How to Care for This Unfinished Pipe?

[randelli]

Well anyway, I can't get the photo to load!
I just got a wonderful savinelli 402 from calabashed. It is a wonderful little cutty with an unfinished rustication. Is there anything I should be doing to protect the finish?

 

[saintpeter]

 

[randelli]

Thanks st pete!

 

[randelli]

It is much lighter than the picture shows, almost like a natural cedar. Will this darken over time? Do I want it to? Should I only hold it by the stem?
So many questions...
As small as it is it will surprisingly hold a full ps luxury navy flake; and take over an hour to smoke it. It is great!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Make sure your hands are clean before your hold it, but it will be fine.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Oh, yeah! Smoke away! That'll end up with a great natural finish.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

My experience with unfinished pipes is they look better after each smoke. Lovely shape to that one Enjoy the heck out of it!

 

[randelli]

Good to hear - I felt silly sitting on the porch, holding my pipe, with a sock on my hand

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Ha. I wouldn't even worry about that. Dirt, oil from your hand, smoke.. It's all going to make it look great.

 

[Chasing Embers]

That one can be clenched too. I have a 402 Natural Petite somewhere in my closet that clenches effortlessly.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Good to hear - I felt silly sitting on the porch, holding my pipe, with a sock on my hand

...and here's a sock puppet pirate for your enjoyment

 

[Chasing Embers]

If we could have gif avatars, that would be mine!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

It could be our Black Frigate mascot. I vote we name him Douie.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Great name! :clap:

 

[cbates55]

Nice looking pipe you have there...

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I felt silly sitting on the porch, holding my pipe, with a sock on my hand"
Just so long as you took your foot out first I reckon you would be fine ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[bluegrasspipe]

Sock puppet pirate!! :rofl:
Chasing--I thought I have seen a few GIF avatars.

 

[Chasing Embers]

There are, but after a few people started crying about certain images in signatures last year, this became part of the rules.

No animation is allowed in avatars.

--------------------------------

 

[mso489]

I have three or four pipes that I bought unfinished, all of them in various states of finishing themselves. The older ones are thirty plus years old. I never gave handling any thought. Obviously don't handle them with anything on your hands that would stain them. Otherwise, handle them all you like. Actually, handling them all around will probably spread the oil from your hands evenly and make them finish evenly, but I'm not sure I'd bother thinking about it. Watching unfinished pipes develop is one of the joys of pipe smoking and I highly recommend it to anyone. Mine have tended toward a beautiful deep walnut glow, which is completed after about ten years, but handsome long before that.

 

[aldecaker]

Randelli, that is a beautiful pipe, congrats. I have a couple of unfinished pipes that just seem to get better looking with normal handling, so no worries on that score.