Grabow Commodore 45(Pot)

Excellent! It makes me want to dig through my project pipe box. I have a few Grabows in there that need attention.

It cleaned up nicely, happy smokes!

Very nice work! How did you restore the stem?

Thank you all, it smokes lovely.




Basically fire, wet sanding, toothpaste. Are you asking for step by step?

This is for Vulcanite only. Clean the hell out of the stem with a little brush using soap/water and then 91% isopropyl. Grab a candle and damp cloth or paper towel, dart stem into/through flame, do not let it sit or get too hot, it'll bubble the Vulcanite. Wipe off soot with damp cloth to check progress and keep stem cool. Be really careful around the button, and especially near stampings/logos as the heat will raise them, but it also raises tooth indents. Once you've burned off the oxidation, which you should do somewhere well ventilated as it smells like a burnout, shift to wet sanding. I start around 800. 400 if I need to remove some material. Work your way up to 2000 grit and maintain the shape, use the gleam lines as a guide. I use a dab of Tom's toothpaste on a q tip around the button and on a cotton ball to polish the stem. Then a clean cotton ball to finish up. Internals polished with toothpaste on a churchwarden pipe cleaner with one end secured to bench. I wax them with Halcyon.

Edit to add. Keep the stem attached! I wrap electrical tape around the shank and over logos when burning oxidation. Do not sand the stem seperate from the pipe! Bad!

Nice job!

I've got a dozen I need to clean up myself.