Two Quick Questions.

[ThebigFil]

Heya

What's the best wax for applying by hand that's easy to procure in the UK?

How does one go about measuring the inside of the draft hole?

 

[Bbailey324]

I generally use a drill bit as a pin gauge to measure a draft hole. Find one that is a snug fit and that is about the diameter.

I use carnauba wax on pipes but I do have a buffer. Not sure it would work well by hand. I'm not sure what would work best for that.

 

[simong]

Renaissance wax is easy to get off eBay. There’s a firm in Yorkshire that have little sample tins ‘free of charge’. I used to buy my micro mesh pads off them as well.

drill bits for measuring hole size.

 

[ThebigFil]

Renaissance wax is easy to get off eBay. There’s a firm in Yorkshire that have little sample tins ‘free of charge’. I used to buy my micro mesh pads off them as well.

drill bits for measuring hole size.

Amazing! I found the website. Also bought some new Micro mesh.

 

[Auxsender]

Amazing! I found the website. Also bought some new Micro mesh.

Pretty great community, right?

 

[ThebigFil]

If I was to sand the finIsh right back, could I use renaissance wax as a finish? Just thinking of projects with some rough pipes I have.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Drill bits and Renaissance wax.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Drill bits and Renaissance wax.

How different is Renaissance wax from Paragon or Halcyon? Supplies of the latter two seem to have dwindled—I don’t know if the maker went out of business, died, or what.

 

[orlandofurioso]

How different is Renaissance wax from Paragon or Halcyon? Supplies of the latter two seem to have dwindled—I don’t know if the maker went out of business, died, or what.

Search me; never used P. or H. since it is not available this end of the world.
Very expensive too . A while ago I studied the product sheet and to me it is approx. the same as Ren.
If memory serves Ren. wax even has a higher melting point .
It works fine for me on both smoothies and rusticated or blasted. A tin ( almost literally ) lasts forever.
Not a clue what happened to the maker of P. and H.
I've been hunting for a jar of Swiss pipe maker Roman Peter "Pfeifenwachs " for a while now.
So far to no avail.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Search me; never used P. or H. since it is not available this end of the world.
Very expensive too . A while ago I studied the product sheet and to me it is approx. the same as Ren.
If memory serves Ren. wax even has a higher melting point .
It works fine for me on both smoothies and rusticated or blasted. A tin ( almost literally ) lasts forever.
Not a clue what happened to the maker of P. and H.
I've been hunting for a jar of Swiss pipe maker Roman Peter "Pfeifenwachs " for a while now.
So far to no avail.

Thanks! I guess buying some Renaissance and trying it out is what I need to do. I have some powdered Carnauba wax I got from Vermont Freehand awhile back. I’m wondering if a small amount could be mixed in with Renaissance to good effect.

 

[mingc]

How different is Renaissance wax from Paragon or Halcyon? Supplies of the latter two seem to have dwindled—I don’t know if the maker went out of business, died, or what.

Halcyon seems similar to or is identical to Renaissance. Paragon is longer lasting than the other two and seems to dry harder. Paragon also dries white and can be difficult to remove from crevices and stampings. So, it's not recommended for rusticated and blasted pipes.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Halcyon seems similar to or is identical to Renaissance. Paragon is longer lasting than the other two and seems to dry harder. Paragon also dries white and can be difficult to remove from crevices and stampings. So, it's not recommended for rusticated and blasted pipes.

Yes, I use Paragon for smooth pipes and Halcyon II for rusticated and sandblasted, mainly for the reasons you stated. These waxes seem harder to come by in the last year, so I’m looking for viable alternatives. I have never tried the original Halcyon. Is Renaissance closer to that version or Halcyon II?

 

[mingc]

Yes, I use Paragon for smooth pipes and Halcyon II for rusticated and sandblasted, mainly for the reasons you stated. These waxes seem harder to come by in the last year, so I’m looking for viable alternatives. I have never tried the original Halcyon. Is Renaissance closer to that version or Halcyon II?

I never used the original Halcyon, only Halcyon Il. Halcyon II looks a little different from Renaissance, maybe a bit more opaque. But it seems to perform the same. I think Renaissance is a perfectly good substitute for Halcyon II.

But Paragon is unique. I keep hoping that Smoking Pipes or some other outfit will buy the recipe from Sam Goldberger, who seems to have closed shop.

 

[kcghost]

One thing about, if somebody needs something we usually can direct them to the right place or tell them it is no longer made. Oh, there is no best. We're just telling what we use and/or recommend.

 

[mingc]

If I was to sand the finIsh right back, could I use renaissance wax as a finish?

I think you could. Here's a briar tamper that I carved that is finished with only Renaissance wax. It's not as red as it looks in the photo.

 

[Bassman65]

Looks really nice!

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I ended up ordering several different microcrystalline waxes to test since Paragon and Halcyon II are no longer in production. I’ll report back here with what my experiences are after I try these out and compare them to Paragon and Halcyon II. This could be interesting. I’ve got: Renaissance, Von Schneider, Le Crayons a Gratter Conservator, and Decatur. There was one other that I was considering trying, but the reports of it smelling odd took it out of the running. The first three might be museum quality and safe for archival use.

 

[mingc]

I ended up ordering several different microcrystalline waxes to test since Paragon and Halcyon II are no longer in production. I’ll report back here with what my experiences are after I try these out and compare them to Paragon and Halcyon II. This could be interesting. I’ve got: Renaissance, Von Schneider, Le Crayons a Gratter Conservator, and Decatur. There was one other that I was considering trying, but the reports of it smelling odd took it out of the running. The first three might be museum quality and safe for archival use.

View attachment 294276

I look forward to your report! What was the odd smelling one that you rejected?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I look forward to your report! What was the odd smelling one that you rejected?

E.J. Wheaton, Co. It was appealing in terms of cost, being about $32.00 for 8 ounces. But, reports of it smelling like gasoline or kerosene in more than one review made me rule it out.

 

[orlandofurioso]

What a nice display Jeff.
The von Sc

I ended up ordering several different microcrystalline waxes to test since Paragon and Halcyon II are no longer in production. I’ll report back here with what my experiences are after I try these out and compare them to Paragon and Halcyon II. This could be interesting. I’ve got: Renaissance, Von Schneider, Le Crayons a Gratter Conservator, and Decatur. There was one other that I was considering trying, but the reports of it smelling odd took it out of the running. The first three might be museum quality and safe for archival use.

View attachment 294276

What a nice display Jeff.
The von Schneider in particular gets very positive reviews.
Please keep us posted
Unfortunatel Amazon does not ship the wax to the Netherlands