Here you will find people who made an impactful contribution to PAX GLOBAL

Pipe donations (or related accessories) are always mentioned

Name	Contribution	Message
Ukraine-for-You	helped procure most expensive lot	All the best
Timeas Pfeifenwelt	helped procure 2nd biggest lot	Schöne und rauchige Tage und gute Gesundheit
Armatus ad Dentes	helped procure special item
Cezar	pipe donation
Oliversus	helped procure special item

WHY

One of the reasons is that I simply wanted to resurface a cultural phenomenon which is currently burried in the history. Someone asked me why I restore pipes and my answer was: I do not restore pipes, I restore the past. At this point in time, the past looks more promising than the future.

Another reason is that I am intrigued about the infinite variety of shapes and material choice. I find it quite challenging that pipe makers start from the same block of wood and end up creating unique pieces (especially since some of the pipes are handmade and sometimes no power tools are involved).

Although in Romania the pipe culture was not a big phenomenon, the oldest archaeological sites in which clay pipes were discovered happened to be in Bucovina (hence another reason i decided to start this collection). These facts are documented by Ionuţ-Cosmin Codrea in this paper:

Cele mai vechi săpături arheologice de pe actualul teritoriu al României în cadrul cărora au fost descoperite pipe de lut aparţin lui K. A. Romstorfer, arhitect austriac implicat în mai multe proiecte de restaurare a unor monumente din zona Moldovei. Cercetarea pe care a realizat-o în perioada 1895–1904 în cetatea Sucevei a fost publicată „întocmai cum a fost alcătuită, cu desenurile, vederile şi planşele, lucrate, luate şi întocmite de autor” în anul 1913.

One of the largest pipe collection in Romania belongs to the Dacians and Romans Civilzation Museum in Deva.

Colecția de Pipe a Muzeului Civilizației Dacice și Romane din Deva este formată din aproape 700 de piese, dintre care marea majoritate (638 de pipe) provine din săpăturile arheologice realizate în cetatea Deva.

Romanian pipe culture continues to linger on thanks to dedicated pipe shops (such as pipemagazin), artisan pipe makers (such as Rolando Negoita) and pipe clubs (such as pipaclub).

WHAT

This is not meant to be a high quality collection. Instead this collection aims to:

• tap into art & history
• explore the craftmanship and variety
• expose Fujifilm X20 limits in difficult light conditions (i intentionally did not choose a "newer/better" camera for the collection because i do not think history and digital are always a great fit together - but i still needed a way to create a collection which you can actually view). If you have some experience with photography you will notice how the camera struggles to focus or fails to correctly isolate colors. Nevertheless, I think this is the best camera Fuji produced as it ticks all my needs (compact, great lens, integrated zoom, strong macro, classic look) and it shoots exceptional photos given proper light
• showcase the differences between color photography and B&W photography
• make you understand that you can improvise a low budget studio without professional gear and without post-edits - i just placed a piece of cloth on a table, used some lighting sources such as lamps (little natural light) and scented sticks for creating the smoke effect



Based on the information i have, this is the:

🥇 largest pipe collection in Bucovina
🥇 only online pipe collection in Romania
🥇 only community maintained pipe collection in the world

HOW

Each used pipe follows a 3 day restoration process:

1. Regular Cleaning - this step involves evaluating the pipe condition to determine the necessary actions. The pipe will undergo initial cleaning which will fix major issues such as:


• excess cake/carbonification inside the chamber
• carbonification on the bowl rim
• dust/dirt on the outside of the bowl
• airway blockage inside the shank or the stem
• cracked/scratched mouthpiece



I use walnut oil to hydrate the wood. Walnut oil also acts as a primer for applying bee wax and carnauba wax in the following steps. I fill the chamber and the shank with cotton and pour romanian whiskey with greek flavor. Whiskey will disolve oil and tar that penetrated the inside of the bowl, while cotton will attract the disolved substances.

⚠ I do not use Isopropyl Alcohol for cleaning the inside of the bowl and I do not recommend using it as this might have negative health impact or affect the wood, leading to potential cracks. Also, for cleaning the shank and inside of the stem I recommend using dedicated pipe cleaning solution only instead of Isopropyl Alcohol.

2. Deep Cleaning - after regular cleaning phase is finished, I evaluate whether any major issues are still present and if not, the intermediary phase starts. In this phase I fix issues such as:


• stinger rust
• stem oxidation
• dust or small residue removal
• loose or tight tenon



Afterwards, I will polish the pipe with natural bee wax.

⚠ I do not recommend using industrial cleaning substances in this step as this might result in negative impact on your health. I use natural ingredients only.

3. Final Cleaning - I inspect the pipe for additional issues and I light it up to evaluate the experience


• The pipe undergoes regular cleaning once more
• I apply a final polish with carnauba wax
• I decide whether the pipe will be part of the collection (pipes with major issues such as cracked bowls do not make it in the collection and pipes which need additional restoration are postponed) and proceed to photo shooting



⚠ I choose not to redye the pipes as I think this will result in erasing the past which I am keen to restore. I preserve the initial color and only apply buffing and polishing.

XT-4 + 80mm f2.8 macro

My 7 day rotation - Sunday to Saturday

Churchwarden	Regular	Travel
Molina White Star (custom aluminium stem)	Bjørn Thurmann Pax	Mr. Brog Romania
Aldo Velani Eximia	Bjørn Thurmann Pax	Molina 112
Lorenzo Lectura	Medici
Neerup Classic	Bari Renomee
Stanwell H. C Andersen	Crown Viking
Savinelli Armonia	Vauen Luxus
Savinelli Armonia	Georg Jensen Onyx

XT-4 + 18-35mm f1.8

I only pipe churchwardens (except for special occasions when i choose a regular) and i'm definitely a rustic fan

THE END.

Yes, I can restore your pipe but my availability is limited and only if my old friend Mihail Eminovici joins the restoration process.

No, i do not endorse smoking.

If you want to contribute to the collection please read this.