I found this BBB 2 Star Billiard at a local antiques and collectibles sale. It was in rather good shape other than a very tarry rim with a few visible dents. The stampings were crisp – the BBB 2 Star logo on the left shank, with “London Made” over “385” on the right shank. The original stem was intact, along with its own BBB logo stamping. The stem had a small bit of oxidation, mainly around the button.

I decided that the stummel was clean enough to bypass my usual isopropyl alcohol soak; instead, I used alcohol-dipped cotton pads to wipe down the exterior of the briar. This cleaned things up nicely and removed the old finish in the process.

I reamed the thin cake from the bowl and then cleaned the airway and mortise with alcohol and pipe cleaners. As you can see, it didn’t take a lot of…