Hello all, I just wanted to share this because I am happy with how it came out. I didn’t take any before shots, but it was dirty and had black all over top of the bowl and a very thick cake inside the bowl.
I have never tried anything like this before, but I thought I would give it a shot. This is a Craftsman “Custom Made” model of pipe. The stem was very oxidized, and I did the best I could with it, it is far from perfect. I actually hope to replace it if I can figure out where to get another stem.
Once I had it cleaned up and I was finishing on the stem a funny thing happened: the stem would not pass air. I would run it through and it would pass air for moment and then stop. It actually became harder to get the pipe cleaner through it. I ended up using a guitar string (a wound string so it might have a chance of grabbing whatever was holding me up) and running that through it several times, but I was still having the same problem. It would allow air for a moment and then stop. I was worried the stem was crumbling inside. Finally I decide to soak the stem for a while in some water. After about a half hour of soaking, I finally got the obstruction out with my next pass. It was a piece of tobacco.
I have had the pipe for 20 years and never used it. It was old and looked like it had not been used for years when I got it. I’m guessing that little piece of tobacco had been stuck in there for a very long time. I’m also thinking maybe that was when the pipe quit being used because of that stuck piece. It was weird how 20 pipe cleaners and a guitar string run through a dozen times couldn’t get the piece. I spent almost as long trying to get that out as I did cleaning cake, cleaning the bowl and polishing the whole works.
Anyway, now that I have made a short story long, here are the pics! I haven’t had a chance to smoke it yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it out. I’m also looking forward to trying to restore some other pipes. I realize this wasn’t truly a full restoration, but I did a lot of cleaning and I made a pipe useable once again. And it was kind of fun. And if anyone has a good source of stems I would love to know about it!
I have never tried anything like this before, but I thought I would give it a shot. This is a Craftsman “Custom Made” model of pipe. The stem was very oxidized, and I did the best I could with it, it is far from perfect. I actually hope to replace it if I can figure out where to get another stem.
Once I had it cleaned up and I was finishing on the stem a funny thing happened: the stem would not pass air. I would run it through and it would pass air for moment and then stop. It actually became harder to get the pipe cleaner through it. I ended up using a guitar string (a wound string so it might have a chance of grabbing whatever was holding me up) and running that through it several times, but I was still having the same problem. It would allow air for a moment and then stop. I was worried the stem was crumbling inside. Finally I decide to soak the stem for a while in some water. After about a half hour of soaking, I finally got the obstruction out with my next pass. It was a piece of tobacco.
I have had the pipe for 20 years and never used it. It was old and looked like it had not been used for years when I got it. I’m guessing that little piece of tobacco had been stuck in there for a very long time. I’m also thinking maybe that was when the pipe quit being used because of that stuck piece. It was weird how 20 pipe cleaners and a guitar string run through a dozen times couldn’t get the piece. I spent almost as long trying to get that out as I did cleaning cake, cleaning the bowl and polishing the whole works.
Anyway, now that I have made a short story long, here are the pics! I haven’t had a chance to smoke it yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it out. I’m also looking forward to trying to restore some other pipes. I realize this wasn’t truly a full restoration, but I did a lot of cleaning and I made a pipe useable once again. And it was kind of fun. And if anyone has a good source of stems I would love to know about it!
