Identification and Repair Shops

[Silver]

If they were mine, I'd have some fun with them. The Grabows and the banded pipe just need some cleaning. Maybe a light sanding and staining. The El Morjane looks like it has a cracked shank. I would try to epoxy it, although a zip-tie seems to be a thing around here. The Basso with the broken stem would receive a new stem from Vermont Freehand. Not sure what's going on with the bulldog.

[Presby John-Dave]

@Wildcat and @Mr Beardsley ,

Thank you for the encouragement to tackle it myself. I would like to get to that point some time in the future. Unfortunately (though for reasons I'm grateful for), I can't tackle getting hands-on at this point in life. I'm in a laborious grad school program. Plus, my wife and I have 5 littles to take care of! Time is like gold right now. However, there is something to be said for owning your own labor and the fruit therein. That seemed to be more common in the pre-industrial age when craftsmen-made was the name of the game.

[Presby John-Dave]

Unless there are holes in those stems they seem easily rehabbed by the looks of them. There are fellas here who can help you with a bit through stem . The straight Grabow looks the rim could use to be "topped" a bit. You should try your hand at giving it a go yourself. It's quite satisfying. Good luck either way.

I'm not sure what the "topped" bit would look like. It screws in straight and even. For the Basso, the tenon broke off (and is wedged in real good) in the mortise. :/

[Presby John-Dave]

If they were mine, I'd have some fun with them. The Grabows and the banded pipe just need some cleaning. Maybe a light sanding and staining. The El Morjane looks like it has a cracked shank. I would try to epoxy it, although a zip-tie seems to be a thing around here. The Basso with the broken stem would receive a new stem from Vermont Freehand. Not sure what's going on with the bulldog.

You're right on your diagnosis of the El Morjane. I got it from RNA Treasures and never even got the chance to smoke it. It's still unsmoked. I tried to insert the stem and heard a crack.

Lol I'm not quite there on the zip-ties. I mean, don't get me wrong... It looks classy and really enhances the character of the pipe!

The bulldog screws in like the Dr. Grabow I posted here. The previous owner must have snapped it off right after that part.

[Wildcat]

Unless there are holes in those stems they seem easily rehabbed by the looks of them. There are fellas here who can help you with a bit through stem . The straight Grabow looks the rim could use to be "topped" a bit. You should try your hand at giving it a go yourself. It's quite satisfying. Good luck either way.

I'm not sure what the "topped" bit would look like. It screws in straight and even. For the Basso, the tenon broke off (and is wedged in real good) in the mortise. :/

When I say "topped" I'm referring to the rim of the briar itself. It can be as simple of putting a sheet of sandpaper on a sturdy flat surface and sanding the rim down a bit at a time, until you like the look. I've even used rounded bastard file for a more unique look. I agree with @Mr Beardsley pick the one you like least and have at it. One day when you have time, win a pipe lot on eBay and be fearless.

[Presby John-Dave]

Oh, ok. That makes more sense. I'll eventually try my hand on a "beater" pipe.

[Ruffinogold]

Unless you had to have these pipes operational .. this is what Id do .. Id put them up for a time and buy some pipes in working order . I dont know what pipes you have or are into or anything but a medico , yello bole or kaywoodie are unbeatable . Later , when you have time ... fix these yourself . We have threads here on how its done in various ways and it isnt complicated .
A new stem for a pipe is going to be about 30 bucks these days ... you could buy a new medico for that pretty much . Yeah , Id fix them later when you could get to it

If you need some new pipes , Id suggest ..

https://wvsmokeshop.com/cavalier.aspx .. best bang for the buck in the briar pipe world

Theres the brands I mentioned above at that site .. plus Grabows and MM corn cobs

Hell , theres a thread here for the Medico mail in pipe for 20 bucks [ ? ] . I need to do that again before it expires !!

[Presby John-Dave]

Unless you had to have these pipes operational .. this is what Id do .. Id put them up for a time and buy some pipes in working order . I dont know what pipes you have or are into or anything but a medico , yello bole or kaywoodie are unbeatable . Later , when you have time ... fix these yourself . We have threads here on how its done in various ways and it isnt complicated .
A new stem for a pipe is going to be about 30 bucks these days ... you could buy a new medico for that pretty much . Yeah , Id fix them later when you could get to it

If you need some new pipes , Id suggest ..

https://wvsmokeshop.com/cavalier.aspx .. best bang for the buck in the briar pipe world

Theres the brands I mentioned above at that site .. plus Grabows and MM corn cobs

Hell , theres a thread here for the Medico mail in pipe for 20 bucks [ ? ] . I need to do that again before it expires !!

I have a decent rotation, thankfully. I'll look into those brands, though, as I'm always on the lookout. I built up my rotation with unfinished, unsmoked pipes from RNA Treasures. I also have an MM and a couple Old German Clays.

I'll have to consider holding off on repairing those pipes. I'm more inclined to send off a few of them that are more rough off than others and keep some of the easier fixes. We'll see.

[Middle Earth]

[Mr Beardsley]

Dangit I always forget about James at stem & briar. I've picked up a couple of pipes from his estate section and the stanwell 77 was the one he forgot to clean the internals, was very apologetic, and refunded the cleaning cost. I'd recommend for sure