Yeah, sad to say this wonderful pipe had seen some abuse and there was only one way I could see to save it. Anyone who is familiar with me knows that I like to fix up pipes that are in really bad condition, whether they are Dunhills or no name pipes. I saw this on ebay for a fair amount, and not knowing what the black spots were, but hoping it was stain or ink went ahead and bought it. Naturally they were burn marks. Still they didn't look all that bad, but as I was doing a little gentle sanding I realized they went pretty deep! Ok, really deep. How could this be? The only thing I could think of is that the pipe was in an ashtray and someone was putting their cigarettes in there. My heart started to sink when I realized that I would have to remove so much briar that the shape of the bowl would have to change a lot. Thank goodness the 320 has plenty of wood to spare. But it was a lot of work to get both sides to look the same, but thankfully the grain stayed pretty much the same. I tried to keep the profile of the pipe shape pretty much the same, but as you can see, the outside bowl is now quite a bit narrower. (so now I consider it a 319 1/2 shape) The stem and inside of the pipe was in really good condition and needed very little work to clean up. I like that the stem is vulcanite and does not have a filter.
As usual, I started working on the pipe before I thought to take pics, so I used the two best ones from the auction page. I apologize for the dust and crap on my pics, but I didn't realize when taking the pics outside, that the cold dry conditions were making the dust stick to the pipe like a magnet.
As usual, I started working on the pipe before I thought to take pics, so I used the two best ones from the auction page. I apologize for the dust and crap on my pics, but I didn't realize when taking the pics outside, that the cold dry conditions were making the dust stick to the pipe like a magnet.
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