what is your latest pipe purchase

[NeverBend]

I got these four pipes at an indoor flea market today for $7.50 each.

They are:
Parker Rugby Canadian
Butz-Choquin Capitan Galion
The Epitome of Fine Tabac
John TS

Nice haul Haebar

[Bruck]

I've been wanting to try my hand at one of those kits as well.

What shape are ya going to go for?

I'm envisioning a sort of geometric shape, like a truncated/rounded pyramid.

[Branzig]

I'm envisioning a sort of geometric shape, like a truncated/rounded pyramid.

Nice! Can't wait to see it!

I'd make it way hard on myself and go for a poker. Symmetrical and round...wouldn't go well for me haha

[Bruck]

I think we should see pics either way!

Yeah, why not?
It'll either be the example or the counterexample.

[Bruck]

I got these four pipes at an indoor flea market today for $7.50 each.

They are:
Parker Rugby Canadian
Butz-Choquin Capitan Galion
The Epitome of Fine Tabac
John TS

Nice! They look to be in pretty good shape, but based on some of your other restoration work you've posted, I bet you could really make them shine.

[Horsefeathers]

I got these four pipes at an indoor flea market today for $7.50 each.

They are:
Parker Rugby Canadian
Butz-Choquin Capitan Galion
The Epitome of Fine Tabac
John TS

Wow, nice find. The top one seems to have a really nice grain / swirl going on. I'll be excited to see pics of these all cleaned up!

[Horsefeathers]

My second new pipe just came in the mail; a Savinelli Obi-Two. It's a briar bowl with a rubber like coating. A bit unconventional, but it caught my eye and was on sale, so I pulled the trigger.



Also, my latest antique store find, this ashtray.

[Haebar]

My second new pipe just came in the mail; a Savinelli Obi-Two. It's a briar bowl with a rubber like coating. A bit unconventional, but it caught my eye and was on sale, so I pulled the trigger.

That's an interesting pipe; I'd never heard of them before. Nice ashtray too!

[Lostmason]

Hi Matthew,

I did a sanity check and your pipe is (was) a bent. It really needs to be re-bent otherwise it will be difficult to smoke and cumbersome (and possibly dangerous).

These comments are for vulcanite stems only. I'm pretty sure that your stem is vulcanite but I can't be certain.

The idea is to get the vulcanite flexible and for that you'll need heat. Some pipe repair services can do this. If you're going to do it yourself there are several ways but I'll discuss hair blow dryer because it's less involved (potentially).

Before you start, look at other bent pipes to see how they're shaped. Generally you want the smoke hole (end of the stem that goes into the mouth) to be about parallel with the top of the bowl. Put the thickest pipe cleaner that you can fit into the stem and leave it there until you're finished.

You want to heat the middle few inches of the stem until it's fully flexible (takes time) and it wobbles back and forth if you flick it. Then bend it into the shape that you want with a smoothing motion of the fingers as it is starting to harden. You should be able to stop when it holds shape.

Distribute heat evenly but not at either end of the stem, especially the tenon (shank/stem joint). You can always start over or adjust by reheating.

You can work with the stem on or off of the pipe. For your first time it may be easier off of the pipe. Protect the tenon (no heat at all here - stay away).

Remember:
Pipe Cleaner
Even heat across and around
Don't start bending until it wobbles
Tenon stays cold, button cool

If it's not the way you like, reheat it till it wobbles and try again.

Hope that this helps.

Pete

Well I hope I've got it where I'm not sucking embers down my gullet...What do you think?
IMG_20150329_212644_328.jpg

[NeverBend]

Well I hope I've got it where I'm not sucking embers down my gullet...What do you think?
IMG_20150329_212644_328.jpg

Much better, nice job, especially for your first try. I think you'll enjoy it a lot more.

If you feel that it needs more bend, you can heat it again. The only point I'd make is to heat further up and down the stem for a longer area to bend.

Well done, enjoy.