Next I turn the buffer on, put the carnauba wax on it like so, and start buffing! I am a real amateur when it comes to buffing, so I don't really have any great pointers or pro-tips. Just go slow, use a super light touch, and keep a tight grip. I run both the pipe stems and the bowls through a thorough buffing.


Notice the great shine and protective cover the carnauba wax puts on the stems:




Now for the sad part of the day, and a fair warning to all people buying estate pipes. While buffing the Grabow stem, I failed to realize that there was a hairline crack near the tenon...well when that buffing wheel hit that crack: BLAMO!


The tenon shot off at about a million MPH. This is lame, but it comes with the territory. Don't get discouraged and bummed that things don't always go right. Because when you are dealing with antiques and old things, stuff can and WILL go wrong. Luckily there are a lot of great suppliers out there that sell replacement stems. And being a Grabow stem, it shouldn't be too difficult finding a replacement at all.