Cracked pipe
- Thread starter RonM
- Start date
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Pardon the size, didn't mean for the photo to be this large. But I think it shows the crack pretty clearly.
No, they have to be fitted by a pipe repairman. They all were purchased by me repaired. So unfortunately I can’t help on where to go, but all three smoke just fine and get smoked all the time.
Yeah, it's cracked alright. Sorry for your misfortune. A banded repair would probably be well over $100 even if you could find someone willing to take on the project. If you are not willing to fork out the repair bill, just smoke it and see what happens. Nothing to loose.
The pipe doesn’t seem to have the grain of briar—it looks like Morta (bog oak). I don’t know if that will have any bearing on a metal repair band.
That's definitely morta. When that stuff cracks the pipe is mostly done for.
I have a Zebrawood pipe with a Morta chamber that cracked after one smoke—I used fireplace mortar to coat the chamber, making it smokable again.
At least that one had the support of an outer shell like a meerschaum lined briar.
I wonder if the cracks of the pipe in question go all the way through to the chamber. Perhaps, it could have the outer cracks filled with an epoxy and carbon mixture, and coat the (presumably cracked?) chamber with fireplace mortar as a “fix.” Not really ideal, but might be visually less jarring than a shiny metal repair band and might make it smokable.
All morta is bog oak, but not all bog oak is morta.
True morta comes from a well-defined specific area in France, and cannot be exported in raw form. Finished pipes made from it in French shops are durable and suitable as a pipe material.
Bog oak can---and does---come from anywhere on Earth a partially-fossilized submerged oak tree in a swamp is found. It might NOT be durable and suitable as a pipe material. (It's a crap shoot)
A large majority of the pipemakers I know and have worked with over the years gave up on it after using it several times. Too splintery, too fragile overall regarding impacts, and prone to charring/burning.
As for banding the bowl in the pic, the shape would be impossible to clamp in any practical sense. (A master silversmith could probably "cage" it given 15-20 hours with no limit on the amount of silver used, but that would just be silly.)
True morta comes from a well-defined specific area in France, and cannot be exported in raw form. Finished pipes made from it in French shops are durable and suitable as a pipe material.
Bog oak can---and does---come from anywhere on Earth a partially-fossilized submerged oak tree in a swamp is found. It might NOT be durable and suitable as a pipe material. (It's a crap shoot)
A large majority of the pipemakers I know and have worked with over the years gave up on it after using it several times. Too splintery, too fragile overall regarding impacts, and prone to charring/burning.
As for banding the bowl in the pic, the shape would be impossible to clamp in any practical sense. (A master silversmith could probably "cage" it given 15-20 hours with no limit on the amount of silver used, but that would just be silly.)
Maybe seal the cracks with super glue and paint it gold.
Gold dust mixed with epoxy might work, but might look too dull. As far as paint goes, Vallejo Liquid Metal alcohol paint seems to have the best real metal sheen out there.
Silver may even look better with the black of the morta.
A similar thing happened to me several years ago with a Morta pipe; I contacted the craftsman and he carved me another one for free.
My pipe split open on its own, these things sometimes happen with Morta.
