A couple months ago I ordered a Nording churchwarden pipe. I was a bit surprised by two characteristics that did not seem to be impressed upon me when I reviewed the pictures of the pipe at the time of selection on the SP website. It was huge in my hand and the finish was very hard and almost plastic feeling. Like holding a billiard ball. It smoked ok but wasn’t very comfortable to hold while commuting to and from work. While I fully expected that there would be blemishes and other unsightly things lying beneath the finish, I grabbed my Dremel tool, some sandpaper and some wax and decided to alter the pipe. In about an hour and a half I ended up with a pipe that I much prefer smoking now. With a little more time I probably could have made a better job of the shape and finish but for my purposes I am much happier with the pipe now. There were a total of three sand pits and I left them unfilled as they don’t bother me at all.
