When I first started smoking and collecting pipes the next thing I wanted to own was a buffer so I could keep my pipes looking good as the day I purchased them. So between purchasing pipes and new tobaccos to try I purchased the necessary rouge, carnuba wax and buffer.

I had a long background in furniture making and antique restoration which I felt gave me a pretty good edge at the task. However, I kept running into the same problem over and over again. It seemed that while I could get a good looking shine on my polished pipes it never seemed to last long. Now keep in mind that I only had 7 to 10 pipes at the time which didn't make for a huge rotation, but each of these pipes were seeing at least a weeks down time between use.

To make a long story short, I stumbled around trying many, many things for some time before landing on a solution that works for me. It was so simple that I could have kicked myself! All wood has pours in it and the pours in briar can be oh so small. The trick is getting the wax in those pours! I now have a old 100 watt desk lamp on my work bench. When I have pipes to wax I first set them under the lamp which is about 16 inches above the bowls. I leave the bowls there for about a hour before I start waxing. They are good and hot when I start and they take in plenty of the wax. After finishing they are set away for a minimum of 7 days before being touched again, giving the wax plenty of time to harden. This gives a job that lasts a good long time if you will merely wipe the pipe down with a rag between smokes. You have a beautiful hard lasting finish that don't keep you running to the buffer to keep it looking good. May your bowls always be full my friends.