Dubious Stem Repair on a Charatan

[agnosticpipe]

I got an old Charatan about 2 years ago that needed a stem replaced because of the damage on the bit. But as you know, I do like a challenge, and after its sitting around for the whole two years I finally got motivated to see what I could do. It had a lot of stem missing from the bit, more than could be patched like if it was a hole. So I found a broken donor stem and cut out a piece I thought I could fit in to repair the damaged bit. After a total failure using black super glue, I had to start over and decided to use JB Weld with some black epoxy coloring agent added in. This was more successful but still not what I would call a real win. That's where I'm at now. I know @georged recommended the colorant to use with regular epoxy, but I could never get it as black as needed. I guess I'll smoke it in the meantime and think about what if anything I want to do to it now. I don't think it's a real valuable pipe, so I don't feel bad about messing around with it. I can't figure out how old it is either. No Lane stamp to go by, but dating Charatans is something of a mystery to me. Check out the pics, I'm open to some feedback on this one...

Before:





Progress so far:

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

There is nothing you can do to the stem of a Charatan to make it any worse than it already is...

Adding a piece of another stem is only an improvement, less to turn green. Nice patch.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

FIY lamp black and CA will be as black as vulcanite, and almost indistinguishable if the stem is kept black.

 

[canucklehead]

Looks really good other than the colour match on the bit repair. Nice pipe!

 

[jhowell]

The bend in the stem just looks wrong to me. How about a coat of black acrylic paint?

 

[agnosticpipe]

The bend in the stem just looks wrong to me. How about a coat of black acrylic paint?

I agree, the bend in the stem looks odd. The stem seems to be original though, and I have no desire to try to re-bend it. (probably would end up making things worse)

 

[OzPiper]

The bend in the stem just looks wrong to me

I agree, the bend in the stem looks odd. The stem seems to be original though

That abrupt bend in the stem is a characteristic of Charatans.
Ken Barnes mentioned this in a couple of his posts.

You need to heat and soften the whole stem if you're after a smooth, gradual bend.
If you only soften a short section of the stem you end up with this.

This Pete has a far worse looking stem.
Not only have they got the bend wrong, but also the taper.
And the vulcanite is of inferior quality. It oxidises easily, and has pits

 

[kcghost]

Well as long as the pipe doesn't complain I guess it is okay.

 

[OzPiper]

Well as long as the pipe doesn't complain I guess it is okay.

So long as you can turn a blind eye to it

A bit like the zit or wart on the end of your nose.
So long as no one draws your attention to it or you don’t see it in the mirror, you’re fine
Once you’re aware of it, it can really irritate

My OCD won’t let me “un-see” a fault like that

Nor can I sell it with the disclosure “this pipe smokes fine. But the stem really sucks !”

 

[agnosticpipe]

I've decided to go ahead and do some more work on the stem bit. I'll post some pics when I get it done.
Meanwhile, does anyone have an idea of the age of this pipe? I'm not sure what era it's from, but it has no Lane stamp on it. I'm not sure if that really means anything or not. Any Charatan collectors have any ideas?

 

[Humblepipe]

I've decided to go ahead and do some more work on the stem bit. I'll post some pics when I get it done.
Meanwhile, does anyone have an idea of the age of this pipe? I'm not sure what era it's from, but it has no Lane stamp on it. I'm not sure if that really means anything or not. Any Charatan collectors have any ideas?

Ⓛ was used for Charatan's destined for the American market, during the Lane Era. Lane Era pipes that were specifically created for the UK market (domestic market) had the CP logo stamped on the stem with the C entering the P. As Ken informed, these practices were morphed at times. It's not perfect science dating Charatan's.

 

[agnosticpipe]

Ok, I give up. I'm done screwing around with this stem. The black super glue made it better, but the stuff always wants to chip when working around the button. The bottom of the button still has some dings and flaws in it, but as far as I'm concerned, this is good as it's going to get. I'm going to smoke it now and whatever happens, happens!

 

[Sobrbiker]

Ok, I give up. I'm done screwing around with this stem. The black super glue made it better, but the stuff always wants to chip when working around the button. The bottom of the button still has some dings and flaws in it, but as far as I'm concerned, this is good as it's going to get. I'm going to smoke it now and whatever happens, happens!

View attachment 215175
View attachment 215176

That definitely looks much better!
The original patch you did was pretty well done too.

 

[OzPiper]

Looks good.
Hope it smokes good for you.