Picture of a refurb/restoration project.

[Kyle Weiss]

...a project someone asked me to do. Stupidly, as I head-long into restoration, I forget to take "before" pictures to compliment the "after."

Imagine, if you will, this French GEFAPIP 701, with a greenish stem (not the worst you ever saw), a dull, dark and mute bowl, and a bunch of unfortunate chips on the shank and underside of the bowl.

Now, there's this...freshly rusticated and dyed to give it a modern look, sanded to brighten up and expose the birdseye hidden underneath, and polished to a nice shine. One chip remained at the edge of the bowl, but I just left it alone. I was thinking about doing a rusticated band to cover it up, but I liked it as-is. It's a "rescue" pipe that was in rough shape, and sure is a tad nicer now.

Not sure how you guys feel about altering existing pipes (perhaps even "old classics") but I was at a loss for how to salvage this one with what I had on hand... I figure if it makes it smokeable and is enjoyed "past its prime," then I've done my part; figured someone would enjoy my efforts.

8)

 

[George Kaplan]

Really nice work Kyle. To my eye, partial rustication often looks rather half-arsed. Not this one. There's a pretty narrow window for making it look like planned refinement, and you nailed it! (Or rather, gouged it.)
Great job. I've been considering re-working a really ugly GBD of own, and your work here is a vote in favor of doing just that.

 

[smokinbriar]

Nice work.

 

[Boulder]

Nice. :cheers:

 

[riff raff]

Wow, nice work! What color stain is that? Too bad no before pictures. I looked at a Geffa pipe a few months ago, having run across one while searching for a GBD 9242/9438 but couldn't find out much about them.

 

[jlong]

Nice restoration work, bro. You rock!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I couldn't find much info on the Gefapip either, but like a lot of these no-names, there was a time when there were companies churning out briar faster than we can conceive, and likely contract companies that would just wait for "shop orders" to some through and all they'd do is stamp whatever they needed on them. It seems as common to find cheap estate pipes with names you don't recognize as it does ones with obvious makers.

The color of this pipe was the same as it is now--I just gave it a 500 grit (then 800, 1000, 1200) sanding, which l lightened it up a little, but didn't get below the stain in the briar. When I finally compound buffed and waxed it, it really warmed up--which is good, because I worked pretty hard on that rustication. Did it all by hand.

8)

 

[dshpipes]

That is very well done, sir! I usually take issue with partial rustication, but I think you really did a lovely job here. It also looks a lot like some rustication that I've seen from Randy Wiley. Well done, indeed!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I find it strange, I too, am not a huge fan of partial rustication. For some reason, some of them look like it's an afterthought or it's trying to cover something up. My goal with this was to support the original lines of the pipe, because there was plenty of beauty left. As I see it, rustication isn't a "cover up," it's an enhancement--if there's something unsightly, don't bother obfuscating it, enhance it.

Most of the problem I have with partial rustication is how it ignores the lines of the pipe in lieu of making the imperfection the goal--myopically seeing the flaw and not the briar. I didn't want to do this, and obviously, if I had added curves or further "flair" I probably would have done this pipe a disservice. Kind of like gluing on spoilers, chrome and lights to make a 1989 Honda Accord a modern race car. :lol:

Wiley, since he was brought up, has this way of dealing with minor imperfections I didn't like at first, but has grown on me: an artfully-placed feather. The more I see them, I see it as a nice signature, and something better than a funky fill.

There are partially-rusticated pipes out there that appeal to me, and no doubt, it's the higher-end guys that really take the care and know what they are doing that has the stuff I like--not the budget pipes that are simply trying to church up a questionable bowl.

 

[dshpipes]

Kind of like gluing on spoilers, chrome and lights to make a 1989 Honda Accord a modern race car. :lol:

If I ever saw that someone had defaced that car like this, I'd be more than mildly peeved. Even though the '89 Accord isn't exactly a classic, it's the car that got me through college. It was a sad day when I had to sell her. Great car.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Kind of like gluing on spoilers, chrome and lights to make a 1989 Honda Accord a modern race car. :lol:

If I ever saw that someone had defaced that car like this, I'd be more than mildly peeved. Even though the '89 Accord isn't exactly a classic, it's the car that got me through college. It was a sad day when I had to sell her. Great car.

Avoid Reno's finest Latino neighborhoods and your anger will stay put. 8)

 

[monbla256]

Kind of like gluing on spoilers, chrome and lights to make a 1989 Honda Accord a modern race car. :lol:

If I ever saw that someone had defaced that car like this, I'd be more than mildly peeved. Even though the '89 Accord isn't exactly a classic, it's the car that got me through college. It was a sad day when I had to sell her. Great car.

Avoid Reno's finest Latino neighborhoods and your anger will stay put. 8)

My nieghbor across the street's son has a '90 Accord with a custom chartrues metalic paint job, 21" "spinner" type chrome wheels with big fender flares and the whole back seat is a custom speaker cabinet affair and he has added two exhaust "stingers" so you can hear him about 2 miles from his house when he's coming home You'd love it

 

[dshpipes]

Kind of like gluing on spoilers, chrome and lights to make a 1989 Honda Accord a modern race car. :lol:

If I ever saw that someone had defaced that car like this, I'd be more than mildly peeved. Even though the '89 Accord isn't exactly a classic, it's the car that got me through college. It was a sad day when I had to sell her. Great car.

Avoid Reno's finest Latino neighborhoods and your anger will stay put. 8)

My nieghbor across the street's son has a '90 Accord with a custom chartrues metalic paint job, 21" "spinner" type chrome wheels with big fender flares and the whole back seat is a custom speaker cabinet affair and he has added two exhaust "stingers" so you can hear him about 2 miles from his house when he's coming home You'd love it

That dude must be so cool! I bet he gets all the club loving, pill popping, bimbo chicks! What a lucky young punk!

Whoops. Sorry. I try to keep my inner bitter old man at bay, but sometimes he creeps out without warning.

I hope he wasted his own money on such a moronic endeavor and not his father's.

 

[riff raff]

I'm just glad kids are still working on cars these days instead of video games. I say let those youngsters go for it, what does this old man know about young tastes anyway?

 

[williamcharles]

Kyle I have A Gefapip bulldog. The company was in Ct. Claude France. I bought two Gefapips in 1974 and still have one. I gave the other one away years ago and have often regretted it. They're good smokers. As the result of your efforts you've got a nice looking pipe on your hands now.

 

[riff raff]

Here's the Gefapipe I stumbled across a few months ago. I Check out the #48 Gefapipe on this Pipeworks & Wilke page, that is a handsome Rhodesian!
http://vtpipes.com/estate1.html

 

[Stackle2]

Wow, looks great kyle

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Kyle I have A Gefapip bulldog. The company was in Ct. Claude France. I bought two Gefapips in 1974 and still have one. I gave the other one away years ago and have often regretted it. Thet're goof smokers. As the result of your efforts you've got a nice looking pipe on your hands now.

Sadly, it's for a forum member and is being sent back to him as of tomorrow. 8)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

As far as kids these days, and "working on cars," it's not as wholesome as one would think, at least not to my recollection. It's not usually mechanically-inclined DIY'ers, but guys who throw their paychecks into bolt-on crap that is hardly performance related, most of the money put in the tires and wheels (often more than the car itself is working)--all to put some passenger car out of its misery in the end.

"Tuners," as they are called, are a far cry from the respectable grease monkeys, shade-tree mechanics and gearheads from times of yore. Very few of them race their cars (except in impromptu streetlight clutch-dropping), go to tracks or design them with any sort of actual improvement to the vehicle. Well, except the subwoofer system. :lol: Which if you ask me, is hardly an improvement. My dreams of building an electromagnetic pulse cannon in my 4Runner will have plenty of targets.

There's also a strange connection with them and methamphetamine, it seems.

A few years ago, I guess it was cool, but now it's just mostly ne'er do wells and Latino guys. Which is fine, gives me something to do, yanking them out of ditches when they spin out or break down. I'm an nice effing guy.

The trend I find most hilarious is the gangbanger type installing speakers in behind the grills of their cars--which had me laughing, "Man, music must really suck, they don't even want to listen to it in their own cars." As they roll by on massive wheels.

The **** people spend their money on. :lol: Hey, look at us with pipes and tobacco... takes all kinds. 8)

 

[Richard Burley]

I also have a Gefapip bulldog, bought in Lake Placid, NY during the winter Olympics in, I think, 1980. The brand was everywhere during that time. Not a bad smoker, but not a great one either. They didn't cost much, even back then. Think it was 30 bucks or so. The store was the late lamented With Pipe & Book, a great shop for pipes and tobacco. I don't remember them even selling cigars, though they may have.

Kyle, you do your own rustication, apparently? May I ask your method? Anytime I ever made a half-assed attempt at it, the result was less than satisfying, to say the least. I think I also damaged myself, as I remember. Wire brush on a wheel, the pipe flying through the air, blood, bad language, etc. I'm not really a klutz, but my patience is a bit scanty for this type of thing. Nice job on the above, though, to state the obvious.