I was given a box of old pipes, most of which I will eventually sell off, but this one billiard caught my eye. It's a Wally Frank Sweet Root, marked as a Pipe of the Month Club. It was pretty dull when I got it, and the stem was REALLY oxidized.
Pipe Restoration #2 before Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
I removed most of the cake, leaving just a little char in the bowl. After giving the whole pipe an alcohol bath, I cleaned, oiled, and waxed the briar, which turned out to have some nice figure--not striking, but pleasing in a subtle way. The stem had to be lightly sanded and buffed to remove a couple tooth marks. There was one deep tooth mark on the underside that I left intact because, well, I didn't feel like filling it in. I also left a few old marks here and there on the bowl. I wanted this to look like a clean vintage pipe, not a new one, so I feel that leaving just a little bit of patina was the right way to go.
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Pipe Restoration #2 Wally Frank Billiard 8-2018 by Bibliophile 13, on Flickr
Can't wait to get some tobacco into this pipe and see how it smokes. From the looks of everything, it should smoke pretty well.
![](https://farm1.staticflickr.com/939/30038256588_cf936e6120_z.jpg)
I removed most of the cake, leaving just a little char in the bowl. After giving the whole pipe an alcohol bath, I cleaned, oiled, and waxed the briar, which turned out to have some nice figure--not striking, but pleasing in a subtle way. The stem had to be lightly sanded and buffed to remove a couple tooth marks. There was one deep tooth mark on the underside that I left intact because, well, I didn't feel like filling it in. I also left a few old marks here and there on the bowl. I wanted this to look like a clean vintage pipe, not a new one, so I feel that leaving just a little bit of patina was the right way to go.
![](https://farm1.staticflickr.com/936/30038242278_016875fcc5_z.jpg)
![](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1772/30038244208_a1977939e6_z.jpg)
![](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1837/43189184394_5c1e18ce01_z.jpg)
![](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1818/28970809847_fcfa2dacfa_z.jpg)
Can't wait to get some tobacco into this pipe and see how it smokes. From the looks of everything, it should smoke pretty well.