121. Refreshing A Shamrock 608 Pot
Although I don’t believe I’ve ever owned one, the straight pot is always a fascinating shape for me. It seems so massive, so pulled down by gravity, heavy and full: the double bass or timpani, if you will, of the Classic Range shape chart. Being attracted to this kind of design language, when I saw this Peterson Shamrock 608 recently on eBay, it being a rarely-seen shape, I thought I’d give it a closer look. Peterson’s “600” group is quite small in number and I’ll document it later this week. For now, I want to use this 608 as a good platform for thinking about the general state of pipe restorations being done at the moment. When I took up the pipe in the 1970s and 80s pipe smokers were mostly S.O.L. when it came to getting their pipes cleaned and restored. I’m sure there were fabulous full-service tobacconists scattered across the globe, but most of us simply endured our green oxidized stems and buttons which we would sometimes attack with toothpaste or other home remedies, or in desperation take to our local B&M, only to have them buff the hell out of it, transforming its dull green and brown to a shiny green and brown for $5 or so. You’d have to ask Steve Laug about this, but it seems to me that restoration as a serious DIY phenomenon began just a few years before my wife bought me my little Foredom buffer back in 2008 and after getting some advice from Mike Glukler of Briar Blues and a few others. I suspect that the number of amateur and professional pipe restorationists has probably been on a parallel track with the increase of artisan pipe makers and will soon equal the number of people who actually smoke pipes! Jesting aside, the thing I want to call your attention to is the curious phenomenon of amateur vs. professional restoration. My assertion is that, with a few notable exceptions, you’re going to get a better restoration on most eBay estate pipes from a talented amateur than a professional. I say this because restoration is a time-intensive process, and amateurs who restore pipes for pleasure have the curiosity about their craft and willingness to spend the time with it that professionals either won’t take or feel that in the “time = money” equation they can’t take. It’s not that most folk selling pipes on eBay are out to rip anyone off, simply that they’re using the skill set they have, or if they’re in it to make money, it’s probably hard for them not to have one eye on the clock. The first time I noticed this was a few years back when I got interested in the 05 System shape and found a beautiful 1984 Premier calabash (first year of issue) which I obtained from a long-time eBay dealer. When I received it and could examine it for myself, I discovered both tobacco ghosting and a lack-luster finish, neither of which…