I have a number of unusually shaped hand-carved pipes made from rare Amazonian woods which I recently brought back to dry Winter weather and have developed cracks (including some around the bowl). Have subsequently started storing them in Tupperware with some Boveda packs. Looking for recommendations of someone who can help repair them (I’m in NYC, and I know this is a stretch but someone local would be ideal) or tips on what to try. Would be especially interested in a Kintsugi-style repair
Cracks in Rare Amazonian Wood Pipes
- Thread starter Ronon
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I know nothing about rare Amazonian woods, and I'm not sure how much most experienced tobacco pipe repairmen would know. This might be more in the line of furniture or art sculptural carving people who might have a feel for these woods. These may just not be well cured and therefore doomed. But I'll watch this thread in case there is a better answer than mine.
I suspect they're carved from green wood, and this is what happens to them. If they're curios I'd leave them as is and original, of they're for smoking I haven't a clue.
not sure what someone could do for these. My guy says there isn't really a satisfying solution to these. Especially with the term "rare" means less likely to find anyone that specializes in the right combination of things to do a proper job.
I wonder if you should contact a preservationist at the Museum of Natural History and find out how they would preserve these. I would think treatments would vary depending what your goals are, i.e., just preventing further deterioration, making them smokable, just making them cosmetically intact looking, etc.
When you see briar pipe restorations with regard to cracks, you'll see the end points of the cracks get drilled with small holes to prevent further spreading of the crack, and filled with a mixture of briar dust and cyno. That kind of solution may not be right in this context. If you're just looking to close up the cracks, there might be a way to clamp with glue. That may not be smokable, though. Best of luck to you!
When you see briar pipe restorations with regard to cracks, you'll see the end points of the cracks get drilled with small holes to prevent further spreading of the crack, and filled with a mixture of briar dust and cyno. That kind of solution may not be right in this context. If you're just looking to close up the cracks, there might be a way to clamp with glue. That may not be smokable, though. Best of luck to you!
Green wood is probably right. They’re for smoking. Thanks anyways
Leaving them "as is" may be the best solution. With antiques, original patinas on furniture are more highly valued. With book collecting, for some collectors, an "unsophisticated" dust jacket is much prefable to one that has been "restored" or touched up. It's one thing to shine up a pipe, but there are a lot of people butchering pipes out there with what they call restorations. Sometimes, less is more.
They’re for smoking, and are in fact currently smokable, so mainly want to prevent further deterioration and secondarily make them look intact or better than new
They’re not currently antiques, but I’d like them to last long enough to be in the future. In the present they are meant for smoking though. Mainly want to prevent further deterioration
I hear that. Asking here because furniture and art folks won’t necessarily have solutions that are both non-toxic when used for smoking with a lighter and can stand up to that heat
There are many woods that are dangerous to use to make a pipe, you better do some research before smoking them.
Types of Wood for Pipe Making? :: Make Your Own Pipe Project
are there any types of wood that are plain old not good (or dangerous) for pipe making? Briar is quite expensive up here in the North East, around $27 a pop. Yet, I can get some quite pretty exotic woods for a quarter of the price. I was thinking about trying my hand at pipe making using...
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Some wood is not safe to smoke, and others are not safe to work with. I have a cocobolo pipe (a small pocket pipe freehand), and I have confidence that the carver knows the hazard and made this one as a one-off, being careful about not inhaling the sawdust.
PG is (I don't know about the spelling) propylene glycol, used as a preservative in many of the old time blends, and said to taste bad by many modern pipe smokers.
PG is (I don't know about the spelling) propylene glycol, used as a preservative in many of the old time blends, and said to taste bad by many modern pipe smokers.
and probably semi disposable. Not the kind of thing that gets repaired or worried about losing or breaking.
propylene glycol You might get away with soaking the strummels in water glass (sodium silicate)