Blog by Steve Laug

This is the last of the lot of pipes I picked up on my recent pipe hunt. It is pictured as the second photo down from the top in the photo below. It is stamped on the smooth underside of the shank Savinelli Punto Oro and next to that is the Savinelli shield next to 804 over Italy. The blast on this one is rugged and very clean. The shape is a tall bowl with an oval long shank – the sides of the oval are sharp on both sides and the curve of the top and the bottom of the shank a subtle oval shape.The finish on the bowl is in excellent shape. There are no dents or scratches in the bowl. The bowl had a thick cake that was crumbling toward the bottom of the bowl. The rim had a buildup of cake that had spilled over on to the top. The edges of the rim on both the inside and outside were crisp and sharp. The stem was oxidized and had a line of calcium around the stem about 2/3 of the way up the stem. I wonder if the pipe did not have a softie bit at some time during its life. There was light tooth chatter by the button. The inside of the stem and shank were dirty and there was a buildup of dark tars. I reamed back the cake to bare wood using a PipNet reamer. I know that others who restore pipes don’t do that drastic a reaming but that is the method I use as I find that once cleaned the bare wood minimizes ghosting in the bowl.I cleaned out the stem and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol (99%). I cleaned them until the cleaners came out white and no more oils remained. I wiped down the rim with alcohol to wet the overflow of cake and then used a brass bristle brush to scrub the rim. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and with medium and fine grit sanding sponges to remove the oxidation and calcium deposits. I also sanded until the tooth chatter was removed from the top and bottom sides of the stem.I used the Guardsman stain pens from Greg to touch up the rim and the edges of the rim and the shank.I buffed the bowl and shank with White Diamond to polish and blend in the new stain on the rim and shank. I sanded the stem with my usual list of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down after each set of three pads with Obsidian Oil and then gave it a buff with White Diamond. I put the stem in place and then buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond, lightly on the briar and a little heavier on the stem. I gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff to polish and raise the shine on the pipe. The photos below show the finished pipe – cleaned and ready to be smoked.