Pipe Identification/Help

[Sunshine86]

Since my inheritance of several of my late grandfather's pipes, I've decided that, rather than let them sit on a shelf and collect dust (as they've been doing for as long as I can remember), I'd like to put them to good use and give pipe smoking a try. One of the pipes (pictured below; I apologize for the lack of quality.) has especially captured my interest. It is a smooth, bent Briar with the word "Mainsail" is stamped on the shank (there is another word above it but the stamping is incomplete.)

My first order of business is to give it a thorough cleaning, however, I can't seem to remove the stem. I can rotate it a few degrees left or right with a little effort but, without a generous amount of force, it won't move any more. Does anyone have any suggestions at to, first, what this pipe is, and, secondly, how I may go about cleaning it? Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[LilBastage]

I don't have any info about the pipe, but one method you can use to try to loosen the stem is to freeze the pipe for awhile. It will cause the wood to contract and the stem should loosen enough to remove it. That's assuming it isn't held in place by another method (screw in, etc.).

EDITED TO ADD: Do not force the stem no matter what. You can and likely will crack the shank if you force it. If the freezing doesn't work it might behoove you to send it to Boswell's or another craftsman for a thorough cleaning. It shouldn't cost too much and they'll likely get the pipe looking almost new, something that's hard to do at home without specialty tools.

After that, a good standard cleaning as outlined in a few other threads should really do wonders for the pipe.

Sorry I can't provide more info about the pipe itself. It looks like a beauty.

 

[rramstad]

Did you get the stem to loosen up?

Another option is to stuff the bowl with cotton and carefully add alcohol to it to saturate the balls. (Don't get it on the outside!) Stash the pipe overnight. The alcohol will not only sanitize the bowl, it should remove some of the tar from the inside of the mortise, and that might help get the stem loose.

(I use this method to sterilize estate pipes that are new to me, and I've always noticed that it makes the stems a bit looser, presumably because some of the moisture and tars in the shank come out.)