On Estate Pipes...

Whatcha have? Whatcha know? Whatcha do?
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Kip
International Hillbilly
International Hillbilly
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On Estate Pipes...

Post by Kip » Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:06 am

Some of my totally unsolicited ramblings from another thread....
Those who turn up a nose at estate pipes miss a lot, especially in a line like Kaywoodie. Since the late 50s/early 60s, they've had a pretty inferior reputation. But the old makes from the 20s and 30s smoke amazingly well. Let me encourage y'all to experiment with some old pipes, with the following caveats:

1. Research your quarry. Just being old doesn't automatically equate to being better. Read up on which brands are preferable and why. Also research the values. You do stumble across gems on eBay or yard sales, but there are also plenty of hucksters trying to make an undeserved buck.

2. Don't be afraid to buy a grungy pipe. *Almost* anything short of a burnout can be fixed. However, know those values again (see #1). A pipe's value, like everything, depends on condition. Look for good 'bones'. If the structure and fit is sound, cleanup can be performed for the dirtiest of pipes. In the same way a hidden flaw can make a pipe unusable, a horribly grungy one can often be brought back to looking new and smoking great. There are lots of tricks to this, with retorts, alcohol treatment, buffing wheels, sanitization, and elbow grease. If you're not comfortable with that, there are guys out there who'll do it for you for a few bucks. Stems can even be replaced if you can't clean it up (or it's broken). This ranges from a generic stem fitted to the pipe just to smoke it, to the full-on recreation of inlays, etc.

As I've been getting back passionately into my pipes, I've been refreshed at how great almost all my pipes are. It occurs to me that I'm not particularly lucky....I just spent 20 years refining my collection. Underperformers were resold, so only my favorites remain (although my wife may say it's hard to call so many "favorites"). Sort of a Darwinian evolutionary process. Only the fittest survived over those years, so that almost everything I have post-international move thinning is a winner. I know the history of each of these pipes - at least it's history with me. I know the blood, sweat, and tears that went into restoring every one of them. I know how they smoke with various types of blends. This endears them to me, and drives me to get back into properly caring for them. I have a lot of stem cleanup to do because I've let them oxidize a good bit.

I've let the daily grind wear me down at times. It's good to have an old flame rekindled.
White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise....

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