Sue’s Pick-1776 Original

My wife who writes a blog at Mother Fogger.net picked this pipe as I was experimenting with different stain techniques, she stopped my work half way though and told me she loved the way it look and it was now hers, so its now the Mother Fogger Pipe which was cool with me. Due to my wife’s interest in vaping I have finally kicked my filthy 26 year cigarette habit and I must say not only do I feel better but I also have a new found love for my pipe tobacco, I can sit and enjoy my pipe and truly taste the notes I have been missing with my muted taste buds ( Thank You Sue ). As for the pipe I can not find any info on the brand/make the only stamping is 1776 original on the left side of the shank, I vaguely remember pipes similar to this offered by Pipes and Cigars a few years back but I could be wrong. The pipe came to me in a large lot I purchased a few weeks back and it needed something and apparently my wife had the answer.

The Restore/Face-lift

It was one more from the mad buffer lot it would seem he slowed as he approached the nomenclature, sparring most of it so its still legible. From the photos above you can see the excess carnauba wax caked in the stamping on the stummel. So much wax was used that the finish seemed dull. The acrylic stem was bent in an odd way a sharp bend at the very end of the bit.

I started with the caked rim, I applied a generous amount of Method Wood For Good Polish to the rim with a Q-Tip and left it to penetrate the tars and oils. Once the build up softens it was easily removed with Q-Tips and makeup pads. Next I moved to the excess wax build up on the stummel, I applied Method to the stummel and used a rag to remove the excess wax, using a children’s toothbrush to remove the wax from the stamping.

Now using my Castle Ford reamer I reamed the cake back to a suitable thickness ( to be honest there wasn’t much there). It was also lightly smoked like many of the others in this lot.

Now for the internals, using EverClear, Q-Tips and stiff/soft pipe cleaners I cleaned the mortise, draught and stems airway until my finial pipe cleaner came out as it went in.

Originally I was going to try different stain coats with this inexpensive pipe, so removing the old stain was in order. I used acetone to remove the old stain and in the process I uncovered multiple fills.

Using a pick I removed the old fill, I cleaned the area to be refilled with EverClear and a Q-Tip, then refilling with Gorilla Glue and briar dust and allowed time to dry. I sanded the newly filled pits with 800, 1000 and 1500 grit sandpaper.

Next it was time to address the odd bend in the stem. I heated the stem on low heat with my Wagner heat gun until it became pliable, straightening the stem first to loose the odd bend and then re-bending it over a pill bottle. The rubber bit also saved this stem from chatter got to love em.

This step is about the time my wife walked in and caught sight of the black stummel and orange acrylic stem and fell in love with the look ( shes crazy about orange ). Originally I was going for a dark first coat and a lighter top coat after some sanding but she loved it as is. I’ve never stained a pipe full black and soon realized it was going to take much more then one or two coats, I lost count it was definitely more then one or two. Last minute I decided to go with a lighter rim stain, in my opinion the contrast in color was a nice touch.