My First Pipe Restoration

[Verdant]

This wasn't a crazy restoration by any means, but it was fun. Did something risky and bought this off of Ebay for $7 before shipping.

Completed so far:

• Reamed
• Alcohol and cotton ball treatment
• Numerous pipe cleaners and alcohol through the stem
• Murphy's oil soap cleaning of exterior
• Sanding of bowl with 1200-12000 grit paper/micro mesh pads
• Sanding out tooth chatter on stem with 3200-12000 grit micro mesh pads
• Experimental mineral oil application
  • I know there's controversy around mineral oil, but I (1) didn't want to die this pipe, (2) didn't have die on hand anyway, (3) like a more natural look, and (4) wanted to see how mineral oil would do.
  • I did a very light application of mineral oil on the bowl and stem. After applying the mineral oil to the stem, it makes me wonder if "Obsidian Oil" is just marked up mineral oil put in a pipe-marketing-specific bottle...?. So mineral oil on the stem is a certain success. If I remember to I'll update you on whether there's any weeping, slickness, etc. with the pipe itself. I very much doubt the "pore-blocking" that people allege

To do:

• Take a jeweler's cloth and toothpick to the "CC" to clean out the tarnishing
• Fill the 2 or 3 dents... maybe.
  • Should have done this before sanding, but I wasn't decided on whether I would do it or not. I was formerly thinking I liked the character they imparted, but now I'm thinking I'd like the practice of figuring out how to fill dents. I was thinking of just doing super glue and sanding. I don't have access to briar dust otherwise I'd mix in some briar dust with the glue.

Pretty happy with this and surprised by the red hue that the mineral oil brought out. Sorry about the glare in the "after" picture.

Before:


After (or part-way complete):


If you have any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them! Particularly regarding fills...

 

[Verdant]

Details regarding the pipe ... Chacom Bayard Pot (X123). Fatty inner diameter of 0.94". Will use this for blends that have a high number of components, e.g., English/Balkan, GL Pease anything (it seems he likes to put a lot of different tobaccos in his blends), etc.

 

[Verdant]

The next restoration I'm going to try is a little more intimidating. I have an unsmoked Churchill Sav that has a stem tenon that is too small for the mortise. My first thought is to apply super glue to the stem tenon and sand down to fit. I don't like the idea of heated super glue though. Anyone know anything about super glue toxicity?

The other option would be to heat the stem and try to expand the tenon. I have some door hinge pin punches that could probably repurposed to suit this task, since I'm not wild about buying a pipe-specific tool that I'd probably use only once.

Anyone have experience on this front?

 

[didimauw]

Fantastic! What an upgrade! All that grain hidden for so long!

 

[hauntedmyst]

Well done!

 

[FurCoat]

Much improved. I use mineral oil with no ill effects, especially on vulcanite stems.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Looks great!

 

[OzPiper]

A great first attempt ??

Amazing grain that has been lurking under years of grime

 

[That Guy]

Excellent work. Chacoms are very underrated in my opinion. I really enjoy the ones I have. Happy smoking Verdant

 

[mikethompson]

"Obsidian Oil" is just marked up mineral oil

Yes it is.

Great job done on that pipe! It cleaned up very well.

 

[Cappy]

Wow! Nice work.

 

[Verdant]

Thank you, all.

Excellent work. Chacoms are very underrated in my opinion. I really enjoy the ones I have. Happy smoking Verdant

@That Guy, totally agree re Chacoms. Although it took me some time to get used to the general size of their draft holes, which seem to runner smaller.

 

[kcghost]

The pictures look fine to us but it would be best to have someone look at it in person who knows pipe refurbishing.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Stellar work, end result is beautiful.

 

[scloyd]

Well done.

 

[Brendan]

I don't mind the dents in the restored pic. Adds a little character.
But it's your pipe and understand if you want to fill them, it looks brand new now.

 

[Verdant]

I don't mind the dents in the restored pic. Adds a little character.
But it's your pipe and understand if you want to fill them, it looks brand new now.

Brendan, agreed. I figure it might be good to get some practice filling dents though in case I buy a super beat up estate that has a huge dent. I've been leaning towards not filling this time though bc I can't think of a good way to get good coloration of the full without using the briar dust, which I don't have access to.

 

[OzPiper]

With large fills, the problem is getting the stain to match.

@georged has commented on the difficulty of this previously, so I won't repeat his expert comments.

 

[PipeIT]

Wow what a change, completely different looking pipe, great job! ?

 

[pip01]

Nice work!