Blog by Kenneth Lieblich
I recently came upon this calabash pipe and thought it was terrific. There is an elegance to the lines of this pipe, with its swan-like curves. Really nice looking, and in good shape. This one had obviously been seldom smoked – maybe a couple of times only. And maybe this is the pipe for you!
Let’s take a closer look at it. The bowl is beautifully-shaped meerschaum. It has some minor signs of wear, but nothing serious. Similarly, the gourd is in lovely condition. No wear to speak of and the cork gasket is perfect. The gourd also has a wood shank extension in nice shape. Finally, the stem is also great. It has some notable oxidation and some small signs of wear, but nothing to worry about.
The stem was first on my list. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. Then, I cleaned out the insides of the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol.
Once this process was done, I used SoftScrub and cotton pads to wipe down the stem before throwing it in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The following day, I cleaned all of the de-oxidizing mess and again scrubbed with SoftScrub on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation. This worked well.
Before I moved on to the Micromesh pads, I built up the dents on the stem with cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure.
I sanded the adhesive down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing.
On to the bowl. Meerschaum is too fragile for a proper reamer, so I used 220-grit sandpaper on the end of a wooden dowel to clean out the bowl and it turned out very well. I sanded down the entire piece of meerschaum with my Micromesh pads. One of the frustrations of cleaning meerschaum is that once smoked, the stains never go away. However, I did what I could and it definitely improved.
I also rubbed some Clapham’s Beeswax into the meerschaum. Then I let it sit for 20 minutes, buffed it with a microfiber cloth and then repeated the beeswax process. Worked like a charm!
I cleaned the exterior of the gourd with some Murphy’s Oil Soap on a few cotton rounds. I cleaned inside the gourd gently by scraping with my reaming knife and some tube brushes. I was pleased with the results.
I sanded down the wooden shank extension (but not the gourd) with my Micromesh pads. I also cleaned out the inside with cotton swabs and alcohol. It wasn’t very dirty. I then coated the gourd and shank extension with Restoration Balm and let it sit for 20 minutes. After that, I buffed it with the microfibre cloth.
Finally, I applied some Vaseline to the cork gasket. Even though the gasket was in perfect shape, it’s a good idea to lubricate it in this way in order to maintain its elasticity. I set it aside to absorb and moved on.
Before I went off to the buffer, I gave the meer and the gourd another going over with Clapham’s beeswax rub. This really worked well. I only took the stem to the buffer, as meerschaum and gourds don’t tolerate those high speeds very well!
This gourd calabash was a delight from the start and its beauty only increased through the restoration process. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Calabash’ pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6¼ in. (160 mm); height 4½ in. (115 mm); bowl diameter 2¾ in. (70 mm); chamber diameter 1⅛ in. (28 mm). The weight of the pipe is 3 oz. (88 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.
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