This old Loewe was an easy one to refurbish. When I removed it from the box it was clear to see that it was barely smoked… In fact it had it had no cake in the bowl and did not seem to be even broken in. It would take very little to clean out the bowl and polish it and the stem. The pipe is stamped L & Co. and has an older style orific button – the button style and the stamping point to it being an older Loewe pipe. It is in good shape for an old timer and is typical of this era of Lovats in terms of size and shape – 4 1/2 inches. In terms of issues it has a small hairline crack in the right side of the bowl from the rim down about 1/8 of an inch. The finish was dirty but the stain was intact. The stem had minor oxidation.
I wiped off the bowl with some Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime and grit of the years. I used the soap to also scrub down the rim. I buffed the bowl and the stem with Tripoli and White Diamond to bring back the shine and take care of the minor oxidation. Once it was clean I gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to bring back the shine. Though the crack is virtually invisible it is present under careful examination. It has not been a problem thus far and should last at least as long as I am able to use it. In fact my guess would be that it outlasts me.