If all else fails, Dunhills make great plant containers.
Estate Pipe has Cracks / Fissures in Bowl - Is it Repairable or Should I Return It?
- Thread starter Bam
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I never got around to trying the method advocated in this post for making pipe mud, but it has intrigued me which is why I have kept it bookmarked for years. Pipe Mud and Pipe Cement (WARNING: GIANT POST) :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/pipe-mud-and-pipe-cement-warning-giant-post.8951/
Obviously the fissures in the bowl exceed the bowl measurement in their ad - QED the pipe is not as advertised (and certainly doesn't deserve a 4 star rating)
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.
For me, the price would determine the course of action.
$25 - keep it
$200 - return it
Those fissures would bother me. For me, there are WAY too many good pipes out there that don't need a repair versus using fireplace mortar for a repair.
$25 - keep it
$200 - return it
Those fissures would bother me. For me, there are WAY too many good pipes out there that don't need a repair versus using fireplace mortar for a repair.
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.
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.
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." :|
Maybe not for this pipe, honestly for a Dunhill I would want a nicer chamber, but here is a cheap and effective product. No muss.. no fuss.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wow!? I've never paid that much for a Dunhill, and my HT XL Collector was unsmoked.
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.
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.
Yeah its inconceivable that they have been in the pipe business for over 50 years and they don't know what a damaged bowl looks like.
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