This was my first attempt at “repairing” anything this gnarly. Lines aren’t perfect. Used flat file, 240 wet, and 400 wet. Will try to round out button when doing the normal wet sanding/buffing. I’ll take it as a win.
Stem Repair
- Thread starter bayareabriar
- Start date
Yeah, it’s definitely a, “damn” moment when you file it at the wrong angle. But the stem stayed in 1 piece. lol. The damage was pretty deep and the before pictures look better than it was.
Nice, clean stem in the end.
Is this a pretty valuable piece, either monetarily or sentimentally?
Nice job !
Did you "lift" the toothmarks, or sanded them ?
Sanded then tried lifting with Bic and it helped a little. It was more helpful on the bottom of the stem than the top.
Thank you. I’m still cleaning the rest and will see how she smokes. It’s maybe a $300-600 pipe; sasieni viscount lascelles. Nothing sentimental. I’ll post some photos in a week or so when she’s all cleaned and sanitized.
An iron works like a charm. Those might be too sharp of dings to come out but unless you get crazy with iron there is no loss. Ive done a few. Im not an expert by any means. The last one I did I took an iron on hot and used a wet washcloth in between. My thinking is that you are better off with more brief applications since you really dont want to dry the cloth and burn anything.
I dewax with alcohol, steamed it and reappled wax. The results were pretty impressive and saved a coupld of really nice pipes from needing a refinish job. If you have any old beaters around you can practice a couple of times. I even have some trash pipes from a box-o-pipe purchase that I can intentionally ding to experiment with.
I dewax with alcohol, steamed it and reappled wax. The results were pretty impressive and saved a coupld of really nice pipes from needing a refinish job. If you have any old beaters around you can practice a couple of times. I even have some trash pipes from a box-o-pipe purchase that I can intentionally ding to experiment with.
Thank you! I’ll play around with some first. Was the wash cloth wet where you can still ring some water out, or just damp?
I ring it out but leave a generous amount of water in it. I could have gotten more water out. I just gave it a good one handed squeeze. I think I also doubled it over since it was not one of the wife's good ones 
You want he heat to go through and make steam. You dont want it to dry. Test the wash cloth first and make sure it doesnt melt. Each time I hit up the ding I didnt wait a long time before removing heat. Think about what happens in the kitchen when you pick up a hot pan with a damp towel...you quickly burn yourself. Heat travels really fast through a wet cloth. Just take your time. If it works great. If not then you have to figure out your next strategy. Even if you refinished the pipe (Im not saying you should) its worth getting as much from steaming as posslible
Also if you are removing the wax with alcohol remember stains are often alcohol based. Dont rub the crap out if it or you will start removing color. Just wipe over it a couple of times, it will be dull when it quickly dries. I checked my cloth each time I applied it to be sure it wasnt turning dark.
You might have to touch up those spots even if it works. They look like they damaged the stain area...but its hard to say just from photos and Im not an expert. The dings I took out were more shallow and had softer edges. However, they were on a birdseye top of a pipe and very visible so they were not something that took effort to find. Steaming also will take out small pressure created lines. While you are at it you might want to steam the top and see if it takes out some of those marks covering the rim. Its pretty freakin cool magic when it works!
Maybe someone will chime in and suggest if that is the best method. Im under the assumption that the wax needs to go in order to get the best steam penetration.
You want he heat to go through and make steam. You dont want it to dry. Test the wash cloth first and make sure it doesnt melt. Each time I hit up the ding I didnt wait a long time before removing heat. Think about what happens in the kitchen when you pick up a hot pan with a damp towel...you quickly burn yourself. Heat travels really fast through a wet cloth. Just take your time. If it works great. If not then you have to figure out your next strategy. Even if you refinished the pipe (Im not saying you should) its worth getting as much from steaming as posslible
Also if you are removing the wax with alcohol remember stains are often alcohol based. Dont rub the crap out if it or you will start removing color. Just wipe over it a couple of times, it will be dull when it quickly dries. I checked my cloth each time I applied it to be sure it wasnt turning dark.
You might have to touch up those spots even if it works. They look like they damaged the stain area...but its hard to say just from photos and Im not an expert. The dings I took out were more shallow and had softer edges. However, they were on a birdseye top of a pipe and very visible so they were not something that took effort to find. Steaming also will take out small pressure created lines. While you are at it you might want to steam the top and see if it takes out some of those marks covering the rim. Its pretty freakin cool magic when it works!
Maybe someone will chime in and suggest if that is the best method. Im under the assumption that the wax needs to go in order to get the best steam penetration.
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Thank you for taking the time to explain it so well!I ring it out but leave a generous amount of water in it. I could have gotten more water out. I just gave it a good one handed squeeze. I think I also doubled it over since it was not one of the wife's good ones
You want he heat to go through and make steam. You dont want it to dry. Test the wash cloth first and make sure it doesnt melt. Each time I hit up the ding I didnt wait a long time before removing heat. Think about what happens in the kitchen when you pick up a hot pan with a damp towel...you quickly burn yourself. Heat travels really fast through a wet cloth. Just take your time. If it works great. If not then you have to figure out your next strategy. Even if you refinished the pipe (Im not saying you should) its worth getting as much from steaming as posslible
Also if you are removing the wax with alcohol remember stains are often alcohol based. Dont rub the crap out if it or you will start removing color. Just wipe over it a couple of times, it will be dull when it quickly dries. I checked my cloth each time I applied it to be sure it wasnt turning dark.
You might have to touch up those spots even if it works. They look like they damaged the stain area...but its hard to say just from photos and Im not an expert. The dings I took out were more shallow and had softer edges. However, they were on a birdseye top of a pipe and very visible so they were not something that took effort to find. Steaming also will take out small pressure created lines. While you are at it you might want to steam the top and see if it takes out some of those marks covering the rim. Its pretty freakin cool magic when it works!
Maybe someone will chime in and suggest if that is the best method. Im under the assumption that the wax needs to go in order to get the best steam penetration.
A soldering Iron works great for steaming, pinpoint accuracy but it gets very hot. Touch and check, repeat as necessary then refinish.
This ^^^
For towel material, just use an ordinary paper towel folded until you have a "tab" about 8 layers thick and a quarter inch wide, then touch/dip in a jar lid or saucer of water before applying to the work.
I was going to watch some of your videos and try to find some of your posts on the matter. Thank you both for the direction!
As George says. Before I bring the hot iron to the briar I apply a drop of water to the sore spot.
As I do when steaming out a dent from a wooden table top, - floor etc.
Perhaps the drop of water is only superstition, but it always worked fine for me
These look more like scratches to me, but it is worth trying.
Be sure the steam function of the iron is turned off !
Careful not to burn your fingers and practice patience.
As I do when steaming out a dent from a wooden table top, - floor etc.
Perhaps the drop of water is only superstition, but it always worked fine for me
These look more like scratches to me, but it is worth trying.
Be sure the steam function of the iron is turned off !
Careful not to burn your fingers and practice patience.
Drop of water in / on the dent then flash steam with a preheated soldering iron. You can also use a hypodermic needle to make microscopic holes in a stubborn dent before steaming to get better penetration.
Ha, I never thought of a soldering iron and I have one. Its also adjustable tempature. That would be easier to aim than a clothes iron.