Charred rims, can they be fixed/cleaned?

[Jazzman]

I notice some charring on the rims of pipes that I'm otherwise interested in bidding for. I was wondering if anyone knew if they could be cleaned? Thanks-Mike :cheers:

 

[Carlos]

Mine often have a black rim. Not so much char as tar buildup. Some saliva and a good rag will often take that off. Charring would be from poor lighting and actual wood is burnt. In that case, the rim may need to be topped and refinished.

 

[Dock]

Send em' off to Dave if they're good inepensive smokers. For a relatively low price he'll make it look new: http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/index.html If you have a museum piece and demand perfection, send it off to George: http://www.precisionpiperepair.com/

 

[Jack Straw]

For light tar build up, paper towel, spit, and elbow grease usually does it. I had one with more serious build up that I very lightly sanded off. Worked fine, although as expected the stain became ever so slightly lighter which at least on that pipe is not an issue. I have also heard of scraping very carefully with a razor blade, although I have not tried it.

 

[brentona]

I used the sharp end of a pair of (flattened-nosed) tweezers.
Just some patience, a steady hand, and the occasional wipe of a tissue had it back to its (what I can presume) former glory.
It is an old Brebbia billiard from my great uncle.
It was significantly charred and I lightly scraped it away.
Great straight grain on the top now...

 

[sstodvictory]

A pipe that's been smoked a lot and not cleaned often enough can look pretty dark around the rim and still clean up well. There may be some discoloration left after cleaning, but not enough to cause regret if you're really interested in the pipe and the wood is not burned. The flip side of a heavily tarred pipe is that if its been someone else's favorite smoker, it might become that for you too.

Steve