When tarnished, do NOT go after them with a rag and some sort of liquid polish unless you mask the shank with tape first.
The blackish stain left behind cannot be removed or bleached out. (The only "fix" is to re-color the entire stummel a dark brown or that eggplant antique purple).
I once had to re-color a 4-pipe unsmoked ca$ed $et of late 19th century pipes because of this. (goodbye grain)
Better still is to not use a liquid polish at all, but some finely sifted tobacco ash and a dampened bit of TP or Kleenex. It will remove tarnish like magic, and you don't have to mask the shank. It won't affect wood.
The blackish stain left behind cannot be removed or bleached out. (The only "fix" is to re-color the entire stummel a dark brown or that eggplant antique purple).
I once had to re-color a 4-pipe unsmoked ca$ed $et of late 19th century pipes because of this. (goodbye grain)
Better still is to not use a liquid polish at all, but some finely sifted tobacco ash and a dampened bit of TP or Kleenex. It will remove tarnish like magic, and you don't have to mask the shank. It won't affect wood.