Spent $22 today, please tell me what I got.

[Zoomschwortz]

I went to a small town near where I live today called Packwood. Every Memorial and Labor day weekend the whole town turns into a swap meet.

I bought everything in these pictures (except for the table) for $22.

I am having trouble finding these pipe online, so I'm hoping you can tell me what I got and since I really have no idea of pipe values, maybe you can give me a ballpark value of some of these pipes.

Starting at the pipe on top and working down.
1) "Bjarne" made in Denmark. Any idea what model, age and value this is?
2) "Town Hall" made in England " " " " " " " " "?
3) "Stanwell Regd No 969-48" Denmark, Any information?
4) "Savinelli Punto Oro 614" Italy. Any info and do you know where to buy a stem?
5) ""Ropp 331C or 334C" Any info?
6) Unknown, bad shape.

Park Industries Brass or bronze pipe holder.

As far as the accessories go, I got a spring loaded "Bradberry Pocket Reamer" and a Savinelli pipe tool.

Any information you have will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Ken

[Emjaysmash]

I can't elaborate on everything that you got, cuz I'm not an expert, but for $22 thats a steal.

[Zoomschwortz]

Thanks,

I couldn't get a 3rd picture in, but it included a bunch of pipe accessories, most of which I have seen before, but I thought the spring loaded pocket reamer and Savinelli pipe tool were pretty cool.

Are any of these worth restoring and if they are, which ones?

I have never restored a pipe, so I'll need to do some searching on how to do it, but I hate to put a lot of time and or money into a pipe that's only worth $5-$10.

[T.G]

Have you checked HERE (http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Pipe_Brands_/_Makers) for links to the manufacturers and/or info?

[Neuromancer]

At about $3 per pipe and a few dollars more for the rack you got a great deal...now I would take the better pipes, like the Bjarne, the Stanwell, and the Savinelli, and send them off to be restored...

[Zoomschwortz]

Thank you for the link. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but I did find a lot of very useful information and will be going back in a few minutes to learn more. Thanks again.

As far as the cost of the pipes goes. The pipes were $10, the pipe rack $5 and all of the accessories were $7.

I have never had a pipe restored before, so, what kind of price range am I looking at to have a pipe restored? $10, $20 a $100???

If I restore the Bjarne, the Stanwell, and the Savinelli, are they going to be worth what I have into them? The Bjarne and Stanwell have loose stems. The stems don't fall out, but they are far from snug and the Savinelli is going to need a new stem.

Is the Ropp worth messing with? My wife likes working with leather and has rebuilt a few saddles. She appears to be very fond of the leather bound Ropp and I believe that this will be her 2nd pipe. Can I buy a new Ropp for what it will cost to have this one restored?

Any suggestions for someone that does good work and who has fair prices?

In the link above, the listed a guy in Waco, Tx. that specializes in Savinelli. Will I better off send the Savinelli to him because of it needing a stem or can any good restoration person get or make the correct stem for that pipe?

Thanks for your help.
Ken

[Mister Moo]

Nice get.

I am no pipe appraiser but... Figuring out the monetary value of the pipes you bought hinges on things we can't see in the pictures. I'll guarantee you if they were all flawless they'd be worth more than $15 if that helps. They look like they were rode hard and put up wet and, probably, none are of substantial value. Ropps are too common (closed in 1991 so there ain't no more) but leather wraps are usually to cover flawed briar - and for all I know a certain Ropp leatherbound is priceless in any condition (but probably not ;) ); Ropp was regarded for its cherrywoods. The Bjarne and the Stanwell are very nice to my eye but I have no idea what they're worth. You'd have to dig in and do some research to value them after their conditions are better known. Rather than what they're worth I think this forum is more geared to how pipes can be cleaned up, how they smoke, how to tweak performance and how much we enjoy smoking them. To wit:

If the Bjarne, Stannie and Ropp aren't burned out or cracked they'll probably make fine smoking pipes. Cleaning them up yourself can be a great pleasure when you finally fill and smoke the end result. Making them pretty, by the way, isn't rocket science. You have the reamer - all you need now is a few cotton balls, a pint of Everclear (or 91% rubbing alcohol), some stuff to deoxidize and polish the stems and a some briar polish. A lowspeed buffer is nice but handpolishing is safe and effective, too. Briar polish, by the way, can be as simple as olive oil. Making stems gleam can require as little as rubbing with toothpaste, baking soda, a Magic Eraser or some MicroMesh polishing cloth - wipe clean with olive oil.

Oh yeah... I'll double your investment and give you $6.00 cash money for the Stanwell right now. :D Made nice it might get $30 on ebay.

See some possibilities - http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15299&highlight=brakner

[Curly Cut]

yes, if you restore the stanwell, it'll be worth MORE* than what you have in them ALL and what it cost to restore it (depending on how much you pay to have it restored - my local shop charges about $25).

you got a good deal if you clean 'em up. that's a cool Stanwell shape, and i really like the older ones (with the Reg'd #s).

* - i say that because i've seen them for sale on ebay for $70.. of course they're in great shape, etc. i managed to steal one off ebay for just over $20 once. one of my favorite pipes.

[Zoomschwortz]

I'm going to try and post some better pictures of the Bjarne, the Stanwell, and the Savinelli.

I polished them a little with some olive oil, which seems to have brought out the grain of the wood.

Anyone know anything about the "Town Hall" that was made in England? It looks like (to me) a nice pipe, but I can't find any info on it.

Thanks again for the info.
Ken

[T.G]

Those are cleaning up nicely.

As Dan said, you might need to ream them, wich will require a special reamer (you can pick them up on fleabay), they will almost certainly need to treated with salt and everclear (http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Pipe_care/cleaning#What_can_I_do_when_my_pipe_.22turns_sour. 22.3F). As for the stems, I've heard nothing but good things about the Walker Briar Works stem restoration kit for cleaning up the oxidation and gunk on the stems. Although depending on the value of the pipes to you, it might not be worthwhile to buy the kit (about $20-25 iirc). I've heard of many homegrown stem restoration methods, ranging from toothpaste to soaking in oxy-clean but I have never tried any of them.

I know of some BOTLs who have fixed loose stems by heating them up and gently expanding out the tenon with a small rod from the inside (like the "back" of a drill bit, the part you put into the chuck) - and then gently sanding down any high spots with 500grit. Also seen them built back up with JB weld and sanded down to fit. I don't know if these are the accepted best methods though, just mentioning them as a possibility.

[Mister Moo]

... fixed loose stems by heating them up and gently expanding out the tenon with a small rod...Consider...

Smoking pipes almost always tightens up loose stems; when that fails a drop of beeswax will usually do the trick; if THAT fails a coat of clear fingernail polish and some gentle sanding practically always works. When all those things fail consider expanding a tenon with heat and an expando-tool. Practice heating/expanding on a crap stem before moving on to something you care about.

[Curly Cut]

Consider...

Smoking pipes almost always tightens up loose stems; when that fails a drop of beeswax will usually do the trick; if THAT fails a coat of clear fingernail polish and some gentle sanding practically always works. When all those things fail consider expanding a tenon with heat and an expando-tool. Practice heating/expanding on a crap stem before moving on to something you care about.

yep

[T.G]

Consider...

Smoking pipes almost always tightens up loose stems; when that fails a drop of beeswax will usually do the trick; if THAT fails a coat of clear fingernail polish and some gentle sanding practically always works. When all those things fail consider expanding a tenon with heat and an expando-tool. Practice heating/expanding on a crap stem before moving on to something you care about.

Makes sense. Kind of why I put all the disclaimers in there, since I've never had to do it, I've never really looked into it to see what was the best way.

Now the OP has like 5 different ways/methods to think about for how to repair the loose stems.

:l

[Neuromancer]

Send the Bjarne, the Stanwell, and the Savinelli to Dave Wolff at walkerbriarworks.com...about $30 per pipe or so...they come back looking like they're new, almost...for those three it would be worth it...

[Zoomschwortz]

I thank you all for your help and information.

I have been searching for information on these pipes and I am starting to come to the conclusion that they must be very rare;) or not very popular because I cannot find a single one of them on the net.

I am unable to get a ballpark age, used or new value or even a picture of any of these.

After checking out the places that do repairs, it looks like the Savinelli might be costing around $60 for restoration and a new stem.

The others, if I'm reading the site information correctly could cost as little as $10-$15 (if they don't need additional repairs) and as much as $35 which includes opening the airway to 5/32".

These pipes are not for sale, but lets pretend that you found any one of these pipes in restored, like new condition, What would be the most you would ever pay for any one of these pipes?

Thanks again for all of your help.
Ken

[RevSmoke]

The "town hall" is, I believe, a product made by the original maker of Comoy, after he moved to England.

[Neuromancer]

I thank you all for your help and information.

I have been searching for information on these pipes and I am starting to come to the conclusion that they must be very rare;) or not very popular because I cannot find a single one of them on the net.

I am unable to get a ballpark age, used or new value or even a picture of any of these.

After checking out the places that do repairs, it looks like the Savinelli might be costing around $60 for restoration and a new stem.

The others, if I'm reading the site information correctly could cost as little as $10-$15 (if they don't need additional repairs) and as much as $35 which includes opening the airway to 5/32".

These pipes are not for sale, but lets pretend that you found any one of these pipes in restored, like new condition, What would be the most you would ever pay for any one of these pipes?

Thanks again for all of your help.
Ken

It's hard to find specific pipes on the Internet unless they're something like Dunhills, or Petersons with very clear cut nomenclature...it's not that they're rare or unpopular...these pipe makes crank out a lot of stuff...as for what they're worth, take a run on ebay looking at closed auctions for the estate Stanwells, Savinellis, and Bjarnes...the prices range all over the board...even if one of those needs a new stem, if I had those three I'd have them restored as they're all probably gonna be great smokers...

PS - I wouldn't worry too much about what they're worth...did you buy them as a collectible investment or to smoke?

[Mister Moo]

... PS - I wouldn't worry too much about what they're worth...did you buy them as a collectible investment or to smoke?This, above, is the point, Zooms.

If you want to get wrapped up with valuation then you consider exactly what you want and have a good idea of what it's worth BEFORE you buy it. Doing it the other way is putting the cart before the horse, right?

[Pat1075]

a good stem doesn't cost nearly as much as a stem with the correlating stamping either

[Zoomschwortz]

This, above, is the point, Zooms.

If you want to get wrapped up with valuation then you consider exactly what you want and have a good idea of what it's worth BEFORE you buy it. Doing it the other way is putting the cart before the horse, right?

Point well made and in a way, that is what I'm trying to do now.

I bought them to smoke and seeing them at a swap meet, I didn't have time or a way to figure out what they were worth, but at $2 a piece, I was certain that I wouldn't get hurt to bad and it would be a cheap education.

At this point I'm just trying to have a good idea of what there worth before I put more money into them.

I want some good smoking pipes and with the help and information you guys have given me, I feel that these will be good smoking pipes. Take the Savinelli for instance, if I put $60 into it and add another $12 for shipping, I would have $74 into it and I'm sure it will be a good smoking pipe. I would feel much better having $74 into a $110 pipe than if I had $74 into a $25 pipe.

I don't want to offend anyone, I'm just trying to figure out if I'm going to be spending more to have them restored than I would have to spend if I bought them already restored.

Once again, I want too thank everyone for their help.
Ken

[Zoomschwortz]

I sent an Email to Floyd Norwood and got a very quick response back from him clarifying his services.

This was his reply.

"HI Ken,
The ream and clean get the pipes looking as new as possible, inside and outside.A lucite stem for the pipe would be $18.75. Bending is $1.00 extra.
Thanks
Floyd".

His "ream and clean" service is $10.50 which I feel is very reasonable, so I think I'll be packing up some pipes this week.

I'll post some pictures when the pipes get back.

Have a great week.
Ken