Monthly Archives: December 2016

Cleaning a Turkish SMS Meerschaum Churchwarden

An Estate Sale Find – A Castello Sea Rock SC 54P Bulldog

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff is truly the king of estate sale, junque store and antique store pipe finds. He seems to have not only developed an eye for a good pipe but seems to have an uncanny ability to find them. A few months back now he messaged me from an estate sale he had gone to near Boise, Idaho. He had driven to the town the evening before so he was first in line for the sale. He found some great pipes in that sale and on that trip. I wrote about the finds he came home with on that trip in a previous blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/31/sometimes-you-just-get-lucky-an-amazing-pipe-hunt/). This little Castello Sea Rock 54P Bulldog came home with him on that trip. From his description and the photos that he sent along the pipe showed lots of promise. The Sea Rock Finish was dirty and the crevices had dust in them. The rim was tarred with overflow of cake from the heavily smoked bowl. The pipe seemed to sport an after factory band as there were no Castello marks on the silver. The stem was in good shape though it had tooth marks on the top and bottom sides next to the button. It had the diamond logo on the side of the saddle stem which I knew meant it was made for the United States market.My brother took some close up photos of the rim top and the cake in the bowl to show what it looked like when he found it. You can see how thick the cake is and how much of the rim rustication has filled in with the overflow.Other than being dirty, the finish was in very good shape. There were no chips of dings in the surface of the rim or on the bowl or the shank.The silver band was tarnished and seemed to have some flaking on the surface. I am not sure if the silver plate is peeling or if it is just left over remnants of the sticky tag that had been there with the price. The stamping was very clear on a smooth patch on the left underside of the diamond shank and read Castello over SC Sea Rock Briar. Underneath that and to the left it read 54P (which is the shape number) and Made in Cantu over Italy. The underside of the left side of the Lucite stem also had stamping that read Hand Made over Castello and the number 5. The stamping of Hand is faint though it can be seen with a magnifying glass.The fit of the stem against the shank was off – it looked as if the mortise was filled with oils and had pushed the stem out. It did not fit snugly against the shank. The faux diamond circle on the saddle portion of the stem is also visible in the photo below. The second photo below shows the debris on the silver band and the grime in the rustication of the shank.The last two photos that my brother sent show the condition of the stem. It is hard to see the tooth marks near the button on both sides of the stem but you can see the chatter on the underside and the “gunk” (technical term) that had built up in the corners of the slot in the button.Before I worked on the pipe I wanted to do a bit of research to see if I could shed some more light on the pipe I had in hand. I learned from the pipephil website that the rhinestone logo was originally on pipes for the US market. There was no hint as to why that was done only that it was and that it is occasionally still used http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-castello.html

I have an older article called PCCA’s Castello Grade & Style Guide. It was written by Robert C. Hamlin (c) 1988, 1992, 1994. Robert gathered some remarkable information on the Castello lines and I have often used his guide in the past to give me pertinent data. There I found more information regarding the shiny logo on the side of the stem.

“American logo’d Castello pipes use a small round “Diamond” (referred to and looking like, but it is NOT actually a diamond) inlaid into the mouthpiece. This was originally done so that the standard Castello white bar logo did not conflict with another brand and logo that was sold by Wally Frank called the “White Bar Pipe” (in the 1950’s).”

The above quote and the remainder of those following come from the same article by Robert Hamlin. You can read the full article at the following link: http://www.pipes.org/BURST/FORMATTED/196.016.html

I read further in the article to help me understand the stamping on the underside of the shank. My knowledge of Castello pipes is pretty limited so when I get one to restore I resort to this article and others to try to make heads or tails of the stamping. First of all I had no idea what the SC stamped ahead of the Sea Rock Briar stamping meant. I had seen Castello’s with the signature of Carlo Scotti on them but not this stamping. Robert gave me the information I needed.

“Older Castello pipes will usually include the “REG No.” and have the letters “SC” stamped as a part of the nomenclature. The SC stamp was for Scotti, Carlo (in Italy all names are listed last, first). Today the full name of Carlo Scotti, contained in a small oval, has replaced the SC stamp.”

I learned that the Sea Rock Briar stamp also signified something and told me more about the pipe. Robert pointed out:

“SEA ROCK [Carved Black or dark brown]: This is the lowest grade of the Castello line and is the most common in the USA. Sea Rocks are produced by taking a smooth bowl that has not been “final finished” and surface carving the finish with tools. This “carved” finish is then evened out using a steel wire brush, stained and then waxed. The Natural Vergin carved finish is left unstained and unwaxed as a rule, although we have seen waxed and partially waxed “Vergins”.”

The remaining mystery for me was the meaning of the stamping on the stem. I of course understood the Hand Made and the Castello stamping but the number 5 was a mystery to me. I was not sure what it referred to. So once again Robert’s article gave me the information I needed to understand that last piece of the mystery.

“#2: All Castello standard shaped pipes have a number (3, 4, 5 or 6) stamped on the mouthpiece or sometimes on the lucite ferrule. What does this number mean? Not much really, it is the number of the size for the proper straw tube or reed that fits the shank and stem of the pipe. These straw tubes are rarely used in the United States. The Castello reed is considered superfluous and useless to most, but with this number you will always know which one fits (the different numbers have to do with length, not diameter).”

When the pipe arrived in Vancouver it was inside of a Castello suede bag missing only the drawstrings at the top. It bore the classic Castello Castle logo and reading Pipa Castello di Carl Scotti Cantu (Italy) stamped on the front in brown paint/ink. I tipped the pipe out of the bag to see what my brother had done with it. He had written and warned me that he had done a minimal clean up on the pipe as he did not want to damage it. I was not sure what I would see when I removed it from the bag. The four photos below show the state of the pipe when it arrived. Examining the pipe closely I could see that he had reamed the bowl and cleaned up the rim to remove the tars and oils that had overflowed onto the top of the rim. He had also cleaned the finish on the pipe quite nicely. The internals were cleaner but would need some more work but the pipe looked pretty good.I took some photos of the stem to show the tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. In the first photo of the top, you can see the tooth mark neat the button and the one on the top edge of the button. In the second photo you can see the damage to the underside of the stem near the button and on the top of the button there as well.I used a brass bristle tire brush to clean up the small particles that still remained in the grooves on the rim of the bowl. It did not take too much to remove what was left and leave the rim clean.I wiped off the sticky spots on the silver band with a little alcohol on a cotton pad. I could see that the band had been stamping diagonally in several places with letters from the word silver but that none of them spelled it out completely. I was pretty certain from Robert’s article above that the silver band was after market and may be part of a repair to a cracked shank. Cleaning the pipe further would either confirm or deny that assumption on my part. I polished the band with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12000 grit pads. The polished band is shown in the photo below.I sanded the tooth marks out on both sides of the stem at the button using 220 grit sandpaper and also sanded the damage to the button surface itself. There was also slight damage to the slot itself on the end of the button. I sanded the slot and cleaned up the damaged areas there. I used micromesh sanding pads to polish the newly sanded areas on the Lucite stem surface. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and wiped the stem down with a damp cotton pad. I dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with the damp pad several times throughout the process. In doing so I was able to remove all signs of the damage to stem in those spots along the edge and top of the button. With stem exterior finished other than buffing I ran a pipe cleaner with alcohol through to remove any sanding debris from my clean up and sanding of the surface and the slot. It was remarkably clean.I cleaned out the shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the tars and oils that kept the stem from properly seating against the end of the tenon. It was pretty thickly tarred and took some scrubbing to remove the grime. While I was cleaning the interior of the grime I found what I had surmised was under the band. The end and inside of the mortise revealed a small crack underneath the grime. It looked like it had been repaired somewhere along its life. The end of the crack on the shank end was the worst part of the damage. The hairline crack on the exterior of the shank – almost an underline of the word Cantu showed signs of having been glued and clamped until it sealed. That settled my question regarding the purpose of the aftermarket silver band on the shank. With the internals cleaned and the crack examined with a lens and deemed solid I polished the silver band with a jeweler’s cloth to further remove any remnants of tarnish and give it a deeper shine and protection. I hand waxed the bowl with some Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a shoe brush to raise the initial shine on the briar. The photos below show the bowl after the waxing and polishing. I put the stem in place in the shank. The fit was perfect and it sat snuggly against the end of the mortise as it did when it left Cantu. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel avoiding the silver band and the briar. I waxed the stem with carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is truly a beautiful little bulldog. The shape and the rustication make it a pleasure to hold in the hand. It fits snuggly with my thumb curled around the back of the bowl and the rest of the fingers holding the bowl. The finish is extremely tactile and should be interesting in hand as the bowl heats up during smoking. For me there is absolutely nothing lacking in the design and form of this old Sea Rock Briar and I think it will be one I hang onto. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration process.

An Unsullied (once the paint was removed) Dunhill 5113 Bent Apple

12 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Wikus mentioned in his comment on the post I did on the latest Stanwell Copenhagen Calabash (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/12/17/a-gold-banded-stanwell-copenhagen-calabash/comment-page-1/#comment-19995) that my brother was the MVP of pipe finders. I have to tell you that you all don’t know the half of it. In all the years I have been pipe hunting and sorting and digging through old pipes I have never had the kind of luck or fortune or whatever you want to call it as he does. He has found a total of three Dunhill pipes, a Castello, some great Barlings, a batch of astonishingly beautiful Stanwells and a lot of other amazing pipes in his hunts. The pipe I am working on now at the work table is one he picked up at a St Vincent De Paul Thrift Store in Boise, Idaho on a recent trip to visit an estate sale that had some promising pipes. The amazing thing is he picked up this paint speckled Dunhill for only $9.99. Now that is some great hunting fortune. I can hardly believe the photos that he sends me sometimes.

The next group of photos show the pipe as it was when he picked up. There was a lot of debris and grim in the deep blast grooves and on top of that quite a bit of white house paint on the left side of the bowl and spattered around the shank and a bit on the right side of the bowl. It makes me wonder who paints their house smoking a Dunhill pipe. The first three photos show the overall look and condition of the pipe. Jeff also took some closer photos of the right side of the bowl and the rim. These were done to give a clear picture of the great sandblast finish that was on the pipe. It really has some deep and craggy looking grooves and ridges. The second photo shows the cake in the bowl and the overall clean look of the rim. The pipe had not been smoked that often and it certainly had not been oversmoked.The stamping on the bowl is readable and clear. It reads Dunhill Shell over Made in England with a superscript underlined 24 following the D of England. To the left of the paint spot on the underside of the shank is the four digit shape number 5113. On the Pipephil Logos and Stamping website there is a helpful key to interpreting the shape stamps on Dunhill. Here is the link: http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html. He writes:

Dunhill pipes are stamped with a four digit code. Digit 1: (from 1 to 6) denotes the size of the pipe (the group). Digit 2: denotes the style of the mouthpiece (0, 1=tapered, 2=saddle). Digit 3 and 4: denote the generic pipe shape. Thus 5113 can be interpreted this way: (5 = size | 1 = tapered stem | 13 = Bent Apple. The dating on these four digit pipes can be determined by starting with the base date of 1960 and adding the superscript underlined number after the D of England. Thus 1960+24 makes this a 1984 pipe. The next two photos show the stamping from a lightly different angle accentuating the year stamp in the second photo.The stem was in absolutely perfect shape though there were a few paint flecks on the surface. Underneath those the stem was flawless. There were no tooth marks or chatter at all and no oxidizing either. Along with the condition of the bowl (unsmoked briar at the bottom half of the bowl and a clear briar mortise with no darkening) this stem points to a pipe that was hardly used.The next two closeup photos show the rim top with some of the tars and paint flecks in the grooves of the blast and the paint flecks on the bowl side on the left of the second photo of the underside view.My brother did a miracle job cleaning up the paint that was all over this beautiful Dunhill. He was able to get it out of all of the deep crevices and crags of the sandblast without damaging the Shell finish. The rim grime and build up also came off and the flecks of paint on the stem came off without oxidizing the stem. He reamed the bowl and cleaned out the internals in the stem and the mortise and shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The pipe smelled clean and was clean. It came to me and looked like the four photos below. I took a photo of the rim top to show how clean it was when I received it.The stem looks to be in great shape. The surface was very smooth and clean. The internals were also clean. I ran a pipe cleaner through the airway in the stem and the shank as well as the mortise. They were spotless.I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It was an easy clean up in terms of many of the pipes that cross my table but the finished pipe is quite stunning. This certainly was quite an amazing find and an incredible purchase for a little under $10. My brother certainly has luck and a good eye for pipes. Thanks for looking.

A Gold Banded Stanwell Copenhagen Calabash

7 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a striking Stanwell Calabash pipe with sandblasted body and smooth capped rim. The sandblast has exposed some wonderful ring grain around the bowl. The smooth wide rim typical of the calabash shape is wonderful birds-eye grain. The brass collar ring contrasts nicely with the dark stain of the sandblast shank. The gold crown S logo on the left side of the saddle stem combines with the other parts of the pipe to give this one a classic look. My brother Jeff found this Stanwell in an antique shop in Astoria, Oregon. It was on consignment by a widow who was selling her pipe collector husband’s collection. He bought a few of the pipes from her consignment and this is the second one that I have worked on. The first one was also a Stanwell – it was a shape 180 that was designed by Tom Eltang that I wrote about in an earlier blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/12/14/a-shape-you-gotta-love-a-stanwell-majestic-180/).The finish on the sandblast portion was in great shape – just dirty with grit and grime. The rim cap however was another story. It had the overflow onto the top of the thick cake that was in the bowl. There was also some darkening of the inner edge of the rim. The brass band and the brass crown S logo on the stem were also dull and lifeless due to tarnishing. The stem was oxidized and had a buildup of calcification on both sides near the button. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem and on the button. The slot in the button was nearly closed off with a thick tar.My brother took two close up photos of the rim cap to show the condition of the inside of the bowl and the cap itself. There was a thick coat of tars and oils that is visible flowing over the back side of the cap. There were also several dings and dents in the cape itself though there was some nice birds-eye grain showing through the grime.He also took a photo of the bowl bottom side up. The lovely bell shape of the pipe is visible from this view from the front.The side view of the band and the shank/stem union shows that the connection is tight and clean. There is nothing wrong that a little polishing on the band and some elbow grease to remove the oxidation on the stem won’t take care of. The second photo below shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is very sharp and readable. It has the Stanwell stamp over Copenhagen over Calabash in script (it appears to have been double stamped). Beneath that it reads Made in Denmark (it is upside down in orientation to the rest of the stamping).The next photos show the condition of the stem. You can see the tooth marks on the stem itself and the damage marks against the button on both sides. The calcification on the stem may have come for a Softee bit that the original owner had on the stem to protect it from more bite marks.My brother Jeff again did a magnificent job cleaning up the pipe. He was able to get the grim out of the grooves and the majority of the buildup off the rim. He reamed and cleaned the interior of the pipe and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took the following photos to show the condition of the pipe when I received. It was on its way to being clean. I took a close up photo of the rim to show how much of the tars and oils he removed. It is pretty clean. There was some darkening on the inner edge of the rim on the back side that would need to be dealt with.He also removed much of the calcification on the stem and some of the debris on the surface of both sides. The photos also show the tooth marks and chatter that was on the stem.I sanded the stem to remove the rest of the debris and calcification and then wiped the stem down with alcohol on a cotton pad. I cleaned out the tooth marks with cotton swabs and alcohol and then filled them in with black super glue. I set the stem aside to let the repairs dry.I sanded the inner edge of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening and then worked over the rim with 1500-1800 micromesh sanding pads to clean up the inner edge and begin polishing the rim cap. You can see the grain on the cap begin to pop and reveal the beautiful birds-eye grain.When the glue had cured I sanded the patches smooth, blending them in with the surface of the stem using 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the entire stem to work on more of the oxidation that was present on the surface. The photos below tell the story of the repairs and sanding to this point in the process.I polished the bowl rim with 3200-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads and gave the sandblast bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax. I buffed it with the shoe brush to raise the shine. The photos below show the bowl at this point. I touched up the stain on the rim with a dark brown stain pen. I buffed it with a microfibre cloth and then polished it with micromesh sanding pads using 1500-12000 grit pads to polish and raise a shine. I probably should have done this earlier in the process but my brother has been doing such a good job in his cleaning that I honestly forgot. I decided to give the internals of the stem and the mortise and shank a quick cleanup with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-15000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. I gave it the last coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I polished the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel avoiding the sandblast portions of the bowl. I did not want to get the polishing compound in the grooves of the sandblast. It would be hard to get out of the grooves. I gave the sandblast portion several coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a shoe brush. I gave the stem and rim several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the entire pipe a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It has come a long way from the pipe I started on in the first photos above. It is a classic looking calabash pipe with a great contrast between the smooth briar, the sandblast briar, the gold band and the vulcanite stem. (The brass is so shiny now that it is hard to get the vulcanite not to reflect the brass colour. In person the oxidation is gone and the stem is shiny black.) Thanks for walking through the process with me.

Comoy’s 168 Tradition Restored

3 Replies

By Al Jones

This little Comoy’s billiard caught my eye as it was stamped “Tradition” but is a sandblasted pipe. The shape is the 168, a tapered stem billiard. The COM (Country of Manufacture) mark is also the circular “Made in London”/England that is used on smooth Comoy’ spipes. This COM mark with the 3 piece drilled “C” stem logo was used in the early 1950’s onward to the merger point in 1981-1982.

The pipe had a heavily oxidized stem but otherwise appeared undamaged. The dark area near the button shows that a bit guard was used. The bowl had a very thick cake build-up.

Upon receipt, I found the stem impossibly stuck in place. It was so tight that I feared it may have been glued in place. Freezing didn’t work, so I filled the bowl with alcohol and stuck a cleaner thru to soak some alcohol into the shank/tenon area. After several hours, I was relieved to find the stem released, with a perfect tenon.

The bowl was reamed and I found the interior to be in perfect condition, protected no doubt by the cake. The bowl was soaked with alcohol and sea salt. While it was soaking, I put a dab of grease on the C logo and soaked the stem in a mild solution of Oxy-Clean to loosen the oxidation.

I used Halycon II wax applied by hand to shine the bowl. The mild build-up on the bowl top was removed using a combination of a cloth and worn scotchbrite pad. The shank was cleaned with a series of brushes and alcohol. A thorough cleaning of the shank is necessary to avoid tobacco ghosts.

The stem was mounted and oxidation removed with 400, 800, 1000 and 2000 grade wet sandpaper. Next, 8000 and 12000 micromesh sheets were used. The stem was then machine buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic Polish.

Below is the completed pipe.

The Last of 4 ‘Hole in the Wall’ finds – a Savinelli Capitol Prince with a secret

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Blog by Dal Stanton

I purchased the Savinelli Capitol in June of this year, at the Hole in the Wall antique store near Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market) located in downtown Sofia. Steve was visiting Bulgaria from Vancouver in the context of our work and we went to the Hole in the Wall for a mini pipe hunting sortie. I’d remembered on other occasions the vendor producing a 4-pipe pouch that he kept behind the counter and I asked about it and he still had it with pipes intact. The leather bag itself was a find. The 4 pipes revealed after unzipping the bag were a Savinelli Tortuga 628, Danske Club Vario 85 (both occupying a place in my rotation), a Butz-Choquin Rocamar (which became a wedding gift for my new son-in-law), and the Capitol (that I learned was a Savinelli second) now before me. Above, I linked the restorations of the Tortuga and BC Rocamar to their respective postings.Honestly, when I first acquired the Bag of Four, my sights were fixed on the 3 big brothers of the Capitol which I identified as a Prince shape from Pipedia’s shapes chart. Per Bill Burney’s description,

The prince, named after the Prince of Wales (Prince Albert, later King Edward VII), has a squat, rounded bowl with a long, usually very slightly bent stem and a short shank. Compared to other pipes, the shank and stem are thin and delicate, though not necessarily fragile. This makes for a light and comfortable pipe (Link).

On the internet, I searched high and low through images of Prince Albert (1819-1861) and found no images among the 100s visually linking the prince with the shape now associated with him. The photo below, one could imagine, has his pipe waiting for him just to his right, reluctantly removing it from the eventual public view of the old ‘sit-still’ camera recording the moments. Yet, in my search on the internet, one can find 100s of pictures of happy, confident men smoking their pipes with adoring women looking on. How is this possible? – a man would be quick to ask. Well of course, their pipes are packed with Prince Albert’s tobacco! So, the secret is out – PA not only stands for Prince Albert but also, and more importantly, Pipe Appeal! Good to know as Christmas gift lists are being created for this holiday season!With Christmas music playing in the background the ambiance is perfect. The CAPITOL is stamped on the left side of the shank with no other markings. When I search Pipedia, I discover that Capitol is listed among a robust inventory of other Savinelli made sub-brands, seconds and order productions. At Pipes Website store, I found several Savinelli Capitol shapes for sale. At The Danish Pipe Shop I discovered several Savinelli Capitols listed and a bit pricy at that! So, it would seem, the Capitol line of Savinelli has some depth and quality to it. Unfortunately, I could find no Savinelli listing that brought the entire Capitol line inventory together. This Capitol Prince has an elegant, slim appearance, boasting a length of 5½ inches, a petite bowl width of 1½ inches and a fire chamber diameter of ¾ of an inch. The rim has some clunk dents along the edge and the backside shows darkening from oils and perhaps rear-end tobacco lighting over the edge. The fire chamber has a light cake build up but I will bring it to the briar for a clean, fresh start. I detect a larger fill on the heel of the bowl near the left junction of the shank. The stem is in great shape with minor teeth chatter on the bit. I detect a dent in the vulcanite at the shank junction and note that there is day-light between the junction of shank and stem – the mating is not flush, but a good cleaning may take care of this. Interestingly, I also notice that the stummel is encased in what I call a ‘Candy Apple wrapper’ which I also saw in the Savinelli Tortuga restoration acquired at the same time as the Savinelli Capitol. I didn’t like the Candy Apple wrapper around the Tortuga then and this Capitol Prince’s natural briar will be liberated as was his big brother’s! The following pictures on my work table here in Sofia, Bulgaria, show these areas of need and a very handsome pipe. With the stem showing no oxidation, I skip the Oxiclean bath which may be a first for me! The twisty stinger extending from the tenon is extracted unceremoniously and added to the Lonely Stingers Bottle and is officially retired from active service. I give my initial focus to the stummel clean-up starting with reaming the bowl. I use the Pipnet reaming kit camped over a paper towel which enables me to quickly catch and dispose of the powdered carbon – this makes my wife happier as my work table shares our bedroom space in our 10^th floor flat! Often, I go out onto the balcony to do this dirty work but winter has come in Bulgaria. I use the two smallest reaming blades and I do not use them aggressively – I do not want to dig into the briar. I follow the reaming blades with the Savinelli pipe knife to scrape and fine tune the cleaning of the cake residue. I remove what appears as dried dottle at the floor of the bowl. I finish by using 240 grit paper wrapped around a dowel rod and my index finger to clean and smooth the wall. Finally, I take a cotton pad with alcohol and wipe the bowl removing the carbon dust. The pictures show the progress. With the isopropyl 95% on the work table, I clean the internals of the stummel. Using pipe cleaners (bristled and smooth) and Q-tips I go to work. Dental probes are also helpful to reach into the mortise and scrape the surface dislodging muck. It was dirtier than I expected, but finally Q-tips start re-emerging ever whiter from the mortise plunges. Done. Now, I take the stem and go to work on its airway with pipe cleaners. I discover very quickly that a reason for lack of cleaning on this stem is that I am not able to move a pipe cleaner through the airway. The button airhole is too tight and needs to be enlarged to accommodate pipe cleaners. No one likes fighting with pipe cleaners that refuse to pass through cramped quarters. I take a round, pointed needle file and begin gradually to enlarge the button airhole. My method is to insert the file point into the airhole but only as far as the expanding file diameter will allow to enable me to move the file back and forth easily, gradually removing the upper and lower button airhole surfaces. If I jam the needle file down the airhole too aggressively, not only will it get jammed, it will also damage the vulcanite contours around the airhole. After some time, the airhole gradually expands allowing the needle file to file more deeply opening the airway. After some time and testing, pipe cleaners are able successfully to navigate the passage and the stem airway cleans up very quickly. When I work on the teeth chatter later, I’ll smooth out this work with 240 grit paper. The pictures show the cleaning and button airhole enlargement processes. I love working on clean pipes! With internals clean I know shift my attention to the stummel surface. I first attack the Candy Apple varnish-like surface. I start conservatively by first using cotton pads with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to work on the rim and bowl surface. With the aid of a brass brush, the Murphy’s Soap does a good job cleaning the rim, but it is probable that the surface is an acrylic finish which is difficult to remove. Next, I use acetone with cotton pads to attack the Candy Apple surface. As I scrub, and I scrub a good while, it gives me time to study the briar grain on this stummel and on the heel, I find what looks like a spider pattern – beautiful. I’m ever amazed at God’s gift to us in the design and intricacy of this piece of briar – a ragged bush of a plant that would be called scrub if you saw it on the side of the road as you passed. As the pictures below reveal, even after acetone scrubbing the shine of the acrylic is still very visible. To see if I can soften it, I plop the stummel into an acetone bath. The pictures show the progress. With the stummel in the acetone bath, I return to the stem and take 240 grit sanding paper and work on the teeth chatter on the lower and upper bit. I also sand the button airhole to remove file markings and to smooth the surface. Then I apply a dot of Hot Stuff “T” CA glue to the small dent on the shank-side edge of the stem. I like to use the “T” for thicker, because it beads up on the divot and doesn’t run. I wait for the superglue to cure before proceeding with more work on the stem. The pictures show the progress. Taking the stummel out of the acetone bath after about 6 hours, I place it on the desk and as the acetone evaporates I can see that the bath will need help. With the surface softened by the acetone bath, I take 0000 steel wool and dip a small portion in the acetone and rub the steel wool over the shiny surfaces. This finally does the job of bringing the natural briar to the surface. Now I can see the true condition of the surface and where I may need to sand and repair.I examine the stummel and invert it looking more closely at the large fill I identified earlier. I picked at it with a sharp dental probe and dig out the loose fill. I will need to mix a briar dust and superglue putty to refill this pitting as well as ‘top-off’ some smaller pits around the area. The heel of the stummel is banged up good and I need to sand those out after applying the briar dust putty patches and after they cure. I flip the stummel and study the rim. The briar in this Capitol Prince will be beautiful at the end of the restoration because it already is! I decide to first take a coarse 120 grit paper rolled up tightly to cut a bevel on the inner rim. I do this to remove the damaged areas along the edge but also the Prince will look even classier with a gentle bevel enhancing an already handsome bowl. I follow this initial cut of the bevel with 240 grit paper to smooth the surface further. I want to apply a very gentle topping to the rim with 600 grit paper. I take the chopping block out and place a sheet of 600 grit paper, with rim down, in a circular motion, gently I rotate the stummel over the surface. I check the rim as I proceed to make sure I only take enough surface off to give a clean fresh look and remove minor nicks. I follow the topping by using rolled up 600 grit paper to finish the bevel matching the smoothness of the rim. The pictures show the progress. I’m pleased with the look of the rim. Time to mix briarwood dust and superglue to make a putty to apply patches to the hole and pits on heel of the stummel. I take my briar dust can and with a pipe nail, scoop out some dust placing it in a little pile. Using regular clear super glue, I put a little puddle next to the briar dust. Using a toothpick, I start adding some briar dust to the glue until it gradually reaches a putty/toothpaste-like consistency and then I apply a small dollop over the fill area. I mash it down to make a tight patch and I leave some excess over the areas to sand down later. With the stummel now out of action for the night, I turn to the stem again taking the flat needle file and freshen the button – upper and lower. I then flip the stem and again taking the flat needle file I remove the excess superglue from the patch I did on the edge of the stem – shank-side. When the filing brings the excess superglue nearly to the surface level of the vulcanite, I use 240 grit sanding paper to blend the patch further with the vulcanite. I follow the 240 with 600 grit paper doing the same. I complete the patch repair by using 0000 steel wool to smooth the patch area as well as the entire stem in preparation of the micromesh polishing process. The pictures show the progress. Now for the micromesh phase, using pads 1500 to 2400 I wet sand the stem and follow with an application of Obsidian Oil to rejuvenate the vulcanite. Following this, I dry sand using pad 3200 to 4000, followed by pads 6000 to 12000. After each set of 3, I apply an additional coat of Obsidian Oil. The stem looks good. I put it aside to dry and call it a day. The pictures show the micromesh phase. Early the next morning before heading to work, I want to work on the briar dust patch applied the night before. The superglue dust putty has cured. I take a flat needle file and start filing on the excess mound of cured putty. I’m careful to file down on the patch footprint only and not wander. I take a picture illustrating the idea (#2 below). The idea is that I gradually file the putty excess and ‘sneak up’ on the briar below the patch. I take the filing down to the briar surface, within the patch footprint. At this stage, I apply much less pressure to the file, moving the flat file more in a circular motion lightly over the patch footprint. I want to blend the patched area now with the uncovered briar surface. The aim is to remove the putty excess not take away briar. Picture #3 shows the completion of the flat needle file’s service. I then continue the blending with 240 grit paper expanding the area a bit outside the footprint area (picture #4). I’m not too concerned about this because I know I have sanding to do to eradicate the numerous dents next to the patch. As my wife was admiring the stummel and the briar patterns over my shoulder as I worked, she exclaimed about the face of the kitty revealed in the briar! Raising my eyebrows to refocus my attention to the area captivating her, I see the pattern which is recorded in the picture immediately below. She describes the two eyes, the whiskers and the forehead, probably in need of a little scratch, I thought! So, the Savinelli Capitol Prince has a kitty, too. Then my wife said, with not as much excitement, isn’t that a crack in the middle of the kitty’s face? I had seen it before but it was small and it followed the contours of the grain pattern. Yet, her question raised questions in my mind. I believe the crack is not growing but I elect to apply Hot Stuff CA Glue to the crack just to be on the safe side. This CA glue’s viscosity is extremely thin and perfect for shoring up cracks as it seeps into to a crack’s crevice in a way that thicker glue is unable. However, the problem with this thin glue is that it can absolutely take off like a rabbit scampering over the briar surface not in need of CA glue. To minimize this, I only dabble a bit on a toothpick trying to hold only a small drop at the point of the toothpick. Then, strategically apply it to the center of the crack which spokes outwardly in four separate veins. I find that the glue is running off the end of the toothpick because of its liquidity. I’m finally able to capture a droplet on the toothpick and apply it to the center. The glue spreads a bit, but I change the pitch of the stummel and use gravity to my favor. I also use the tip of the toothpick and paint the glue over the spoking cracks by drawing the glue from the center. The pictures show the progress of shoring up kitty’s nose and whiskers. After the CA Glue cures, I take a small piece of 240 grit paper rolled so that it presents a more solid surface. I then take the 240 roll and strategically sand the crack fix. I keep the roll within the shiny patch footprint with a view of removing glue off the surface and to avoid losing briar as collateral activity. I then take a medium grade sanding sponge and work the patch areas (crack and fill) as well as the multitude of dents on the stummel, but especially on the heel of the stummel. As I work on bringing out the imperfections set in the briar, the thought surfaces in my mind that I had adopted an approach to this pipe, it’s shape and demeanor, going for of a more pristine look – the look of a pipe that is the favorite of royals. A pipe having a quietly, self-confident posture, but elegant and humble. It has a kitty, too! Some pipes seem more of a rugged disposition and seem to beg for some imperfections as badges of past challenges in life – this Savinelli Capitol Prince says, “Please, put a crease in my trousers” – or, as it seems to me! The pictures show the progress. With the primary patches completed and dents smoothed and blended, I take micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 and wet sand the stummel. I wet sand with the first set of three because it seems the effect of the water on the briar would soften it a bit, and it seems to give the micromesh pads more bite. This helps removing any imperfections/dents left over from all the previous sanding. The latter pads serve to polish what is there more than address imperfections. Well, I was just thinking about smartly pressed trousers when I finish sanding with the first set of micromesh pads, set to take a picture, when I see that the kitty’s eye had changed. He appears to be winking at me! I discover whatever was in the eye before (a small fill?) was no longer there and I am looking at a new royal pit. The latter micromesh cycles must wait as I apply a new ‘T’ Glue patch on the new pit and wait for it to cure and sand and blend it. So, now the kitty has a black eye. The pictures show the pause in progress. When the CA Thick glue cured, I filed it down with a half-circle needle file to the surface and fine-tuned it with 240 grit paper. I follow this by addressing the patch area with 600 grit paper then 0000 steel wool. To catch up this patch area with the rest of the stummel, I use micromesh pads 1500-2400. At this point I return to the micromesh process with pads 3200 to 4000. I notice the initial fill patch on the heel of the stummel with the micromesh polishing had lightened a bit. I take a dark walnut stain stick and dab it in the fill patches then I use a cotton pad with some alcohol and press it a few times to blend and lighten the stain stick application. It looks better now. I finish with micromesh pads 6000-12000 to further blend the stain stick patch as well as the micromesh phase. The pictures show the progress. The grain is looking very good. Time to decide. I have yet to decide upon the next steps – whether to move forward with the natural briar or to apply a stain. This question I put off to the conclusion of the micromesh phase so I can evaluate the briar’s presentation and the pipe’s personality. I rejoin the stummel and stem to get a look at the big picture. Decision made. Using Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye I mix 1 part dye to about 4 parts isopropyl 95% in a shot glass – aiming for a lighter cast. I detach the stem and mount the stummel on a cork to handle the stummel. After wiping the stummel with a cotton pad and alcohol, I heat the stummel with my wife’s hair dryer to expand and open the briar to the dye application. Using a folded over soft pipe cleaner I coat the stummel with the 1 to 4 dye mixture liberally and immediately flame it with a lit candle waiting for that use. The alcohol burns off very quickly setting the dye in the grain. In about 4 or 5 minutes, I repeat the process and set the stummel aside for the night to rest – I as well as the newly stained stummel. The pictures show the progress.The next morning, anxious to see the results of the newly stained stummel. Taking the Dremel with the attached hand-held extender, I mount a new felt wheel on the extender, set the Dremel on the lowest RPM setting, and apply Tripoli compound to remove the flamed dye crust to expose the surface. I’m liking the color a lot and the grain has responded very well. As I move through the Tripoli process I identify an eye-sore – at least to me. Circling the outer rim edge is a black ring which the felt wheel charged with Tripoli is not removing. The second picture I take after focusing the Tripoli wheel for some time on the ring itself, hoping to lighten and blend the black ring. To me, the ring is unattractive and detracts from the overall appearance of the pipe. The thoughts floating in my mind at this point are, that it is simply darkened stain at that point that a wipe of alcohol might lighten. Another, less appealing thought is that this ring was produced by the flaming and perhaps scorched this most vulnerable part of the rim. I’m thinking that it wasn’t the dye on the rim itself which burned off, but the overflow of dye on the cork that also had burned off did the deed. I’ll need to check into this with Steve! My methodology needs a revamp if this is the case. The pictures show the issue. The final picture shows the beginning of my corrective approach. With an approach moving from conservative to less so, I spend more time focusing on the rim with the Tripoli felt wheel buff. When this did not achieve the desired results, I take a cotton pad with some alcohol in it and wipe strategically around the outer edge of the rim, hanging over the outside slightly. I do a few cycles around the circumference of the rim with the alcohol then follow again with the Tripoli buff to do a follow-up blending. When this did not achieve the desired results, I tightly roll a piece of 240 grit paper and lightly make a quasi-bevel cut on the outer edge of the rim to remove the scorched briar. The results of this are pictured below. Not pictured is the rest of the process. I followed the 240 grit with a rolled piece of 600 grit paper – as with 240 bevel, staying directly on the edge. Then, I jump to mid-range micromesh pads 4000 to 12000, and smooth, polish and blend the outer rim area. While the tendency for perfectionism would have me try something else, the rim looks much, much better and if I didn’t record this excursion here, 99% of onlookers would not see an issue! I move on to complete the polishing process by attaching the Blue Diamond felt wheel to the Dremel hand-extender and working this lesser abrasive compound over the briar surface. Completing the compounds, I wipe/buff the stummel with a cotton cloth to remove left-over compound dust before moving to apply the wax. I reunite the stem and stummel of the Savinelli Capitol Prince. After mounting a cotton wheel to the Dremel, I increase the RPMs to the next number and apply several coats of carnauba wax to the stummel and stem. After the carnauba wax application, I mount a clean cotton wheel with the same RPM setting on the Dremel as with the carnauba and provide a clean wheel buff to the entire pipe. Finally, I give the pipe a rigorous hand-buffing with a micro-fiber cloth to deepen the 3-dimensional-appearing gloss already shining through this happy piece of briar.

The grain on this small Prince bowl is captivating with larger bird’s eye on the front, splaying fans on the heel, and of course, a kitty with whiskers fanning out as he gazes up the shank and stem at his steward – or should I add, stewardess! The diminutive size of the bowl along with the longer-than-expected sleek shank and stem, would make this Savinelli Capitol Prince – a preferred shape to at least one royal, a wonderful addition to any pipeman’s or pipelady’s collection. Thank you for joining me!

A Shape You Gotta Love – A Stanwell Majestic 180

11 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

There are certain shapes that Stanwell just nails – they get them absolutely perfect. There is nothing that could be done to make the shape even more stunning than it is. The shape 180 is one of those shapes for me. It is a Dublinesque freehand with a conical bowl, an oval shank and stem that has a short saddle before flowing into the blade. According to a chart by the late Bas Stevens this shape was designed by Tom Eltang (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/shape-numbers-and-designers-of-stanwell-pipes/). It has the appearance of some of the Eltang’s that I have seen. In a write up for a Stanwell 180 sandblast pipe on smokingpipes.com Adam Davidson says this about the shape: “I would bet that this Stanwell shape was designed by Tom Eltang, who has designed quite a few for the company over the years.” So having known Bas Stevens personally I can confirm that it is definitively an Eltang designed pipe. (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/denmark/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=101503)

My brother Jeff found this Stanwell in an antique shop in Astoria, Oregon. It was on consignment by a widow who was selling her pipe collector husband’s collection. He bought a few of the pipes from her consignment and this is the first I have worked on. He took the following photos of the pipe to show what it looked like when he found it. It was truly a mess but looking beneath the grime he had found a gem that only needed some TLC. The grain on this pipe is truly stunning and the lay out of the pipe follows the grain amazingly well. He took some close up photos of the rim and the underside of the bowl to show what it looked like up close. The rim was pretty tarred with overflow from the cake in the bowl. The bowl had a cake but obviously it had been trimmed back somewhere along the way. The pipe smelled strongly of aromatic vanilla tobacco and would take some serious cleaning to bring the briar back to neutral.The cross grain on the underside of the bowl is quite stunning. It would only stand out more once the pipe was cleaned and polished.The stamping on the pipe was on the underside of the shank near the stem and was sharp and clear. It reads Stanwell over Made in Denmark over the script of Majestic. Further up the shank toward the bowl it was stamped with the 180 shape number.The stem was oxidized and had tooth chatter on both sides. It seemed to have some calcification around the button. None of the marks looked to deep so it had some promise. The Crown S Stanwell logo on the topside of the small saddle portion of the stem was in excellent condition.My brother reamed the bowl and cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe and stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap and was able to remove the build up on the rim and also on the stem. The finish was in very good shape under the grime on the bowl. There appeared to be a dark spot on the left side of the bowl. The next four photos show the condition of the pipe when I received it from my brother. He was able remove the build up and calcification on the stem. You can see from the photos below that other than oxidation the stem was very clean.I worked on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and reshape the button edges. It did not take too much work to get the oxidation that was on the surface of the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the third set of pads I gave it another coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I used a dental pick to clean out the slot in the end of the button. There was some build up in that area that had hardened. I ran a pipe cleaner through the stem and used cotton swabs and alcohol to clean out the inside of the shank and the airway to the bowl. I polished the exterior of the rim, bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads using 1500-12000 grit pads.I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish the vulcanite and the briar. I gave them both several coats of carnauba wax and buffed with a clean buffing pad to raise a shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. You can see from the photos of the left side of the bowl that I was able to remove the darkened spot on upper portion of the bowl. The rich finish and the comfortable shape of the pipe give the Majestic stamping on the shank a well-chosen appellation. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Finishing Touches on an Interesting Bambu Egg

10 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

This pipe came up for sale on the Gentleman’s Pipe Smoking Society on Facebook. It was being sold by a friend of Dal’s and I liked the shape and the look of it. I honestly was thinking it was a smaller Stanwell like egg even though I knew it was not a Stanwell pipe. The pipe is stamped Bambu on the left side of the shank and on the underside it is stamped Israel which leads me to believe that it was crafted by the Shalom Pipe Factory. There is nothing online that I can find regarding the stamping or the brand but it is similar in stamping to my early Alpha Israel pipes. That is all the information that I can surmise from the pipe itself. I paid for the pipe and had it shipped to my brother instead of to Canada over a month ago and he received it really quickly. I told him to hold onto it and ship it up when he sent another box of pipes to me.

This week it arrived and I expectantly took it out of the box of other pipes. I unwrapped it from the bubble wrap to have a look at it. My brother had sent along a few photos of the pipe to show me what I was in for once it arrived so I was kind of excited to see it up close. In the next two photos he shows the overall look of the pipe. It was really quite nice. Whenever I buy an estate pipe, no matter who has done the restoration, I always add my own touches to the restoration to make it mine and to remove the things that will bug me as I use the pipe. I don’t know if you all do that but it is part of my own pathology that I have to go over every estate I get with a fine tooth comb before I even load a bowl and fire it up. This was no exception to my habit. I took the bowl and turned it over in my hands to examine it closely. As usual I noted a few issues that I knew would bug me unless I addressed them. (No criticism of the seller as I am sure many folks would have been absolutely fine with the as it was when I got it.)

The finish on the bowl was spotty. The left side of the bowl appeared to have been stripped of its varnish or shellac coat and there were shiny spots left on the bowl side toward the top edge of the rim. The front, back and right side of the bowl still had the shiny finish coat. I knew I would need to remove the finish and smooth things out. Call me anal but that kind of thing bugs me.
The rim still had some residual lava spots from the bowl that would need to be cleaned off and the darkening of the rim appeared to be on top of the shiny top coat. I was pretty sure that I could remove much of the issue by removing the shiny coat.
The underside and sides of the bowl had some dents and nicks in the finish that needed to be steamed out.
The transition between the briar, the black insert and the bamboo was rough to the touch and there was debris collected in the rough edges of the transition.
There was a red mark in the groove of the bamboo on the top side of the shank. It stood out and it bugged me – kind of like lipstick on the collar of a good shirt.
The bamboo also had a thick seal coat that seemed to have brush marks in the finish and I could feel them with my thumb as I ran it over the bamboo.
The stem had a lot of pits and small tooth chatter that had been polished but was still present on both the top and the bottom sides.
The stamped B logo on the stem was in great shape but I wanted to paint it and make it stand out a bit more on the saddle portion.
The stem also did not sit correctly in the shank leaving a gap on the underside of the joint when it was properly aligned.

My brother included some close up photos of the bowl, the underside, the shank and the stem that highlight some of the issues I raised above. The next photos show the stamping on the left side of the shank and on the underside. It reads Bambu as noted above and Israel on the underside.In the next two close up photos of the stem you can see the tooth chatter and scratches on the vulcanite stem.The final photo shows the B stamp on the side of the saddle portion of the stem. It is in decent shape and would be easily filled in. The fit of the stem against the bamboo was a bit off as well. I would need to adjust this fit.In adding my own touches to the restoration of the pipe I decided to work through remedying each of the issues noted above individually. You can be the judge if the finished pipe is better than when I started. The first four photos show the pipe as it appeared when I unwrapped it. You can see the shiny spots on the left side of the bowl near the top and toward the bottom of the bowl. You can also see the dents in the bowl sides. The issue raised above in number 1 involved the spotty finish on the bowl. The above photos highlight that issue clearly. The left side of the bowl appeared to have been stripped of its varnish or shellac coat and there were shiny spots left on the bowl side toward the top edge of the rim. The front, back and right side of the bowl still had the shiny finish coat. I scrubbed the finish on the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the shiny topcoat. I was pretty sure it was a varnish or shellac coat and that it had been partially removed somewhere along the way. It did not take too much effort to remove it from the surface of the bowl.

I also addressed issues number 2 and 3 noted above. To take care of the second issue of the rim surface I scrubbed the rim of the bowl with the acetone on the cotton pad and the bits of lava came off along with the shiny coat. The rim was smooth to the touch and some of the darkening also was removed in the process. To take care of the dents and nicks in the finish I steamed them out with a hot knife and wet cloth to raise them. I was able to remove all of the dents and nicks leaving the bowl smooth. The next photo is a close up of the rim after the scrubbing with acetone.Next I decided to address issue number 9 noted above – the improper alignment of the stem in the shank. When it was correctly aligned in the shank it left a gap on the underside of the joint. It is visible at the bottom of the stem in the photo below.I removed the stem from the shank and faced the end of the shank on the topping board using 220 grit sandpaper. You can see from the second photo below where the topping at removed high spots on the end of the shank leaving the center unsanded. This was only the first step in the process of this repair.When I put the stem back in the shank it was clear that the angle of the tenon was incorrect in terms of the drilling in the bamboo. I heated the tenon with a Bic lighter to soften the vulcanite of the tenon and then pushed it back into the mortise in the bamboo. Because the tenon was pliable I was able to align the stem edge with the edge of the bamboo to remove the gap in the fit. I held the stem in place while the tenon cooled. Once finished the alignment remained and the gap was gone.Once I got the stem alignment corrected I decided to touch up the B stamp on the side of the stem to address issue number 8 noted above. I use some white acrylic paint and applied it with a fine bristle paint brush to fill in the stamping on the stem. Once the paint dried I scraped it off with a soft cloth and sanded it with a 2400 grit micromesh sanding pad.To address the issues noted in numbers 4-6 above – all dealing with the bamboo shank extension I worked specifically to deal with the varnish coat on the bamboo. I wiped it down with a cotton pad and acetone to remove the buildup and brush marks on the surface of the bamboo. I cleaned out the “lipstick” that was in the groove in the bamboo using a cotton swab and acetone. There is just one small spot left next to the spacer between the bamboo and the briar. I sanded the transition between the briar, the insert and the bamboo to smooth it out and to also clean up some of the debris that seemed to have collected at that point on the shank. With the removal of the thick varnish the bamboo began to take on its natural patina and the stress marks stood out giving an aged look. The final issue, number 7 above, to be addressed was the stem. It had some tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside that needed some attention. They were not too bad but they stood out and bugged me. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter and smooth out the tooth marks. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the final set I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I polished the bowl and the bamboo with micromesh sanding pads as well – all grits 1500-12000 to remove any remaining scratches or small nicks in the finish. I buffed bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to further polish the pipe and then gave the entire pipe several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to polish the wax and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The rich finish now highlights the beautiful grain on the pipe and the smooth feel in the hand satisfies my desire for that in a pipe. It is now ready to fire up a bowl of some Christmas tobacco and the distractions that irritated me when I received the pipe are taken care off and all the distractions removed. So goes the life of a pipe refurbisher – never finished and rarely satisfied with the end product – I always see more imperfections that need to be addressed. Thanks for humouring me as I took you through this journey I appreciate it!

Short Snorter Imported Briar

15 Replies

Blog by Dal Stanton

When I landed this little pipe last March, I rolled together 3 other pipes from the same seller, reducing postage costs – I’m always happy when I can save! The eBay seller listed the pipe as a ‘Short Norter’ stamped on the left side of the shank. The right side was stamped, Imported Briar. The pipe’s petite size listed was 5 1/4″ long 1 1/4″ tall and 3/4″ bowl opening. Even though she was so small, the shape was what drew me in. This is what I saw. Poor quality of photography notwithstanding, all the potential was there – the unique shape that I had yet to identify or collect, the rich briar grain peeking out here and there and the petite demeanor – perhaps this is a ladies’ pipe? But then, the name? Short Norter – the eBay nomenclature. Despite the less than feminine name, I liked the pipe. With a quick trip to Pipedia’s shape chart, I found what I believed matched the Short Norter – the Horn shape.When I took the Short ‘Norter’ Imported Briar out of the ‘Help me!’ basket now months later, I am still struck by the size and I really like the sleek contour of this Horn shape. When I started research on the pipe in preparation for her restoring, I ran into a brick wall trying to find Short ‘Norter’ in all the usual places, but I did run across other references which were close. One was, ‘Short Snorter’ and it was a pipe. After taking another close look at the stamping, I discovered that the ‘S’ was almost totally obliterated by a divot in the briar. Only a small peek remained of the top of the ‘S’. Finally, my beautifully shaped Horn ladies’ pipe is officially christened, Short Snorter – a pipe any high classed pipe woman would covet, or it would seem! Here are pictures filling in the gaps from my work table here in Sofia, Bulgaria. In the little I found on the internet about the Short Snorter, it is described as a nose burner or as a pocket pipe, but most often with other shapes than the horn. Steve looked up the Short Snorter in the book, Who Made That Pipe, and it indicates that it was made by Weber or Wally Frank. With that information, I looked at old Wally Frank catalogues, but did not see the Short Snorter. I suppose the name is apropos, but I think a lady pipe smoker would give this pipe a look see.

The stummel surface is generally in very good shape and the briar grain has much appeal for a smaller pipe. The rim has an attractive oval bevel but a moderate burn area covers a portion where I presume the flame was drawn over the briar in lighting the tobacco. The one troubling spot is the burn mark on the front of the bowl. The last steward appears to have been a heavy puffer heating up the briar enough to cause the burn. I’ll need to check the internal front fire chamber area to detect possible thinness and potential for a burn through. To remove the scorched area the old finish needs to come off. The stem is heavily oxidized but there is not much tooth chatter to speak of on the bit. The button appears to be in good condition.

The first order of business in the rebirth of this Short Snorter Imported Briar Horn is to plop the stem into a bath of Oxiclean to begin the process of raising the oxidation out of the vulcanite. Before I do this I try to remove the stinger, resembling the cupola of a Russian Orthodox Church. I don’t much like stingers in general, but I’m not able to coax a pipe cleaner through it to help retrieve the stem from the Oxiclean bath. I try pulling on the stinger but it doesn’t budge. After a few failed attempts, I light a candle and warm the stinger which expands the stingy vulcanite holding it in place. Whoa! When I finally extract the stinger, it’s the longest stinger I’ve seen to date – especially in such a small pipe! I’m not sure why it’s so long but I wonder if it has anything to do with the small design and the intent to restrict the airflow? Perhaps, the burn was a result of poor movement of air and the steward had to puff harder therefore more heat??? Speculation, but the stem is now in the bath working on the oxidation and the stinger is official retired to the stinger bottle. With the stem in the bath, I want to ream the fire chamber to bring it down to the briar for a fresh start but also to examine the front of the chamber corresponding to the external burn area. Since there was almost no cake build up on the wall, I use the Savinelli Pipe Knife to clean what remains. I then take 240 grit sanding paper rolled around a dowel rod to sand the fire chamber wall and to clean the remaining residue. I finished with a quick wipe of the cotton pad with a bit of alcohol on it to remove the carbon dust. The pictures show the progress. With the fire chamber cleaned I take a few close-ups looking specifically at the integrity of the wall. The second picture below is oriented to the front where the burn would be. Using my pinky finger, I feel the texture of the wall and I don’t detect any internal burns or soft spots but there is a bit of a rounded area toward the external burn area – thinning wall? The natural ‘horn’ curvature could potentially lean toward a thinning of the front of the stummel if the fire chamber expands – burns or excessive reaming? I will need to add a protective layer with either Pipe Mud or a Sour Cream/Yogurt Charcoal mix to coat the fire chamber wall – especially in the front area. This will be necessary if this little pipe tends to overheat. Cleaning the stummel’s external surface, I take a cotton pad with Murphy’s Oil Soap undiluted and scrub the stem surface. I also employ a brass brush to work on the tar deposit on the backside of the rim. Following the scrub, I rinse the stummel with warm tap water, careful to not allow water in the enter the stummel. The rim cleans up very nicely. To address the burn blotch on the front of the stummel and I use a medium grade sanding sponge to remove the dark area. After a time of working on the burn spot, a troubling question starts to dog me: Does this burn spot go through to the fire chamber? Or is it only on the external… If it goes all the way through, then all I’m doing is further thinning an already thin patch of briar with sanding. Steve confirmed that I was indeed making things worse. The last picture in the set below I sent to Steve and it was he who identifies in that photo the crack crossing laterally in the middle of the burn spot. Ugh. Another opportunity to hone in on the various skills necessary in restoring pipes! I had the opportunity to fix a crack previously and it is necessary to drill holes on the far ends of the crack to stop the crack creep. Armed with a magnifying glass to see the crack clearly, I use the sharp dental probe to mark the ends of the crack hopefully to provide a guide for the drill. I use a 1.5mm bit in the Dremel and I need to drill the holes without going through into the fire chamber. Well, it was going so well, until it wasn’t. I suppose it was the combination of the texture of the briar being more crusty feeling, drilling free-hand, or the thin wall that I already suspected – one or any combination of all three…. The first hole is successful, but the second finds day-light. The briar is much thinner than I had guessed. The question now is the extent of the burn impact. Is this Short Snorter’s life about to be cut shorter than we all thought! I use the dental probe to scratch around the holes and pressing to find soft charred briar to reveal more weakness. I do not find anything other than the hole that I created. So, the worst that can happen is that this beautiful little Short Snorter becomes a ‘technique pipe’. I decide to proceed with filling the drill holes with a mixture of briar dust and super glue. For the external surface, I’ll need to sand down the hole patch areas during the finishing process, then dark staining the stummel to blend and mask the burned area. For the internal wall, I will mix a batch of the Charcoal and Sour Cream lining paste and apply it to the firewall. Hopefully, this will provide enough additional heat buffer to protect the thin condition of the briar in the front. The protective coating will also provide a basis for a protective cake to develop.

With the stummel on the mat, I need a change of scenery to think things through. I retrieve the stem from the Oxiclean bath and take 600 grit paper, wet sanding the stem to remove the raised oxidation on the vulcanite stem. I follow this with 0000 steel wool preparing the surface for moving to the micromesh polishing later. Then I take pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% and clean the internal airway of the stem. It was not very dirty.Ok, back to the stummel. I use a cotton pad with isopropyl 95% to clean both the external surface as well as the fire chamber. I take briar dust and mix it with super glue to form a putty. I use a dental spatula and tooth pick to scoop some of the putty and apply it to the holes. I’m not concerned that the putty goes through to the internal wall – I want to build a little protective mound of hardened briar putty. Later it will be covered by the Charcoal/Sour Cream layer of insulation. The pictures show the progress with the regress! With the briar dust putty curing, I take up the stem and begin the micromesh process first by wet sanding the stem with pads 1500 to 2400. When complete I apply a coat of Obsidian Oil to the stem to rejuvenate the vulcanite. I follow this dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and then 6000 to 12000 and I follow each set with an additional application of Obsidian Oil. I put the stem aside to dry. I never tire witnessing the shiny pop of vulcanite after the micromesh process. The pictures show the progress. With the briar dust superglue cured after a full 24 hours, I take another close-up of the work areas and then take a flat needle file and file strategically the fills in the two crack holes that were drilled – one well, the other one breaking through the firewall. After bringing both fills almost to the briar surface level, I use 240 grit paper, rolling it into a very tight tube, I remove all the excess fill bringing the patch to the surface. Then, turning to the Briar dust putty in the fire chamber, I use the flat needle file and reach into the bowl and take off most the overflow. Then, with the 240 grit paper I smooth the patch but I leave a small briar dust patch over the internal wall breach. I hope this adds protection underneath the insulation layer that I will do later. The pictures tell the story. With all the attention with the crack repair, I realize I have yet to clean the internals of the stummel. I do that with Q-tips and pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95%. Thankfully, there was very little work to do.At this point the question that presents itself is, do I proceed with mixing up a charcoal and sour cream (or yogurt) insulation paste and coat the chamber or do I proceed with working on the external briar of the Short Snorter. Since I will need to have a thumb and cork in fire chamber for all the external briar projects, I need to wait to do the fire chamber work near the end – probably before the final polishing phases.

I take a close look at the stummel surface and detect some shiny spots revealing the presence of the old finish. I want to remove all the old finish left behind by the Murphy Oil Soap cleaning. Using the light sponge sand I sand down the surface followed by wet sanding with micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, then 3200 to 4000 and finishing with pads 6000 to 12000. The pictures show the progress. To mask and blend the burn spot on the front of the stummel, I use aniline-based Dark Brown Leather Dye hopefully to accomplish this. With a cork stuck snuggly in the fire chamber to serve as a handle to rotate the stummel, using a bent non-bristled pipe cleaner, I apply the dye liberally around the stummel, rotating it to be sure the dye reaches the inverted rim. After the application, I flame it using a lit candle waiting for that purpose. The alcohol in the dye burns off quickly setting the hue in the grain. When cooled, I apply a second coat of dye to the stummel surface and again I flame it. I let the dye set overnight. The picture shows the flamed crusted state.The next morning, anxious to see the ‘unwrapped’ stummel and the results of Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye, I take the Dremel and mount the hand-held extender with a felt wheel and apply Tripoli to the stummel surface to remove the dye crust. The dark stain did well in blending the burn spot on the stummel. That is looking good. Two problem areas emerge – the rim showed a gap in the coverage of the dye on the inner rim. It must have been the overhang of the cork I was using…. An easy patch worked well as I use a dark walnut stain stick and paint the rim. After the Tripoli buff with the Dremel felt wheel, I also detect pits in the briar surface in the upper left joint of the shank and stummel – not sure how I missed these but I see them now and I don’t like seeing them now. Of course, it would have been easier addressing these during an earlier stage of restoration, but I’ll make a go at a patch now. I take Hot Stuff Special ‘T’ CA Glue, a bit thicker than regular CA glue, and apply a dribble on the end of a toothpick then I dab a bit of the glue from the toothpick strategically on a pit. The thicker glue beads up nicely on the pit and doesn’t run over the surface. Using the toothpick, instead of applying glue straight from the bottle spout, allows a better control of the amount of glue in play. I put the stummel aside to let the ‘T’ CA Glue cure and then later I’ll strategically sand these patches – hopefully keeping the patch area to a minimum. I didn’t do anything with the crevice obliterating the ‘S’NORTER’. The pictures show the progress. After the ‘T’ CA Glue cures, I use 240 grit paper to sand tightly on the glue mounds – trying to keep the patch area to a minimum. After the 240 I use 600 grit paper on the area and then a very quick run through the complete set of 9 micromesh pads, 1500 to 12000. I then apply Dark Walnut with a stain stick to the sanded areas. After drying a bit, I use a cotton pad with isopropyl 95% to wipe down the stummel to blend the stain of the entire surface along with the patch area. This helps but I’m wishing I would have done this earlier and not missed them!!! The pictures show the progress. I want to apply one final coat of stain to the stummel to blend further the patches but also to tweak the hue toward the red ranges. I mix Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye 1 part to 2 parts of Fiebing’s Oxblood. As before, I apply the dye mixture with a folded pipe cleaner to the surface liberally and flame it. After the surface is cool to the touch, I apply a second coat of Dark Brown Oxblood and flame it. I set the stummel aside for the night and the next day clear the flamed crust with the Dremel felt wheel using Tripoli compound. To blend the stained surface and give an even effect, I lightly wipe down the surface with a cotton pad with isopropyl 95%. I’m pleased with the hue that is emerging. The pictures show the progress! Rejoining stummel and stem I use the Dremel with a felt wheel to buff them with Blue Diamond compound. Following this, I mount the cotton wheel on the Dremel and increase the speed of the Dremel from the slowest RPM for the felt wheels and compounds, to the next higher speed. I apply carnauba wax over stem and stummel several times to build up a shine as well as a protective layer. I’m pleased with the transformation of this pipe.

After consulting with Steve, I decided that this Short Snorter’s one last challenge would be better addressed in the US. The front fire chamber wall needs a better solution than what I can provide here in Bulgaria. Steve recommended I consider the solution that Charles Lemon, of DadsPipes.com, has used with good success – applying JB Weld to the area in need of greater reinforcement. Since JB Weld is not on the shelves here (yet!) and I can’t find a satisfactory alternative, this little pipe is going for a long ride in about a week to Denver, where my wife and I will be celebrating Christmas with our family! I’ll add a Christmas Addendum later!

When I look at this Short Snorter Imported Briar Horn before me, I still think this is a beautiful ladies’ pipe! Of course, with a name like ‘Short Snorter’, the pipe lady smoking this elegant, petite horn shaped pipe, packed with her preferred aromatic blend, will undoubtedly have a bit of attitude and spunk! Or, at least as it would seem to me. Thank you for joining me!