Removing Varnish From a Cheap Pipe

[Briar Lee]

Harry Hosterman smoked Dr. Grabow pipes, always a small enough size to fit in a certain pocket on his blue Big Smith bib overalls that he reckoned was made for a carpenter’s pencil, but he used it for his pipes.

Harry would occasionally get a new Dr. Grabow, usually as a gift, and he said he always stripped off all the varnish from a new one “so’s that briar could breathe better”.

Harry Hosterman recommended that to me nearly sixty years ago when I was a little boy, fascinated with the smell of his Prince Albert which to me then smelled better than newly mown alfalfa hay, or about any other good smell there was.

When I grew up I’ve stripped all the varnish from every cheap pipe I’ve ever owned except those that were polyethylene dipped, or really pretty pipes like the Peterson Kilarney S08 which seems to have a hard type glossy finish.

I agree with Harry that it does seem to improve a cheap pipe to strip the varnish from it.

But does that only effect the six inches between my ears, or is there some scientific basis for it?

This shiny Peterson is a sweet, cool smoker.



What’s your opinion?

 

[telescopes]

The only thing I have against varnish is when it starts to rub off in vaious places. When that happens, as it did on a Savinelli Regimental, it makes the pipe look worn and ugly. I eventually I eventually removed all of the varnish on that pipe, and gave it to my brother as a gift. He really enjoys that pipe. But I don’t think the varnish impacted how it smoked. I do realize that some garnishes have better finishes then other varnishes.