Estates without stems

[dontbeaburleyman]

I've started purchasing estate pipes and cleaning them up. Mostly for my use, but may someday sell them.

Many estates I've been running into don't have original stems. How much should that effect the price? Say I find stummels from a very collectible carver, but they lack the original stem. Are original carvers generally willing to make a replacement or should I have someone else make one and the original is gone forever? Are there other options?

Thanks for your help. Just trying to be a bit more informed!

 

[litup]

I can't say exactly how much I think it would impact the price of a pipe, but suffice it to say that it does impact the value a great deal. Even well-made replacement stems from the original carver are still viewed as replacement stems by most collectors and don't achieve top dollar as a result.

 

[voorhees]

There are options. And if you can get the original artisan to carve a stem, great. But generally a replacement stem by anyone else decreases the value. However the smokability goes way up! LOL

 

[hauntedmyst]

I've never had an original carver replace a stem. With many of the USA carvers now in the spotlight, I would imagine they would replace them gladly. With English or Italian manufacturers, I've never tried to have them replace a stem because it seems like a huge hassle. Rich Lewis in Minneapolis can replace many stems with factory logos (he actually has many factory stamps) and I would imagine other pipe repair services can do the same. As for price, it could cost $50 to $100 to replace the stem so I'd factor that into my final price. I agree with what litup says about the collectible value being effective. Personally I couldn't care less if the stem is a replacement or not but "serious" collectors probably would.

 

[seanv]

Depends on the pipe and your asking price. It will cause hesitation for some collectors but not all.