Restoring a filthy Kaywoodie Standard

[Briar Tuck]

I received a well used Kaywoodie as part of a lot that I won on eBay. Most of the other pipes were pretty easy to get cleaned up and back to smoking condition, but this one was a mess. The bowl was so caked that I could see no way of actually getting any tobacco in there, certainly not enough for more than a few minutes of smoking time. The stem...ugh, the stem. I have run over a dozen alcohol soaked pipe cleaners through it and they are still coming out brown. I don't think this pipe was ever cleaned. Amazingly, not much in the way of chatter or indentations though.

I've already spent hours reaming the bowl and cleaning the stem, and it occurred to me that the time I've put in surely exceeds the value of the pipe by an order of magnitude. On the other hand though, I have to imagine that this pipe must be a pretty good smoker, because someone clearly smoked the hell out of it.

What say you? Are filthy, low value estate pipes worth the time and effort restoring, or should they be binned?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Sometimes the lava build up protects the rim from dents from knocking. You may find there's a handsome pipe hiding under all that gunk. I find it worth cleaning pipes up. It depends on if there are any major flaws, though.

 

[Smoke Wagon]

I’m a Kaywoodie fan. I say get her sorted out and post pics!

 

[Kobold]

I second that. I love a before and after thread.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I have a cheap 30+ year old beat to heck “Grail” salvage pipe arriving Friday - it’s beyond me to restore so it will be off to Rich at Briarville right after Christmas. You have skills, well done you and please post up pics of your project!

 

[didimauw]

I purposely bought cracked and caked briars as practice pipes. So I'd say they are worth it!

 

[Briar Tuck]

Sometimes the lava build up protects the rim from dents from knocking. You may find there's a handsome pipe hiding under all that gunk. I find it worth cleaning pipes up. It depends on if there are any major flaws, though.

This one had a good lava accumulation that I was able to clean up pretty well. Rim doesn't look too bad now.

 

[Briar Tuck]

I second that. I love a before and after thread.

I forgot to take pics before I started, but I've got it back to smoking shape now and will post some pics tomorrow. It's a big improvement over what it looked like before, especially the bowl.

 

[Briar Tuck]

I purposely bought cracked and caked briars as practice pipes. So I'd say they are worth it!

This has been my thinking as well. Very good practice.

 

[didimauw]

This has been my thinking as well. Very good practice.

This one was a fun challenge.

Another Dunhill Tanshell Project :: Pipe Talk

I received this pipe in a mystery package. From what I think, it's a 1960. Correct me if I'm wrong. It seemed to be in great shape, not much charring, the stem was in good condition, not even much cake in the bowl. And it has a massive band on it, for only this little crack? I mean...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[SlinginBlades]

Personally I think it's well worth the time/effort. I recently bought my first estate pipe, a haggard looking Kaywoodie for cheap off the 'bay just because it looked unique & I wanted to try my hand at reviving a relic. While I by no means am a pro at it, I must say spending a little bit of time, a couple bucks in supplies & some elbow grease is well worth the satisfaction at works end. I now have a new hobby. Buying a bench polisher is my next investment.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Are filthy, low value estate pipes worth the time and effort restoring, or should they be binned?

$30




It's not so much the value as it is the sense of accomplishment. I say have at it and do post photos!

 

[Briar Tuck]

$30

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It's not so much the value as it is the sense of accomplishment. I say have at it and do post photos!

I agree. There is indeed a great sense of accomplishment in restoring a really beat up pipe. Your work in restoring has been an inspiration to me.

All told, with the lot I purchased, I spent about $5 on my Kaywoodie. It cleaned up much better than I expected, and I'm very happy with the results.

 

[Briar Tuck]

Here are a few pics of the formerly filthy, now smokable, Kaywoodie Standard. I didn't polish the stem, and I usually don't for pipes that I just want smoke and enjoy. It had a lot of calcium build up, so I simply used a Magic Eraser to clean it up and oiled it. I could probably do a little more work on the rim as well, but I'm satisfied with it for now. Most of work was done in cleaning the stem and reaming the completely caked bowl.

 

[Briar Tuck]

I decided to smoke this Kaywoodie today and it was great. It's a neat little pipe, and it was well worth the time and effort to get it back to smoking condition. It will be in my rotation.

 

[tmcg81]

When I first started smoking a pipe, my wife found a rack full of pipes at a fleamarket and bought the whole set for around $20. The pipes were all smoked hard and were filthy. There were about ten pipes and one of them was beyond what I could fix, but the rest of them ended up being a fun project, and three of the pipes (all kaywoodie, interestingly enough) are among my best smokers and favorite pipes. It was really fun bringing them back to life, and them being great smokers were just the cherry on top.

 

[kcghost]

Don't get the whole "let's restore this puppy". Course I would be a menace to mankind with any kind of tool in my hand.

 

[Briar Lee]

I’ve cleaned up many old, heavily caked, very well used pipes and enjoyed it. This last summer I resurrected a large French billiard and a Two Star Lee medium Lovat back from near death.

But, I’m sorry to report that’s not the best way to build a stash of excellent smokers.

I’m convinced a briar pipe is just porous enough to over time absorb smoke residue, and that smoke residue will over long time become rancid, and then the bloom, is off the rose, and thereafter that pipe won’t deliver the same pleasure as when it was younger.

The same thing, happens to us.

 

[JJ_JJ_JJ_JJ]

I’ve cleaned up many old, heavily caked, very well used pipes and enjoyed it. This last summer I resurrected a large French billiard and a Two Star Lee medium Lovat back from near death.

But, I’m sorry to report that’s not the best way to build a stash of excellent smokers.

I’m convinced a briar pipe is just porous enough to over time absorb smoke residue, and that smoke residue will over long time become rancid, and then the bloom, is off the rose, and thereafter that pipe won’t deliver the same pleasure as when it was younger.

The same thing, happens to us.

That's nothing a few days of kosher salt and 99% ISO alcohol will not fix

 

[Wulf]

I would never use ISO alcohol to clean a pipe. Cheap whisky does the trick and isnt a toxic chemical (some may disagree on that) i own but one pipe, smoke it day and night and seldom rest it. Ive had it over 20 years and its still great to smoke and has a nice easy draw. I had a dunhill given and passed it on to a friend as my cheap briar smoked better by a huge margin. Its now got a rather oddball stem that i made and is none the worse for that. To clean, i use good old swiss army knife, a bit of copper wire , kitchen roll and cheap whisky and the pipe is better than when new..its like an old friend. No pipe is binfood unless its got a hole burned through it in my book. Like an old black powder pistol...just clean it regularly or it will let you down.