Cellinis are excellent pipes I have three!

 

[990rick]

Well, I love the look and hand-feel of the Chicago Cellini, but my feelings for it just got bumped down a notch along with every other pipe I own with the arrival of my economy Savinelli Duca Carlo. OMG what a thing of beauty. I just love the way it looks and feels, let alone the fact that it's the best-smoking pipe I've yet tried (keep in mind that covers a huge field of eight pipes at this point).
The finish isn't glossy (I feel the same way about glossy pipes as I do about patent-leather shoes — they just look cheap to me) it's a nice matte finish. I wouldn't be surprised if it's just stained and oiled rather than lacquered or urethaned. The balsa filter is a great idea and really does produce a nice dry smoke with lots of flavor and no noticeable drag on the draw. Thanks so much to the member who, in another thread, suggested buying an economy Savinelli. I'm just delighted.
I picked up a Dr. Grabow really cheaply ($10 including shipping from eBay) and it's a nice smoker, but the carving on it is really kind of ham-handed and I think I've found my candidate for the surgery that started this thread.

 

[unclearthur]

The Dr Grabow carvings tend to be crude. I have used them for several experiments.

 

[990rick]

Well, I went ahead and whittled away at the Dr. Grabow Grand Duke and I have to say I'm really happy with the result. It's late and I'm tired, but I'll post pics and more info soon. But I turned a good-smoking pipe that I didn't like the look of into a better-smoking pipe that I enjoy holding as much as I enjoy smoking. And along the way I learned some things about briar wood too.

 

[unclearthur]

Sounds great! I await the pictures!

 

[winton]

Is there any reason why I should not try this same experiment on a corncob? I wanted the cob to try a little of new blends, but it is too deep.
Winton

 

[unclearthur]

Whack that beats down! Can't hurt a cob!

 

[lonestar]

You can't hurt a cob, but be warned its tougher stuff than you might think.

 

[990rick]

So here it is. I still have some final finishing work to do, but get a load of the color! There is no stain or oil, just the natural color of the briar dremeled, sanded and buffed. Aside from being a great little smoker (one match for the entire smoke!) I just love the look of this pipe now. I'm sorry I didn't think to snap a shot of the Dr. Grabow Grand Duke before I started, but it was a really poorly carved pipe that was just too big for my tastes. This briar is extremely hard, but I did the whole job with my corded Dremel tool, holding the pipe body in my hand the whole time. I discovered that a lot of fill had been used along with the dark stain and carving to hide the natural defects, but I prefer this version showing the defects and all. About two hours for the whole job of cutting off about 1/8", then grinding, shaping, sanding & buffing.

[/img]

 

[990rick]

<br />

 

[marmal4de]

Bummer, the picture didn't show up!

 

[990rick]

Hopefully, this image will actually show up.

 

[marmal4de]

That looks awesome!, did you take before and after pictures?

 

[990rick]

I have to apologize for getting carried away on impulse and not taking 'before' pics. I'll try and find a shot of a

Dr. Grabow Grand Duke somewhere and post it. Essentially is was a very, very thick-walled bowl that was about 3/16" taller than what I cut down to. Grinding off the unattractive 'carving' (really, it was just gouged in a fairly artless pattern) slimmed the sides of the bowl down some, but as I had plenty to work with it's still a good thickness and stays nice and cool in the hand. The dark stain totally hid the natural grain, which, while not a premium example of grain, is still much more pleasing to my eye. Also, the imperfections (possibly where the root grew around some gravel in the soil, make the pipe feel more natural and individual to me.
I wouldn't do this to a pipe whose lines I admired. I now have four smaller-bowl pipes as well as a half dozen medium bowl pipes so I'm well supplied with rotation candidates. But I had such a good time on this first attempt at modification that I will grab the next big ugly pipe I come across in my treasure hunting and have another go.

 

[990rick]

Here is a shot of a Dr. Grabow Grand Duke. This one is actually nicer looking than the one I cut down. The carving on mine was markedly cruder.