To fill or not to fill

[DMI]

At the moment I do not use filler on my handmades and I make a point of clearly showing faults, here's an example:



Now with all the estate work that I do I'm pretty good at hiding fills (which is a lot easier on dark pipes) so should I start to fill?

David.

[jogilli]

I wouldn't... when I find fill on a pipe I've bought it's kind of a let down.. now.. I have bought some "dunhill" seconds from my tobacco/pipe shop in Germany and I don't mind those because I new they were there....

As aggrivating as it is.. the last batch of Jaume Hom briar I bought has mostly been throw aways... of the 10 blocks I've touched so far. 8 have been dried wrong.. the remaining 10 also have issues.. Speaking for Jaume though I did contact him and he offered to lower the price when (if) I purchase from him again.

I've recently gotten a batch of Mimmo's processed briar and i must say I like it better.. mainly because it was properly dried and hasn't caused me the same problems as the last batch of Jaume's

Anyway... fill or not to fill.. that is the question....

James

[KurtHuhn]

Fills are a socialist plot, kill brain cells, and will result in the need to get a Viagra prescription.

When I find a flaw like that, I sandblast the pipe.

[Sasquatch]

That kind of fissure is pretty ugly. Blasting or rusticating is a better option than filling it, but in all honesty, if you are working a piece and you find a fissure like that, it's design-change time in my opinion. As the pipe dries more thoroughly over the next few years, that fissure may open up worse and may run - what if it opens up into the chamber six months after you sell that pipe?

In my opinion, that's not fillable, and in fact I wouldn't sell a pipe that contained a jag like that. Particularly with that briar source, I've found that those fissures can go really far.

[DMI]

Pot of filler £6.99 sandblast setup £1,000, gee I wonder which I can afford.

I have to admit that Juames briar is not dried that well, I've had untouched plateaus crack as they continue to dry out and I don't live in a particularly dry country, Mimmo also has a habit of shipping briar that needs more drying time. So far the Algerian is the best I've come across.

If the fault does spread I'll replace the pipe, its called a guarantee, the same goes if a hidden flaw suddenly appears. I sold a Brandy last year that had a big pit hiding behind maybe 1mm of wood in the chamber, first smoke and it popped open. With hindsight maybe I should have removed more wood to remove the fissure but the chances are that the fault line will continue anyway.

The question was not limited to the pipe shown but was intended to be more general, is it better to use a little filler or to leave a flaw unfilled. In the past I've had pinprick pits appear at 400 grit and have left them or rusticated the pipe but still state that the pits were the reason for the rustication.

David.

[RadDavis]

No one will object to a fill on a rusticated or blasted pipe, as long as it doesn't show in the finished product.

Rad

[jogilli]

No one will object to a fill on a rusticated or blasted pipe, as long as it doesn't show in the finished product.

Rad

DMI .. have to agree with Rad here.. I attended a seminar at my favorite tobaccoist in germany and Rainer Barbi gave a rather interesting interpretation on the flaws... As long as the bowl and what you can see of the airway are free of flows you can do what you want with the rest of the body... look at porche pipes and many of the established companies... just paint them.. I had (have) an italian pipe that I enjoyed for years... and then one day decided to sand the "red" clear lack down and try staining it a different color.. once the outer shell was off, most of the pipe was fill.. sure it wasn't too expensive, and the fill didn't affect the smoke.. it wasn't noticable until the color was off.

You can always give it away at christmas or something

james