I managed to pick up a box with a mix of smoked and unsmoked GFB bulldogs bent and straight from 1905 -the 1920's from a hoarder friend of mine that doesn't smoke at all, but just sets back tons of antique junk. This one was very smoked with a gold plated band and ugly rim on it. Well, ugly may be an overstatement. I just didn't like it.
To start I removed the band and rim, dropped the stummel in alcohol and let it soak overnight to dissolve the nasty old cake from whatever it was they smoked back then. I thought that the stem was amber, but is was most likely a plastic made of milk that was fairly popular at the beginning of the 20th century. It just melted as I wiped it down with an alcohol wipe, so I set that aside and made a new stem for it from vulcanite. It was all just carved with files, easy-peasy. I went with a saddle design, but I may switch it out with just a bent diamond stem. I drilled the pipe out to 4.3mm to give me the draw that I prefer. After I wiped all of the cake out and cleaned off whatever was used as a finish, I also drilled the chamber down below the draft by just a tad to prevent any gurgle.
I then made a sterling silver band for it with an inlay of a stone that I made by infusing 18k gold down through cracked quartz. I then sliced it and cut the inlay to look seamless as it surrounds the band.
I just lovethe grain on these old bent bulldogs.
These old pipes smoke fantastic, and being over 100 years old, the briar can't get any more cured than that.
This is just for my personal use. I will use this as a VaPer burner, and I am anxious to get this one started. I love the aroma of totally cleaned out cake on one of these ancient pipes. And, the chamber is much deeper than you'd guess from the pictures.
I also don't wax them. I just leave it natural. The briar is so old that it is almost brittle, so absolutely NO need for a finish. I will let this one patina and grow old with me as I smoke it and meld with it.
Hopefully, a fitting pipe for a jeweler. I hope you enjoyed the pics. :
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To start I removed the band and rim, dropped the stummel in alcohol and let it soak overnight to dissolve the nasty old cake from whatever it was they smoked back then. I thought that the stem was amber, but is was most likely a plastic made of milk that was fairly popular at the beginning of the 20th century. It just melted as I wiped it down with an alcohol wipe, so I set that aside and made a new stem for it from vulcanite. It was all just carved with files, easy-peasy. I went with a saddle design, but I may switch it out with just a bent diamond stem. I drilled the pipe out to 4.3mm to give me the draw that I prefer. After I wiped all of the cake out and cleaned off whatever was used as a finish, I also drilled the chamber down below the draft by just a tad to prevent any gurgle.
I then made a sterling silver band for it with an inlay of a stone that I made by infusing 18k gold down through cracked quartz. I then sliced it and cut the inlay to look seamless as it surrounds the band.
I just lovethe grain on these old bent bulldogs.
These old pipes smoke fantastic, and being over 100 years old, the briar can't get any more cured than that.
This is just for my personal use. I will use this as a VaPer burner, and I am anxious to get this one started. I love the aroma of totally cleaned out cake on one of these ancient pipes. And, the chamber is much deeper than you'd guess from the pictures.
I also don't wax them. I just leave it natural. The briar is so old that it is almost brittle, so absolutely NO need for a finish. I will let this one patina and grow old with me as I smoke it and meld with it.
Hopefully, a fitting pipe for a jeweler. I hope you enjoyed the pics. :
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