Estate Dunhill Pipe Over-Reamed With Small Cracks In Briar Will It Burn Out?

[diamondback]

I don't see an issue. Smoke it. After 5 to 10 bowls, you won't see the crack. I don't think reaming it caused the crack so it obviously existed and survived for decades without causing a problem.

Me personally, on a crack like that (based solely on what I can see in the picture) I’d do the same thing.

Unless I was wanting to experiment with working on it just for the experience, I’d smoke it just like it is, letting a thin layer of cake cover it up.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Georged is also using Sodium Silicate (mixed with activated charcoal) in his video.

Indeed. I had assumed that everyone had watched the video, and I shouldn’t have. Various silicilate (water glass) tricks to fixing heat stress, carbonization, spider webbing, whatever you want to call it, have been out there for a long time. For one, Cellini used to sell a concoction called Insta Kake, which was sodium silicilate based but was made to be used differently. I first heard about fireplace cement in the early 1990’s.
@georged has shared a way of application that, while time consuming, would be worth following exactly were I working on a treasured pipe of mine.

 

[sablebrush52]

Thanks for the information guys. Do you know if it’s normal for cracks to develop in an older briar under the cake?!

It's going to happen to any pipe that has been smoked too hot and too wet. George has treated a few of the chambers on my old pipes and they have been fine. Just smoke it very slowly and keep the temperature down until you've build a cake over the coating and you should be good.

 

[shaneireland]

I recently bought this pipe from smoking pipes estates, it's my birth year Dunhill, a 1975 PO blackbriar, (it isn't so black anymore which adds some character IMO).
If you look at the small crack on the left of the bowl you could probably put the tip of a pin in there. (I was unable get a better picture of it). The second picture you can see where they over-reamed into the wood. I am wondering if I should make some pipe mud to coat this bowl. (I have never tried that before).
I think it will be fine, but the little cracks in the wood where they reamed all of the cake off is a little discerning. I have smoked it already and plan to carefully build cake and I think it will do just fine, although I want to avoid a burnout. I thought I would see what some of you think. Thanks fellas.

I'll echo what some of the other guys have said; that's spider webbing and it's quite normal on older pipes. Personally, I don't bother with pipe mud or anything like that. I'll simply smoke a pipe in that condition carefully a handful of times until a bit of cake builds up, then I never worry about it again.

If you're at all dissatisfied and the pipe hasn't been modified, you can contact us about a return or exchange. Then again, it is a birth year pipe and the PO shape is quite rare. We've only seen 5 of them in the past ten years!

 

[bluegrasspipe]

@sablebrush52 I wondered if it would happen from a hot wet pipe. I think I will follow your advice and slowly build cake, I would rather not treat or coat it.

@shaneireland

If you're at all dissatisfied and the pipe hasn't been modified, you can contact us about a return or exchange. Then again, it is a birth year pipe and the PO shape is quite rare. We've only seen 5 of them in the past ten years!

Thanks Shane, I know they were a rare shape, and I think it's really a cool pipe. It also is light as a feather. I enjoy your videos by the way!