>>1363104When buying estate pipes, check and see if theres any cracks in the bowl or around the shank. Look inside and see if there's still any cake inside. If there is, then it will have to be reamed to check for charring inside the bowl. If the pipe is well smoked, then there's a chance that it is a good pipe.
I have a few vintage estate pipes that look like they have never been cleaned before, and to be honest i'm kind of scared smoke them. So far they have undergone two Alcohol and salt soaks with heavy shank cleaning in between (cleaners coming out completely black and tarred every time), the some stems were completely blocked and so far they're in the 2nd alcohol bath as well. I think the final step is a alcohol retort and a final swabbing to get 98% of the previous owner's gunk out. Estate pipes are great and all but i get skeeved out thinking of someone else slobbering all over the stem and having it seep down into the shank.
