I love restoring estate pipes for any number of reasons: a great way to get high quality pipes at a fraction of the price, doing the restore work yourself gives you more ownership in the pipe, it gives new life to an old pipe that still has years and years left on it, and more.
So, with that said...
To restore and sanitize the stem, here's what I do (and others may have different techniques):
- Soak the stem in Oxyclean for several hours. Don't keep the bowl anywhere near the Oxyclean solution as it will destroy the finish and you'll need to sand the bowl down and restain it. Anyway, if the stem is really gross and full of old tars and oils, you'll know in about 30 minutes when the Oxyclean turns a dark brown. At this point, I'll take the stem out of the solution, scrub the interior really well with a nylon bristled pipe cleaner and then put the stem back in a new Oxyclean bath. Repeat until the solution stays clear. If/when the solution is just a very pale yellow, I'll leave it in there as well. Only when it's a dark brown (meaning that it's working) will I change the Oxyclean.
- Now turn your attention to the exterior of the stem. The Oxyclean will have softened up the oxidation, so I scrub the stem with a very lightly dampened Mr Clean Eraser to get rid of the majority of the oxidation. Then I switch to micromesh sanding pads. Start off with 1500 grit, working up to 4000. This will buff out any of the minor scratches and most of the teeth chatter. If the bite marks are deep, you'll need to use sandpaper to remove those (start with 320 grit, then 600, then 1000, then move to the micromesh pads)
- Sanitize and sweeten the interior of the stem by soaking a soft pipe cleaner in an alcohol like Everclear (I prefer bourbon, myself).
- Finally, using your (very clean) finger, rub a thin layer of carnuba wax over the stem and let sit and dry until it turns slightly cloudy (about 10-15 minutes). Then buff the hell out of it with a soft polishing cloth or a muslin buffing wheel.
The main issue you'll have with the Kirsten stem is the fact there is the ramrod so you won't be able to slide a pipe cleaner through end to end.
These steps will work as long as the only thing you're doing is cleaning up the stem. If there are repairs to be done (holes from bite marks, etc.) there will be more steps involved obviously and, at that point, you may find it is worth it just to replace the stem.
I prefer restoring myself for sentimental reasons and, because of that, replacing a stem is my last option.
Hope this helps!
Oh yeah, take before and after pics.
