Monthly Archives: December 2013

Help Requested for Unknown Maker of a Threaded Pipe Bowl with an Aluminum Base

In one of the lots of pipes I picked up on Ebay this threaded bowl was present. There was not a pipe base that it fit even though there were two threaded bases in the lot. One was a WDC Bakelite base that was wider and had different threads and the other was a no name older base also with a wider base and different threads on the bowl. I have not seen a bowl with this kind of set up before. The bowl itself is a tube of briar fit over an aluminum bottom. The bottom of the bowl is threaded on the end that screws into the pipe and the upper portion is inserted into the bowl. The top of the insert is a cup that extends a third of the way up the sides of the bowl. I have quite a few metal pipe bases and older Bakelite bases available here but this bowl does not fit any of them. It is truly a mystery to me.

When I got it the finish was worn and there was a crack in the bottom edge of the bowl where it sits against the aluminum. The crack went up about a quarter of the way up the outside of the bowl. The bottom of the threaded portion is stamped PATENT APD FOR, which I assume is the abbreviation of Patent Applied For. I have no idea about country of origin or manufacturer so checking for patent information is difficult. If anyone has seen one of these and has some information please let me know.

Since I am working with the bottom of my refurbishing box, I decided to clean up the bowl and restore it so that when I find a base that it fits it will be ready. The rim was rough so I topped the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper on a flat surface. I twisted the bowl into the sandpaper to remove the damage to the surface.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to clean up the inside. The outer edge of the bowl rim was damaged so I sanded it until it was smooth. I also used a piece of folded sandpaper to smooth out the damage to the inner rim. I scrubbed the aluminum base with acetone on cotton swabs to clean out the grooves/threads on the nub. I scrubbed the base on the outside and the inside of the bowl. I picked the threads with a dental pick to clean out the buildup of tars in each groove. I wiped down the exterior of the bowl with the acetone to remove the finish.

I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper and also with a medium grit sanding sponge. I sanded it with 1500-1800 grit micromesh sanding pads. Once the surface was smooth I cleaned out the crack with a dental pick and filled it with superglue and briar dust. I sanded that area until it was smooth and blended in with the rest of the bowl. I wiped it down a final time with the alcohol soaked pads to remove the dust before I gave it the first coat of the two step stain.

I stained it with a black aniline stain, flamed it and then restained and reflamed it again. Once the stain was set I wiped it down with Everclear on a cotton pad to remove the top coat of black. My intention was to set the black into the interesting grain pattern around the bowl and rim and then remove the excess before giving a second colour of stain as a top coat.

I buffed the bowl with red Tripoli to finish removing the excess black and to also smooth out any existing scratches in the bowl. I sanded it with a fine grit sanding sponge and then with 1500 grit micromesh sanding pads. The next three photos show the bowl before I gave it the top coat of stain.

For the second coat of stain I used an oxblood aniline stain. I applied it and flamed it and then buffed it to give it a shine.

To finish the bowl I buffed it with White Diamond on the wheel and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect and polish it. The finished bowl is seen in the photos below. It is ready for the mystery base that will allow it to once again be filled with tobacco and smoked.

Once again, I would appreciate any information that folks may have regarding potential makers for the bowl and potential bases that would hold this kind of threaded bowl. For information sake: it does not fit the Pacemaker, the Falcon, Alco, Viking or any of those pipes. It also does not fit the WDC bases or older Bakelite bases that I have tried. Thanks ahead of time for your help.

A Dr. Grabow Duke Billiard Reborn

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Two more pipes left in the box of pipes needing to be refurbished. The first is a Gr. Grabow billiard. It is stamped on the left side of the shank DUKE over Dr. Grabow and on the right side Imported Briar. It was a bowl without a stem. The bowl was in very rough shape. The top was no longer flat and had a large dip in the front where the bowl rim was burned down by a torch lighter or something like that. The finish was ruined and the fills on the left and right had fallen out of the briar. The bowl itself was caked heavily and appeared to be out of round. I sorted through my can of stems and found one that was close to the shank diameter. The oddity of this pipe was that the original shank was more oval than round so whatever stem I fit would have to be adjusted to fit the shape of the shank. I turned the tenon on this old stem and it fit quite well in the shank. I would need to adjust the diameter of the stem to the oval shape of the shank eventually.

I adjusted the diameter of the stem to fit the shank with a Dremel and sanding drum. I was able to bring it very close to the shank size and then did the rest of the work in fitting the stem by hand sanding.

The bowl rim was in rough shape. I debated whether to refurbish this pipe since I received it from a friend. I would take it out and look it over and then put it back in the box undecided. However, with the box almost empty I decided to give a go. The biggest area of damage was the front edge of the rim. The extent of damage to the rim is visible in the next two photos.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to clean up the inside of the bowl and assess the damage to the inner rim on the front. The front edge of the rim had the most damage. I topped the bowl using my usual method of sandpaper on a flat surface. The sandpaper was 220 grit. I placed the bowl top flat against the sandpaper and turned it into the sandpaper to remove the damaged material. I worked the rim down until it was once again flat. I worked on the inner edge of the rim with a piece of sandpaper to smooth out the surface and restore as much of the roundness of the bowl as possible.

I repaired the fills that had fallen out next. First I cleaned them with a dental pick to remove loose debris and the wipe them down with alcohol. I packed briar dust into the holes and mixed it with wood glue. I wanted to experiment with the wood glue to see if it would take stain better than the superglue patches that I have been using. Once the glue was dry I sanded the bowl smooth again with 220 grit sandpaper and also a medium grit sanding sponge.

I sanded the bowl smooth and then wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the stain and the remaining finish.

After wiping it down with the acetone I sanded it with a fine grit sanding sponge to smooth out the remaining surface and prepare it for staining. (In the third photo below the reworked inner edge of the bowl is visible.)

I decided to use a two part staining process once again to give good coverage to the bowl and to bring out some of the grain on the pipe. I applied the first coat of stain – a black aniline stain – with a cotton swab, flamed it and reapplied and reflamed it until the coverage was good. I warmed the briar with the flame of the lighter to set the stain deep in the grain of the briar.

I wiped the bowl down with acetone again to remove the top coat of the black stain and bring the grain highlights to the surface. I continued to wipe it down until I removed as much as possible with the acetone.

I sanded the bowl with the medium grit sanding sponge and then wiped it between sandings with cotton pads and Everclear. When I had the finish looking the way I was hoping it would I gave it a final wash with Everclear.

I buffed the pipe and stem with red Tripoli to remove more of the stain and to see what the finish would look like with a buff. I knew that I would need to do more sanding to the bowl and shank to remove the scratches that remained before I gave it the second stain colour coat.

I sanded the bowl with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then stained it with a top stain of walnut brown aniline. I applied it, flamed it and repeated the process until I had a good even coat of stain.

I sanded the bowl again and the stem as well with the micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit and then dry sanded with the remaining grits from 3200-12,000. When I had finished sanding the stem I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the stem.

When it was dry I buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond and then gave the entirety several coats of carnauba wax to protect and seal the stem against oxidation and to give some shine to the bowl of the pipe. The finished pipe is shown below. The finished look is far better than I expected when I started with the pipe. The rim looks better and the stain colour highlights the grain nicely. It should provide someone with a good smoking pipe for use in the yard or shop.

Giving a Smokemaster Bard Billiard a Facelift

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I am down to the bottom of my box of pipes to be refurbished. I have three left. In the bottom of my box was a pipe bowl stamped Smokemaster Bard on the left side of the shank and on the right side of the shank stamped Imported Briar. I found a stem in my can of stems that fit the shank after I adjusted the tenon. The diameter of the stem was slightly larger than the shank but that would be an easy adjustment. The bend would need to be straightened but that would be a simple process. The bowl was lightly smoked and the finish was a very shiny Varathane coating that made the bowl look like plastic. The shank was clean and took very little work to remove the dust that had built up in it.

I knew nothing about Smokemaster pipes and had no idea who made them. The finish and shape reminded me a lot of Dr. Grabow pipes that I have reworked but that was not enough for me. As has become my habit with pipes I don’t know about, I did a bit of research on the web and found out that the pipe was made by the Briarcraft Pipe Company. The Company was very prosperous between 1920 and 1940. They produced both Briarcraft pipes and a line of seconds under the following names: Airo, Arcadian, Briarmeer, Smokemaster, Cavalcade, Hallmark, Sterling Hall, Filter Kleen and Wimbledon. They closed their doors in 1950. The pipe that I had was definitely not made pre-1950 and the stamping was wrong for it to be made by them. The original Briarcraft stamping was more stylized and had a Germanic script for the stamp. This one was italicized.

Further digging uncovered the fact that around 1967 Dr. Grabow acquired the name and system rights to the Smokemaster line, and was produced until the mid 1990’s. Thus my initial thought of it being a Grabow was correct. It turned out that Dr. Grabow made three series of Smokemaster pipes – the 100, 200, and 300. I have restored and restemmed several of these over the years but never found one that had the original stem intact. Dr. Grabow also made a line of Smokemaster pipes for L.L. Bean. Below are two photos – one of the stem logo which is a shield and the other is the stamping that is on the pipe that I refurbished.

I found out that the Smokemaster had a very unique filter system and was distinct from other filter systems in that it did not include a stinger apparatus. Rather it used a slotted tube that had two special holes in it. A folded pipe cleaner was inserted into the two holes and extended the length of the shank. It collected the tars and moisture of the smoke and could be easily changed and replaced by the pipe smoker. The diagram below shows the design from the end of the tenon.

I did a patent search and it gave me the following information. This includes both the original description by the inventor and also a diagram submitted at the time of the patent application. I found it at this site: https://www.google.com/patents/US2166537?dq=2166537&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r2u4UtPOHI_ZoAT9moHYCg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAQ

Description
1939 – B. M. SHOEMAKER 2,166,537
TOBACCO PIPE Filed Oct. 12, 1934 crnar B.M. Shoemaker INVENTOR v ATTORNEY Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.
My invention relates to tobacco pipes and more particularly to the type in which the bit and bowl portions are separately united to each other.
The principal object of my invention is to maintain the smoke passage in the pipe substantially free of solid deposits, making for general cleanliness in the interior of the pipe and sweet, cool smoking qualities.
I accomplish this object by arranging within the pipe a readily replaceable absorptive member which is designed to receive condensate and solid matter from the smoke as it passes through the pipe. The preferred form of such absorptive member is an ordinary pipe cleaner which, as is well known in the art, comprises a highly flexible metallic core portion carrying a large number of bristles extending there from.
One embodiment of the invention is illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pipe; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a broken elevation view of a metallic tube or liner constituting one of the pipe elements; Fig. 5 is an elevation view broken intermediate its ends, of the form of absorptive member used in the present construction.
Referring to the drawing, and more specifically to Figs. 1 to 3, denotes the pipe bowl, 1 the bowl stem, 2 the bit and 3 the tenon by which the bit and bowl stem are separately united. The bowl stem has the usual well l4 and the bit the usual smoke or draft passage 15. The bit 12 is further provided with three bores, 15b, c, d, and forming a continuation of the smoke passage 16. A metal tube 16 is provided which is longitudinally slotted at its lower portion and through the slot l8 the products of well be omitted. The tube l6 lies in the bore 15b. The pipe cleaner is doubled upon itself and the two legs or branches of the pipe cleaner enter the bores 15c and l5d and rest there during use of the pipe. The bores 15c and l5d parallel the bore 15b at opposite sides of its longitudinal centre. The embodiment of the invention described is a very desirable construction inasmuch as it receives a standard length pipe cleaner, which in its folded position in the passage 14 is offset from the axis thereof, and which when rotated or twisted with the tenon to seat the same the folded strands of the cleaner engage and brush or clean the wall of the bore.
The operation of the device is very simple. The pipe is sold complete with the pipe cleaner in position. After the pipe has been used for a length of time it will be found that the pipe cleaner is practically saturated with deposited matter. Thereupon the pipe cleaner is simply removed from the pipe and a new one inserted in its place. If desired, the cleaner may also be used in the ordinary manner, naturally before it has become fouled, by moving it back and forth once or twice through the draft passage l5 and/or tube.
What I claim is: In a tobacco pipe, a bowl portion having a stem provided with a central bore, and a bit portion for said stem, the bit having a centrally disposed smoke passage and grooves arranged in the bottom of said passage, a tubular liner mounted in the smoke passage and adapted to project into the bore of the stem, said liner having its underside provided with a longitudinal slot opening into the grooves and bottom of the central bore of the stem beyond the bit, and an absorptive member mounted in said grooves and arranged under the liner throughout its length to receive condensate from the liner and to wipe the wall of said bore when the bit is turned.
BERNARD M. SHOEMAKER.
Classifications

U.S. Classification 131/184.1, 131/203

International Classification A24F1/00

Cooperative Classification A24F1/00, A24F2700/03

European Classification A24F1/00

I find that kind of information fascinating and am always intrigued by the designers urge to provide a cooler and cleaner smoke for the pipeman who uses his invention. I was not able to find out if Dr. Grabow continued to use the patented design when it took over the line from Briarcraft but I am assuming so until it is shown otherwise by information from those who read this or by a pristine stem that still has the apparatus intact on one of the Grabow Smokemaster pipes.

So armed with that information I went to work on the pipe. I began with the newly fitted stem and heated it with a heat gun to straighten the bend. Vulcanite has memory so with heat the stem returns to its original shape. I held the stem about 6 inches above the heat source, ran the gun on high and watched as the stem began to return to normal. It is important not to hold the vulcanite too close to the heat as it burns and to not rush the bend by helping it as it can snap if not properly heated.

The straightened stem is pictured below. It can also be seen in the next three photos that the diameter of the stem is slightly larger than the diameter of the shank. I also left a slight bend to the stem as I liked the look of it on this pipe.

I used a Dremel with a sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the stem to match the shank. This has to be done slowly and with a steady hand so as not to nick the shank of the pipe. I move the Dremel slowly along the diameter of the stem and also backward toward the button to keep the lines accurate and not bulge after the sanded area. I sand it as close as possible to the correct diameter and then hand sand it to fit.

I took it back to the work table and sanded the stem with medium grit emery cloth to smooth out the finish and fit of the stem. I then used 220 grit sandpaper and continued to sand until the stem fit was smooth. At this point I also began to use a sanding block to make the transition between the new stem and the shank smooth. I did not worry about sanding the stem as I intended to remove the plastic finish and rework the entire pipe with a new finish. I also sanded the top of the bowl to remove the two burn marks that were present on the inner edge of the rim. This is visible in the last of the series of photos below.

I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to try to remove the plastic like finish that was on the pipe. The acetone succeeded in dulling the finish but not in removing it from the briar. I continued to wipe it down until I was through the finish coat. I sanded the bowl with a medium grit sanding sponge between the acetone washes. (I had previously tried the alcohol bath on pipes with this type of finish and found that they did not penetrate the finish.)

Once the finish was removed I sanded the pipe with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches as much as possible. I was not overly worried at this point in removing them all as I intended to do a two part stain and sand between the stain coats. I stained the pipe with a black aniline stain, flamed and stained and flamed again. I also heated the bowl to drive the black stain deep into the grain of the pipe so that when I sanded it the grain would show well.

I wiped the bowl down with Everclear on a cotton pad to remove the topcoat of the stain. I knew that the stain would have penetrated deep enough into the grain to leave the parts present that I wanted highlighted.

I buffed the pipe with red Tripoli to further remove the black stain. The next four photos show the bowl after buffing. I still wanted to remove more of the stain from the pipe to get the desired effect and differentiate the grain for the finished look of the pipe.

I wet sanded the bowl and the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to further remove the black stain from the surface of the bowl. The sanding also served to remove the scratches left behind by the fine grit sanding sponge before staining. The first four photos below show the finish after I had sanded the bowl with these grits of micromesh. I then dry sanded the bowl and stem with the remaining grits of micromesh pads from 3200-12,000. The state of the bowl and stem can be seen in the last two photos below.

Once I had removed as much of the black as I wanted I stained the pipe with the second stain – an oxblood aniline stain. I heated the bowl, applied the stain, flamed it and reapplied and reflamed it until the coverage was even around the bowl. Once it was dry I buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond to polish the finish and the stem. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil to protect the vulcanite and when dry gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax to polish and protect the pipe. The finished pipe is pictured below. I really like the contrast stain and the matte like finish on the pipe. The two step stain process highlighted the grain on the pipe and gives it a far more polished and finished look than the previous plastic coat had down. This piece of briar, though not stellar, did not have fills or flaws that are visible. It should make someone a great addition for their pipe rack.

NOTE: I was just reading on PSU and saw a post there that had this photo of the filtration system on these pipes. http://pipesmokerunlimited.com/showthread.php?4015-Smokemaster-Filter-Pipe Thanks to the poster, Hammerhead (Terry Swope???maybe) for posting the photo for us to see.

A Piece of Tobacciana – Restoring an Old Nylon Cigarette Filter/Holder

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Somewhere along the way in one of the pipe lots I bought off EBay this old cigarette holder was included as a pipe stem. I put it in a drawer and forgot about it for several years at least. The other evening I was cleaning out a drawer of pipes that I had already refurbished getting them ready for my daughter to catalogue and came across the old holder. At first glance it appeared to be a cigarette holder. There was no filter apparatus present and the mouthpiece was short and condensed so I did not think there would be one inside the stem itself. I sanded down the casting marks on the side of the stem and also cleaned the stem of debris. There was one burn spot on the underside of the stem near the metal holder end. The metal holder was brass and quite clean with a slight nicotine and tar build up on the inside. The airway on the stem was plugged and no air could pass through it.

I twisted the end cap and it came free from the stem itself. Inside was a filter apparatus similar to the different stingers that one finds in American made pipes of days gone by. This apparatus was a single unit. There was a rubber o-ring around the top just below the holder top. This held the cap unit snugly in place in the stem.

Once I had removed the apparatus from the stem the stinger design was visible. It extended half way down the shank of the stem. Behind the o-ring was a cut/slit half way through the aluminum of the stinger. It was clogged with tars and oils. In the middle of the slit was an opening. One on the o-ring side and one on the stem side of the slit. The aluminum then funneled down to tube that at first glance appeared to be solid. At the end of the tube were two solid rings around the tube. Between the rings there were holes on two sides in the groove. When it was inserted and clear the air would be pulled through the holder and into the stinger slit. It would circulate in the stem to cool and then move through the slit and down the tube and out the two holes. These would then disperse the smoke through the remainder of the stem and out the slot in the button. In many ways it was like an inverted stinger in shape and function to those found on pipes.

The hole in the end of the stinger does not go through the stinger but rather is like a small cup on the end. It was for collecting moisture and tars if the grime buildup was any indication.

The holder cap pictured in the photo below is the depth of the filter on a modern cigarette and also the dame diameter as the end of the cigarette. I cleaned the entire apparatus and soaked it in a bath of Everclear to try to open the airway. I was able to clean out the cut in the aluminum, the holes in the end and in the cut itself using a dental pick. I scrubbed down the apparatus with a tooth brush and Everclear. I was unable to get air to pass through due to a clog in the end of the holder. In the photo below it is visible as a small hole in the bottom of the cup. It was plugged and the dental pick was too thick to go through it. I tried a thin paper clip and a needle with no success. I finally was able to open it with a tiny micro drill bit on the Dremel and pushed it through at a very slow speed. The bit came with a plastic guide that fit inside the cup perfectly and kept the drill straight as it opened the airway. Once it pushed the clog through I cleaned the inside of the airway with Everclear and was able to push air through with no effort.

I repaired the burned spot on the stem with superglue and sanded the stem until the patch blended with the rest of the stem surface. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and then with a medium grit sanding sponge to smooth out the scratches in the surface of the nylon stem.

I wet sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-2400 grit and then dry sanded with 3200 – 12,000 grit sanding pads. I used a plastic polish to further shine the stem once I was finished with the micromesh pads.

I rubbed down the stem with Obsidian Oil and gave it a very light buff with White Diamond. You have to exercise a very light touch when buffing nylon as it melts with the heat of the buffing wheel. I finished by giving the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax to give it a shine. I hand buffed the shine with a soft cotton cloth. The finish filter is pictured below in the final three photos. It is not something I will ever use but it is an interesting piece of tobacciana for the collection. I have no idea of the maker of the piece or of the age but I am fascinated by the ingenuity of the product.

Restoring an LHS Certified Purex Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

This LHS pot was another gift from a friend in exchange for restemming his pipe. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Certified Purex in a convex arc and underneath is a concave arc stamped Imported Briar. In the middle the stamping is very faint but using a magnifying lens the remnants of a diamond with the letters LHS are barely visible. The finish was very dirty and the rim was blackened but not burned. The bottom of the bowl near the front was covered with dents and pin pricks like the pipe had been tapped or dropped on concrete. There was very little cake in the bowl. The stem had a screw mount tenon with an aluminum receptor on the end of the shank. The stem itself had an aluminum end on it with a push in stinger apparatus. The stem had deep tooth marks on the top and the bottom sides and was oxidized. On the left side of the stem was an aluminum diamond that was inserted in the stem.

I looked up LHS Certified Purex pipes on Google and found the following information. The first comes from http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-lhs.html#certifiedpurex . Phil has a page on the LHS pipes. The L&H Stern Inc. was established by Ludwig Stern (1877-1942) in 1911. His brother Hugo (1872-?) acted as vice-president & secretary. The firm moved to 56 Pearl St. Brooklyn in 1920. It closed down in the 1960s. LHS was one of the main pipe suppliers for US soldiers during WWII. LHS had several seconds lines, two of which are the London Royal and the Stanhope. Phil included the two photos below. The first is of the diamond insert on the stem. The one I am refurbishing has the same diamond. The second is of the stamping on the pipe. The top photo which is a picture of the stamping reads Certified Purex over Imported Briar with the LHS in a Diamond inside the two arcs. This stamping matches the pipe I worked on.
Pipedia also had information on the pipes from which I summarize some additions that were not included above. L & H Stern (LHS) of Brooklyn, New York. The company’s famous logo is in a diamond. These pipes are high quality production pipes. A popular and moderately priced pipe made from 1896 through the 1960’s by the L&H Stern Company of Brooklyn, New York. Many of their later Sterncrest pipes featured silver bands and some were made with 14kt. gold bands as well. The “Diamond” series appears to be their high-end line. They had a different logo which was 3 diamonds in a row, larger in the middle. They also had Allbriar models (stem and bowl both made of briar) in the Diamond line, and these tended to have a screw type fitment with stinger, like Kaywoodie or Dr. Grabows.

With this information I took the Purex pot to my work table. I took off the stem and dropped the bowl into an alcohol bath to soak while I worked on the stem. It sat in the bath for about an hour while I addressed the issues on the stem.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification around the button and up the stem for about ½ inch. I also wanted to clean up around the tooth dents to see what I would have to do to fix them. In the next two photos below the dents in the stem are clearly visible on the top and the underside of the stem. Removing the calcification made the dents very clear.

After examining them with a magnifying glass I could see that they were dents. I was able to heat them and lift them to some degree and then sanded what remained after heating. The next three photos show the removal of the dents and remaining marks with the sandpaper.

I sanded the stem with a medium grit “pink” sanding sponge that is visible in the photos below. This removed the scratches left behind by the 220 grit sandpaper. In these photos the dents are no longer visible. The sanding also removed the majority of the oxidation on the stem.

I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the finish before I worked on the pitting and marks on the bottom of the bowl. I steamed the dents and then filled the remaining marks with superglue to smooth them out. I sanded the superglue with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the slight bubble on the super glue and also followed up that with a medium grit sanding sponge. I wet sanded the bowl with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads.

I stained the bowl with black aniline stain and flamed it to set it deep in the grain. I repeated the staining and flaming to make sure I got a smooth and even coverage on the undercoat of stain. The black understain does a great job in hiding the small fills that were in the bottom of the bowl.

I wiped down the stain with acetone to remove the topcoat and to highlight the dark grain pattern that remained. The dents on the bottom of the bowl are not visible in the fourth photo below. The grain shows through nicely. I sanded the bowl with 1800-2400 micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratches that were still visible in the finish.

I then stained the pipe with a oxblood stain for a finish coat. I applied the stain, flamed it and reapplied it and flamed it repeatedly until I had the coverage I wanted on the pipe. The next three photos show the rich overstain. The repairs to the pits on the bottom of the bowl are no longer visible.

The stem had been slightly overturned so I needed to heat the tenon and turn it clockwise on the shank until it lined up again. I removed the stinger and then heated the tenon over a heat gun to loosen the glue in the stem. Once it was heated I screwed it into the shank of the pipe until it was aligned again.

I put the stinger back in place and wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh pads and then dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads.

Once I finished sanding the stem I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the vulcanite. I polished the aluminum on the shank and the stem with the higher grits of micromesh and then with silver polish. I then took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond and then with multiple coats of carnauba wax to polish and protect it. The finished pipe is pictured below.

The Building Of A Buffing Station Part 1 – Alan Chestnutt

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This afternoon I received an email from Alan Chestnutt of reborn briar regarding a post he made on Pipe Smokers Unlimited regarding a new buffing setup he had put together. He gave permission to post it here for folks to read about and also use for their own buffing stations. Thanks Alan for your work on this and for writing it up for us to read and see. It is much appreciated. Alan has a website http://www.estatepipes.co.uk/ where he sells some of the beautiful pipes he refurbishes. Have a look at the work he does. He also is available for working on pipes that you may not want to tackle on your own. Without further introduction here is Alan’s post.

My workshop is in the garage of the house which is detached. It is a concrete block build with a tiled roof. Inside is the bare concrete block, a concrete floor, and it is open to the roof. Not a very pleasant place to be in the winter! Last winter the cold was unbearable, and even though I had a gas heater on full set beside me, it could not warm the garage. The buffing polish blocks were rock hard and virtually unusable, as were my hands at the buffing wheels! So this year I had to make some changes and install some insulation. Here is a picture before the work started:

The workbench was secured to the wall plate and the rafters, to provide storage shelves above. The vertical uprights were a bit of a nuisance, so the plan was to extend the workbench space down the entire side towards the washer and dryer. On each side of the old workbench below the lights, I had set up 2 bench grinders with tapered pigtail adapters for the buffing wheels. While the work was being completed, I wanted to install a custom buffing station driven by a motor.

The first task was the insulation of the garage and installation of the workbenches. Having spoken with a local handyman, he advised the easiest method was to use thermal insulated backed plasterboard. Next is a picture after the insulation work was completed. The plasterboard has 2 inches of special thermal insulation attached to the back, and this was able to be attached directly to the concrete blocks. The same material was used to block in the roof cavity. The floor has been laid with interlocking rubber foam tiles and the benches have been started to be put in place.

The idea for my buffing station was to drive 4 buffing wheels from a single motor. I picked up a second hand motor from eBay for £30. It is a 1hp single phase motor running at 1400rpm. I wanted the area around the buffing wheels to be boxed in to catch and reduce the dust created with the idea of eventually installing dust extraction. The buffing wheels were to be mounted on 12mm threaded steel rod. The wheels would be 8 inch by 1/2 inch. I had been using 1 inch wheels before, but whilst this can speed up the process, they are not good for buffing into the bend of bent pipes. The 1/2 inch wheels make this area much more accessible. I had a motor arbor made locally which would attach to the shaft of the motor with a 12mm tapped hole. The drive shaft would screw into this providing a direct link to the motor. It was going to take a 1m length of drive shaft for the 4 buffing wheels. I decided to get 4 lengths of 250mm rod, so that it would be easier to dismantle and change a buffing wheel. The buffing wheels come with thick leather washers, which when drilled to 12 mm will thread unto the rod. They are then clamped each side with the large cup washers that came with the angle grinders holding on the grinding wheels. The sections would be joined together with 12mm threaded bushes with a 25mm outer diameter. Each of these bushes would be supported in a block bearing. Everything would be locked in place using locking nuts at each side of the bushes and each side of the buffing wheels.

Now whilst this idea was all in my head, it was a work in progress to see how it would work, as I have no particular engineering background. The handyman got to work under my instructions. The motor was mounted to the correct height to leave plenty of working space, and also the block bearings were mounted to the same height from the workbench. The motor itself was also boxed off from the buffing wheels to reduce dust contamination. The lower central section of the workbench is a place where I can sit while working on pipes. The far end is for my future work. I would like to move on to start making pipes and this area will be for the additional machinery. Here is Mark I of the buffing station.

Before even using the new buffing station, I knew there would be a problem. The blocks on which the bearings were mounted were going to be an obstacle when buffing the pipes. We put our heads together to think of a solution. We then decided to install vertical mounts which would be secured to the back of the boxed area and the bearings would be attached to these, leaving the front of the buffing wheels unfettered.

Here is the result after the rearrangement. The wiring has been completed and the lights installed with daylight bulbs for good vision.

The whole thing runs like a dream. I have since installed a machine switch below the motor and will also install an emergency stop button. After getting the feel of buffing at a slower speed, the only further change I will make is to upgrade to 10 inch wheels when the current ones need replaced. I can now run the heater on 1 bar from the far side of the garage and it heats up the room beautifully and retains the heat. This year I will be able to work in comfort.

Part two can be read at this link: https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/the-building-of-a-buffing-station-part-2-alan-chestnutt/

Reworking a Stetson Sport Zulu

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This pipe was gifted to me in exchange for a bit of stem work that I did recently for a friend of mine. It came in a box with the pipe to be repaired and two others. It was a brand that I knew absolutely nothing about. The pipe was obviously American made and had a coat of thick varnish on the bowl that was beginning to flake and peal. I decided to do a bit of research on the brand to see if I could find any information on it.

I found a document online for the John B. Stetson Company. Stetson is the manufacturer of Western hats but I was not aware that they also made pipes. One source seemed to point to the fact that the pipes were made by Marxman Pipe Company and branded with the Stetson name.

The document was written as a brand page for the company in application for a trademark. I have included that document below as I find the historical detail quite interesting. The source of the information is this website: http://www.legalforce.com/stetson-78583631.html I quote the following information in part from that site.

“John B. Stetson Company

Absorbent paper for tobacco pipes, ashtrays not of precious metal, chewing tobacco, cigar bands, cigar cutters, cigar humidifiers, cigar tubes, cigarette cases not of precious metal, cigarette lighters not of precious metal, cigars, cigarillos, hand-rolling tobacco, humidors, match boxes not of precious metal, match holders, matches, non-electric cigar lighters not of precious metal, pipe pouches, pipe tampers, pipe tobacco, tobacco, rolling papers…

This is a brand page for the STETSON trademark by John B. Stetson Company in Mt. Kisco, NY, 10549. Write a review about a product or service associated with this STETSON trademark. Or, contact the owner John B. Stetson Company of the STETSON trademark by filing a request to communicate with the Legal Correspondent for licensing, use, and/or questions related to the STETSON trademark.

On Wednesday, March 09, 2005, a U.S. federal trademark registration was filed for STETSON by John B. Stetson Company, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549. The USPTO has given the STETSON trademark serial number of 78583631. The current federal status of this trademark filing is ABANDONED – NO STATEMENT OF USE FILED. The correspondent listed for STETSON is BARRY A. COOPER of GOTTLIEB, RACKMAN & REISMAN, P.C., 270 MADISON AVE FL 8, NEW YORK, NY 10016-0601. The STETSON trademark is filed in the category of Smoker’s Products . The description provided to the USPTO for STETSON is Absorbent paper for tobacco pipes, ashtrays not of precious metal, chewing tobacco, cigar bands, cigar cutters, cigar humidifiers, cigar tubes, cigarette cases not of precious metal, cigarette lighters not of precious metal, cigars, cigarillos, hand-rolling tobacco, humidors, match boxes not of precious metal, match holders, matches, non-electric cigar lighters not of precious metal, pipe pouches, pipe tampers, pipe tobacco, tobacco, rolling tobacco, smokeless tobacco, smoking pipe cleaners, sm.”

I also found the following stamping photos on Pipephil’s Stamping and Logos site: http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s12.html

Armed with the information I found I tackled the cleanup and restoration of this American Pipe from John B. Stetson! The pipe is stamped Stetson over Sport on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar over Italy on the right side of the shank. The finish was very rough and peeling off the surface of the briar on the bowl where the hands held it. The rim had a thick cake of tars and oils. The inner edge of the rim was nicked and burned and was slightly out of round. The bowl was heavily caked with a soft carbon cake that was crumbling in places. The stem had screw on tenon and was over turned to the right. It had tooth marks on the top and the bottom side of the stem and oxidation on the entirety. There was an S logo stamped in the left side of the saddle. The stinger apparatus in the stem was tarred and dirty and the inside of the stem was slightly clogged with tars.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to take the cake back to bare wood. The crumbling cake toward the bottom of the bowl made this necessary so that the next owner can build up their own hard cake.

I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a board and took off the damaged surface of the rim. I also cleaned up the inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of sandpaper. I wanted to smooth out the damage to the inner edge and repair the out of round shape of the bowl.

I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad. The thick coat of varnish was hard to break down with the acetone. I wiped it until I had softened the varnish and then sanded the bowl and shank with the 220 grit sandpaper and then a sanding sponge. The putty fills were shrunken and formed small divots in the bowl. I filled these with superglue and briar dust and then sanded them down when I sanded the bowl. After sanding the bowl down I wiped it again with acetone to remove the sanding dust.

I sanded the bowl with a fine grit sanding sponge and then wet sanded it with 1500 and 1800 grit micromesh sanding pads. Once I had a smooth surface to work with I stained the bowl with a black aniline stain and then flamed it with a lighter. I wanted to set the stain deep in the grain.

When the stain was dry I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the excess stain. I wanted the black to remain in the grain and highlight that while masking the fills.

I sanded the stained bowl with a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the excess. The next two photos show the bowl after sanding and then buffing with red Tripoli and White Diamond. The grain is standing out nicely from the black stain.

I restained the bowl with an oxblood coloured aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until I had an even coverage on the bowl and shank. The next three photos show the bowl after staining with the oxblood.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks on the top and bottom side of the stem. I followed that by sanding with a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches left behind by the sandpaper.

I put the stem back on the pipe and took it to the buffer and buffed it with Tripoli. I buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond. The next photos show the pipe after the initial buffing.

I wet sanded the stem with 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then dry sanded with the remaining grits from 3200-12,000. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and the waited for it to soak in. Afterwards I hand buffed with carnauba wax.

The next series of four photos show the finished pipe. The interior is shiny and new looking and the pipe bowl has a good contrast stain. The stem is shinier and the oxidation is pretty well gone. The photo of the stem looking down on the top shows a little oxidation around the saddle area. That area has been problematic on this pipe. In the daylight the stem looks better than this night photo with lights. My guess is that the oxidation is still there and in the glare of the flash it is very visible. This pipe will make a nice addition to someone’s rotation.

A Review – Michael Parks Pencil Shank Cutty

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I have had this pipe around for a while now, in fact long enough that I don’t remember when I bought it. I believe I purchased it from another member on Smoker’s Forums a few years ago. After reading about the Vancouver Pipe Club Christmas Party which featured Michael as the guest speaker I decided to take this pipe out of the cupboard for a smoke. I am not sure why but I have often forgotten I had it there. It has just escaped my notice. I remember smoking it quite a bit when I got it but have not picked it up for a long time. I do remember that it delivers a good cool smoke and that I used it for English and Balkan blends.

It truly is a beautiful and delicate feeling pipe. It is very different from most of the other pipes in my collection. Many of them are fat and stubby with thick shanks and Rhodesian or billiard bowls. This one is nothing like those. The finish is a striated rustication that follows around the bowl and down the shank to the stem. It is stained with an oxblood coloured aniline stain that really sets of the pipe and matches the Cumberland stem very well. The shank is the delicate part of the pipe – it is a pencil shank that extends with a very gentle taper from the bowl to the stem. The rim is smooth as is a small oval on the bottom of the shank that sports the stamping PARKS over 1. While the pipe is delicate looking it is a fairly large pipe. Its length is 6 inches from the tip of the bowl to the end of the button. The height of the bowl is 1 ¾ inches and the diameter of the bowl is 1 3/8 inches. The tobacco chamber’s diameter ¾ inches and the bowl depth is 1 1/8 inches.

The stem is hand cut from Cumberland rod stock and the fit to the shank is impeccable. The red lines in the Cumberland match the colour of the stain of the pipe perfectly. The stem tapers from the junction at the shank to a thin comfortable bit at the end. The button is thin and comfortable and the oval slot in the end of the stem. Michael’s finish on the stem is like glass. My photos do not do the fine craftsmanship of the stem proper justice. It is very well done. The tenon is turned from the Cumberland and is a clean and tight fit to the shank. There is no funnel at the end of the tenon but it lines up precisely with the airway in the end of the mortise.

The internal mechanics of this pipe are very well done. The airway enters the bowl at the bottom and is centered. The drilling the shank is straight and centered in the mortise. The inside of the shank is smooth and there is nothing to impede the airflow from the bowl to the stem. The drilling the stem is also clean and smooth. The slot is oval and funneled into the stem, flattening out the airway leaving it consistent from the tenon back to the slot. The bowl is drilled at the same angle as the slope of the bowl. The pipe came to me pre-smoked so I do not know if the bowl had any bowl coating when it was new. It does not appear to have had any.

The pipe is very light – I do not have a scale so I am not certain of its weight. It is comfortable to hold in the hand and the mouth. The rustication gives it a very tactile feel as it heats up during a smoke. It delivers a flavourful and effortless smoke with a free and open draught just as I had remembered. When the pipe came to me it had been dedicated to English and Balkan blends and I have continued to use it for those blends. It is a great pipe that I will not let sit as long between the next smokes. Michael is a master at pipemaking and delivers a superior product in terms of fit and finish. Have a look at his website, http://www.parkspipes.com/ and I am sure you will enjoy the artful pipes that he has carved and continues to carve.

Reworking A Previous Refurbishment – A Genod Rhodesian

My GBD 9438 Saddle Stems and Tapered Stem Rhodesians

13 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I have been collecting the GBD 9438 pipes for quite awhile now. They have always been a shape that is a favourite of mine and one that I think GBD did perfectly. I began to pick them up on EBay long before they began to sell for the prices they list at now. I have twelve pipes in total. I have taken a photo of them in a circle like a clock. Each position on the clock is filled by another 9438. They are identified as follows:

1:00 GBD Virgin
2:00 Dr. Plumb (GBD seconds line)
3:00 GBD Prehistoric with a Perspex stem (this is one that I had to cut back the stem and reshape the button).
4:00 GBD Flame Grain
5:00 GBD Gold Label Made in France
6:00 Prehistoric with a vulcanite stem
7:00 Huckster
8:00 Dr Plumb
9:00 GBD Quantum (restemmed with a tapered stem)
10:00 GBD ***
11:00 GBD Tapestry
12:00 GBD New Standard

Each one is slightly different in shape, length, bowl size but all of them bear the 9438 stamping on the right side of the shank. I am always on the prowl for different lines of the shape and also for better examples of each shape.

I also really like tapered stem Rhodesians but so far have not been able to pick up a GBD version of this. It is basically the same shape as the 9438 but has a different number – 9242 I believe. I would love to add one of those to the collection. But have four different versions made by other pipe manufacturers. The top pipe is stamped Genod on the left side of the shank and Iwan Ries & Co. 271 on the right side. This is a pipe that I have yet to restore. I cleaned it up and smoke it but I have not cleaned up the rim and the stem sufficiently. Both the second pipe and the third are BBB Rhodesians. The second is stamped BBB Best Make and, the third BBB Ultonia. The fourth is stamped Made in England with the stamping of the brand so faint that it is illegible.

You can see that the shape occupies a fair amount of space in my collection. Some additional brands also offer their takes on the shape. One of the brands that I have started adding recently is the Peterson 999 – especially chubby shanked older versions. In the photo below the second and third pipe are older while first one is their new take on the shape. The first pipe is a military mount K&P Irish Made 999. The second pipe is a “K” Briar 999 and the third is a Peterson’s Kildare that I refinished and restemmed with a Cumberland stem shaped from rod stock.

In addition to those standards in my collection are a few that also fit the shape but are from brands that I do not normally come across in my search for the shape. The photo below shows four of them that are slight variations on the Rhodesian shape. The first one could also be called an apple as it is missing the two scribed lines around the bowl top though it still has a comparable shape. It is a Comoy’s Social (a seconds line of Comoy’s). The second pipe is a diamond shanked Rhodesian stamped Bewlay 013. The third is a Savinelli stamped Natural. This one is quite unique in that somewhere along its journey one of its owners did some custom carving on the bowl. It is a simple folk art style that is carved into the bowl. There is a vine carved around the rim between the scribed lines and two vines with the Germanic Script CP on the front of the bowl (I restemmed this one and added the nickel band). The fourth pipe is a thin shanked Pipe By Lee 3 star Limited Edition.

That is the status of my current collection of Rhodesians. I am sure that over the years ahead I will add more examples of the shape and replace some of them with better examples of the brand and the shape.

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