Removing Silver Band from Peterson Meerschaum Pipe

[runscott]

If that's the case, you've got double the surface area binding the silver to the meerschaum. May be why it's a bit tricky. i don't know how much "give" is in the shank but as you squeeze the silver to remove you may be tightening it on the silver mortise. Just thinking out loud here

Great points. My memory is not great, but it's getting stimulated here - long ago I twisted a cap like this off an old meer, and the meer at the top of the mortise broke off in places. So it's probably best to leave this one alone. The bowl could be made to look very nice, and the stem has just minimal chatter, so I hate to leave it with a dented up ferrule, but it will have to be.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I was kind of concerned when I posted that I'd get a bunch of nonsensical or joke responses, but some of these suggestions will definitely come in handy on future pipes.

 

[xrundog]

I’m a bit leery of soaking a meerschaum as well. I’d hate to see part of the chamber rot away on an antique that was heavily smoked and maybe compromised. I might try it sometime on a pipe I don’t care about. But if I buy one, I care about it at some level. A round wooden end might work on silver, it being soft. I’ve tried it on stouter caps with limited success. But if someone has done it successfully, you can too. Probably helps to know some silver smithing.

 

[xrundog]

Great points. My memory is not great, but it's getting stimulated here - long ago I twisted a cap like this off an old meer, and the meer at the top of the mortise broke off in places. So it's probably best to leave this one alone. The bowl could be made to look very nice, and the stem has just minimal chatter, so I hate to leave it with a dented up ferrule, but it will have to be.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I was kind of concerned when I posted that I'd get a bunch of nonsensical or joke responses, but some of these suggestions will definitely come in handy on future pipes.

Yeah, that’s smart. I don’t like a dinged up rim cap, but I have some army mounts that have caps with little dings. Doesn’t bother me.

 

[runscott]

I’m a bit leery of soaking a meerschaum as well. I’d hate to see part of the chamber rot away on an antique that was heavily smoked and maybe compromised. I might try it sometime on a pipe I don’t care about. But if I buy one, I care about it at some level. A round wooden end might work on silver, it being soft. I’ve tried it on stouter caps with limited success. But if someone has done it successfully, you can too. Probably helps to know some silver smithing.

If someone tells me they have soaked a meer stummel in water I might try it on a trashed stummel. If the ferrule is glued on with the old glue that Peterson was using even in the 1970's (and not a re-glue job), then I would expect the cap to eventually twist off easily. But I would also expect the softened meer to lose its shape. In the case of this one, having a cap, I think that even if the stummel survived, the mortise under the cap probably wouldn't.

I would soak a meer stummel in water, just out of curiosity - I have plenty of ruined ones that I could try it with. The only reason I've never tried it in the past, is that there was never a reason to. Even in the worst cases I can scrub them with water - even Murphy Soap at times - rinse off and let dry, then sand as minimally as possible, to get the results I'm looking for. In most cases the surface of the stummel gets sticky, which makes me nervous, but I've never ruined one by scrubbing.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Do you think there’s any way to create a mini dent puller and have a small tube with a tiny suction cup on it hooked up to a vacuum?

 

[Briarcutter]

So it's probably best to leave this one alone.

Yeah, a couple dents is better than a broken shank. Polish it up and admire them as character abrasions. Just think if they could talk, the stories they could tell.

 

[bayareabriar]

I would think that it’s glued and the mineral being more porous would allow for greater surface area. So maybe the brainstorming is how to get the silver off of the glue rather than it off of the meer.

 

[bayareabriar]

I would think that it’s glued and the mineral being more porous would allow for greater surface area. So maybe the brainstorming is how to get the silver off of the glue rather than it off of the meer.

Musty Meerschaum :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance

Hey everybody, I’ve got a question that I’m sure has been answered here before. I’ve read a bunch of threads but I’m still not sure of myself. I’ve just picked up a few estate Meers that I guess have been stored in an old cardboard box, in a basement, in Atlantis. They’re beautiful pipes with...

pipesmagazine.com

Worth a read for maybe the heating aspect and vinegar.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

Since you did get some useful serious responses: I'm starting to think @runscott might be a vampire.

 

[jpmcwjr]

This one is cooked.
When you have the pipe as refurbed as you can get it, please post photos!