Old Stanwell clean up
 

Nice Stanwell. Clean up.....
I think it's Tom Eltang handiwork.

http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...pskurbygqi.jpg

http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...psvqmumpxo.jpg
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...pskrsgr3sk.jpg
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...psdwzxb6rj.jpg
http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...pscpjomthl.jpg

Re: Old Stanwell clean up
 

Nice work. I have a couple estate lots to go heck out this week. One is leftovers I bought from a year ago. I already cherry picked the good ones but I may snag the rest. Other is from a lady who's husband passed a few years ago so she filled two boxes with his pipes and couldn't let them go until now. No idea what's there but I'm excited. I may send you some pics and see what you think. I'm an amateur at sanitizing and cleaning them up but I like to try.

Re: Old Stanwell clean up
 

Nice job Neil, that's a great looking smoker. I especially like the form of the bit, looks comfortable.

Re: Old Stanwell clean up
 

I confess I usually sand away any "wings" on a fishtail bit. I like the button tapering in from the sides. It just sits well for me. You'll notice I do that to most of my refurbished pipes

Re: Old Stanwell clean up
 

It's always fun to find a really dirty but great pipe that just needs a little TLC.
You don't need much to clean them up well. Rummaging through a box of smelly wood to find it is half the joy in resurrecting the thing!

Re: Old Stanwell clean up
 

Great job. I hope it smokes as good as it looks!!!

Re: Old Stanwell clean up
 

Turns out there's a back story to these pipes. It is indeed carved by Tom Eltang. According to a chap on another forum, this is a 63S (or perhaps 126) shape. Tom was employed by Stanwell and pre-selected the briar and custom stained them for customers while on pipe tours. Seems it's an unusual piece of pipe history.

... and there I was thinking of floggng it......