My Favorite Pipe

[newbroom]

My favorite pipe has been a Lorenzo Standard half bent rusticated billiard.

This a.m. during a routine maintenance of it's insides, I broke the shank at the mortise while simply replacing the stem.

I was watching my computer screen and listening to something and as I pushed the stem rather than twisted it, into it's mortise, I heard a snap, looked down and found I had a nice sized chuck of briar from the shank, broken right off!
I was shocked. This pipe's stem has always been a perfect fit allowing me to remove and replace anytime anywhere. Hot, cold, warm, or frozen. I barely pushed! I must have been slightly off center or something at the start? I have no idea, but I write this as a cautionary tale.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Ah man Mike, sorry to hear that. Repair plans?

 

[jrenko]

Not fun at all. But a great excuse to buy a new pipe.

 

[mikethompson]

That's not good to hear, and your favorite pipe to boot! Does this pipe have sentimental value to you? I've seen hot messes of pipes be restored to like new condition. That may be an option for you.

 

[mso489]

A good pipe repair person can fix it for you with glue, a band, or shortening and recutting the shank, etc. Will it have the same favorite smoking characteristics? Or should you put the money you'd spend for repairs toward a new or estate pipe? How attached to the pipe do you feel now that it's broken? This is a good lesson in just how fragile even our sturdy pipes can be, to break right in our hands. If it were me, I'd probably get estimates and probably go for the repairs, take the chances. The pipe repair work I've had done is highly satisfying.

 

[unkleyoda]

Sorry to hear that.

 

[stacen]

Sad News... my condolences. Fix it up with a band perhaps? Might give the pipe even more sentimental value in the long run!

 

[pipebuddy]

Gee, that sucks. It must have had a stress fracture on the shank that you were not aware of...especially if you removed the stem while the pipe was hot on a regular basis. It doesn't help, man.
Maybe a repair guy would be able to put back the chunk and reinforce the shank with a band.

 

[mikethompson]

Newbroom can you show us pictures of this disaster that has befallen you?

 

[pagan]

NOOOooooooo........ :crying:

 

[newbroom]

What surprised me was how brittle the briar was. I really thought it had more durability.

Mind you, I wasn't jamming the thing in, the pipe wasn't hot. I wasn't looking though.

I found some super glue and put it back together. I just did it minutes ago and I'm gonna leave it w/o the stem to cure for a day.

This isn't a sentimental pipe. Just the most dependable and to this point, easy to maintain. I love its ergonomics and its function.

 

[newbroom]

As requested: picture of my ole friend.

 

[newbroom]

so, I left the pipe sitting on a shelf, until yesterday, when I got out my hack saw, cut the shank off fairly squarely, put in a piece of food grade tubing about 1/4" wide, and stuck in a MM Morgan stem.

The bowl still performed like magic! It just breaths and stays cool like none other I own.

Maybe I'll get more involved with a better fix at some point. I'm thinking of drilling the shank out to accept another stem.

 

[mikethompson]

Looks like you made it into a nose warmer of sorts! I'm glad you could enjoy this pipe again!

 

[scloyd]

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. It's like a Frankenstein pipe...nice fix. :clap:

 

[sparrowhawk]

I once snapped off the stem of a Peterson Drac by sheer brute force. Peterson pipes are frequently hard to pull apart short of putting them in the freezer for a few minutes. But on this early occasion I was surprised I accidentally snapped the stem, because I have a weak grip. Peterson replaced the stem, but it wasn't as festive as the original stem. (The Dracs all have unique pattering on the stem from the acrylic mixing.)

 

[jaygreen55]

I did the same thing to one of my favorite Ed Burak pipes. A featherweight Canadian made from rare Algerian briar. I gathered up all the pieces I could find and sent the pipe to Mark Tinsky. He glued (or epoxied) the shank back together,

put on a sterling silver repair band. A week and $50 later I got back a pipe that was as good as new