Blog by Steve Laug

Four of the ten pipes that have been offered for sale are sold – the Jobey, the Wally Frank, the Kirsten K and this Savinelli Capri. So far $150 has been raised for the project. Thanks to those who have purchased these pipes.

This is the tenth pipe from the box of pipes that I was gifted by a good friend of mine with the instructed purpose of cleaning them up and selling them with all of the proceeds going to the aid of earthquake victims in Nepal. Once again all funds raised will all go to the SA Foundation, and organization that has worked in Nepal for over 15 years helping provide recovery, housing and job training for women who are victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking. The ongoing earthquakes (over 300) that continue to shake Nepal have left much in ruins. The SA Foundation Project there was able to find new housing for the women and help with staff as well. Every dollar raised from the sale of these pipes will go to the work in Nepal.

This one is a Savinelli Capri Root Briar with a meerschaum lining. It is stamped very clearly on the bottom of the shank, Capri over Root Briar, next to that Savinelli over Italy and next to that is the shape number, 1011. This is one of those rare meerschaum lined pipes that comes with a pretty decent meer lining. There are no cracks or broken spots. The rim had some darkening but it is not damaged. The Capri Root Briar finish is one of my favourite finishes from Savinelli as it is very close to a Castello Sea Rock style rustication. The pipe was in decent shape though dirty. The finish was in very good shape with very little grime in the rustication. The meerschaum bowl had some tobacco debris in the bottom and on the sides. The shank and airway were dirty. The rim was dirty but still very sharp and crisp. The stem was lightly oxidized and had some sticky spots on the surface. Everything else about the pipe looked really good.

The next two close-up photos show the stamping on the shank and also the state of meerschaum lining and rim.

I scrubbed out the mortise and airway in the shank as well as the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I carefully scrubbed the rim and the inside of the meer bowl with a damp cotton swab to remove as much of the debris as possible. I also wiped down the stem with alcohol on a cotton pad. It came out amazingly clean once the sticky spots were gone. I also wiped down the bowl with a soft damp cloth. I put the plastic washer on the tenon between the shank and stem so that I could sand it close without any worries of damaging the shank or rounding the shoulders on the stem. I sanded it lightly with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge and then with micromesh pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and then rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and rubbed it down a second time with the oil. I buffed it with White Diamond and then finished dry sanding with 6000-12,000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and waited for it to dry.

I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond Plastic polish and then gave the bowl a light buff with carnauba wax. I gave the stem multiple coats of wax and then buffed the pipe with a clean flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is ready to smoke and should provide a lot of enjoyment to the next pipeman who brings it home to his rack.

This Savinelli Capri Meerlined Billiard is a beautiful pipe and the rustication and stain – a combination of browns and black gives it almost a multidimensional look. It should make someone a great addition. This pipe is already sold. Thanks to the new owner for his purchase, the entirety of the sale price will go to the Nepal project. I will pay the postage so that does not get taken off the proceeds. If you are interested in reading about the SA Foundation you can look at their website at http://www.safoundation.com.

Thanks for looking.