04 | May | 2017 | rebornpipes

By Al Jones

This New Era shape 789 grabbed my eye for several reasons:
– New Era pipes are typically a nice step up from the typical New Standard grade pipes, in the grain and finish.
– The button on this one looked like it had the shape of GBD’s “Hand Cut” stems, although that stamp wasn’t mentioned or shown

The pipe needed plenty of work, but showed promise.

Sure enough, the stem did have the “Hand Cut” stamp! The bullet style tenon was first used by GBD in the early 1950’s (per Mike Hagley)

The stem was very heavily oxidized, so I put a dab of grease on the brass rondell and soaked it in a mild Oxy-Clean solution.

The bowl was reamed of the heavy cake. I used a wet cloth and then a worn piece of scotch-brite pad to remove the build-up on the bowl top. The top was finished with a worn piece of 8,000 grit micromesh. Nearly all of the build-up came off, without breaking the stain. I soaked the bowl with alcohol and sea salt. The interior of the bowl was in excellent condition. Thank goodness for a heavy cake, right?

I mounted the stem and started to remove the heavy oxidation. I typically start with 800 grit paper, but that didn’t make much of a dent, so I dropped down to 400 grit. I decided that it would be impossible to save the Hand Cut stamp and get the oxidation, so it was removed. The button is unmistakably of the Hand cut shape, so that would have to suffice.

I worked through 800, 1,500 and 2,000 grades of wet paper, then 8,000 and 12,000 grades of micromesh. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Carnuba Wax.

The bowl was buffed with White Diamond and several coats of Carnuba wax.

Below is the finished pipe.