Estate Riviera Cleanup

[tuold]

I'm always on the lookout for the old pre-paper filter Grabow pipes. I won this one for the very same price the pipe original sold for in 1957, $1.50! That makes it the cheapest pipe I own....so far.
It arrived in pretty good shape, despite appearing to have been moderately smoked by the looks of the inside of the bowl. The finish was dirty and had a cracked varnish-like look to it as well as having some scratches and dings as if it had been in a workshop drawer for the past fifty years. The stinger was bright and shiny and I only needed a few pipe cleaners for the stem and shank. (I'll ream the bowl later and give it a salt/alcohol treatment)
Before:

After:

I wonder if more aggressive sanding would get rid of more of the darkening? I can always go at it again sometime. For now, I've very happy with the results.More old briar is calling for my attention in the shop!

 

[wilson]

Nice work and nice grain on that old Grabow. For $1.50 I think you did pretty well.

 

[ejames]

Nice looking old Riviera!

 

[dottiewarden]

Great clean up makes for a stunning pipe. Congrats tuold! Although I'm unfamiliar with the DGs, I'd bet my bottom dollar that any pipe from the 50's has got to have some level of quality: crap wasn't even invented until the seventies!

 

[tuold]

In the case of factory made pipes newer does not always seem to mean better.
Speaking of newer pipes, I recently learned I'm going to be getting a bonus this summer. With the preliminary approval of my finance minister (wife) I've already begun making a shopping list. At the top of that list is a Peterson "Dracula" since it caters to my interest in fantasy/horror literature. Has anybody ever made a "Raven" pipe?

 

[settersbrace]

That bowl looks huge! Nice restoration and at that price it's hard to go wrong.

 

[brudnod]

If someone had asked me if I would smoke a "used" pipe 45 years ago when I first smoked a pipe I would have laughed hysterically. Now, not only after restoring a few dozen estate finds, but watching what other have done with seemingly blah offerings, it just warms the heart to see "keeping the old reliables in service" alive. Good job!

 

[tuold]

@brudnod, thanks a lot. I remember seeing an estate pipe in an antique shop many, many years ago and thinking to myself, "Who would ever buy something like that? Gross!" Now, here I am making antique store circuit runs every month looking for old pipes!
One of the things that really got me fired up was Dave Whitney's book, "Old Briar-Pipe Smoking on a Budget". It appealed to me because I don't have a lot disposable income to spend on all my vices. After I got into it I found restoration to be a lot more rewarding than I imagined.

 

[antbauers]

Nice work. It should be a good smoker! I love the grain and classic shape.

 

[plateauguy]

Truly a hidden beauty! I wonder if instead of sanding, Acetone or Everclear (almost the same thing) would take some of the darker wood a shade or two lighter?
The old briar is really under-rated. Congratulations!

 

[tuold]

@plateauguy,I did initially scrub it with acetone and that removed the varnish layer. I used Everclear in-between sandings. I'm just not sure where the darkening comes from. It seems pretty deeply embedded in the grain.

 

[petes03]

Nice find and great job on the clean up! Congrats!