Ok so, according to the information upon purchase this was planted in a growing bed in 1996, and potted up in 2005. It hasn't been repotted since from what I can gather. I bought it last June. There were a couple large pruning scar that i figured would never heal (could have been dead wrong), especially w/o going back into the garden. So, I carved it a bit (more to come later) with the dremel i got for my b-day.
The stove pipe obviously needs to go. How should I attack this tree come spring? Should I leave the pipe for a bit to thicken, or chop it now? I plan on repotting into some good soil, but here the KHB can be finicky. I'm just a noob and could use your advice.

Dave

pick a bud or branch on the stovepipe and cut back to it.  you should get many new buds popping on the remaining portion of the stovepipe after it starts growing again.  if you see a better bud for the apex lead then cut back to it.  once you make your 1st cut back, you should have lots of new growth to choose from.  your existing branches are going to be pretty thick.  if that bothers you then think about chasing them back a bit and growing thinner extensions.

or, pick an existing branch as your new apex and cut everything else off so you can grown new branches that are uniform in thickness.