Going to Try Rusticating.

[jewman22]

So, a while back I picked up this cheap little "Bruyere Guarantee" for about 8$. It doesn't smoke overly well and the finish was mostly gone. I watched a few videos on doing it and seemed like fun, plus I prefer Rusticated pipes anyway.
So the other night I had some time after work, so I sanded her down, 400, 800, 1200 then finished with 2000 grit.
I still gotta do the stem.
This is as she sits right now:


I had some time and some scrap at work today, so I built a tool out of Roofing Nails and some 3/4" pipe fittings.


I hope to get some time to have at it at some point this week. If I screw it up bad, it's a negligible loss, or a blooper story.
I will post a pic of the finished product anyways.

 

[sumusfumus]

Good luck with your efforts to turn this sow's ear pipe into a silk purse.

You've got nothing to lose, but you'll surely gain some valuable experience, and beneficial techniques that you can use when you decide to rusticate the next pipe(s) that come your way.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I rusticated a cheap Estate pipe by wiggling it around on a 3/16 drill bit in my lathe then I stained it black and red.
Not having any other wax, I put shoe polish on it. Ha ha big mistake. It looked great, but it really stank. Didn't want to poison myself so I trashed it. Therefore no photograph, but I'm still alive.

 

[anotherbob]

We want pictures when you're done or even in process.

 

[jewman22]

Just finished the Rustication, took me about a half hour to get it decent. I will post pics when I get up.
Still need to figure out the colour I would like it.

 

[jewman22]

As promised, here are some pics. Just needs a finish. I left the shank and rim Smooth, also refit the stem since it wasn't fitting flush.

 

[Chasing Embers]

As promised, here are some pics. Just needs a finish. I left the shank and rim Smooth, also refit the stem since it wasn't fitting flush.

View attachment 93500
View attachment 93501
View attachment 93502

Looks great!

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Great job!

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Looks pretty cool just like it is.
Good stuff.

 

[LotusEater]

That’s impressive
Well done!

 

[STP]

Good job! I like how you left the shank smooth?

 

[jewman22]

Good job! I like how you left the shank smooth?

I traced a line in pencil, then was very careful. I did that bit first, just to make sure I wasn't any type of fatigued when I did it. I'l see if I can get a petter pic of that area from the bottom.

 

[jewman22]

Looks pretty cool just like it is.
Good stuff.

I'm thinking that too, might actually leave it raw, I'm kinda liking how it looks right now, and just see how it colours on it's own.

 

[sumusfumus]

As promised, here are some pics. Just needs a finish. I left the shank and rim Smooth, also refit the stem since it wasn't fitting flush.

View attachment 93500
View attachment 93501
View attachment 93502

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Great job. A silk purse was born!

BTW, "SHARPIE MARKERS" that are sold everywhere....are loaded with alcohol dyes, and besides black and brown, come in a wide range of other colors. Alcohol dyes are perfect to use for staining a briar pipe. Crack open the SHARPIE MARKER and remove the dye saturated wick. Slice that wick with a razor, sharp knife, etc, into smaller pieces and soak them in a dish using some denatured or grain alcohol, high-proof Vodka, to extract the dyes. Dip a cheap artist or glue brush into the dye and paint that dye on your pipe. Dyes can be diluted or used full strength. Experiment! The SHARPIE dyes will penetrate into the briar, as will any alcohol dye. You can even scribble different colors onto the pipe for a novel, or carefully apply darker colors into the deeper crevices, and then use a lighter color for the peaks, for a two-tone dye job. It's up to you. There are videos on You-Tube that show this process using alcohol dyes/inks to stain a pipe.

Use Beeswax or alcohol-diluted shellac for some shine. DON'T use shoe polish, or you'll ghost the pipe with petroleum distillates that stink like kerosene when heated.

That rustication job that you did on that pipe, I think, looks very professional. Have fun and good luck.

 

[Latakia Dave]

Excellent job on the rustication sir!
Looks great as it is!!!

 

[jewman22]

OK, so got bored tonight and finished the pipe, even though I was planning on leaving it raw.
This is the finished product. I used Fiebings leather dye for the finish.




I started with a base layer of Yellow.
Followed by really lightly dabbing the surface with black. Then a light brush with some 0000 steel wool to expose the tips of the ridges.
The final coat is a half and half mix of Yellow and Ox Blood, I applied 3 coats of this.
Then finished with a buff of White Diamond then Carnauba Wax.

 

[hauntedmyst]

You did an awesome job! Did you open the draft hole to help with it smoking better?

 

[mso489]

Rustication is an art and encompasses everything from faux sandblast to carving, but you really did well on a first try, assuming it is your first. After you finished with your tool did you sand it down? It looks artfully uniform, a really nice job. Now I just wish the pipe smoked better for you. Anything you can do about that? The finish looks great too.

 

[jewman22]

You did an awesome job! Did you open the draft hole to help with it smoking better?

Draw is already open, she is just a soggy old goat.

 

[jewman22]

Rustication is an art and encompasses everything from faux sandblast to carving, but you really did well on a first try, assuming it is your first. After you finished with your tool did you sand it down? It looks artfully uniform, a really nice job. Now I just wish the pipe smoked better for you. Anything you can do about that? The finish looks great too.

Thank you kindly.
No it's not my first refinish, but yes it is my first attempt at rustication. After using the tool I just brushed it down really good with a Welders brush, polished and buffed the rim and the shank. I did refit the stem a bit as it wasn't sitting quite flush.
I have a couple more old clunkers around, so I might try a wire wheel finish and maybe a sandblast at some point in the future.
I'm not really gonna try anymore to get it to smoke better, I'm admitting defeat on that one. Just gonna have to smoke some really dry burley in it, since I seem to smoke those dryer than anything else. But still not likely to get used much, I have too many nicer pipes to really waste much time on this one.