Is This a Crack?

[jetcap77]

Greetings Guys! I wasn't sure which forum topic to place this under. I am fairly new to pipe smoking. I have made a few purchases and just the other day I purchased a Nording estate pipe off of eBay. I received it the other day and finished cleaning the pipe when I noticed what looks like cracks in the end of the pipe shank. It is hard to tell if these are actual cracks in the shank or if these are more or less cuts in the wood from when the pipe was carved. I tried to take pictures the best I could so hopefully they can be seen.
The stem fits perfectly and has no issues. You can cover the bowl and pull suction on the stem and it does not leak so I know it is sealing well. It almost looks like stain is actually in between both cracks thereby making me think these were done during the carving process. It seems to me that these are actually harmless and nothing to be concerned with (especially since I am not sure how long they have been there). Nonetheless I wanted to get other opinions from more experienced pipe smokers.
The cracks are at the top of each picture with the largest one being on the left. The smaller one is almost impossible to see in pics unfortunately. The last two pics are the most unclear but the smaller crack shows up a bit better.

 

[beefeater33]

They don't look like cracks-- they don't extend to the exterior of the pipe. Smoke and enjoy!!

 

[wyfbane]

Looks like the guy got crazy with his rustication to me. Not a crack.

 

[jetcap77]

Thanks for the responses so far! My thoughts were the same but wanted to make sure. It looked to me it was probably like that from the carving process. To me it didn't look like anything that would split or cause more damage.

 

[jeepnewbie]

I agree with them not looking like cracks.
You can tell if they were by ever so gently holding the pipe and putting LIGHT pressure down on the stem. I had to do this with an estate pipe as it wasn't going in tight enough to the stem. I realized then after that there was a ever so small crack in the stem. If the stem is nice and as snug as your other pipes I wouldn't worry much about it. If it did turn out to be one you can have it banded most likely.

 

[jetcap77]

Thanks! I looked really close today under a magnifier at work and yes it appears these are just tooling marks/slips that have cut into the wood. You can actually see the stain inside indicating not a crack but this was manufactured this way.

 

[saltedplug]

It may be easy to tell if it is a crack, through naked eye, or if needed a magnifying glass. If you can't see the bottom of the separation, perhaps a crack; if you can see wood, then simply a score in the briar.

 

[mso489]

Smoke away. If this is a process, which everyone including me seems to doubt, I'd indulge in a

pipe repair with a professional, but otherwise, likely it will never cause a problem and the pipe

will last for decades (and decades). Exactly once I have offloaded a pipe because of an actual

crack, which could have been repaired. Nice little no-name made in London straight billiard.

Could have been professionally patched for maybe $25 and still be cooking. Cracks if repaired

are no big deal, or rarely.

 

[huntertrw]

"Is This a Crack?"
No, here's what a crack looks like (courtesy of Wal-Mart):

 

[david555]

Jeez, hunter!

 

[jmmize]

Now that is a crack! Walmart that is!!