I bought a pipe on ebay recently. I was nervous because I hadn't spent that much ($50) on an estate pipe before, and worried it'd turn out to be a sham. The chamber had more carbon cake than I'd anticipated, but I managed to ream it sufficiently. The real problem was the stem. I bought this pipe because I liked the rusticated bowl, but I also liked the bent stem. Unfortunately, the stem that came with it was cracked in a couple of places, was stained, had gunk build up inside that I couldn't get out, and was really over-bitten (to the point where the mouth piece was curved inward with wear). (Pic1)
I was disappointed and worried I'd made a huge mistake. Fortunately for me, I took it to my local tobacconist, who had a replacement stem that was about the right size--with the caveat being that it was a straight stem, so I was losing my bent feel. But, the new stem is clean, in one piece, and doesn't make the pipe look too odd, so I'm happy--and for $5, I'm happy to have found a viable solution so easily! Pipe saved!
