Estate Pipe has Cracks / Fissures in Bowl - Is it Repairable or Should I Return It?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Drucquers Banner

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,125
12,189
Look again... there is bare briar above and below the area with fissures - that is burned briar, not cake...
I'm looking. Looks to me like the Briar above is bare wood, as happens when you overbore using the next size reamer, which won't make it completely down the chamber. And the bottom, bare again where it met the tip of the reamer.

I'm saying "maybe" and I'm saying you won't know for certain until you see the wood. I have a few burnouts (that I didn't return because they have historical value) and after sanding, yes, the bare wood is barrel shaped where wood was lost to burn. But I confirm this.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Look again... there is bare briar above and below the area with fissures - that is burned briar, not cake...
Oh, yeah, that's totally burned briar, charred to cracking and structurally weakened briar. Whoever owned this pipe before smoked furiously fast, probably a puffer who thought smoking a pipe was all about churning out clouds of smoke, as well as a wet smoker. No technique whatsoever, just a lazy pig.
 

lochinvar

Lifer
Oct 22, 2013
1,687
1,632
Return it. I don't think you will be happy with it no matter what the outcome of the fix, it will always gnaw at the back of your mind. Myself, I would do the ash and honey and smoke on.
 

bnichols23

Lifer
Mar 13, 2018
4,131
9,554
SC Piedmont
Oh, yeah, that's totally burned briar, charred to cracking and structurally weakened briar. Whoever owned this pipe before smoked furiously fast, probably a puffer who thought smoking a pipe was all about churning out clouds of smoke, as well as a wet smoker. No technique whatsoever, just a lazy pig.
Sure looks over-reamed to me. Definitely burned wood, not cake. ? Possibly fixable but a 4 rating? No way in perdition. -growl- If you really like it keep & fix one way or another. Me, I'd raise holy hell, "but that's just me." :|
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
Cost was about $190 plus shipping for a US customer. Cost to return with tracked shipping? The pipe can be saved with either fireplace mortar or sodium silicilate/activated charcoal. I have fixed worse, damn near to the point of a total burnout.

Any of the reputable dealers in Europe or the UK take returns. But you have to get it back to them. At a minimum, you should use a tracked method of shipping. Insured would cost even more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: greeneyes

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
If you paid full Dunhill estate price, which to me seems like too much, I'd suggest you get your money back. The price point is your call. If it was a bargain by your lights, I'd work with it. Dunhill/White Spots starting out so high new skews the whole picture with estates. In terms of smoking, it ain't worth what it's worth. If it was good bargain (again, by your lights) I'd play around with it. You can probably get some good years of smoking, in rotation, out of it. Some good Dunhill smokers even admit that even a new one doesn't always reward the price.
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I never buy an estate pipe that is not in pristine condition. I am totally anal about my pipes and that pipe is something I would never have bought in the first place. Describing that pipe with a 4 rating is bogus in my opinion. THat is a 3 at best. I would also ask them to cover the shipping back to them as that pipe was not a 4 and it was misrepresented.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,396
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
No part refund option, I already challenged them on their 4 star rating. They seem to think its fine. They said in an email, "I believe you shall just smoke it gently and build up some cake. We have not considered it an issue and when we rate it four its an subjective rating. Considering the pipe is 44 year old and smokable we thought its a four."

But their website defines a 4 star rating as:

------------------------------------------------------
4 (****): Very good condition
The pipe is in a very good condition, no bite marks and almost no scratches. Logos and marking are visible. This rating is used for the best presmoked and most of the unsmoked estate pipes. When we don't rate an unsmoked pipe five stars it's because it is not new as coming out of the box/producer. It's been handled by the owner, matte in the finish, maybe exposed to light etc.
-------------------------------------------------------

I think that the bowl should be in better condition to get a 4 rating - oh well.
seriously. That ain't a four star by their definition.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bam

luigi

Can't Leave
May 16, 2017
456
1,265
Europe
The mentioned shop is very optimistic about the condition of their pipes. I bought my first and last estate pipe from them. It would have been restored by them and given 4 stars but it was reamed too deep (probably to remove the burnt briar), draft hole enlarged significantly and then filled with some gummy tar which went off after the first smoke. Had it been a Dunhill I would've wanted my money back.
 

Bam

Lurker
Nov 25, 2020
9
35
I never buy an estate pipe that is not in pristine condition. I am totally anal about my pipes and that pipe is something I would never have bought in the first place. Describing that pipe with a 4 rating is bogus in my opinion. THat is a 3 at best. I would also ask them to cover the shipping back to them as that pipe was not a 4 and it was misrepresented.

Thanks again to everyone who has replied, its much appreciated.

My approach is the same as cigrmaster. If I am paying more than 100 bucks USD for an estate I really am only interested in them if the condition is excellent. I bought this one because it was rated 4 stars and I trusted their rating description. Imagine my disappointment and frustration when, after waiting 7 weeks for it to arrive in the post, I saw the inside of the bowl.

Most concerning to me is that they lack the understanding that a pipe that has a bowl in that condition is in fact damaged and should not be rated 4 stars. They don't even think that they should add a note about the condition of the bowl in the description of the pipe when their pictures do not show the inside of the bowl at all.

The rest of the pipe looks to be in very good condition, except that the stem is loose (maybe because it got smoked too hot), but I don't think that matters if the chamber is damaged. I bought this one because its my 'birth year' so I was looking for a faithful smoking companion to enjoy for the next 40 years or so. I don't think that this is that pipe.

So I think the decision is made. I am going to return it. Cost will be about 30 bucks USD but better to cut my losses I reckon. Trust has been eroded somewhat so I think I will be ultra careful buying estate pipes from them again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ChuckMijo

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,396
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
Thanks again to everyone who has replied, its much appreciated.

My approach is the same as cigrmaster. If I am paying more than 100 bucks USD for an estate I really am only interested in them if the condition is excellent. I bought this one because it was rated 4 stars and I trusted their rating description. Imagine my disappointment and frustration when, after waiting 7 weeks for it to arrive in the post, I saw the inside of the bowl.

Most concerning to me is that they lack the understanding that a pipe that has a bowl in that condition is in fact damaged and should not be rated 4 stars. They don't even think that they should add a note about the condition of the bowl in the description of the pipe when their pictures do not show the inside of the bowl at all.

The rest of the pipe looks to be in very good condition, except that the stem is loose (maybe because it got smoked too hot), but I don't think that matters if the chamber is damaged. I bought this one because its my 'birth year' so I was looking for a faithful smoking companion to enjoy for the next 40 years or so. I don't think that this is that pipe.

So I think the decision is made. I am going to return it. Cost will be about 30 bucks USD but better to cut my losses I reckon. Trust has been eroded somewhat so I think I will be ultra careful buying estate pipes from them again.
I wouldn't give them a cent. They know they're full of it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.