Monthly Archives: August 2012

Refurbished and Restemmed this interestingly shaped no name pipe

4 Replies

I refurbished this interestingly shaped no name pot/rhodesian/bulldog (?) or you name it shape. I was drawn to it and liked the look of it when I found it in my box of pipes and bowls that I have gathered for refurbishing. It is a box I have that at one point held over 300 pipes that needed work but is slowly shrinking even though I add to it each time I go scavenging. I am pretty much incorrigible about picking up estate pipes and hunting for them. I am getting more picky over the years as to what I want to work on but I pick up ones that will be a challenge to me or that I like the brand or the shape.

This one was truly a mess. I forgot to take pictures of what it looked like when I took it out of the box but I will describe it to you. In many ways it was no different than most of the others that I work on. The bowl was caked to the point of barely holding any tobacco any longer. It was a tarry mess on the rim and running down the sides of the bowl. There were dents and deep “wounds” in the briar of the rim. It also was without a stem. The silver band on the shank was badly beat up and to be honest the pipe was downright ugly. But in its ugliness I saw something that drew me to pick it up and see what I could do with it. So I took it to my work table and it became a project that took me two days.

I did what I call field dressing the pipe the first day. That includes reaming the bowl and cleaning out the grit and grime from the shank and bowl. I washed the bowl down with acetone to remove the overflow from the bowl and rim on the outside of the bowl. I also removed the dirt and grease marking on the bowl. Once it was clean I fit a stem for it. It has a diamond shank, and those have always been a challenge for me to make a proper fit. I find that on these old timers what appears to be a diamond with equal sides never truly is equal. Each side on this one had a different measurement. I used a blank that I had here and shaped it to fit. It is difficult to get each side correct and maintain the shape to fit the shank. I cut the tenon with my Pimo tenon turner and worked the shape for a long time to make it flow with the shank. It took a long time because I would get one side perfect only to lose a bit of the angle on the next side. I finally was able to get the angles right and fit the stem to the shank well. In the finished photos you can get a bit of an idea of the work involved in that.

I then removed the silver band and put the bowl in the alcohol bath while I tried to straighten and smooth out the silver band. I got a lot of the wrinkles and dents out of it but a few still remained even after my work.  I set it aside to reinstall on the shank once it was restained and turned my attention to sanding and polishing the stem. I used 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper as usual to remove the scratches and marks left by the shaping. I then use my normal regimen of 1500-6000 grit micromesh to bring a shine to the stem. When I had it finished and ready for the buffer I put it aside and went back to the bowl.

I removed the bowl from the bath and sanded it with the usual variety of sand papers and micromesh pads. Then I restained it with a cherry stain that I use on some of the older pipes as I have found that it brings out the old colours from the briar and really looks good. I then sanded again with micromesh and put the stem on it before taking it to the buffer to polish it with White Diamond. Once that was finished I gave the bowl and stem several coats of carnauba wax.

There are no stamping or marking on it all. But the unusual shape continues to attract me in an odd way. It is 6 inches long, bowl height is 2 inches. The chamber diameter is 1 inch and the chamber depth is1 1/4 inches. The rim is chamfered and clean. Anyone have a name for the shape??
ImageImageImageImage

Refurb on the Weingott Billiard

Leave a reply

I finished up refurbishing this large Weingott Billiard that was a part of the threesome I picked up on EBay. All three were huge pipes and were ones that I would definitely recycle to someone else once they were refurbished. The Weingott is a BIG piece of briar – the pipe has a length of 8 inches, height 2 1/2 inches, the bowl inside diameter is 7/8 inches, outside diameter 1 1/2 inches. I took a picture of it next to a Dunhill group 4 to show the size of this big fellow in a picture.

The overall condition of this pipe was poor. Obviously it was a much loved pipe as it had been smoked hard. I had to ream and clean it – the bowl was very caked and the shank and stem almost clogged with a goopy tar substance. The finish was blackened on both sides of the bowl and the rim was caked and dented. The dents and scratches were deep and the surface was rough from knocking the pipe out on something hard. The stem had a very deep oxidation and was greenish brown. There were not tooth marks on the stem – at least the pipe had that going for it.

I reamed the bowl and cleaned out the shank. That took some work to unclog the airway. I ended up using a piece of wire to break through the accumulated tars and residue. I then used a drill bit and turned it into the shank until the airway was clean and open. Then I used a shank brush and many pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol to clean out the remaining residue. I packed the bowl with cotton bolls and used an ear syringe to fill the bowl with alcohol so that I could leach out the tars and oils in the bowl. I put a cork in the shank and set the pipe aside overnight.

Image

The oxidation on the stem took a lot of work as it was deep. I quickly buffed the stem with Tripoli to remove the surface oxidation and see how deep it went. The first coat of greenish brown seemed to be untouched by the Tripoli. It was hard and it smelled bad! I then sanded it with emery clot (fine grit) to break the surface of the oxidation. From there I sanded with 240 grit for a long time until I finally got the stem to the point that it was just a brown haze in the stem. I then put the stem in a soak of Oxyclean overnight to let it soften and draw out the remaining oxidation.

In the morning I took the cotton bolls out of the bowl and dumped them in the rubbish bin. They were dark brown and in places almost black. I let the bowl dry out and had a coffee. Then I topped the bowl to remove the damage that was on it. Once it was smooth and clean I put it in the alcohol bath to soak in order to remove the finish and the grime on the surface. It sat for about an hour and ½ before I took it out of the bath and dried it off. I sanded it with micromesh pads 2400-6000 grit and then restained it with a cherry stain.

I removed the stem from the Oxyclean soak and dried it off. I buffed it again with Tripoli and then sanded it with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. Then I polished it with micromesh pads 1500-6000 grit to bring the stem back to black. Once finished I put it back on the pipe and buffed the whole pipe with White Diamond and several coats of carnauba. The pipe is now finished and ready for the new owner!

ImageImageImage

Refurbished a Peterson’s Deluxe Zulu

Leave a reply

In one of my EBay purchases was this little Peterson’s Deluxe Zulu shape #268. To me this pipe epitomizes the Zulu shape – in other words, when I think Zulu I think of a pipe that is shaped like this. When the pipe arrived the bowl was dirty and caked (two things that I almost forget to say as they are to be expected in estate pipes and I am surprised when I find one that is not). The finish was mottled with light and dark spots where the stain had worn off. It also had some flecks of paint on the surface that are not clearly visible in the photos below. The rim was very caked and covered with tars. Fortunately there was no charring that was visible as I looked it over. The stem also had paint flecks on it and was slightly oxidized. There were tooth marks on the top and bottom of the stem that would need to be repaired.ImageImage

I reamed and cleaned the bowl and the rim of the pipe. The shank took some work with isopropyl alcohol and many pipe cleaners and a shank brush before it was clean. I wiped down the surface of the bowl with acetone to clean off the remaining finish and the paint spots. I use cotton makeup removal pads that I picked up at the store. They work great and are easier to use than just cotton bolls. Once the finish was cleaned I dropped the bowl in the alcohol bath to soak while I turned my attention to the stem.

I buffed the stem to remove the oxidation and the paint spots. I was careful to avoid the area where the stem and shank meet so as not to round the sharp edges and ruin the great fit of the two. I heated the tooth marks that needed to be lifted with my heat gun and when they had come back as far as possible I sanded the stem with 240 grit sandpaper to remove what remained. I sharpened up the edge of the button with my needle files to give it a good crisp edge. I then sanded the whole stem with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and water. I finished the sanding and polishing process with micromesh pads from 1500 to 6000 grit. Once that was finished I laid the stem aside with a coat of Obsidian Oil and turned back to the bowl.

I took the bowl out of the alcohol bath and restained it with a medium brown aniline stain. I flamed it, let it dry and then took it to the buffer and buffed it with White Diamond. This was done and the entirety buffed and polished with carnauba wax to give it several layers of wax. The cross grain, birdseye and straight grain on this beauty are well laid out. ImageImageImageImage

Some of the pipes I have carved over the years

3 Replies

I thought I would post some pictures of the pipes I have carved over the years. Some are better than others and many are no longer in my collection as I have given them to friends. I post them here on the blog to show some of the possibilities with finishes – smooth, rusticated and semi rusticated – and with various stains and also as naturals.

Pipe #1 (only in terms of pictures not in terms of creation). A quarter bent ball or apple with a chamfered rim. The stains include a black under stain and a medium brown over stain.ImageImage

Pipe #2 – A ¼ bent tadpole. This is a great smoker and very light weight. The stains are a contrast of reds and browns.

ImageImage

Pipe #3 – A saddle stem Dublin with a Medium Brown stain

Image

Pipe #4 – a ¼ bent Tomato. This one is rusticated to look like old leather. The undercoat is black stain then it is buffed and given a top coat of Medium Brown stain.Image

Pipe #5 – A semi rusticated apple. The bottom of this pipe is plateau briar and the rustication carries that theme upward to mid bowl. The rustication has a black understain and a medium Brown top coat. The smooth portion is medium brown. Image

Pipe #6 – A Canadian with a leaf pattern carved over a flaw in the briar. The stain is a Medium Brown.Image

Pipe #7 –a bent Dublin. On this one I used a medium brown stain. I had Stephen Downie help me with the shank extension and work on this one. Image

Pipe #8 – Volcano shape with plateau on the bottom. This one has a black understain to highlight the beautiful grain and then a medium Brown overstain. The stem is a modified saddle.ImageImage

Pipe #9 – ¼ bent egg. This one is stained with a black understain and then a tan overstain. The grain is very interesting on it.Image

Pipe #10 is a natural Dublin with no stain. Many coats of carnauba wax were applied. The band is a brass pressure fitting that I shaped to give it character. Image

Pipe #11 is a poker with a mix of rustication and smooth. It was stained with a medium brown stain. And waxed with carnauba. Image

Pipe #12 is a fanciful freehand that I did to highlight the amazing grain that flows along the pattern. This one is also natural in terms of finish – no stains were used. Just wax.Image

Reclaimed – an Old Baronite Ceramic and an Old Briar

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

When I saw this pair of old pipes on EBay I was intrigued enough to put in a bid. I did not bid high as I was intrigued not captured by them. As I looked at them the upper pipe had some interesting possibilities in grain and the shape of the stem and angles looked old to me. The bottom pipe fooled me a bit – when I first looked I thought it might be a meerschaum with an amber stem. But after bidding and a bit more digging on the internet I found that it was a double walled ceramic pipe and the stem appeared to be Bakelite. I found out that I had bought these pipes when I got home from work that evening. They would arrive soon and I would have the pleasure of working on them.Image

When they arrived I took time to look them each over to get a feel for what needed to be done to bring them back to service. Looking over the briar pipe first I could see that it is old. The stem style and the orific button point to an older pipe. The silver band has no hallmarks or stamping so it is no help in identifying the pipe’s brand or age. The stamping on the shank is too faint to see even with a bright light and a jeweler’s loupe for magnification. The bowl was thickly caked and much of the tars of the tobacco were built up on the rim. It appeared that the rim was not damaged with char or denting. The finish, as can be seen in the photo below as very dirty and darkened with oils from the hands on the sides of the bowl. The stem had deep tooth marks and much chatter from teeth along top and bottom from the button up about a ½ inch.

The second pipe was a double walled ceramic pipe. It was stamped Baronite Made in Holland. The outer surface of the bowl was dirty and darkened with what appeared to be grease. The band on it appeared to be a golden colour under the dirt. The stem was in pretty good shape but the cork seal on the tenon was dry and thus loose in the shank. The inside of the bowl was caked and black. The shank was also black and dirty. I shined a light into the shank and could see the gap between the walls of the inner and outer bowl. This area was in need of a thorough washing.

On the briar pipe I cleaned and reamed the bowl. The shank was a mess and full of grime and grit. It took many pipe cleaners, a shank brush and isopropyl alcohol before it was clean and the pipe cleaners came out white. The deep tooth marks on the stem were lifted with my heat gun and then sanded smooth. I used 240 grit sandpaper, 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and then finished the work on the stem with micromesh pads from 1500-6000. While I worked on the stem I had put the bowl in the alcohol bath to soak and hopefully remove the darkened and soild finish. When I took it out of the bath and dried it, I sanded the bowl and restained it with a medium brown aniline stain. I put the stem back on it and then buffed it with White Diamond and polished it with carnauba wax

On the Baronite Ceramic pipe I did a bit of seeking advice and found out that I could flush out the bowl with hot water. I did this at my sink with the water running through the bowl and out the shank. I repeated it the other direction as well. Several times I filled the bowl and shank and shook it to help the water scour between the inner and outer bowl. After about five minutes of this the water came out clear and the pipe smelled clean again. I decided to do the same process with isopropyl alcohol as well and ran it through the pipe both directions for a final cleaning. I used repeated applications of Vaseline on the cork seal on the tenon to soften it and expand it again. Once that was done the stem fit snuggly to the shank. I cleaned the stem with isopropyl alcohol and pipe cleaners and a shank brush to get the dark areas out of the inside of the stem near the button. Once the stem was done I put it on the pipe and buffed the entirety with carnauba wax. The series of photos below show the finished look of the two pipes.ImageImageImage

Refurb – Barling Garnet Grain Lovat

2 Replies

One of the classic shapes that I refurbished lately was this little Barling Lovat. It is stamped Barling in script (Post Trans I believe) then London England in block text under that and a third line – Garnet Grain. The bottom of the shank is stamped with the four digit shape number – 4189. The classic lines of this little pipe, to me show what Barling could do with these shapes. The reddish stain on the Garnet Grain pipes is one of the attractive features of this line of Barlings.

This one came to me in a lot of pipes I picked up along the way and it had obviously been sitting for a long time. The bowl had cobwebs deep inside and a musty smell to it. There was a crumbling cake though it was not thick, just soft. I reamed the bowl and cleaned out the bowl and shank with the usual pile of pipe cleaners and a shank brush with lots of Isopropyl alcohol. The outside of the bowl was spattered with white paint all around and some especially ground in along the shank so I scrubbed it with an alcohol cloth and put it in the alcohol bath.

While the bowl was soaking I worked on the stem. It had tooth chatter and a few light tooth marks that needed to be lifted and sanded out. The stem was badly oxidized and also smelled musty like the bowl. I scrubbed the interior with a lot of pipe cleaners and alcohol until they came out clean. I then tacked the bite marks and chatter with 240 grit sandpaper to smooth them out and followed that with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and water. I finished sanding the stem with my usual regimen of micromesh pads from 1500-6000 grit. Each progressively higher  grit polished the stem more. I then took it to the buffer and buffed it with Tripoli and White Diamond being careful around the area that it meets the shank. I would give it a more thorough buffing and polishing with carnauba wax once I put it back on the finished bowl.

After I finished the stem I took the bowl out of the bath and dried it off. I sanded it with micromesh 2400 to 6000 grit to polish and remove any scratching and then restained it with an oxblood aniline stain that matched the colour that it had before. Once dry I put the stem on it and took it to the buffer and gave it a light buff with White Diamond and then multiple coats of carnauba wax. It is a perfect sized little Lovat in my opinion and spots a classic shape and look. Here are some pictures of the pipe after cleaning. I forgot to take pictures before I started cleaning it. Sometimes I get into a space and just work at them before I suddenly stop and remember that I did not take photos before starting.ImageImageImage

 

Restemming a little nosewarmer

2 Replies

Last evening I finished restemming this little nosewarmer. It is stamped Bounty over Real Briar on the bottom of the shank. It has a nice sand blast finish and is stained black over a red undercoat. It length is 4 ½ inches, height is 1 ½ inches, outer diameter of the bowl is 1 ¼ inches and the chamber diameter is 5/8 inches.

The bowl was in great shape when I got it in a box of stummels needing restemming. When I restemmed the one that I carved I set aside the old stem and yesterday was looking at it and thought it would fit this bowl. I took the bowl out and the stem fit. The tenon was perfect but the diameter of the stem was too big. I used my Dremel and sanding drum to take it down close. The series of four photos below show it when I had finished the first work with the Dremel.ImageImageImageImage

The next series of four photos show the stem fit after sanding with 240 grit sandpaper to remove the remaining vulcanite and bring the stem to a proper fit. This took several trips back to the Dremel for more sanding with the drum and then back to the sandpaper to smooth out the scratches. The photos were taken just at the point I had moved on to sand with the micromesh pads. I started with 1500 and 1800 grits to really work on the scratches and shaping. I use these wet as I find that they work better wet. From there I moved through the micromesh pads from 2400 to 6000 grit with each one polishing the stem more deeply.ImageImageImageImage

The last series of photos show the finished pipe. The stem has a deep shine. I used some 8000 and 12000 grit micromesh for the first time on this one and I have to tell you the difference between the 6000 and the 8000 grit was noticeable in the finish. This morning I buffed the pipe with carnauba wax and it is ready for a smoke!

ImageImageImageresImage

Carved from a kit – a predrilled block and stem

Leave a reply

I took this photo essay of a pipe I carved from a pipe kit I purchased from smokindawg (Steve) on Smokers Forums and Pipe Smokers Unleashed. It was a predrilled block of briar and a straight vulcanite stem fit with a Delrin tenon. I actually only had to shape and finish this one. Steve did the hard work in drilling and prestemming it for me. Here is a photo journal of the progress in making the pipe. I used a hand held Dremel with the larger sanding drum to bring the pipe out of the block. At the junction of the bowl and shank I used a wood rasp and a long file to get the angle cut the way I wanted it to be.

Photos 1-3 the block when it arrived (I sketched a potential shape with pencil on both side of the block to give me an idea of where I was going to go)ImageImageImage

Photos 4-5 show the initial sanding to remove material.ImageImage

Photos 6-9 Making more briar dustImageImageImageImage

Photos 10-13 – Making more dust – Shape emergingImageImageImageImage

Photos 14-17 Making more dust – shape is coming. I bent the stem with heat to get an idea of the curve of the stem. Also removed some of the vulcanite on the stem.ImageImageImageImage

Photos 18-23 – The shaping is done. The pipe has been sanded with 240 grit sand paper and then buffed with Tripoli and White Diamond. I then sanded it with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.ImageImageImageImageImageImage

Photos 24-27 – Black Stain. After some more sanding I stained the entire bowl with black aniline stain as an undercoat.

ImageImageImageImage

Photos 28-31 – Excess black stain removed. With the buffer and Tripoli I removed the excess of the black undercoat of stain. My goal was to leave it in the grain patterns to highlight them.

ImageImageImageImage

Photos 32-36 – More buffing and sanding. ImageImageImageImageImage

Photos 37-40 – Top stain of Oxblood Aniline for contrast. ImageImageImageImage

Photo 41 – An adjustment to the bend. I reheated the stem and curved the bend a bit more to match the curve of the underside of the bowl.

Image

London Made Reject – Hand Made

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

This is one big pipe. I got it in a group of pipes I bought on EBay. The others in the lot were Barlings and Bewlays. They were normal group 3 and 4 sized pipes. This one is just over 7 inches long and 2 inches tall. The outer diameter of the bowl is 1 ¾ inches and the inner diameter of the bowl is 1 inch. It presented some interesting issues that would need to be addressed in the refurbishing process. The biggest of those was a significant cigarette burn on the outer edge and the top of the rim. It was quite deep and was an actually divot in the surface of the bowl. The rim – inner edge toward the stem also was charred and tarred. The finish was actually worn and had lost most of the stain. There were some very obvious pink putty fills on the right side of the bowl near the bottom and on the top of the shank near the stem. The stem was oxidized and there was a bit of tooth chatter.

ImageImageImageImage

I have taken a picture of the pipe with a group 4 sized billiard to give an idea of the massive size of this old beauty. It is stamped on the left side of the shank “Made By Hand” and on the right side of the shank ‘Reject” over “London Made”.  I am pretty sure that it is a Charatan reject though I cannot be certain. What do you all think? Who is the maker? The only thing making this a reject are the few fills as it has some pretty decent grain all the way around.

Image

After I reamed and cleaned the pipe inside with isopropyl alcohol I decided to address the cigarette burn on the top and side of the rim. The only way to remove it was to top the pipe. The next series of four photos show the emery cloth attached to a cutting board so that I could work on the topping procedure. The first photo shows the angle of attack that I use on the bowl. I place it flat on the cloth and work it in circles on the paper. I keep the bowl rim flat on the paper to ensure that the surface does not become angled or slanted. The next three photos show the top after sanding. Each photo is sequential so that you can see the progress in removing the divot. The second photo below shows the side shot of the damage and you can see the depth of the burn. The next two show the gradual removal of the burn and the flattening out of the surface of the rim.

ImageImageImageImage

When I finished with the emery cloth I used 240 grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface and remove scratches left by the emery cloth. I used the same circular motion to sand the rim. I find that the circular motion leaves fewer scratches and also keeps the bowl flat as I work on it. The next series of three photos show the rim and side after sanding with the 240 grit sandpaper. The burn mark is now flattened out and the edge of the rim is smooth. The divot is gone. The decision I had to make at this point was whether to continue sanding to remove all of the darkening on the bowl rim or to use stains to hide it a bit and keep the profile at its current height. I opted to use the stains on the burn mark and leave it at this point. Once I had the bowl rim at this point I proceeded to use 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and then micromesh from 1500-6000 grit to smooth out the surface of the rim.

ImageImageImage

From there I decided to work on the fills. The pink putty just does not work for me. It does not take stain and it is always glaringly present in the finished pipe. The next two photos show the fills on the right side toward the bottom of the bowl and on the shank near the stem.

ImageImage

I wiped the bowl down with acetone (fingernail polish remover) to get the stain and finish removed. Then I used the dental pick to remove the fills. The next five photos show the opening up of the pits that were under the fills. I use the sharp point of the dental pick to pick away all of the putty and leave the holes open and free of debris. I also wipe the bowl down with acetone before filling them with the new patch.ImageImageImageImageImage

After wiping down the surface of the pipe and cleaning out any remaining debris in the pits or holes I filled the holes with briar dust that I had saved from sanding the rim. I packed the dust into the hole with the dental pick. I find that if I wet the end of the pick the briar dust clumps on the pick. I scrape it over the holes and then tamp them full with the briar dust. I purposely over fill them with the dust. Then I drip super glue onto the briar dust patch. In the three photos below you can see the patches after the initial sanding with a fine grit pink sanding pad. They are the dark spots on the right side of the photo and on the shank near the stem. These dark spots lessen with more sanding. The second photo also shows the state of the rim from the top shot.ImageImageImage

I heated the bowl so that I could do the contrast staining to highlight the grain. I used an artist’s brush to apply black aniline stain to the bowl. I follow the lines of the grain. I painted the bowl, shank and rim with the black stain. Then I lit it with a lighter to flame the stain and set it. Once it was dry I sanded the stain to remove the excess.Image

The next series of four photos show the bowl after the initial sanding. I had removed much of the stain. The reason I am showing these photos is to highlight how the fill on the side of the bowl and on the shank have faded into the finish of the pipe. The black stain not only highlights the grain but also blends in the fills with the contrast stain on the bowl. In the second and third photo I also wanted to show how the stain takes care of the burn mark on the bowl side and rim. It is still present in terms of the darkening but it is less visible at this point. That is what I was aiming for. From this point I took the pipe to my buffer and used Tripoli and White Diamond to buff out a bit more of the black so that it would highlight the grain but not be the overwhelmingly dark coat under the finish stain that I would later use. I also used micromesh pads from 3200 to 6000 grit to work out any of the remaining scratches on the rim and bowl surfaces.ImageImageImageImage

At this point I set the bowl aside and went to work on the stem. In the picture below you can see the variety of micromesh pads that I use to remove the oxidation. The brown dust on the pads is the oxidation that comes off with the sanding. I always have a bowl of water at the side of the table to dip the pads in and wash off the oxidation dust and grime and also to give the pads more bite when I am sanding the stem. I went back and forth through the pads and the buffer with Tripoli and White Diamond to bring the stem back to the rich black that it had originally. I always buff the stem with it back on the pipe. I do not want to risk rounding the edge at the point where it sits against the shank. Once it was shiny black and acceptable I took the pipe back to the work table to give it the final stain coat.Image

For a top coat of stain I chose oxblood coloured aniline stain. I find that the contrast between it and the black undercoat work well together. The next series of four photos show the finished pipe. The first shows the left side and what remains of the burn mark near the top of the rim. It is still present but certainly less visible and it is smooth to touch. The second photo shows the right side of the pipe and how well the stain has hidden the reworked fills on the shank and near the bottom of the bowl. If you did not know they were present you would have a hard time seeing them. The third photo shows the rim and how well the stain has hidden the burn mark and brought out the birdseye grain on the rim. The final photo shows the bottom of the bowl and is included to show the contrast stain and the graining on that part of the bowl.ImageImageImageImage

The next series of photos show closer views of the repairs that were down and how they blend in with the contrast stain. The first is the left side of the bowl and you can see the darkening of the rim where the burn mark was. It is smooth to touch and none of the profile of the pipe is affected. The second photo shows the part of the bowl where I removed the putty fills, refilled them with briar dust and superglue and then restained with the two coats of contrasting stain. The third photo shows the same repairs on the shank. The final photo is of the rim of the bowl. The birdseye grain is highlighted. In the slight glare at the top of the photo you can see the remaining mark from the burn. The black and oxblood stains minimize the visibility of the burn darkening. I finished the pipe by giving the entirety several coats of carnauba wax to give it a rich glow. The pipe is finished and ready to give many years of service to whoever becomes the next owner.

ImageImageImageImage

Refurbishing another Mystery Pipe

2 Replies

I picked up this pipe in an EBay lot recently. The other pipes were older Barlings and Bewlays. I know that it belonged to the same gent originally because all the stems have matching tooth marks. This guy must have had jaws of steel. His bite marks showed a repeated pattern of biting down in an identical place on each pipe. The amazing thing on this one is that though the bites were deep they did not break through the surface of the stem.

The first series of pictures below show the pipe as it came to me in the lot. Rim had some tars and cake build up. The bowl was dirty but not caked. The exterior of the pipe was also dirty but not damaged. The mystery to me is the material that this bowl is made of. It is very light weight and a bit odd. There is some resemblance to Laxley meers from the Isle of Mann. They made meers for Peterson, Nording and Barling as well as some under their own brand. I have found that those I have worked on and now own are uniformly heavy and thick bowled. This one is not that way at all. This little guy – and I say little as in 1 1/2 inch tall and a bowl outer diameter of 1 1/8 inches and bore of 3/4 inches – is somehow incredibly light weight. Think in terms of a featherweight briar and you are close. The stem is heavier than the bowl… Those are the things that leave me mystified with this one. I wonder if it is not some sort of resin????

The copper coloured band on the shank is actually copper tape. It was covered with a coating of glue to give it some resilience I would guess. The shank extension is vulcanite as is the stem. The stem is badly bitten but no bite throughs. It will take a bit of work to take care of those and to remove the deep oxidation. The tenon is also a reverse tenon. It extends from the shank like a Carey Magic Inch tenon. The stem slides over the tenon.

ImageImageImageImage

Using my dental pick as a lever I pried away the tape on the shank. I wanted to see what was underneath to know if I was dealing with a separated shank extension or what. As can be seen in the next photo it appears that the tape was merely cosmetic. The shank extension and the joint of the two parts were liberally coated with glue. It appeared to have been wood glue and it was very hard. I was able to peel away bits and pieces of the glue by picking at it with the dental pick and my finger nail. Note also the reverse tenon on the shank that I spoke of above. It is anchored in the shank and is not removable. It seems to be an integral part of the shank extension.Image

The next two photos show the junction of the shank and the shank extension with the glue removed. I used some 180 grit sandpaper to work on it and then finished with 220 and 240 grit to remove the remaining bits. The junction appeared to be sound. There were no cracks and once the glue was removed the connection was tight and smooth.ImageImage

I continued sanding the shank and extension through 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper as well as the usual micromesh pads from 1500-6000 grit. The three photos below show the finished shank. You will note that the band between the bowl and the extension is also sanded clean. The glue was so built up on it that it needed to be sanded to clean away the build up.ImageImageImage

Once the bowl had reached that point I cleaned the rim with a brass tire brush to remove the tars and buildup that was in the rustication on the rim. I wiped it down with a soft alcohol dampened cloth to remove the dust and remnants after brushing. I decided to restain the rim and the band on the shank. While I was at it I also freshened the stain on the bowl. The odd thing to me was that the stain was not absorbed when I put it on the bowl. It literally sat on the surface until it was dry. To get the coverage to do any good at all involved repeated applications of stain to the band and the rim edges. If the pipe had been briar or meer the stain would have quickly absorbed into the heated surface. This is yet another piece of the mystery of this pipe. What is this material that does not accept the stain?ImageImageImage

Once the stain was dry I did not buff the pipe at all with my buffer but wiped it down with a soft cotton cloth and hand buffed it with a soft bristle shoe brush. In the pictures below you can see the finished bowl. The band and the highlights in the bowl are almost a reddish brown. It is an attractive pipe when all is said and done. You can see the inside of the bowl after I sanded it down to clean it. It appears to be a brownish colour and feels like briar to the touch and yet there is something different in the feel of it.ImageImage

From the earlier pictures above you can see the state of the stem with the bite marks on the top and bottom near the button. I used my heat gun to raise them as much as possible before sanding the stem to remove the remaining marks. The first two photos below show the stem after heating and sanding with the 240 grit sand paper. The top photo is the top side of the stem. There were four remaining marks as can be seen – three on the surface of the stem and two along side of the button edge. There was also damage to the button surface that is visible. The second photo shows the bottom side of the stem – it was a bit better after the heating than the top side. It still had two bite marks and the button was dented.ImageImage

I sanded the marks to smooth them out and then cleaned the surface of the stem with an alcohol wipe to remove the dust. The first photo below shows the spots of super glue on the surface filling the dents in the stem surface. I do not use much glue, just a spot. When it hardens it is not easily sanded so the less I use on the surface the better in my opinion. I also did a bit of work rebuilding the button edge and surface with the glue. When I am using the glue I work on one side at a time in order to have the glue set without running and making a mess of things.Image

The next two photos show the repairs to the top (first photo) and the bottom (second photo) of the stem after the initial sanding. I used an emery board that I picked up at a local department store to sand the surface at this point. It is sold in the area where they sell beauty supplies and is used for fingernails. I learned the usefulness of these by “borrowing” one from my daughters and really like the usefulness. Both photos show the patches disappearing into the surface of the stem.ImageImage

The next two photos show the patches on both the top (first photo) and the bottom (second photo) of the stem after sanding with 220 and 240 grit sandpaper. The patches are getting to the point where they are invisible. I continued sanding both sides of the stem until I was ready to work on the sheen and polish.ImageImage

From this point I sanded the stem with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper until the patches disappeared into the smooth surface of the stem. I then progressed through the usual regimen of micromesh pads from 1500-6000 grit to polish the surface. Several times in the process I took the stem to the buffer to polish it with Tripoli and White Diamond to see where I needed to do more work on the scratches. I resanded the stem until the scratches were gone – each time using the buffer in between to see the progress. Once it was completed I put it on the pipe and used White Diamond to polish the shank and stem. I coated the stem and shank extension with Obsidian Oil and rubbed it in once it had soaked in. I then gave the entirety several coats of carnauba wax. I did not wax the bowl or use the buffer on it as I wanted to maintain the appearance and cragginess of the finish. In the four photos below you can see the finished pipe. The patches are virtually invisible unless you know where to look. The surface is shiny and black. There is still a bit of oxidation that I need to remove on the stem at the shank extension but overall it is like a new pipe.ImageImageImageImage

The mystery remains, what is it made of? Is it meer? Is it clay? Don’t know. I plan on smoking it later today so maybe the way it handles the heat of the burning tobacco may add some information to the mix.