Weird, there is a blister on my new pipe

[thatbeetleguy]

Hello Everyone!
I recently got a new churchwarden and started to break it in. On my third bowl it started having a "blister" on it and it didn't go away when I tried to press on it with my tamper. I am uncertain if this is a "fill" or not. Here is the picture of the blister:

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If you guys know what it is or how to deal with it, I'll greatly appreciate it.

 

[gray4lines]

How's the bowl look on the inside? Hope it is not caused by a "hot spot" that may burn out

 

[mso489]

A flaw in the briar or a flaw in the finish. Depending on how much you have in the pipe, you

could just smoke it and see what happens, or if it is a considerable investment, you might want

to talk to the seller or have a pipe repairman look at it.

 

[hfearly]

Had one happen on my 400$ Peterson - looked exactly like the one in your picture. The Peterson Rep who exchanged the pipe told me it was the finish bubbling up caused by extreme heat - most probably a weak spot / inclusion or hole in the briar at that point inside the wood. Peterson exchanged the pipe immediately no questions asked.

 

[woodsroad]

Could be Herpes, or cancer.

 

[thatbeetleguy]

How's the bowl look on the inside? Hope it is not caused by a "hot spot" that may burn out

I took a look inside the bowl and saw nothing suspicious in it.

A flaw in the briar or a flaw in the finish. Depending on how much you have in the pipe, you

could just smoke it and see what happens, or if it is a considerable investment, you might want

to talk to the seller or have a pipe repairman look at it.

Since the pipe costed me $42, it is no doubt a flaw of some sort then. I'll try and see what happens. If it becomes worse, I'll go to the store I bought it from.

Had one happen on my 400$ Peterson - looked exactly like the one in your picture. The Peterson Rep who exchanged the pipe told me it was the finish bubbling up caused by extreme heat - most probably a weak spot / inclusion or hole in the briar at that point inside the wood. Peterson exchanged the pipe immediately no questions asked.

Thinking about it, yeah the pipe was pretty hot when it happened. Perhaps I should warrant more caution when I am trying break it in.
Thank you guys for your responses

 

[skapunk1]

Happened to my first pipe, a cheap Medico.....just poor finish and smoking too hot.

 

[hodirty]

My first pipe also had this similar blister. So have a few other cheaper of my pipes. That will happen if a pipe is smoked too hot. I would try a cooler smoking tobacco, and feel the bowl regularly throughout the smoke. If it gets too hot, it could be a packing or sipping error. That being said, it could just as easily be a briar issue. But, you can control how it is smoked not what it is made of. Let us know how it turns out for you.

 

[bluesmk]

"Could be Herpes, or cancer."

Dan, you ain't right :rofl:
Dan

Gabrieli Pipes

 

[ravkesef]

I've seen that before and it was a cheap pipe--I had bought one that had a lacquer coating. I got what I paid for.

 

[cortezattic]

Since the long stem of a Churchwarden cools the smoke stream so effectively,

that type of pipe is especially susceptible to unnoticed overheating.
That might be your fault, but as hfearly pointed out, an inclusion within the

wood may have conducted heat to the surface, where the lacquer blistered.

 

[hfearly]

As mentioned earlier, does also happen to more expensive pipes ;-) Unless you X-Ray the bowl (something that Kaywoodie used to do in the 70s) it's really hard to figure out inclusions within a bowl that otherwise looks perfect.

 

[pipestud]

I can't remember the exact year or the brand, but at the KC Show Slow Smoking Contest (maybe 2006?), we all received pipes for the contest that blistered like that during smoking. I was told it had something to do with the outer bowl coating being applied without finishing it out properly with buffing and polishing. Not sure if that is what is happening with your pipe but since you bought it new and all of the pipes in the contest were brand new, that is a possibility.
Best,
Pipestud

 

[brudnod]

I refinish bamboo fly rods (in addition to pipes) and use varnish for the process. Although bamboo does not have to put up with the heat of a pipe, it does have to tolerate UV sunlight and motion (preferably a lovely trout on the fly line bending the rod as it is brought into the net). Anything on the surface of the bamboo, particularly petroleum contaminants can harm the contact of varnish with the bamboo underneath resulting in bubbling up or cracking. I am guessing that the same can happen in the pipe making industry, perhaps more so when the price point is low. One can not help but be surprised that with a biological system like a tree root we do not see hot spots more often with bubbling from that. The remedy depends on how much you want that particular pipe to look good in addition to being a good smoker.

Spencer

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Worse case of Pipe Leprosy I have ever seen.

 

[woodsroad]

Luckily, Peck runs a Pipe Leper Colony. Just box it up and send it to him.

 

[instymp]

Send it back??

 

[rockymtnsmoker]

Peck , wondering if your personal leprosy issues and this pipe leprosy issue are connected. I recall you tragically lost a testicle to leprosy recently. Is it possible for leprosy to travel from human to pipe, or visa versa? I think I'll be giving my estate purchases an even deeper cleaning from now on.

 

[thatbeetleguy]

Figured I'll give an update on my "Pipe Leprosy" issue:

After a while making this thread half of the lacquer blister broke off while I made another attempt to flatten it, leaving a gap on the finish :?

Not sure how to deal with that... but everything on the pipe is good otherwise.

 

[rockford]

Sand it all off and enjoy your unfinished pipe