What an Oddity a Clairmont 1Ano Destra Handmade Right Angle Pipe with a Cumberland stem

by Steve Laug

This particularly interesting right-angle Billiard pipe was purchased from a seller in Santa Cruz, California, USA on 05/28/2024. It is carved in a way that chases the grain and a bent rounded shank with a Cumberland stem. It is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads Clairmont and on the underside of the shank it is stamped 1 Ano Destra and right next to the shank it is stamped Handmade. The smooth 90 Degree Angle Billiard shaped pipe is dirty but the grime does not hide the beautiful looking combination around the bowl and shank. The stain brings out the straight grain around the bowl and shank sides and the birdseye on the top and underside of the shank and the rim top and heel of the bowl. The pipe had a moderate cake in the bowl and a light coat of lava on the top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the smooth finish. The shape of the rim is slightly crowned. The acrylic Cumberland taper stem is dirty and has what looks like debris left behind by a Softee Bit. It had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe must have been a great smoker judging from the condition it came it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the light lava on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The Cumberland acrylic stem was dirty and had light chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It really is a nicely shaped pipe that has a very unique look. The next photos Jeff took shows the stamping on the top and the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I really wanted to understand who had made the Clairmont pipe. I had not heard of the brand before and have not worked on one. I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what I could learn from there (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c5.html). Generally the site has a great summary of information and in this case it did as well. I have included a screen shot of the section and have included the side bar information below the photo.Brand created by Alberto Paronelli in the 1970’s. Pipes usually were crafted by Tom Spanu. “Clairmont” is a francization of “Chiaramonti”, birthplace of Tom Spanu (see dok). See also: Casteldoria, Castelsardo

With that information I knew that the pipe had been crafted by Tom Spanu for a brand created by Alberto Paronelli during the 1970s. The Clairmont name was a francization of the Italian word Chiaramonti which was the birthplace of Tom Spanu.

I turned to Pipedia for more information on the brand. It gave a one line confirmation of the information from Pipephil (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Pipe_Brands_%26_Makers_A_-_C). I have included the line below.

Clairmont – Alberto Paronelli / Tomassu Spanu; Gavirate (Varese). Highgrade pipes, discontinued.

The added information was that it was a Highgrade pipe that is no longer made.

From there I turned to an article on Tommaso Spanu (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Spanu). I quote the information below as well as an update on the death of Tommaso Spanu in the Fall of 2015. I have made the sections on the Clairmont pipes in bold.

Novarte S.N.C. di Spanu Tommaso

Update: We are sad to report that it has come to our attention that Tommaso Spanu passed from this World in the Fall of 2015 to join the many great Italian pipe makers that came before him. Our hope is that Tommoso’s sons and brother will continue the Spanu pipe making tradition. We can also enjoy the legacy he leaves in the many pipes he has made over the years.

In 1963 Tommaso Spanu left his home in Sardinia and wandered to Northern Italy to become a pipemaker. His uncle had managed an apprenticeship for him in Gavirate, in the province of Varese, with it’s many pipe manufactures. His exceptional talent soon attracted the attention of Alberto Paronelli (→ Paronelli), the grand seigneur of Italian pipe business. Paronelli, a famed pipe designer himself, arranged that the best pipe craftsmen schooled his young fosterling and personally taught him in pipe design and styles. Soon Spanu reached a remarkable level of skills and began to work on the Clairmont pipes, a high-grade brand produced for and distributed by Paronelli. A little later the bulk of the Clairmonts was made by Spanu who was even allowed to stamp them with his own name additionally.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl, shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. It was surprising how easily the pipe cleaners went through the curved shank to the bowl. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the cleaner. It looked very good when I brought it to the worktable. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the work table. The briar is really very stunning! I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were light tooth marks and chatter against the button edge on both sides. Green dot inset logo in the stem looks very good.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with incredible grain. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process they looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. Once it was finished the stem looked really good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am excited to finish this Tom Spanu Handmade Clairmont 1 Ano Destra with a Cumberland acrylic taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It looked excellent without the damaged spacer on the stem. The fit was excellent. I gave the bowl multiple coats of and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain just popping on all sides. This Spanu Made Clairmont 1 Ano Destra Handmade is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams/ 1.76 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Fitting a new stem to a Neerup, Made in Denmark Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe came to my table from a fellow I had repaired pipes for before. It has been awhile and he has moved further away but he remembered me and sent the pipes to me to repair. There were two of them – a Savinelli Billiard with a snapped shank and a Neerup Bulldog. The Bulldog looked very familiar to me and I did a bit of looking back and found that I had worked on it previously. I had fitted it with a new stem in the past and later replaced the tenon on it. Now it was back for a new replacement stem. It is obviously a favourite pipe. It has a black sandblast finish that is a bit dirty and a light cake in the bowl that had been recently reamed. There is an overflow of lava on the rim top. The pipe was still a beauty. The shank end of the vulcanite stem had been wrapped in tape but I am not sure the purpose of the tape. Under the tape was a polished nickel end cap on the stem for decorative purposes and perhaps Curtis would rather have it plain. The button end had been chewed and was missing a large piece of vulcanite on the underside of the button surface. The stem will need to be replaced. I took photos of the pipe before I began my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the condition of the stem when I received the pipe. It was a bit of a mess. The stem was in rough condition as noted above. You can see the damage on both sides of the stem – the chipped and broken underside of the button as well as the tooth damage on the topside of the stem. Looking at it you can see why we chose to restem it.The next two photos showed the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint and hard to read in the photos. In person it is faint but readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of perspective to the parts. I went back and reread my previous work on this pipe. I have been doing this long enough that I am doing repeat repairs on pipes that I had repaired before. This link is to the first restem on the pipe. Here is the link (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/12/22/new-life-and-new-look-for-a-neerup-made-in-denmark-bulldog/).

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer to remove the thin cake from the bowl – using a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape away the carbon coat. I sanded the walls smooth with a piece of dowel wrapped with some 220 grit sandpaper.I cleaned out the shank and the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I also cleaned out the airway in the stem I had chosen to use as well. I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush on the sandblast and the a brass bristle brush on the rim top. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to rinse off the soap and the grime left behind. It looked better. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get it deep in the grooves of the sandblast. I let it sit for 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cloth. I went through my stems and found this slightly longer taper stem that would need very little adjustment to fit in the shank. I took pictures of the old stem with the replacement stem in the photo to show the difference.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The oil both preserves the rubber and also provides some needed friction for the micromesh pads. I polished it with Before & After Fine & Extra Fine Polish. I rubbed it down a final time with the oil and set it aside. This Neerup Made in Denmark Freehand Bulldog carved by Peder Jeppesen combines a great looking piece of sandblast briar with a multi-banded shank extension and a vulcanite stem to make a beautiful pipe. The removal of the thick shiny coat allows the grain to come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Neerup Made in Denmark Bulldog really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. Once I finish the second pipe this one will be going back to Curtis to enjoy. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Replica of a Early Zeppelin Style Pipe from the Twenties

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by Steve Laug

This afternoon the local pipe shop I do repairs for dropped off a few pipes for repair. The first of the pipes was marked Zeppelin [over] Vauen on the left side of the middle portion of the pipe. It is made up of an acrylic stem that fits over a Delrin 9MM style inserted tenon. The middle section is in essence a reverse calabash cooling chamber. The front section, or nose cone is the bowl that holds the tobacco. It presses onto the middle part which has another tenon – briar with a rubber grommet. It a moderate cake on the walls of this part of the pipe. The exterior of the pipe was very clean and the finish looked very good. While it is a replica pipe it is different from the original Zeppelin. The original had turned wooden threads that connected the parts. The tenon was vulcanite and it was a push stem rather than a 9MM tenon. Also, the older ones were perfectly aligned so that the parts fit together smoothly in any configuration. This newer replica was not perfectly symmetrical so it only fit perfectly in one alignment. It is also significantly larger than the older style Zeppelin. Vauen had done a good job crafting this one but it was uniquely different. It came in its own vinyl case with a paper brochure. The stem no longer fit the tenon as it seems to be larger than the inside of the stem. It took a little work to remove the stem but I was able to remove it. I took a photo of the two parts at this point in the process. I took the nosecone off as well and took a photo of the three sections of the pipe.Before I started to work on it I did a quick Google search on the Vauen Zeppelin pipe and found a link to City Cigar’s website where I found the pipe that I was working on for them. I have included the link (https://citycigarcompany.com/products/vauen-zeppelin-pipe) as well as the description of the item that is for sale on the site. It includes the measurements of the pipe as well as a photo of the pipe. I included all of the info below.

Vauen Zeppelin Pipe – The Vauen Zeppelin Pipe is a bold departure from traditional pipe shapes, modeled after the iconic airship with its sleek, torpedo-like silhouette. Designed to smoke more like a cigar than a classic briar, it features a smooth, streamlined body with a removable front cap for easy loading and wind protection. The bowl is located toward the rear, while the draw is taken through a narrow front air hole—creating a direct, focused airflow.

Crafted from high-quality briar and fitted with a 9 mm charcoal filter, the Zeppelin delivers a surprisingly cool and clean smoke despite its compact build. It’s ideal for short, efficient sessions and particularly well-suited for outdoor use thanks to its wind-resistant design.

Length: 143 mm | Weight: 38 g | Bowl Height: 48.4 mm | Chamber Depth: 33.1 mm | Chamber Diameter: 22.4 mmFrom there I turned to the Vauen site to see if there was any information on the Zeppelin pipes (https://www.vauen.com/pipes/detail/collection/zeppelin/current-range.html). I have included Vauen’s information and the photo from the site.Something truly unique. The Zeppelin is handcrafted replica of a pipe from the roaring twenties, when the airships that roamed the sky were the pinnacle of modernity. The pipe comes in a handy leather case and tips for usage. Mouthpiece: acrylic black. Bitetype: Fishtail mouthpiece

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. I worked over the Delrin 9MM tenon with 320-3500 grit 2×2 sanding pads to try to reduce the size of the tenon so the stem fit better.I polished the tenon with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to raise a shine on the tenon. Once it I had it polished It fit very well. I wiped the tenon end of the Zeppelin with some Vaseline and slipped the stem in place on the pipe. It worked easily and fit snug in the shank. I reamed the cap with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape out the cake on the cap walls. It was smooth when I finished. Previous to scraping it the surface was very rough to the touch. I cleaned out the three parts of the Vauen with pipe cleaners – both smooth and bristle. I was able to remove a lot of the tars and oils in the airways. It was better when I finished.I rubbed the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and into the rugged rim top with a shoe brush. The product works to clean, renew and protect briar. I let it do its work for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. The pipe is really quite a beauty. It is great to be finished with this Vauen Zeppelin pipe. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rustic finish. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem with the shining brass pins was beautiful. This mixed grain on the Vauen Zeppelin is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/39 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that will soon be heading back to its own through the pipe shop. I look forward to what he thinks.

Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

What an Interesting Brigham Sportsman 2 Dot Freehand Sitter

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking rusticated Bent Dublin Sitter with a carved/plateau black vulcanite stem. We picked it up from a seller in Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada on 01/31/2023. The stamping on the underside of the shank reads Brigham in script [over] MADE IN CANADA. The fancy, turned vulcanite stem has two brass dots inserted on the left side of the saddle. The pipe is a nice looking pipe with rusticated finish with carved lines and a medium brown finish that highlights the grain under the rustication. The finish is very dirty with oils and grime ground into the finish. The rustication/plateau on the rim top is filled in with lava and grime. There is a thick cake in the bowl and on the inner edge of the rim. The turned bent vulcanite stem works very well with the bowl. It is light weight and comfortable pipe to hold. Jeff sent me the following photos of the pipe to show the condition it was in before he worked on it. Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is thick – covering the walls of the bowl. The rim top has thick lava coat and has some darkening on the inner edge and is heavier toward the back of the bowl. The inner edge looks like it might be damaged. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. Jeff removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the distillator aluminum tenon. There was no maple filter in the tenon so the tube was filled up with tars and oils. The outside of the tube is also covered with tars as well. Instead of telling you what I see in the next photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel I want to hear from you. Tell me what you see? What does the finish look like to you? Are there any visible problems or issues that stand out to you? Are the cracks or scratches in rusticated finish of the bowl? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? What does the finish look like? Is there a pattern to it? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? These questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It reads Brigham [over] Made in Canada. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside. The stem show two brass dots on the left side of the saddle. For historical background for those unfamiliar with the brand I am including the information from Pipedia on Brigham pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history and background on the pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes). Charles Lemon (Dadspipes) is currently working on a book on the history of the brand. Until that is complete this article is a good summary. I have included it below.

Roy Brigham, after serving an apprenticeship under an Austrian pipesmith, started his own pipe repair shop in Toronto, in 1906. By 1918 the business had grown to include five other craftsmen and had developed a reputation across Canada for the high quality of workmanship. After repairing many different brands of pipes over the years, Roy noted certain recurring complaints by pipe smokers, the most common referred to as “tongue bite”. Tongue bite is a burning sensation on the smoker’s tongue, previously thought to be due to the heat of the smoke (i.e. a “hot smoking pipe”).

He soon began manufacturing his own pipes, which were lightweight, yet featured a more rugged construction, strengthening the weak points observed in other pipes. The problem of tongue bite intrigued him, and he decided to make overcoming it a future goal.

About 1938, Roy’s son Herb joined him to assist in the business. The business barely survived the great depression because pipes were considered to be a luxury, not a necessity, and selling pipes was difficult indeed. In approximately 1937 [1], after some experimentation, Roy and Herb discovered that tongue bite was in fact a form of mild chemical burn to the tongue, caused by tars and acids in the smoke. They found that by filtering the smoke, it was possible to retain the flavour of the tobacco and yet remove these impurities and thereby stop the tongue bite.

Just as Thomas Edison had searched far and wide for the perfect material from which to make the first electric light bulb filaments, Roy & Herb began experimenting with many materials, both common and exotic, in the quest for the perfect pipe filter. Results varied wildly. Most of the materials didn’t work at all and some actually imparted their own flavour into the smoke. They eventually found just two materials that were satisfactory in pipes: bamboo and rock maple. As bamboo was obviously not as readily available, rock maple then became the logical choice.

They were able to manufacture a replaceable hollow wooden tube made from rock maple dowelling, which when inserted into a specially made pipe, caused absolutely no restriction to the draw of the pipe, yet extracted many of the impurities which had caused tongue bite. The result was indeed a truly better smoking pipe…

I remembered that Charles had done a blog on a pair of Brigham Sportsman pipes for his Dadspipes Blog. I looked that up to get a bit of background on this series of pipes so I could understand it better (https://dadspipes.com/2017/05/04/a-bevy-of-brighams-part-iii-a-pair-of-unsmoked-3-dot-sportsman-pipes/). I quote a section of the blog below:

For those unfamiliar with this series, the Sportsman pipes were roughly shaped, semi-finished and sold each year at the Toronto Sportsman’s Show as rugged, rough-and-ready pipes suitable for bringing along to the cottage, hunt camp, fishing lodge or campground. The briar blocks were factory drilled, had the top half or so of the bowl machine-turned, and were fitted with a stem containing the Brigham filter system. The bottom half of the bowl and the shank were left roughly carved. Many of the Sportsman pipes were graded at a 3 Dot level, though I believe they were available in 3, 4 and 5 Dot grades.

Interestingly, the pipe I have in hand is another 2 Dot grade but very well done. It is stamped Made in Canada under the Brigham logo.

Charles Lemon has also written a great article on the stampings and marking on the Brigham pipes that fit into a time line that he has drafted. It is well worth a read and is fascinating. (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes_%E2%80%93_A_Closer_Look_at_Dots,_Dates_and_Markings). I quote from the pertinent section on the time frame for this pipe. The patent on the Brigham filter system expired in 1955, ushering in the Post-Patent Era (1956 – roughly 1969). The “CAN PAT” stamp was replaced by a “Made in Canada” stamp in block letters. The 1960s saw the introduction of new product lines, including the Norsemen and Valhalla series of rusticated and smooth (respectively) freehand-style pipes created to capitalize on the growing demand for Danish pipe shapes.

This solidly places the pipe I am working on in the period of Brigham production that Charles calls the Post-Patent Era (1956-1969). It is a great looking pipe with the Sportsman style of finish.

The Original Brigham Dot System 1938 – 1980

Brigham pipes are reknown in the pipe world for their famous “Brigham Dots”, a system of brass pins inset in the stem to denote the grade of each pipe. The original 8-grade pinning system, used for 42 years between 1938 and 1978 (spanning the Patent, Post-Patent and Canadian Eras) looked like this:I knew that I was dealing with a pipe made between 1956-1969 from the Post-Patent Era. It sports 2 dot making it Brigham Select pipe but the fact that it is a Sportsman Series pipe I am not sure that the dot information applies. There is not a shape number on the pipe. Now to do a bit of spiffing with the pipe itself.

Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top looks very good. There is a little darkening on the back topside of the rim but otherwise it is excellent. The stem came out looking quite good. It only needed to be polished. I took a photo of the underside and the right side of the shank to show the stamping. The photos clearly show the stamping and is actually more readable in person. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. I also took photos of the tenon end to show the 9MM filter tenon. It is a nice looking pipe.I worked over the rustication and plateau on the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush. I was able to knock off any remaining debris.The pipe had cleaned up so well that I turned to polish the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. By the final pads the briar really had a shine. I rubbed the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and into the rugged rim top with a shoe brush. The product works to clean, renew and protect briar. I let it do its work for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. The pipe is really quite a beauty.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides with 32903599 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads and wiped it down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth. The shine really came alive.I fit the clean and polished stem with the Brigham Rock Maple Distillator and took photos to show what it looked like. This is in essence a hollow Maple wood tube that serves to filter out the moisture and deliver a clean and flavourful smoke.I polished out the surface of the stem ahead of the button on both sides using micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded the stem with the 1500-12000 grit pads, then wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After stem polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this 1956-1969 Post-Patent Era Brigham Sportsman 2 Dot Freehand Sitter. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rustic finish. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem with the shining brass pins was beautiful. This mixed grain on the rustic Brigham Sportsman 2 Dot Freehand is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.22 ounces/63 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Canadian Pipe Makers Section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Kaywoodie Flame Grain Imported Briar 16 President

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by Steve Laug

I received an email from a fellow a bit ago about two of his pipes that he wanted me to restore. I have included his email below.

Hey Steve,

It’s been a little while but I’d like to send in the Kaywoodie President for restoration. I also have a Marxman apple that I would like an assessment on–it’s a bit more of a challenge than a standard restoration. Can you let me know if you have an opening and if so, what address to send them to? Thanks! – Devin

I asked him to send me some photos of the pipes before he shipped them to me. I gave my address and he shipped them to me. Here are the photos of the Marxman pipe that he sent.He included some close-up photos of the bowl and shank to show the condition they were in. The photos show the condition the bowl and rim top. There is no cake in the bowl but the rim top and inner edge show damage from burning and possibly overzealous reaming. The stem has a lot of tooth marks and dents in the top and underside ahead of the button. He also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the condition of the aluminum stinger apparatus. The pipes arrived here last evening. I took the Kaywoodie President to the table to look it over. It was very clean inside and out. The rim top had burn damage on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The finish was dirty on the bowl and shank. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank read Flame Grain [over] Kaywoodie. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar [over] the shape number 61. The stamping was clear and quite readable. The stem was oxidized and had tooth damage on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the button edge itself. The vulcanite stem was fat on the bottom side and has the Kaywoodie black clover logo in a white circle on the topside of the stem. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the bowl has been reamed and the burn damage on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It needed some work. The stem was oxidized and has some deep tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the edges. I took photos of sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and readable. I also took a photo of the logo on the stem top. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. The stinger apparatus is shown in the photo as well. It is a nicely grained unique.I turned to Pipephil’s site to look at the data that was available on Kaywoodie President pipes and see if there were any pipes like the bowl I had (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-kaywoodie.html The shape called “President” is a Kaywoodie’s distinctive production. It has never been copied. Until late 1930’s pipes were stamped with a 4 digit code (this pipe: 7793).

The first 2 numbers (77) designate the style or finish.
The last 2 are the shape numbers (93).
The numerical code may be reinforced by a letter for variants.

Thus the small “President” pipes are stamped 93S while the larger bear a 93L (see also this Super Grain pipe).

Later Kaywoodie will cancel the 2 first style/finish numbers keeping the 2 last shape numbers and the letter for variants (i.e. Allbriar or Connoisseur).

I further worked on the name and shape number of this Kaywoodie. It was stamped on the right side of the shank with the shape number 61. I turned to Pipedia to a specific article on the various shape numbers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie_Shape_Numbers). I found the following line below. It identifies the shape 61 as follows.

61 EZ set Vest pocket President (streamliner shape) oval bowl 1935-1937, 1952-1960

From that information I knew that the pipe originally had been released in 1935-37 and then released again between 1952-60. The pipe in hand was the later release as the earlier version had a different shape number and often had the patent number. This one had a two digit number and no patent.

I turned to Pipedia to the article on Kaywoodie pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie) to see if I could find information on the shape and President line. There was a sales flyer on Kaywoodie pipes for Father’s Day. I have included a copy of the flyer below in a section called Streamliners.The article also included a shape chart that was helpful. The last shape in the chart was a Kaywoodie 61 E-Z-Set Vest Pocket President which is the same shape as the one that I am working on.From the above information I knew that I was working on a Kaywoodie President shape 61. It is a great looking unique pipe. It was now time to start working on the pipe.

I cleaned out the shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners – bristle and smooth and cotton swabs and alcohol. It was an incredibly dirty shank and airway in the stem. It smelled significantly better once finished.I decided to address the damage on the rim edge and top. I wanted to do so with minimal effect on the shape of the edge and rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the inner edge of the bowl and to remove the burn damage. It looked much better. I carefully, gently sanded the surface of the bowl and the shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the scratches in the surface of the briar. The bowl and shank began to look very good. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the briar and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a rich shine and the grain stood out beautifully. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the briar and the repaired areas. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar and give it a rich lustre. The briar came alive and the grain really pops. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I forgot to take photos but I “painted” the vulcanite stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift the majority of them with the heat. I filled in the deeper marks on the surface of the button and the edge of the button with a rubberized CA glue. I flattened the repairs on the stem and recut the edge of the button with a small file. I flattened the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It is starting to look very good. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. The shape and look of the stem looked better and better. The remaining oxidation was gone.I polished the stem by dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth. The stem looked very good. I put the Kaywoodie Flame Grain Imported Briar 61 President back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond. It raised a shine on the briar and the stem and gave some depth to the grain. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe turned out to be a unique beauty in its own way. I really like the grain and the shape of this Kaywoodie Flame Grain 61 President. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/39 grams. It is a uniquely beautiful pipe. It will join the Marxman Apple on its journey back to Devin early in the week ahead. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Breathing new life into a Unique Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with the Wooden Stem

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by Steve Laug

It is another rainy day in Vancouver and a day off so I decided to go to the basement and work on a pipe that was purchased on 12/03/2025 from a seller in Houston, Texas, USA. It is a no name rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian shape pipe that is quite beautiful. The rusticated bowl and shank of this large Rhodesian that has a very tactile feel that I am sure is even better when it heats up. The shank has some patina developing around the shank and end. The rim top has some patina under the lava. There was no stamping on the shank or bowl. The pipe was dirty when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The bowl was heavily caked and there was some thick lava on the rim top and inner edge. The hand carved wooden taper stem was dirty and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There no stamping or logo on the stem top or sides. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it.

The photo to the right is a great photo of the general appearance of the bent Rhodesian and the rugged rustication on the bowl sides and heel. You can also see the lava and darkening to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It has a great looking hand carved stem – it is hardwood and I wonder if it is Walnut or possibly Paduak. I am uncertain of the kind of wood that the stem is made of but it certainly a reddish coloured hardwood.

He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. The inside of the bowl is heavily caked with a heavy lava build up on the inner edge and rim top. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. The photos show the lack of defined edge on the button and the wear ahead of the button. The condition of the stem is as I described above.
The tenon is fit for a Medico style paper filter. The tenon is too small for a 9MM filter and too big for a 6MM filter.Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the finish and the developing patina on the shank and bowl. Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top looks very good. There is a little darkening on the back topside of the rim but otherwise it is excellent. The stem came out looking quite good. It only needed to be polished. I took the stem off and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. It really is a beauty. I carefully sanded the smooth surface of the rim top and shank end of the shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the darkening and small scratches in the surface of the meerschaum. The bowl and shank began to look very good. I polished the meerschaum rim cap, top and shank end with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the briar and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a rich shine and the grain stood out beautifully. I rubbed the meerschaum down with Claphams Beeswax/Carnauba wax. I worked it into the meerschaum with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The meerschaum takes on a deep patina that really comes alive with the wax. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stems. I recut the button edge and reshaped it with small needle files. I sanded the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish reshaping the button edges. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. The shape and look of the stem looked better and better. It really began to shine.I polished the wooden stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped them down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with a Wooden Filter Stem has a beautiful, reddish brown finish that highlights some beautiful grain. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stems multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with Wooden Stem is quite stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.12 ounces/61 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I am not sure where this will end up. I may keep it here for awhile to make sure the draught is correct. Then I will see. Thanks for your time.

Renewing and Repairing a Cracked Shank on a GBD New Standard 357CC Prince

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by Steve Laug

About a week ago or so I was chatting with Chris about a pipe I had shipped him, a lovely GBD International Prince and he was enjoying it he loves GBD Princes and had a New Standard with a cracked shank that he had picked up from a seller on eBay. He wasn’t clear if it was cracked when he picked it up or if it had happened since. He had tried to repair it and it had not worked. It extended about ¼ inch midshank on the right side. It had some remnants of glue on the shank in the sandblast. I told him to send it up and I would have a look at it for him. It arrived last evening. Here is what I saw when I opened the package. It is a great looking sandblast Prince that is stamped on the underside on a smooth panel on the shank and read GBD in an oval [over] New Standard in script. That is followed by London England and then a little below the London stamp with the Shape number 357CC. The crack was on the left side of the shank and there was some darkening on the inwardly beveled rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem was lightly oxidized and had some light tooth marks near the button edge. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem showing the condition of both sides and the tooth marks against the button. The bowl was quite clean other than darkening on the inner edge and the top of the bowl. It also showed what looked like a line on the surface for a rubber bite guard.I took a photo of the underside of the shank. It shows the stamping on the shank and though it is faint in spots it is readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo the looks of this GBD Prince.I took a photo of the crack on the right side of the shank. You can see the glue residue in the sandblast finish.Now it was time to address the crack. I decided to clean up the repair with a brass bristle wire brush. I knocked off the glue and damaged areas on the shank side with the wire brush. The crack is clear and visible in the photo below.The first step in the repair is to clean out the shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners – both bristle and smooth as well as qtips and alcohol. I always want to clean up the oils and tars in the shank before regluing and banding it.I used a tooth pick and all purpose white glue to fill in the crack on the shank side and to put a bead around the shank end. I pressed the brass band onto the shank end and wiped off the excess blue.I took photos of the newly banded shank and repair on the right side. It looked very good at this point. I stained the repaired shank end with a Mahogany stain pen to blend it into the rest of the bowl and shank. It looked very good to my eye and the match of the colour was perfect.I polished the brass band and the smooth inward bevelled rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The brass took on a rich shine and the rim top looked much better. I took a photo of the pipe at this point. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the sandblast briar and the repaired areas. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar and give it a rich lustre. The briar came alive and the blast really pops. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 320 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation on the stem and the tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button on both sides.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the debris. It really began to take on a shine.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This interestingly stamped GBD New Standard 357CC London England Prince with a vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been repaired with a thin brass band. The rich browns and blacks of the contrasting stains on the sandblast came alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished GBD New Standard 357 CC Prince is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 ounces. I will be sending it back to Chris early this week. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Smooth Moves on a Peterson 303 Sterling Silver Meerschaum

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Following on from the rusticated Peterson meer the other day, I have now completed a really good-looking, smooth block meerschaum pipe from Peterson. It is a shape 303, medium bent apple. It doesn’t have the number marked on it, but it’s obviously a 303. Like the other Pete, this one was acquired by auction. It was a pleasure to work on it and I hope you will enjoy reading about it. There are many similarities in the two pipes. The band or cap around the shank is made in sterling silver, and that certainly adds a touch of class. The stem, as expected, has the traditional P-lip of the Peterson brand. The pipe was very well cared for by its previous owner, and it even comes with its own Peterson-branded pipe sock. The meerschaum itself doesn’t hold any markings – nor does the stem. All the markings are on the sterling silver band. To start, the band says Peterson’s [over] Dublin. To the right of that, it reads Sterling [over] Silver. To the right of that, it has a set of proper silver hallmarks: Hibernia, which indicates that it was made in Dublin. Next is the Harp Crowned, which indicates sterling silver. Third is the date letter. In this case, it’s a stylized letter O. Checking the Irish hallmarks chart tells me that this pipe dates from 1980. Moving on. The stummel was in nice shape. The outside had only seen some minor wear-and-tear, but there were no major issues. It was a bit dirty inside, but nothing more than what would be expected. Meanwhile, the stem was also in good condition. It was oxidized and calcified, but the tooth marks were very minor. The sterling silver band was fine – just heavily tarnished. The stem’s calcification was notable. I used an old butter knife and gently scraped some of the thicker accretion off. Doing this now helps later in removing the oxidation.I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, ochre-coloured mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. Normally, at this point, I would use a reamer to remove the built-up cake inside the bowl, but meerschaum has the potential to crack in those circumstances. Instead, I used a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I did it carefully because too much soaking can cause meerschaum to soften. In this case, I moved quickly, nothing softened, and everything turned out well.To tidy up the bowl, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. I used my micromesh pads to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the meerschaum and provides a beautiful smoothness to the surface. I then applied some Clapham’s Beeswax Finish to the meerschaum and let it sit for about 30 minutes. As meerschaum pipes don’t do well on a bench-polisher, I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. I repeated this process and left it – it sure was pretty! I also polished the silver with my jeweller’s cloth and made it shine. For the final step, I took the stem to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it with a blue diamond compound.

All done! This Peterson 303 Sterling Silver Meerschaum bent apple looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Irish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5 in. (127 mm); height 3⅜ in. (87 mm); bowl diameter 1⅔ in. (42 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅝ oz. (49 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Repairing and Restoring a Marxman Selected Briar Algerian Briar France Apple

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by Steve Laug

I received an email from a fellow a bit ago about two of his pipes that he wanted me to restore. I have included his email below.

Hey Steve,

I asked him to send me some photos of the pipes before he shipped them to me. I gave my address and he shipped them to me. Here are the photos of the Marxman pipe that he sent.He included some close up photos of the bowl and shank to show the condition they were in. The shank had a lot of flaws in the briar on the heel and the shank. The flaws on the heel appeared to have lost the fills somewhere along the process. There were also some twisted flaws on the underside of the shank and the sides as well. The flaws and cracks ran through all the stamping on both sides. Some of them were deep as they leaked smoke when the pipe was smoked. The shank end had a lot of flaws following the grain on the shank from the shank end toward the bowl. It really was a flawed piece of briar that has opened up over time. The stem was in excellent condition. The bowl and shank had been reamed and cleaned by Devin before he sent it to me. He included photos of the stem. The pipes arrived here last evening. I took the Marxman to the table to look it over. It was very clean inside and out. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank read Marxman with the arrow through the letters (Marxman logo). On the right side it is stamped Algerian Briar [over] France. The shank is riddled with flaws running along the grain horizontally from the shank end forward through the stamping. There were also spots on the shank that spidered from the flaws in the shank and in spots left holes. Devin said that smoke came through some of the holes in the shank. It a mess in terms of the amount repairs that need to be done. The vulcanite stem has a Marxman arrow logo on the left side of the shank. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top looks very good. You can also see all the flaws in the briar on the top of the shank and around the shank end. The stem came out looking quite good. It only needed to be polished. I took photos of sides of the shank to show the stamping. The photos clearly show the stamping and is actually more readable in person. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. It is a nicely shaped apple.I turned to Pipephil’s site to look at the data that was available on Marxman pipes and see if there were any pipes like the bowl I had (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m2.html). There was nothing in the photos there but the stamping and data available was helpful. I have included a screen capture and the sidebar information below the screen capture.Brand created in 1934 and merged with Mastercraft in 1953.

The article also included a shape chart that was helpful. It looked to me that the pipe was a Regular Apple (third pipe down in the first column below). It is the top pipe in the second column in the photo below.From the above information I knew that I was working on a Marxman Regular Apple and that it was made before the merger with Mastercraft in 1953.

With that I was ready to begin working on the pipe. I decided to address the flaws in the briar. I pressed briar dust into the cracks and flaws with a dental spatula. Once the dust was in place I used a tooth pick to press clear CA glue into the flawed areas on the shank and the spots on the heel and bottom sides. To bind the shank end repairs and to keep the cracks and separations in the briar firm I went through my thin brass bands and fit one on the shank end. I heated it and pressed it on the end of the shank. It was a good tight fit and would serve its purpose well. You could see the repairs on the shank and bowl in the photos. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs. I was able to carefully work my way around the stamping on the shank. It looked much better. I also smooth out some of the nicks in the inwardly bevelled rim top. The repairs began to blend in very well. I sanded the repairs a little more, then stained them with an Oak and Maple stain pen to blend them into the colour of the surrounding briar on the bowl and the shank. I sanded the surface of the bowl and the shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to further blend in the repairs and to remove the scratches in the surface of the briar. The bowl and shank began to look very good. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the briar and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a rich shine and the grain stood out beautifully. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the briar and the repaired areas. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar and give it a rich lustre. The briar came alive and the grain really pops. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the Marxman logo on the left side of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I pressed it into the logo with a tooth pick and then buffed it off with a soft cloth.I went over the work that Devin had done with micromesh sanding pads. I used 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth. The stem looked very good. I put the Marxman Select Briar Algerian France Apple back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond. It raised a shine on the briar and the stem and gave some depth to the grain. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe turned out to be a unique beauty in its own way. I really like the grain and the shape of this Marxman Select BriarApple. The thin brass band and the taper stem go well with the rich briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/39 grams. It is a uniquely beautiful pipe. Once I finish Devin’s second pipe both will head back to him to enjoy!

Restoring a Stanwell Hans Christian Andersen 91R Ukulele with a 9MM Filter Stem

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by Steve Laug

It is another rainy day in Vancouver and a day off so I decided to go to the basement and work on a pipe that was purchased on 01/25/2024 from a seller in Pocatello, Idaho, USA. It is a Dansih Made Stanwell pipe that is quite beautiful. The bowl and shank of this large Ukulele has a rich stain that highlights the grain around the bowl and shank. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Stanwell [over] Hans Christian [over] Andersen. On the right side it is stamped 91R which is the shape number. The pipe was dirty when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The finish was dirty with grime and oils ground into the finish. The bowl was lightly caked and there was some lava on the rim top and inner edge. The shank had a band on the shank that included two brass rings sandwiching a silver band. The acrylic taper stem was dirty and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There no stamping or logo on the stem top or sides. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. The inside of the bowl is lightly caked with light lava on the inner edge and rim top. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank even with the grime in the finish. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the smooth underside of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. I thought I might reacquaint myself with the information on the pipe to get a handle on the design, the commemoration that it is made for and perhaps even the time frame of its manufacture. I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what he had there (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). I almost always go there first because it is a very succinct summary of the data available and generally it is correct. I did a screen scan of the section on the HCA pipe. It is different from the one I am working on. However, it does pin down the information about the line. It was a limited series pipe made for the 200^th birthday anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen. It states that the pipe was introduced in 2005.Limited series for celebration in 2005 of the 200th birth anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen.

From there I turned to Pipedia and read over the article there and looked at the Stanwell Shape number article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I looked up the shape 91R. This is what I found out.

91R. A reissue of the shape 91 ‘Ukelele,’ marketed as part of Stanwell’s ‘Giants’ line (see 1960s catalog below; pictured, right). It was originally designed by Sixten Ivarrson.

There was also a photo there of the original shape and you can see the similarity between it and the pipe I am working on. The difference is the one I am working on has a round shank rather than an oval.Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top looks very good. There is a little darkening on the back topside of the rim but otherwise it is excellent. The stem came out looking quite good. It only needed to be polished. I took a photo of the underside and the right side of the shank to show the stamping. The photos clearly show the stamping and is actually more readable in person. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. I also took photos of the tenon end to show the 9MM filter tenon. It is a nice looking pipe. The pipe had cleaned up so well that I turned to polish the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. By the final pads the briar really had a shine. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stems. I polished the acrylic with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped them down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Hans Christian Andersen Ukelele 91R with a 9MM Filter Stem has a beautiful, reddish brown finish that highlights some beautiful grain. The acrylic 9MM stem has a rich shine to it. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stems multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Hans Christian Andersen 91R Ukelele is quite stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe is Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.50 ounces/71 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I am going to putting the pipe on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for your time.