Dad's Olde Pipes :-D

[CthulhuDawn]

My Dad started smoking a pipe when he was about my age. He's long since quit, but he still held onto a few pipes. The other day he showed them to me, and I asked him if he minded if I tried to restore a couple of them. He thought I was crazy, but said go for it. Now I don't know very much about pipes yet, but I was really hoping that some of you guys could help me find a little information about some of these. Some are just el-cheapo, but I really want to get at least one of these burning again. Check it.



A lot of these are damages upon repair - cracked stems and the like, but a couple I really like and I think could be saved.

This is by far my favorite. It doesn't look as if it has been smoked to the extent of some of the other pipes he has, but he remembers it having a nice smoke to it. The finish is mostly perfect (those marks on the side of the bowl aren't chips) and the only noticable wear is the tarnishing of the stem along with some teeth marks. I don't care about the marks though, I'm the only one that will be using it. It says Oscar aged briar on the side. Upon Google searching the name, I found a bunch of stuff from Savinelli. Can this be right?





Many of the other pipes are damaged beyond repair, but here are a couple other pipes I thought were nice.

This is an interesting one. No branding that I could find, but it does say Italy on the bottom with some other lettering. The only damage on this one is a hole in the stem. Any way I could replace the stem on this one?

[CthulhuDawn]

Finally, this one seems to be in pretty decent shape. There seems to be a little bit of a stain on the bowl of this one. The bowl is HUGE on here and is made by another company I've ever heard of. I don't think I like this one as much as some of the others, but It'd still be nice to restore it.




So what'cha guys think? Can they be restored? Are any of them worth anything. Hell, WHAT ARE THEY!? Thanks in advance!

[Zenistar]

I dont know much about pipes apart from my father, uncle and grandfather used to smoke them and I had the job of cleaning and repacking

The bottom pipe features in this 1979 catalog

http://pipepages.com/tinderbox3

[CthulhuDawn]

Neat! That's probably the exact year he bought it too.

[caskwith]

They all look perfect for restoration to me, the most difficult bit to repair is the stem, the bowls are normally quite easy, judging by the pics they will need a good clean with alcohol and fine wire wool before staining, polishing with tripoli and buffing with carnauba wax. as for the stems they will need sanding, polishing, final polishing and oiling. any holes and cracks will probably need more attention, if you want to keep the original stems then i may be bale to help you fix them depending on condition, otherwise if you want perfect stems you will probably have to get them replaced, which will be expensive.


if you need any help or have any questions, or want somebody else to do some restoration work on them then pm, id be happy ot help.

[Scott M]

Good stuff, mate!

You're right... the Oscar is one of Savinellis lines. I have a similar one myself... one of my best smokers. Your second pipe, (the 62), is also a Sav from the stamp logo. Can't tell about the others, but you'll find alot of "Italian Briar" stampings on baskets or house brands. The "YSG" looks interesting. I'll letcha know if I find out anything on the stamping.

Replacement stems can be found in many places online, albeit that they won't have a manufacturers stamp on it... not that that's horribly important. Worse case scenario is that a repair guy can fabricate one with handcut lucite. If you're really feelng plucky you can attempt it yourself, but you'll need some practice and some specialized tools, (like a tenon cutter) to get it tight.

Since your dad is still kicking, ask him what blends he smoked in each pipe and if he found any unusual qualities with the combinations. If he dedicated the combinations, it'll save you from going through a major clean-up v. just spiffing them up a bit.

I'll also offer some services in getting your pipes cleaned up. PM me if you're interested.

I think it's great that these pipes of your fathers are getting some new life for a second generation of pipers! Health to enjoy them!

Cheers!

[drrgill]

What a great thing to pass on in the Family...Im new to pipes but their are many people that can help you here on CS....as you can see with the posts above me....with something this important I would let the pros retore your fathers best pipes and you can practice on the ones that are bad....you will be amazed at what Scottm and or Caskwith can do.

Enjoy

Drrgill

[Nooner]

they do look to be some nice pipes!

I am also interested in that little Canadian and the Prince.

Your Dad has good taste.

[CthulhuDawn]

Thanks for the information! I think I will definitely embark on a restoration project on the two Savinellis. I'll try to get a couple more pictures of the two showing the extent of their damage. I think there may be a local pipe shop that does restorations. If not, I think I'll certainly do what I can with maybe a little help from some Gorillas .