Care for a leather wrapped pipe

[LIPIPE]

I'm looking forward to receiving a leather wrapped Sasieni pipe. Any suggestions regarding the proper care of the leather on the bowl and shank would be greatly appreciated. I suspect that it would be prudent to keep the leather well oiled and supple so that it does not deteriorate from heat generated in the bowl.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

A leather-wrapped pipe was about fourth in my collection. The leather was dry, drab and thin, but after I used the pipe a few times, the moisture from the smoke "breathing" through the briar and the simple act of holding it in my hands (contributing natural oils) plumped it up just fine. It looks gorgeous now, one of my favorites.

I wouldn't over-oil it or bother with saddle soap on such a small thing, just hold it and use it. I do admit I polished the leather for pictures once with the same carnauba wax I use on regular briar, so that may have contributed, too.

 

[tleek]

I own an old longchamps I bought at a b and m unsmoked.
The leather is old dry and thin but in remarkably good shape. Still,I love a project so I decided to massage some whites leather persavative on it that came with a pair of whitesboots I was gifted.
I wasn't sure it did much but make it slippery, but the next day when I went to smoke it the leather did seem a little more hydrated and healthy
the preservative is mainly bees wax.

If your going to apply anything I reccomend you add a very light layer and spend a few minutes rubbing it in with your hands

Good Luck!!

 

[LIPIPE]

Thank you gentlemen. I shall take your advice. I'm glad to know that you enjoy your pipes and I'm looking forward to receiving mine. We are, I surmise, a rather small group fortunate to acquire a special pipe. We should keep in touch as we enjoy these smokes. Perhaps leather will once again become more frequently available on classic shape pipes.

 

[tleek]

It would be great if leather wrapped pipes became more widely available again.
your post caused e me pack mine up with some Balkan sasieni and I gotta say she smokes great, even though she's not completely broken in yet!

 

[Hermit]

I haven't been able to smoke my Crocodile Longchamps.
One of these days. I almost wish I bought it used. :lol:

 

[BuckeyeBoy34]

There is something about leather wraped briar pipes that is just stylish and cool, an understated style. So I too hope they come back into fashion.

 

[KevinM]

I was once looking at a handsome leather wrapped pipe, and the guy behind the counter took it away from me and said, "You don't want that. The only reason anyone would wrap briar in leather is that the briar is bad and they want to boost the price." I'm not saying that's a fact, mind you, but that one comment has kept me away from pipes in a glove. 'Course, pits and fills seldom spoil a smoke. I just haven't come up with a good response to his comment. And it was in his interest to assure me I'd made an excellent choice blablabla."

 

[WilliamtheWorldEater]

A leather-wrapped pipe was about fourth in my collection. The leather was dry, drab and thin, but after I used the pipe a few times, the moisture from the smoke "breathing" through the briar and the simple act of holding it in my hands (contributing natural oils) plumped it up just fine. It looks gorgeous now, one of my favorites.

I wouldn't over-oil it or bother with saddle soap on such a small thing, just hold it and use it. I do admit I polished the leather for pictures once with the same carnauba wax I use on regular briar, so that may have contributed, too.

Im really glad I happened upon this discussion, as I, too, recently acquired a vintage Longchamp. It is an absolute stunner to behold, but it is also very old and I started getting very concerned about maintaining it, especially when a google query turned up nil. I was starting to worry that it was going to end up being a display piece, thanks, guys! As you seem to be more familiar with them than I, any thoughts on rough values of some of these vintage pipes? I picked mine up for around $20. I cant help but think they should be more valuable than that, as sleek and beautiful as they are.