Monthly Archives: May 2012

Pipe Refurbishing or Pipe Carving?

Over the past few years I have carved more than 30 pipes and then re-carved many of them several times over as I grew to understand more of what I should be looking for in a pipe. It was also during this time period that I lost my apprehension of removing too much briar and the reworked pipes became more streamlined and lighter in weight. Much of what I have learned about what makes a good pipe has come from having worked on 400-500 pipes during the same time period. Some of these remain in my own collection, many have been given away to new pipe smokers and more recently some have been sold. I may have worked on more than 400-500 pipes over the years but I’ve not kept any records. I only have the pictures of some of them and a cupboard full of the ones I have kept for my collection by which to estimate. Since I’ve had experience with these different aspects of working with briar I thought it would be good to take some time to consider and write about which of the two draws most of my attention and interest and why that is so.

I can honestly say that I enjoy the creativity involved in designing and carving a new pipe. Taking a block of briar and drawing out a pipe shape on the block before drilling it is enjoyable. The scent of fresh briar as the drill cuts the chamber and airway has a wonderful room note to me. I enjoy the sweet scent of the briar dust. It is an amazing process to bring out the shape that was hidden within the briar as layer after layer of briar becomes chips and dust under the saw and the sanding drum. The fine repetitive details of sanding and shaping with papers, sanders, files and knives is part of the mystique for me in bringing a shape out of the block. The progressive use of increasing grits of sandpaper and micromesh pads to remove the scratches and marks of the carving is pleasing in that it has a very specific end in sight. The mixing of stains, staining and the buffing/polishing process is also something that feeds my sense of creativity and lends itself to experiments and fine-tuning. The final pleasure is that incredible first bowl of tobacco in a pipe of your own creation. In my normal daytime job of working with people I rarely see things completed so this is one of the reasons that carving a new pipe intrigues and gives me pleasure. Those are just a few of the things about pipe carving that I enjoy. I will continue to putter away at the process for the rest of my life.

As a novice at carving a pipe I have to say that when I’ve finished carving a pipe, I feel a lot like I did when I was a young kindergarten student bringing home my masterpieces for the admiration of my parents. I expectantly waited to hear them declare me a modern day Rembrandt or Picasso (of course that never happened but I kept bringing them home to be displayed on the gallery of the refrigerator). I want to hear how great they are to assuage my own sense of seeing that there is still something lacking in them. I look back at some of those early pipes and blush at the primitive sense of craftsmanship that went into them, even after the second or third reshaping. I know I am not there yet in making that truly beautiful pipe that causes me to know that I am a carver! But I am finally getting to where I like the look of what I make. I know that I still have a long way to go. I am not even close to Mr. Medico let alone the likes of a Bo Nordh.

Even as I re-read what I have written about the carving of a new pipe, I know that I still would much rather repair or refurbish old pipes than create new ones. I have been thinking about it a lot while I work on pipes and go through my pipe cupboard. I have talked with other folks who make their living doing pipe repair and others who, like me, do it as a hobby. I have asked them about their repair and refurbishing work. We have batted around a lot of different ideas and topics from methods to processes and tools, but the conversation always comes back to these central questions: what is it about repairing pipes that keeps us intrigued and continuously working on old briar?; what is it about the process that attracts us to that particular hobby and practice?; and why do we enjoy reworking, refurbishing, re-stemming old briar more than we do carving new briar?

When I have an old pipe in my hand to repair or refurbish it presents a variety of challenges in that one project. Contrary to when it was crafted as a unit I now have the task of matching new work to old. To make a new stem that matches what appears to be a round shank that in reality is not round is generally the case with every pipe I re-stem. The minute shaping and cutting away of the diameter of the tenon and stem to fit a shank that is not truly round is one of those challenges. It really cannot be done on a centre point lathe as nothing truly is round. For example, I re-stemmed an old English pipe that to the naked eye appeared to have a round cylindrical shank. In examining it more carefully I found that it was not round. One side was heavier than the other. The measurements of the radius to different points on the circumference of the shank are all different. To craft a stem for this old pipe was all hand work. It can be shaped to a point with tools but all the fitting had to be done by hand. I love that challenge. I always am working for that seamless looking junction of stem and shank. Honestly, there are times I’ve achieved it better than others.

Once the stem is fit to the shank there is still much work that needs to be done to the stem before it is finished. The shaping of the angles of the plane of the stem needs to be done to reflect the flow of the shank and bowl. The button has to be shaped and thinned for comfort. The slot in the end of the stem needs to be opened to give a better airflow. If I am trying to match an original stem then research needs to be done online to find a pattern of the stem to try to duplicate. When that pattern is not available then I am free to creatively shape the stem. All of this is done before the sanding and polishing of the stem to get a glossy smooth surface. To me this is also a challenge. I am always seeking new tools, papers and micromesh products that will facilitate the work. There are always minute scratches that have to be worked over, seams on precast stems that need to be removed, and shaping that needs to be done with rod stock and hand cut stems. Whether working with Vulcanite, Lucite or Horn I have found that many of the same tools and products are used but different tactics are employed to get the final look that is desired.

With the stem work finished, I turn my attention to the bowl and shank as there are repairs that must be done to them. I find that on these old timers the rim has often been damaged and is very rough. None of the sharp edges of the surface remain and it looks as if the pipe had been used to drive in nails or hang pictures. When deciding how to best handle the rim damage it is important to study the angle and surface of the rim. Only then can you decide regarding the need for topping or not, how much to top, how to maintain the integrity of the original shape or how to create a new shape out of the ghost that remains. Each of these steps contributes to the pleasure I derive from refurbishing these old timers.

Another aspect of the draw of rejuvenating old pipes is the creative use of tools and papers and wedges. It always seems that necessity is the motivation for crafting new and different ways to use a tool or a process. This keeps the work incredibly interesting to me. I have reworked drill bits and screw drivers, sanding blocks and pads, all to the purpose of allowing more intricate access to the nooks and crannies of the pipes. I have employed dental picks and bent them at different angles to use in the stem and button as well as in the mortise itself. I have worked old doweling to use as sanding blocks inside of bowls. I have learned to maneuver the sanding drums on my hand held Dremel to work down the diameters of the stems and tenons as well as using them inside a pipe bowl to smooth out the cake. I have been able to experiment with the speeds to arrive at the optimal speeds to use for various aspects of the work.

The parts of the refurbishing picture include all the hidden and not so hidden stories that are attached to these old timers. Some of the ones I work on I know something of the history behind, but with others it is only an educated guess based on care of the pipe or lack of it, smells of the tobacco smoked in the bowl or the remnants still in the pipe. Yet each one belonged to some pipe smoker who took delight in firing up a bowl in his pipe. These all come together for me and cause to me visit the bench more frequently as a refurbisher rather than a carver. Refurbishing old briar involves a very different set of skills and abilities than those used in carving a new pipe from a fresh block of briar. While both take skill and patience, to me refurbishing and restoring an old pipe is more engaging. While all the pipes I work on take the same basic skills each presents unique challenges that push my abilities and skills in new ways.

Those are my thoughts for now… I am sure that the longer I work on old pipes the more these thoughts will mature and grow. Now off for a bowl of some good Virginia in an old restored Sasieni Liverpool.

Topping a Bowl – A Pictorial Essay

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I finally used my camera to take photos of the process I use when I top a pipe. I decided to put together this pictorial essay to show the steps on topping a pipe bowl. It is an easy process and can return an otherwise beat up pipe bowl top to new or at least a cleaner vintage look. In the following essay I will take pictures throughout the process from beginning to the finished product with the bowl restored to an acceptable look for me.

The pipe is a Marxman Super Briar billiard. The bowl overall is in pretty rough shape, but the top looks like it was used for a hammer. All the outer edges of the bowl are chipped and rough. To clean and polish it as it stands would leave a very rough looking bowl top and no one clean edge. It was a perfect candidate to benefit from a slight topping.

Before taking it to the sand paper I reamed the bowl and cleaned up the inside so I was working with something a bit cleaner. I also did a quick buff with Tripoli to remove the external chunks of dirt and stickiness that were on the bowl. A clean surface gives me a clearer picture of what I have to work with and how far I will be able to go in the topping process.

Below are three pictures of the pipe when I picked it out of the box. Note the grime that needs to be removed before cleaning and the rough edges around the top and the deep chunks missing on it. Many of these go to a depth of about 1/8^th to 1/16^th of an inch so it is in need of topping to clean it up. The decision that needs to be made is how far to go without changing the profile of the pipe too much. I will decide that as I work with the bowl sanding off the roughness. It is hard to say how much will need to come off without actually starting the process. I may have to stop at some point and bevel the outer edge a bit to keep the profile in tact but time will tell.

When you are topping a bowl it is important to maintain the flat and straight profile of the bowl top. It is easy to change the angle if care is not exercised. I use a flat desk top or a piece of wood to ensure that the flatness is maintained. I put a piece of sand paper, usually 240 grit, on the board or desk top. Others use a piece of glass to provide the hard surface. Sometimes I sand it on a desk pad like the one pictured below. I hold the sand paper with one hand to make sure it does not move. The desk pad helps keep it from slipping as I work the bowl on it. The bowl is held top down and tightly placed on the surface of the sand paper. I move the bowl in a rotating pattern, turning clockwise, always applying equal pressure on all points to keep it flat on the paper. The process is pictured below.

As I sand the top, I repeatedly check to see if it is staying level and to see progress in removing the rough edges. I have found that as I work the process the rough edges are highlighted by the freshly sanded bowl top. They really are clearly visible as most of the time they are either blackened or at least more stained than the fresh wood. I give me a constant picture of what needs to come off on each edge of the top. The picture below clearly shows the rough edges on the outside of the bowl. I continue to sand until I have minimized those and the outer edge begins to return to round. I sand until the top is smooth and round. I generally have to make a decision regarding when to stop based on the depth of the chips and rough edges and whether I should bevel the edge to finish the work.

In the next two pictures the bowl is at the point of decision. Either I continue to sand and take out more of the roughness or I will do a slight bevel on the outer edge of the pipe. I take the overall look of the pipe into consideration in this decision. How much will more sanding change the profile of the pipe? How much will a slight bevel change or maintain that integral look and flow? Those are considerations that I make at this point in the topping process. I check the depth of the remaining spots on the bowl and from there come to a decision.

This bowl is finished with the topping and I have decided to bevel the edge to minimize the remaining chips on the edge. To do that I take a small piece of sandpaper and fold it in half and place it at an angle to the bowl edge between my fingers. I am aiming for an even bevel at this point and must be careful to maintain the angle the entire circumference of the bowl. To facilitate this I work the entire circumference each time I go around the bowl. Between each time around I check to see that the angle is maintained and to see what remains to be removed in order to give a new smooth surface to the bowl. The two pictures below show that angle and the general work of the beveling.

The four pictures below show the first turn of the beveling. You can see from the first picture that the roundness of the bowl top is coming into shape. The other three pictures show the two sides and the front of the bowl from the side to show the angle of the bevel – it is subtle as I do not want it to look to rounded. I am aiming for the roundness that comes with age and wear on a pipe.

The four pictures below show the beveling process completed. You will note that a few deep chips still remain on the edge of the bowl. The stain will hide most of these and those that remain give character to the old pipe in my opinion.

When I have finished beveling the pipe I will often sand the entire bowl with 1200 grit sand paper to even out the rough spots from the bowl sides, front and back. It also allows me to better match the new stain that will be applied to the entire bowl. After sanding I wipe the bowl down with 99% isopropyl alcohol (less water content with more percentage). The wipe down removes a bit of the colour of the original stain which aids the match on the restain. It also highlights areas that I need to give more attention to with sanding. The pictures below show the pipe after sanding and the alcohol wipe down.

The prepped bowl provides a few challenges to a good restain. The very visible pink fill on the back of the bowl will need to be blended in with stain. I will also have to blend the edges that have been beveled with the colour of the bowl sides and top. My goal is to make that transition look natural and original. Before staining it I wipe the entirety of the bowl with isopropyl alcohol one final time. This wipe will take off any remaining dust on the wood and ready it for the stain. I will be using a black cherry aniline stain on the bowl as I hope it will blend in the fill and make it a bit less noticeable. I apply the stain with a q-tip and then light it on fire with a match or lighter to set the stain. This process is called flaming the bowl and burns off the alcohol but does not harm the briar. Once it has been flamed I wipe the bowl off with a soft cloth and completing the staining process. Further application of stain is an option that will darken the bowl. I applied the stain a second and third time to the fill and surrounding areas to see if I could blend it a bit more. The fifth picture below shows the fill. It still shows in the picture but in hand it looks more subtle and subdued. From the pictures you can see the effect of beveling the edge very clearly. The top shows some nice grain and a gentle curve to the sides of the bowl. The overall effect is to restore the clean and well broken in look of the pipe. The colour brings out the natural patina in the briar and blends the older and the newly stained freshly sanded briar. Here are pictures of this step in the process.

Once the stain is well dried the pipe is taken to the buffer and given a good buff with white diamond. The idea is to polish and give a bit of depth to the pipe bowl. Carnuaba wax is then applied for a final shine to both pipe and the stem. For the sake of this essay I have not done much with the stem. I still need to sand and clean off the remaining oxidation. But I wanted to show the flow of the entire pipe in its topped, finished and stained form. The stem still needs work at this point but that will come next.