Tobacco Pipe Restoration After the Auction
Tobacco Pipe Restoration After the Auction
A big part of our hobby is growing the collection. As a side note, many of us with a serious case of PAD, Pipe Acquisition Disease, noticed that after around 20 pipes our wives didn’t notice when a new “must -have” sneaked its way into the collection.
Often we look to eBay or the online social groups for buying and trading our Estate Pipes. Both are great sources. For example, the pic on the left is a before and after shot of an eBay find after a trip to Briarville.
If you are new to the Online Pipe Community, Facebook has a several great pipe smoking groups. A couple we enjoy are Black Burl Pipers and The Gentleman’s Pipe Smoking Society. There is a more comprehensive list of groups on our Directory.
But what to do after the find?
It’s probably not a good idea to just rip open the box after your new-to-you pipe arrives, load it up with your favorite blend and fire that baby up. That’s just gross particularly when thinking about the auction and antique store pipes that come through the shop before our clients dare to put lips to stem. Sanitation and “Ghosting” are always an issue.
10 steps to bringing your “New-To-You” estate back to life. The very same process we use for all of the estate pipes sold in our store.
Step 1: Ream the Bowl
Step 2: Bring Airway Back to Specs (Before)
Step 3: Clean and Sanitize Mortise (After)
Step 4: Eliminate “Ghosting”
Step 5: Carbonize the Bowl
Step 6: Remove Oxidation, Stem “Chatter” and Reduce-Remove Previous Owner’s Teeth Marks
Step 7: Sanitize and Polish Stem
Step 8: Remove Old Wax, Apply New Carnuba, Buff and Polish Stumel
Step 9: Re-dye (Optional) – We Only Use Alcohol Based Dyes, Not Oil Based Stains for Coloring Briar.
Step 10: Sandblast or Rusticate (Optional)
