The stem was very damaged with a bite through on the top side and much chewing around the edges of the stem. The bowl is very dirty with little room in the bowl – thick cake and lots of overflow on to the back side of the rim.I reamed the bowl with reamers. I cleaned the mortise, and the airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. You can see what the bowl looks like now in the next two photos. Using the syringe, I add the alcohol to the salt, topping it up to the bowl brim.
Have a piece of history with you by purchasing a Chacom pipe. Made by the famous French Chapuis-Comoy Company, peterson pipes are old-school pipes made with modern-day flair. Browse our complete range of tobacco pipes, rolling tobacco, pipe tobacco and smoking accessories, get in touch with GQ Tobaccos. Keep and use the pouch that you obtained with the purchase to ensure your pipe looks good. In this restoration project the stem repair posed the biggest challenge.
Chacom are one of the most historically important pipe makers still in business today. As early as 1825 the Comoy family was producing smoking pipes from Boxwood, long before the discovery of Briar wood. Henry Chacom is born in 1850, just 6 years before the discovery of briar and St Claude becoming the home and centre of the briar pipe world. While peterson pipes in a Swiss prisoner of war camp (1870) Henry meets up with his cousins (the Chapius family) and the plan to open a pipe factory if and when they are released. On their return to France, the Comoy & Chapius families open their factory is opened. With the popularity of there pipes in London, Henry takes machinery and skilled craftsmen to the UK.
After curing, when I tried to file it down, I realized that shiny dots were visible. On close observation, these tiny dots were air pockets which were trapped during application and subsequent curing. I discussed with Mr. Steve who advised me to fill the spots with glue only. I did so and let it cure for 2 days.I sanded down the fill and realized bigger air pockets were now exposed.
I usually leave this treatment in the bowl overnight.Step 2
I prefer to use my old trusty friend (pocket knife) to clean the cake from the bowl. It has a more rounded tip and I find it a perfect tool to clean out most pipes without damaging the bowl.Step 3
With the same alcohol I use cotton pads to remove the finish off the pipe. Alcohol also does a great job at removing tar from the bowl rim. I use these foam padded Micro-Mesh pads to bring out the best finish on the briar wood. Step 5
Two of my favourite household products that do a fantastic job at cleaning pipe stems are OxiClean and Vim.
By 1928 the London Chacom factory had begun completely making pipes in London and the supplies from St Claude were no longer required. Rather than closing the original factory the company was renamed Comoy (a combination of both names) in 1928. Shapes, ranges and grading remained the same between the two factories and Chacom was only sold in France, Switzerland and Belguim. The Chacom Reybert Pipe are small enough to pocket, which makes them the perfect smoking pipe for the workday or a long walk.
Following grading, the various stages of manufacture are carried out by master pipe craftsmen. The Jura Mountains are notable for tobacco pipe history thanks to the town of Saint-Claude, which historians have noted is the birthplace of the briar pipe. After the bath I use Vim and a dry clean rag to wipe clean. Vim has a corrosive component that acts like a sand paper to buff the pipe stem back to a clean black colour again. With a massive selection of styles, it will be difficult to NOT find something that you love the look of. This makes the Chacom brand an excellent source of smoking pipes for collectors, and casual smokers alike.