My new project (pic heavy)

[uskthunder]

So I just received the little calabash that I paid the ridiculously small sum of £20 (around $33) for. It is little- 15cm or 6 inches in the old money from tip to tip:


Not quite visible on the as yet uncleaned silver band is the silver hallmark from 1908. It isn't absolutely perfect- there's no air getting in that gap, but it's not the most aesthetically pleasing thing.


The bowl hasn't been loved as it ought to have been:


In fact, it REALLY hasn't. I don't think there's any help for this at all. I did just for the hell of it try a quick snifter in it- it smokes, and it's OK- but seriously, would you?


That snifter was rendered quite ghastly by who knows how many years of carbon:


So there you have it. OK, he's not without his issues, but at 106 years old, who isn't?

I'm entirely smitten with this little calabash. I just really love this pipe. I will restore him to glory. With patience and a soft hand and kind words.
I just need to find a new bowl- this may be problematic. The trumpet end is 29mm (1 9/64 inches if you prefer). Who knows though? I may get a chunk of meerschaum and do it myself. If I can grind a telescope mirror, how hard can it be?

 

[agnosticpipe]

I too really like that pipe! I have only a couple of meerschaum pipes, so I can't give you much advise on cleaning it up, but it seems to me that the bowl should be salvageable. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about meers will give you some helpful feedback on it. But welcome to the site and I'd like to see it after you restore it!

Cheers...

 

[petes03]

That's a cool old 'bash! It's definitely worth restoring in my opinion!

I would contact meerqueen here on the forum, she may have some info on getting it re-corked and re-bowled.

 

[uskthunder]

Good call petes03, I was on the verge of paying about $60 before postage for a bowl. Meerqueen's site can get the bowl to me across the pond for $50 all in. Thank you for the pointer.
Sadly agnosticpipe, the bowl is a dead loss. There's an ancient gum bond all the way around where the tapering part of the bowl meets that part that wedges in the cork. The tapering part itself has several large cracks repaired with the same gum. I suppose if I were bloody minded enough I could use it until it falls to bits again.
The cork is still in good repair, and I'll have to sand a bit of from the new bowl anyway so we'll see what we see. These standard bowls are all very well and good but I'm not sure there's a standard gourd.

 

[uskthunder]

And here's his birth certificate, so to speak.


Imperial Tobacco registered some marks- including this one- between 1909 and 1916. WH in half circle is William Harrison. The anchor for Birmingham assay, the leopard passant for sterling 925 silver, the lower case k for 1909 (not 1908 as I had thought). So there's a little provenance there too.