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Estate pipes on eBay
- Thread starter jayE.
- Start date
I've been smoking cigars for 10+ years and recently decided decided to try a pipe. I am only six months in, but enjoying the pipe quite a bit. I initially went the ebay estate pipe route and ended up buying a new Wessex briar from ebay for about $30 instead. Not a bad price, not a bad pipe; however, after much research I decided to invest in a couple of cobs as they smoke great and are very inexpensive. I now own three Missouri Meerschaum cobs and love them. They cost me $5 - $8 each and low cost has left me with more to spend on tobaccos to find where my tastes are before investing in a nice briar or two. My advice would be to avoid the estate pipes for now and try a cob.When you know more about pipes, especially the care you may have to take to revive a well used estate pipe, look at briars, estate briars, etc. The cobs I own are Legend straight and bent, and a General straight. A great source for pipes and tobacco is pipesandcigars.com. JM Boswell makes some wonderful briars at great prices for a quality briar, if you want something new and handmade. My next outing is to browse flea markets to see if I can come with some better deals on estate pipes. Hope this helps.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
as the boys said, cobs are SUCH a good way to get started. that said, you gotta start somewhere.
on ebay, are you looking for rock bottom, floor to ceiling restoration, or that lucky "sunday driver" high grade? either or, you're gonna want to do some cleaning. cleaning is easy, though, and restoration is as easy or as difficult as you want it to be, but getting started all you really need is some household stuff. and a decent reamer. that's one of those things that should be a dedicated item, and worth it if you use it twice.
as to SPECIFICALLY what to look for, you HAVE TO look at the pictures very closely. seriously. read all of the info. feel free to contact the seller. and probably most importantly, don't overextend yourself: make a bid or bids that you can live with, but don't go above that point.
on ebay, are you looking for rock bottom, floor to ceiling restoration, or that lucky "sunday driver" high grade? either or, you're gonna want to do some cleaning. cleaning is easy, though, and restoration is as easy or as difficult as you want it to be, but getting started all you really need is some household stuff. and a decent reamer. that's one of those things that should be a dedicated item, and worth it if you use it twice.
as to SPECIFICALLY what to look for, you HAVE TO look at the pictures very closely. seriously. read all of the info. feel free to contact the seller. and probably most importantly, don't overextend yourself: make a bid or bids that you can live with, but don't go above that point.
I agree go with a cob or two. A large percentage of estate pipes on e-bay will need to be cleaned, reamed and polished before use, plus there is always the risk of finding a cracked stem or bowl hiding under a layer of crud. A cob, a cheap pipe tool, a pack of cleaners and a tin or two of baccy won't hit the pocket too hard.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
oh, FWIW, i have four beaters i picked up for $10 shipped, stay posted for some clean up pics and step by step. o)
Would love to see the four beaters when done, I am eager to learn more about pipes, have watched a few you tube videos on restoration, but haven't tried it out yet. Knowing your step by step would be great.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
gimme time, dudes. i have pics of the start and the stem clean already. need to get some real life time to do the rest. BUT i am keeping pics, breaking down the steps, and hopefully it helps. maybe after the holiday.