Started My KEN Pipe overhaul.

[nevadablue]

A while back I discovered that there was a Ken pipe. I like the name, so I bought one off ebay. A rather sad pipe arrived and was examined and put in storage. Today I decided it was time to start the resuscitation. I had managed to find out how the thing was held together and got it disassembled right after I bought it. I will eliminate the silly aluminum bulb moisture trap. It was corroded and broken, as was the metal airway tube. So, out it all came. The aluminum tube in the stem was also removed. Cleaning one of these things is almost impossible, so all of the junk in the airway goes away. There will be a metal tube from the stummel to the mouthpiece.

I have to make a new leather seal pad and metal clamping disk. Both are shown in the pictures. The metal tube will be glued into the stem, with a sealing disk as soon as I can get the rest of the staining out of the inside of the stem. Grrr...
Stem with tube roughly in place.

The bowl was heavily caked. I swear I heard it sigh with relief as I started cleaning it. The cake came out easily and the gunk on the outside of the stummel came off nicely. The bowl is huge, my largest reamer won't span the diameter. I hand sanded the last of the roughness.

 

[danielplainview]

Looks like some nice grain going on there. I have a Ken with a green stem courtesy of Scrooge. I plan on putting back all original. The contraptions inside these pipes are interesting to say the least.

 

[nevadablue]

Yes, the grain is quite nice. I will be doing some more work on the exterior finish for sure.
This patent drawing clued me in on the screws that hold the parts to the shank. I wasn't sure what I was looking at before I found this.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Dang... I've never seen a pipe like that. Lots of pieces to that one. Very interesting. Have fun restoring the pipe, and I hope it smokes well for you when you're done.

 

[nevadablue]

Thanks! My guess is that it will smoke nicely as repayment for the rebuild. :D

 

[cossackjack]

Are you using a copper tubing? I think that copper will alter the flavor of the smoke stream, & will eventually develop a green copper oxide patina.
Suggest finding Thin-wall Stainless Steel Tubing (on eBay)
Dave G may know of other sources, if I recall from a past post.

 

[nevadablue]

Yes, copper. No, it won't be an issue. I do have stainless steel hypodermic tubing, but this was chosen for the color. It will be fine. I always clean my pipes well immediately after smoking. And, I have smoked copper tubing before (don't ask, it was a long time ago) and it isn't an issue. Thanks for the suggestion though. I will clear coat the outside of the tubing before gluing it inside the stem. That way the color will last.
The original was aluminum and it died an ugly death from the design. Impossible to clean properly.