My Latest Before and After

[bonanzadriver]

I've been eyballin the Savanelli Author 320 KS for some while now.
Last week I found a decent looking one that had a O.B.O. on it. After a few offers and counter-offers we settled on what I thought was an acceptable price.
Well, it just arrived in the mail today at the office. Couldn't wait to get home and start cleanin er up.
The first thing I did when I got home was to make my way up to the mancave, get the poboys refurb kit organized and get to work.
I then proceeded to ream the bowl and then filled it up with kosher salt and everclear and let it soak.
Then I went to work on the stem. Fortunately there was no chatter on it, just dull and a little oxidized. After thoroughly sanitizing it with isopropyl alcohol I buffed it up with stem polish. Then over to the buffing wheel for another polish and finished up with a nice coat of carnuba.
After dinner I came back up, dumped out the salt & everclear and then gave the stummel a good soaking in isopropyl alcohol and completely sanitized the bowl and shank until the paper towels and pipe cleaners were coming out clean.
Then I scrubbed the stummel with the alcohol using a magic eraser.
Before you know it I've got all of the grime off of her and the rim lookin almost new.
I wiped it down good with a paper towel, in and out and then sat it on a pipe stand to dry out for a bit while my son and I enjoyed a few bowls and beers together, catching up on the days events.
An hour or so later I got over to the buffing wheels and went to work, first polishing it up, wiping it down and then putting a nice coat of carnuba wax.
Here's the before picture from the ebay ad...


Here's the afters...

 

[shaintiques]

Nice job! I love the 320 shape too. That pipe has some nice grain.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Beauty! And your photos are way better than the 'bays' version. Is the eBay photo a decent representation of how dark it was before cleaning?

 

[bonanzadriver]

Thanks @shaintiques.
I think I enjoy reviving these ol briars as much as I do smoking em.
By the way, I've got a few estates, drugstore specials, that I've cleaned up and was thinking about your free pipes effort you've got going. Would you have any interest?
Dino

 

[gloucesterman]

That is nice grain. 320s are great smoking pipes. Well done and enjoy.

 

[bonanzadriver]

@jpm
Yes, it was pretty dark and quite dull.

 

[balkisobrains]

That brightened up nicely. Were you pulling out stain with the alky & pad?

 

[bonanzadriver]

Thanks @gloucester

 

[bonanzadriver]

@balki
I'm sure I did pull a little of the stain off with the years of grime and wax.
That's ok with me though. I prefer em a little bit lighter, seems to show the grain a little better.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Lovely 320. Well done! :clap:

 

[balkisobrains]

Agreed bonanzadriver, it has much more depth now. What's the script say? Ovon? I googled it, couldn't figure it out.

 

[bonanzadriver]

It's an Oscar by Savinelli

 

[newbroom]

That is wonderful! What did you invest in currency?

I think estate pipes are like classic cars, and their value is increased with age.

I must say, I don't think I've ever read that someone soaked his/her stummel in alcohol. Was it immersed?

 

[ssjones]

Nice work & welcome to the 320 Mafia.

 

[bonanzadriver]

Thanks SSJ. Good to finally be here. 8)
@newbroom,
All in, including shipping, I think I'm right around $60.00
When I'm not overly concerned about maintaining the finish in a pristine condition (most of the time as I usually buy old dull estate pipes that need work), I will thoroughly clean em up with isopropyl. Sometimes I even use everclear for this as it really does a pretty good job of stripping a lot of the finish.
With this particular one I knew I wanted it to be lighter, to show off more of the grain. So, after dumping the kosher salt out I placed it in a small tupperware type of bowl and started pouring alcohol into the bowl and gave it a good scrub with some brushes that I have, picked em up at a hobby store, look like industrial strength tooth brushes.
Then I used a small round bristle brush to get the shank clean as a whistle.
All of this while the stummel is sitting in the alcohol about 1/2 way up.
Then I wipe it down and run pipe cleaners soaked in alcohol through the shank until they come out clean. I repeat this process with folded up paper towels for cleaning out the bowl.
Then I dump that dirty alcohol and fill the bowl 1/2 way again and take pieces of Magic Eraser, that I've cut up with scissors into approx 2" squares, and start scrubbing the discoloration off of the rim of the bowl. Once this is done I grab another square and start scrubbing the stummel and the shank.
The nice thing about this is that it doesn't damage the nomenclature stampings.
Again, if it's a pipe that I'm worried about maintaining the finish on, like my first Dunhill, a Canadian that was in pretty great shape except for being dirty and a chattered bit, I use Q-tips with saliva to clean the bowl rim and will use just a drop or two of murphy's oil soap in some water to help cut the grime if needed.
Once done scrubbing down the stummel I'll pour alcohol down into the bowl and out of the shank just to make sure there's no pieces of the eraser left. Then I dry it off and out using paper towels. And finally sit it on a stand to dry for a while, being as the isopropyl has some water in it.
Hope this helps

 

[bonanzadriver]

Here's another before & after as well as an after (forgot to take the before pics)
I picked up a Dunhill Rootbriar Pot a few months back. It was in really rough shape. Looked like it had been reamed with a steak knife with one side of the bowl wall noticeably thinner than the other...



Here's the after. Many many hours of sanding the interior of the bowl to achieve symmetry in the wall thickness as well as restoring the rim...







Here's a really beautiful Yacht I picked up at an estate sale. The toe had a chip out of it and the stem had the button chewed off. Spent many hours fixing the chip and re-shaping the stummel to eliminate any evidence of prior damage.
I then tried to use the black superglue to create a new button and absolutely failed. So I reached out to Ric Farrah @ Briarville and sent him the refurbed sutmmel and ruined stem, a few weeks later I had my Yacht back. I love the grain on this one...







Since sending off this pipe I found Vermont Freehand and ordered a dozen or so stems from them and subsequently learned how to sand, fit and shape em as well as bend em. I'll post a couple of those later.

 

[ssjones]

I then tried to use the black superglue to create a new button and absolutely failed.

I've only had marginal success with that method myself.

 

[shaintiques]

Sure would. Pm me about anything you want to send to the FPP