Yearly Archives: 2017

Peterson 999 Meerschaum (Sterling) Restoration

Refreshing a Stanwell Gilt Edged 124 Ivarsson Design

Blog by Steve Laug

I received an email a few weeks ago from Mario. He has been following the blog for some time now and had enjoyed reading the posts. He wrote that he had purchased a pipe on Ebay for a good price. He attached some photos of the crack in the shank and wondered if I would be willing to take it on. I wrote back and asked for some photos so he sent me the following two photos. The first shows what appears to be a crack in the shank just ahead of the gold band between the shank and the stem. I have circled the damaged area in red in the photo below.The second photo shows the shank end of the pipe. The band wraps over the end of the shank which was a plus to my mind. The band was tight on the shank according to the seller. My thinking was that the band would hold the crack together and it would be easier to work with. (The tenon on the stem is also a 9mm filter stem).I wrote back and told him I would be glad to work on it. He wrote back when the pipe arrived at his place. As he looked it close up he wrote that the crack did not look as bad as he had expected. It appeared to be possibly a flaw in the briar. He also wrote that the end of the flaw near the band did extend to the edge of the band. He packed up the pipe and sent it to me in Vancouver. When it arrived I loved the look and shape of the pipe. The long shank and the shape of the bowl work well together. The gilt ring around the outer edge of the bowl and around the shank is what gave the pipe its name. It is stamped Stanwell of Gilt Edged on the left side of the shank. On the underside it reads Made in Denmark. On the right side of the shank it reads 124 which is the Stanwell Shape number. According to information compiled by the late Bas Stevens regarding Stanwell shapes the 124 is a freehand, long conical shank, with a short saddle mouthpiece. It was designed by Sixten Ivarsson. Here is the link to the full blog post that Bas gave permission to post on rebornpipes: https://rebornpipes.com/2013/09/03/stanwell-shapes-compiled-by-bas-stevens/

I took the following photos of the pipe when it arrived and before I started to work on it. You can see the damage to the rim – including both dents and a slight burn on the back inner edge toward the right side. There were also some dents on the top of the shank just ahead of the crack in the briar. The pipe was sold as clean and restored but it was far from clean by the smell of tobacco and the oils in the shank and stem. There was some tar and oil on the top of the rim so I wiped it off with a cotton pad and took the following close up photo. It is hard to see but there were light dings in the rim top and the damage at the rear which I have circled in red.The stem was clean on the surface but there were ripples and ridges from buffing as well as some slight tooth indentations on both sides near the button and on the button.I sanded the damaged/flawed area on the top of the shank and probed it with a dental pick. Interestingly if it was a crack it was sealed tightly and there were no soft spots in the surface. It also appeared that the top finish had run slightly leaving a sag mark on the shank. I examined it with a bright light and lens and could see that the flaw ended a good 1/8^th inch before the band and that the other ended. I decided to not drill the ends of the crack because it was a tight fit and also because when I looked at the inside I could see no trace of the crack coming through. I filled it in with clear super glue and when it dried I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper.I cleaned up the rim top with 220 grit sandpaper and lightly beveled the inner edge to clean up the burned spot. I did not want to bevel it too much but only enough to match the rest of the rim bevel. When I finished shaping it I sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove any scratch marks. I steamed out the dents on the top of the shank and polished them and the repair with micromesh sanding pads. I stained the rim edge and repair with a medium brown stain pen. I used a black Sharpie pen to continue the grain marks through the repair on the shank.I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. I took the following photos of the pipe and sent copies to Mario. We are both really pleased with the way the pipe has come out to this point. Here are some close up photos of the shank repair and the rim clean up. It looks much better than when I began the work.I set the bowl aside and started to work on the stem. I sanded both sides with 220 grit sandpaper and took the photos to show the marks, ripples and dents on the surfaces.I cleaned out the tenon area with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to remove all of the oils and tars in airway and the area where the filter would have been. It took a lot of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove all of the debris. The next photo shows about half of the cotton swabs and pipe cleaners that I used on the stem.I examined the inside of the mortise and airway with a pen light and could see that the shank was thickly caked with a hard coat of tars. I used a dental spatula to scrape away the debris in the mortise. It took a lot of scraping to remove the buildup to see the briar. I cleaned out the shank and airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until it was clean. The pipe smelled much cleaner though still smoky. I pressed cotton balls into the bowl and rolled a cotton pad and inserted it in the shank. I used an ear syringe to fill the bowl with alcohol. I tipped it so that the alcohol ran into the shank. I filled it until the cotton was covered in the bowl. I set the bowl aside to let the alcohol do its work in drawing the oils out of the briar. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem.I finished sanding it with the 220 grit sandpaper to remove all of the ripples and dents in the stem surface. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. After each set of three pads I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. After the last rubdown of oil I set the stem aside and let it dry. I let the cotton balls and alcohol sit in the bowl for 6 hours. I took the following photo of the darkened cotton balls. I removed the cotton balls and cleaned out the shank, airway and bowl with cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I was able to remove a lot more of the tars in the shank.Once the shank was clean and the walls were clean and had dried I put the stem in place on the shank. I buffed the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The stem is smooth and glassy, the rim is much better and looks smooth, and the flaw/crack in the shank is smooth to touch and virtually invisible. It will be heading back to Mario this week and I look forward to hearing what he thinks of his pipe now. Thanks for walking along with me through this restoration.

Windsor Ashford Restoration ( Sasieni 2nd)

Brandy Bent Unmarked – another ‘Hole in the Wall’ Find

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Blog by Dal Stanton

The Brandy before me now was a very nicely bundled pipe when I recently purchased the Stanwell Silver Mount which I’ve already restored (See HERE). I landed these pipes at the treasure trove I call the ‘Hole in the Wall,’ an antique shop in the center-city of Sofia, Bulgaria. My sites were on the Stanwell which was the prize, with its silver and class, but when I saw the Brandy, I plucked it out of the basket to bundle with the Stanwell – hopefully to land a more favorable purchase price for the pair. The Stanwell and Brandy came home with me that day, and the picture I took below commemorated that day’s finds. The next picture shows the results of the Stanwell Silver Mount’s restoration – a beautiful, dressy pipe. The Brandy drew my attention as well because the bowl is a significant presence in the palm as I cradled the expansive bowl. When I first saw it, I thought it might be a Volcano shape because of the hefty, expansive base of the stummel and the tightly restrained cone moving upwardly culminating in the rim. Yet, looking at Pipedia’s Pipe’s Chart by Bill Burney (see below), my later thoughts were confirmed that this indeed is a Brandy – actually, the first in my collection. The stummel measures 1 3/4 inches in diameter at the broadest point of the ‘brandy glass’ bulge and the stummel tightens to the rim which measures 1 1/4 inches. The height of the stummel is 1 7/8 inches. This bowl is nicely shaped and proportioned – I like it!I take more pictures when I take the Brandy out of the ‘Help Me!’ basket and place him on my work table. With the stem in the Oxi-Clean, I continue with the clean-up of the stummel internals using cotton swabs and pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95%. After moderate resistance, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs started coming out cleaner. Later, I will give the bowl a kosher salt/alcohol soak to further clean and freshen the internals and readying it for a new steward.With the internals cleaned with the frontal approach, I now look at the external surface. I first scrub the rim and entire stummel with undiluted Murphy’s Oil to see if it makes much of a dent on the cloudy finish. I have my doubts. Well, after scrubbing the surface with Murphy’s Soap and I can see my reflection on the surface, I know that I’m dealing with an acrylic finish – the candy wrapper finish. For manufacturers of pipes that put this kind of finish on a pipe, I can only think of two reasons to do so – it is a more cost-effective mass application of shininess – a chemically produced sheen that takes minimal time and man-hours, and to hide imperfections in the briar. Switching to acetone to remove the finish, first, I use cotton pads, then the more persuasive help of 0000 steel wool. The finish comes off with little effort and I begin to see why the finish is dark – there are several fills that the dark stain was masking. I have no problems with darker hues to mask fills and imperfections, but I do not like the acrylic shine finish. Pictures show the progress and the surface revealed. Before dealing with the fills, I sand the outer surface of the stummel and rim with a course grade sanding sponge to remove the superficial nicks and damage. This works well. I follow with a medium grade then a light grade sanding sponge to smooth and clean the surface of imperfections.I take a close look at the fills on the surface of the stummel and scrape them with a sharp dental probe to find out whether they are solid or if they are in danger of pitting. Generally, they seem to be in good condition. I do detect one pit and I drop-spot some super glue and apply an accelerator to cure the glue rapidly. When the superglue is fully cured, I use a flat needle file to file it down near to the briar surface, then I use a rolled piece of 240 grit paper to sand it down to the surface, removing all the excess glue. Then I use 600 grit paper just to smooth the surface of the patch. Sanding with the sanding sponges removed most of the dents I detected earlier on the rim. I want to freshen the inwardly sloped bevel to improve the lines of the rim. I first cut an inner bevel with a rolled piece of coarser 120 grit paper. Then I follow this by using 240 and 600 grit paper over the entire surface of the rim from the lower inner lip to the higher rim edge. The result is a more tapered and sloped bevel and a crisper rim edge as the lower bevel blends into the upper slope. The pictures show the progress.Next, I wet sand the stummel with micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 and when I complete this cycle, what I see I am not expecting. Every fill on the stummel had softened and some had come out. Apparently, the fill was not glue based, but simply a colored wood putty that would sit underneath the acrylic finish. I haven’t seen anything like this up to this point. Oh well…. I take the sharp dental probe and continue to dig out all the old filler putty and clean the holes left behind. This restoration is taking an unexpected turn and it will take a bit of time to fill and sand down each of these 16 fill spots. With briar dust and superglue, I mix a batch of putty and apply putty to each hole. I leave excess over each fill area to be able later to sand each fill down flush to the briar surface. I put the stummel aside for the patches to cure for about 12 hours. The pictures show the digression. With the putty patches curing, I take the stem out of the Oxi-Clean bath and take a picture of the oxidation raised on the stem. I then wet sand the stem with 600 grit paper followed by 0000 steel wool to remove the raised oxidation from the stem. The stem is looking good.Before I proceed with the micromesh pad sanding, I clean the internals of the stem using pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in isopropyl 95%. Using a sharp dental probe, I also dig out gunk from the slot. The stem internals were dirty but pipe cleaners eventually prevailed.I then begin the micromesh cycle by first wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400, followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000, then 6000 to 12000. After each set of 3, I applied Obsidian Oil to the stem to revitalize the vulcanite. The pictures show the progress, and a slight interruption when my daughter FaceTime’s me from Nashville between cycles – the pictures also show this wonderful interruption! With the stem looking good, I put it aside and return to the stummel. After the briar dust patches cure on the stummel surface, I begin the long process of filing and sanding the excess putty off the patches to bring the putty flush with the briar surface. I first use a flat needle file to bring the excess almost to the surface and then I use 240 grit paper to smooth further, blending the patch with the surface. With as many fills that I had, it provided ample practice to perfect my approach! After smoothing all the briar dust putty patches, I find that some patches have small air-pockets revealed as I sand. With these, I spot-drop some superglue, apply an accelerator to rapidly cure the glue, then re-sand those areas until the patches blend with the surface. The pictures slow the slow progress. With my day ending, I decide to clean the stummel internals further with a kosher salt and alcohol soak. This cleans further as well as freshen the stummel for a new steward. I stretch and twist a cotton ball to create a ‘wick’ to insert down the mortise. This helps draw out the oils and grime. Then I place the stummel in an egg carton for stability and fill the chamber with kosher salt. The kosher salt is without iodine which can leave a taste. I shake the stummel a bit with my palm over the chamber to displace the salt in the mortise a bit. I then fill the fire chamber with isopropyl 95% until it rises a bit over the salt. I then put the stummel aside for the night allowing the salt and alcohol to do the work.The next morning, the salt and cotton ‘wick’ had darkened signifying the job of drawing out tars and oils was achieved. I dump out the expended salt by thumping the stummel on the palm and tossing the wick. I wipe the chamber with paper towel, and then use multi-sized round bristled brushes in the chamber and mortise to rid the stummel of residue salt. I complete the cleaning job by plunging a few more cotton swabs and pipe cleaners into the mortise and draft hole and find that all the tars and oils have been removed. I determine the Brandy’s cleaning, ‘Completed’! The pictures show the progress. I turn again to the briar surface of the stummel. With all the patch work done, I make a quick inspection of the surface looking for little shiny spots which would indicate that some residue excess of superglue was remaining on the briar surface. I quickly address these with a rapid sanding with 240 grit paper. From there, I return to a light grade sanding sponge and re-sand the entire surface aiming to help the blending with the plethora of patches and the briar surface. I then proceed through the cycles of micromesh pads, 1500 to 12000. The volatile nature of the grain in this block of briar becomes evident – it is evident that the block was taken from the upper or outer regions of the briar bush’s ‘burl’. Its grain is more turbulent than you would find deeper inside the burl, where grains are a spectrum of non-existent to orderly currents of grain. This excerpt from an article from Pipes & Tobaccos (1999) about briar grains from R. D. Field, I found very helpful in understanding briar grains:

Any burl, whether it be 30 years old or 130, does not possess what we call grain in its totality. When a burl is split in half a variety of patterns are able to be discerned in that: The center of the burl has no grain. The center, or heart, contains all the liquid held in the burl which is red in color and is known as blood. The wood surrounding this blood is also of a reddish tint and is devoid of capillaries as the water has got to where it was meant to be for storage. Capillaries surround the center and, depending on the growing pattern of the burl and how it was split, can take the shape of straight grain, cross grain, flame grain, mixed grain, etc.

As we approach the upper part of the burl from where the branches emerge a pattern known as “branch wood” can be seen. Because the branches of the shrub actually start their growth within the burl the wood in these portions takes on some of the characteristics of the emerging branch. To look upon a swirling piece of briar devoid of other grain character (whether in a finished pipe or as part of the burl) is to look upon branch wood.

The many fills in this piece of briar I believe is due to it being an example of a block taken at a ‘branch wood’ formation seen in the pictures below. The pictures show the progression through the micromesh pad cycles.

The next step in the project is to stain the stummel. I will aim for a darker hue but I want to contextualize this Brandy by bending the hue toward the reds using Fiebing’s Oxblood Leather Dye mixed with Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye including a hint of black, non-aniline dye. I found a picture on the internet (below) that envisions the perfect ambiance for this Brandy after he’s restored and recommissioned! I’m aiming for the darker hue of the brandy that is displayed. Dreamstime is doing a good job promoting the brandy glass, but truth be known, the Brandy shaped pipe I have would have been a better choice for display! Acknowledging a totally unscientific approach to the mixture, if I find the results too red, I will probably follow by a straight application of Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye as an overcoat.After the dyes are mixed in a shot glass, I heat the stummel with an air gun to expand the grains to absorb the dye more efficiently. Then, using a bent-over pipe cleaner, I apply the dye mixture liberally over the surface, utilizing a cork inserted into the mortise as a handle. When applied, I fire the stummel with a lit candle, and the alcohol in the dye immediately burns off and sets the dye in the grain. To make sure I’ve achieved total coverage, I repeat the process again, finishing by firing the dye, and putting the stummel aside to rest for several hours. The pictures show the staining process. A little anxious to unwrap the flamed dye crust, my impatience wins out and I mount the felt wheel on the Dremel high speed rotary tool. I set the speed to the slowest available and using Tripoli compound I begin removing the crust to reveal the briar underneath. Then, using a cotton cloth wheel, I apply Blue Diamond compound to the stummel, also using the slowest speed available. After the Blue Diamond, I’m seeing two things – the hue is a bit redder than I wanted and I am seeing light spots that need darkening. I use a mahogany dye stick and darken the light areas to blend. Then, I take out the Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye, and set up for another application of dye to the stummel. With a folded pipe cleaner I apply Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye two times, as before, flaming after each application, then setting the stummel aside to rest. Pictures tell the story. After a few hours, I repeat the process of applying both Tripoli and Blue Diamond compounds to the stummel surface. Following the compound application I hand buff the stummel with a flannel towel to remove the residue compound dust on the stummel. I do this before applying the carnauba wax. Changing to the cotton cloth wheel on the Dremel, I increase the speed to 2, the second slowest speed of 5 – being the fastest. I reattach the stem and stummel and apply to both several coats of carnauba wax and then give the pipe a rigorous hand buff with a micromesh cloth to bring out the shine.This Brandy Bent Unmarked had a lot going against it after I discovered the multitude of fills necessary to restore and recommission this pipe. Considering the odds against it, I think it looks very good. The grain is very expressive. I like the dark brown finish as the overcoat of the oxblood – it fits well the Brandy shape. I sell my restorations with the profits helping the work we do with the Daughters of Bulgaria – those sexually exploited and trafficked. This Brandy is ready to serve a new steward. If you’re interested in adopting him and helping the Daughters, check out The Pipe Steward Store. Thanks for joining me!

The Berwyck Poker Compromise

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Blog by Aaron Henson

Last summer’s tip to Dallas netted me several great pipes. One of which was my first poker. It was in a basket in an out of the way corner of a second hand store. Very dirty and grimy but I could tell the grain underneath was beautiful with a nice contracting stain. The stem was broke off about half way but I thought I could turn it into a nice stubby. I looked forward getting it home and start working on it. The stem had a heavy amount of oxidation and a buildup of white near the broken end. This leads me to guess that the previous owner had used a softy bit to compensate for the broken stem. I set the stem to soak in a mild Oxi-clean bath to raise the oxidation. After 24 hours I removed the oxidation with a magic eraser and an application of Walker Briar Works Pipe stem cleaner. I wiped down the outside of the stummel with 91% on a cotton pad to remove the dirt and oils. I was looking for any hidden issues that might be need to be addressed. Thankfully there were none just a few handling dents/scuffs. In fact, there weren’t even any fills. The grain was beautiful and the existing contracting stain really made it stand out.

There was a healthy buildup of tars on the rim but not a lot of cake in the bowl. What little cake there was came out easily with my reaming tool. I smoothed out the interior of the bowl with 80-grit paper wrapped around a ½ inch dowel.I like to clean the inside of the pipe before working on the outside so next came the interior of the shank. Lots of cotton swabs dipped in alcohol eventually saw it clean.

Next, I finished the bowl by doing a salt and alcohol soak. I plugged the shank with a cotton swab and filled the bowl with salt. Sometimes I use cotton balls but this time I chose salt – no reason why. I filled the bowl to the top with grain alcohol and let it soak 24 hours. This leached out a lot of the leftover tars and removed the smell of the old tobacco from the bowl.

Not wanting to top the bowl, I tried something new. I placed a little Oxi-clean powder on a green pad in a shallow dish of water. Inverting the bowl, I worked it in a circular motion on the pad. This had the desired effect and only a little bit of sanding was required on the rim.Returning to the stem I began work on a new button. I taped off the end and mixed up a slurry of black super glue and charcoal powder using a tooth pick to apply it to the stem. Several coats of slurry were needed to build up the button. After the slurry dried, I used a flat file to rough out the shape of a new button. Trying it out, I realized that the stem was too thick and narrow to be comfortable. So I began to file the top and bottom of the stem to make it a more comfortable fit. But as I did so, I had another revelation: the Berwyck was a filtered pipe. The filter chamber extends back to where I was trying to shape a flat spot in the stem. While I didn’t file into the airway I decided not to continue for fear that I would. It was at this point that I decided to abandon the idea of a stubby and start looking for a replacement stem. I figured I had a few of options: 1) I could buy an old stem that matched, 2) I could make my own stem using the tenon of the old stem, 3) I could splice a fish tail onto the existing stem (this would allow me to keep the spade trademark – thank you, Dal for this idea), or 4) I could try Dr. Grabow and see if the factory could supply me with a new stem.

I started with the last option first. I figured if I was willing to buy and old stem, why not buy a new stem with a better chance of a good fit. I sent an email off to International Pipes & Accessories, the Dr. Grabow factory in Sparta, North Carolina, but received a disappointing response. So my next course of action was to begin a search online for someone with an old stem to sell that would fit. I eventually posted the story of my quest on the Dr. Grabow Collectors Facebook page. It was not long before I was contacted by Joe Mansueto, the moderator for the Dr. Grabow Collectors Forum. Joe very kindly offered to use his contacts at International Pipes and too my surprise he was told that I should send the pipe to them.

I had not completed the work on the stummel and I wanted to have it at the 95% complete point before sending to the factory. So, steamed out the dents using a wet terry cloth rag and my wife’s clothes iron. Next came a light sanding with 1500-3200 grit micro mesh pads.

The rim was is in need of some stain and I had just received a set of Guardsman stain pens I bought from Amazon. This was my chance to try the out. I was very happy with the way they worked. I have used other stain pens in the past but with less than satisfactory results. Blending the three pens I got a good color match with the rest of the stummel.

With the stummel done, I packaged up the pipe with a hand written letter describing the situation and my connection with Joe. I included a $15 check ($12 for the stem and $3 for return shipping) and sent the pipe off to Sparta. The pipe left on a Thursday and arrived in North Carolina on Monday. I had no idea what to expect for timing so I determined to wait as patiently as I could, figuring it would be 3-4 weeks.

To my pleasant surprise it was just a week and a half later. I was on the road in Texas again when my son told me that a package had arrived from Dr. Grabow. When I got home I was like a kid at Christmas wanting to get the pack open and see what Santa sent me. I was not disappointed. The new nylon stem looked great. It returned all the grandeur and dignity that the pipe once had. I was glad now that the stubby conversion had not worked out.

Although I am not a big fan of nylon stems, mostly to the fact that they are a pain to repair, clean and polish. But this one being new was not a problem. I did polish the stem using 6000-12000 grit micromesh. The stem also needed a little deburring at the air hole and smoothing out on the face of the button. All of which was done in short order.

I finished the pipe at the buffing station while smoking a bowl of McClelland’s Stave Aged in a Yello-bole Chesterfield – a previous repair. I started with red diamond rouge on a rag wheel then finished with three coats of carnauba wax. I could not be happier with the results. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Peterson Shape 69 – A Tale of Two Pete’s

Refreshing a Tiny L&Co. Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

This is the final pipe of the lot of pipes I received from the pipe man in Eastern Canada who picked up an amazing lot an auction. The kind of price he paid makes me envious! This one is an older Loewe and Company graceful and diminutive pipe. It is stamped on the left side of the shank with L&Co. in an oval. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Loewe over England W.

When I received the pipe I took the following photos of it to give you the big picture of this tiny pipe. The stem was in good shape but had the most oxidation of the lot that was sent to me. There were small tooth marks and chatter on the stem near the button on both sides. The finish was dirty but in decent shape. The rim was worn and there were some dents and dings on the top surface. The inner edge of the bowl was slightly out of round. Someone had reamed the pipe back to bare wood but the internals were very dirty. I took a close up photo of the rim to show its condition. The finish was worn on the rim as well as darkened and dented. You can see the damage to the inner edge of the bowl as well.The next two photos show the oxidation on the stem. It is hard to see the tooth chatter and marks but they are present and will need to be dealt with.I also took some photos of the stamping. While not perfect you can read the stamps quite well and see the details that I mentioned above.I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to clean up the inside of the bowl. The bowl had already been reamed and there were only slight remnants of a cake in the bowl.With the bowl clean I used a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to smooth out the rim and take off the carbon buildup on top. It also worked to take off the scratches in the briar.I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the out of round rim and bevel that were present. It did not take too much sanding and it looked as good as new.I used a dark brown stain pen to touch up the rim. The colour of the stain was a perfect match to the colour of the stain on the bowl. I stained the bevel and the top of the rim.I cleaned out the inside of the mortise and the airways in the shank and the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. The pipe was quite dirty in these areas and took a bit of scrubbing to get the grit out of the airways.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and the tooth marks and chatter. Several of them were quite deep so I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of the lighter to lift them to the surface of the stem. They all raised to the surface and a bit of sanding smoothed out the damage.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. I set the stem aside to dry. I buffed the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish the minute scratches that still remained in the vulcanite and the finish of the briar. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This evening I packed the pipes and sent them Express Post back to the pipe man in Eastern Canada. I am hoping he enjoys his “new” pipes and adds them to his rotation. Cheers. Thanks for looking.

Wimbledon Pipes : The History & Facts

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Thanks Troy for the great information. I learned something this morning – I never knew Grabow made these. I want to reblog this to give readers of rebornpipes access to this information.

Baccy Pipes

I have been keeping my eye out for a Wimbledon pipe for quite a while, passing on several mostly because it was not the shape number i desired.I was hopping to find a #690 and had passed on one a few months ago and have been kicking myself since.I spotted this one on Ebay last week and knew it was the one i had been waiting for.I made a”Best Offer” on the sellers price and a deal was struck. s-l1600 (640x357) (2).jpg s-l1600 (1) (1280x656) (640x328).jpg

It was the right shape number of # 690 ( Lg. Billiard) and looked to be in excellent shape with a excellent blast. It just need a good cleaning and removal of some stem oxidation and chatter. s-l1600 (2) (640x479).jpg s-l1600 (3) (640x384).jpg

There is incorrect information regarding these pipes on the internet that i would like to bring attention to, so i will be covering the history and facts of these pipes.

If you look up…

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Hole in the Wall Gold Mine: Butz-Choquin Cocarde Major Rhodesian

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Blog by Dal Stanton

Even though it was a snow trudging kind of day, making it to the ‘Hole in the Wall’ paid off again. I mentioned this visit before when I was writing up the restoration of the Stanwell Silver Mount. On this visit, I saw the Stanwell for the first time, but didn’t bite. The next time I would! On this visit, I found another very nice example of St. Claude, France’s claim to fame as an historic center of pipe production – rivaling the UK for market share in Europe. When I saw the Butz-Choquin Cocarde Major in the pipe basket on the cluttered Hole in the Wall shelf, my initial reaction was its size – a hefty guy. My first assessment was that it was a Bulldog shape, then I noted the large rounded shank – a Rhodesian or a Bullmoose? This one is going home with me regardless! I looked in the basket for a good pipe to bundle and I saw an attractive, diminutive, Bent Billiard Sitter with a swan neck stem – unmarked, but a very nice looking pipe. When I got home I took a quick picture of the bundled pair and put them in the ‘Help Me!’ basket for later attention. When I take the BC Cocarde Major out of the basket, I am anxious to recommission this nice-looking Rhodesian, I decide. The first thing I do is pull up Google Translator and insert Cocarde Major in the French to English machine. I did not study French in school so help is appreciated. I want to know if special meaning is attached to this St. Claude BC. Cocarde translated into English as the word, ‘Cockade’ which was defined as, a rosette, roundel or knot of ribbons worn in a hat as a badge of office or party, or as part of a livery. With a little looking on the internet, I found these interesting French examples of Cocardes.With this meaning for ‘Cocarde’ it put doubt in my mind regarding my original thought that ‘Major’ referred to large or big. Attaching Major to the idea of the French symbol of national pride, it is most likely pointing to a level of rank, or when ‘Major’ is attached to another rank (e.g., sergeant-major) it denotes the ranking of one superior among those of the same rank. I emailed a colleague living and working in Toulouse, France, whose command of the language could help. His comments confirmed what I was thinking:

The word cockade refers to a national symbole for the French, like “cocarde tricolore’ refers to the French flag which is, of course, one of the most important symbols of the French people and national pride. It has many meanings, but for example official cars or planes have this symbol on it. You are right about the word Major, refering to a military grade. Used as an adjectif, “majeur” it means big. I would conclude that this is simply the name of the pipe. You can’t translate it literally. The pipe’s name implies in my opinion that it is a symbol of French pride, like the French insignia for a general in the military.

With the symbols of French pride stamped on this BC Rhodesian, I have a greater appreciation for the pipe when I take more pictures now on my worktable. The stampings on the left side of the shank are “Butz-Choquin” in an arched script over “Concarde” over “Major”. On the right side is, “St Claude” arched over “France” over “1028”, the BC shape number. Per Pipedia’s history of the name, when Jean-Baptiste Choquin of Metz, started out as a tobacconist and the business prospered. In 1858, one of his employees, one Gustave Butz, fell for his boss’ daughter and they were married. That same year, Butz and Choquin came together to form the enterprise that is now known as Butz-Choquin, and eventually moved the operation from Metz to St. Claude, known as “the world capital of the briar pipe”. Looking on the internet, I found another BC shape ‘1028’ but was called a ‘Bourbon Major’. The shape was that of a Bulldog, with the diamond shank. I know there is debate regarding the difference between Bulldog and a Rhodesian classification, but I am happy with Bill Burney’s descriptive difference in the Pipedia shapes Chart, that the difference between the two is, the Rhodesian has a round shank and the Bulldog, a diamond.

So, looking more closely at the BC Rhodesian in front of me, I see that the surface is generally in good shape – striking grain patterns. There are two noticeable fills that need addressing. There is also a chip over the shank, where the double grooves meet – the grooves forming the border between the upper and lower cones of the Rhodesian stummel. The chamber has thick carbon cake buildup and needs removal down to the briar for a fresh start. The stem has very little oxidation and a couple distinct clincher tooth marks on the top bit and chatter above and below. The stamped ‘BC’ stem marking is in good shape but the white color needs touching up. The following pictures show the question areas on the stummel – mainly fills and the chip. Even though the oxidation is minor, I put the stem in an Oxi-Clean bath for a few hours to raise the oxidation to the surface. I first cover the stem ‘BC’ stamp with petroleum oil. Turning to the stummel, I take the Pipnet Pipe Reamer kit and use the two smaller blades of the four available and remove the cake using first the smallest, then graduating to the next larger when the blade stops meeting resistance. This cake is hard and crusty but vacates in short order. I fine tune the reaming with my Savinelli Pipe Knife. I’ve grown to like this handy tool. What The Pipe Smoker blog says about it is spot on:

Basically, a three-sided scraper, it can be placed in the chamber exactly where it needs to be placed and then cake is scraped off with a simple movement of the wrist. It allows full control over where the cake is being reduced. It has a rounded tip, which means that it will not damage the bottom of the bowl. It makes no difference, whether the chamber is straight or conical, I can use the same tool on either. It requires no adjustment.

After the Savinelli pipe knife scrapes the chamber wall, I wrap 240 grit paper around a Sharpie pen and sand the chamber removing the last vestiges of carbon. I then wipe the bowl with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95%. The chamber looks great. I fold up the paper towel and my work station is clean again. Pictures show the progress. I then switch to the internals of the stummel and clean the mortise and airhole with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in isopropyl 95%. After some extended effort, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs are coming out clean. Later, I’ll add another measure of cleaning by giving the stummel a kosher salt and alcohol soak. I like to go the extra mile when I’m preparing a pipe for a new steward. The picture shows the progress.Turning to the stummel externals, I remove the grime on the surface and clean the rim. I use undiluted Murphy Oil Soap with cotton pads. I use a bristle tooth brush as well to clean the double grooves circling the cone. I also employ a brass brush to clean the lava and grime off the rim. The pictures show the progress.Time to fish the stem from the Oxi-Clean bath. It’s amazing that even when the stem looks to have little oxidation, the Oxi-Clean bath raises the oxidation to the surface. I wet sand with 600 grit paper to remove the bulk of the oxidation from the vulcanite and then follow-up using 0000 steel wool. Throughout this process, I give care to work around the ‘BC’ stem stamping. Pictures show the progress.With the tooth dents on the upper bit, I attempt to remove by using a lit candle’s heat to raise the indentations by expanding the vulcanite but it wasn’t working well. So, I apply a small drop of super glue to the spots and then apply an accelerator to cure the glue. After a few minutes, I use the flat edge needle file to file down the superglue patches to the vulcanite surface. While I have the file out, I file the button lip, upper and lower, to give them more definition. I follow with applying 240 grit paper to remove the file marks and to fine tune and blend the superglue patches. I follow with 600 grit paper and then 0000 steel wool. The pictures show the progress. I clean and freshen the internals of the stummel further with a Kosher Salt/alcohol soak for several hours. I set the stummel in a sturdy egg carton and twist a cotton ball and feed it into the mortise, pushing it in with a straight wire. I then fill the chamber with kosher salt which is not iodized – which can leave a taste. Then, I fill the chamber with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces above the salt. The pictures show the process.The next morning, the salt/alcohol soak had run its course and from the darkening of the salt and the cotton wick, the process effectively cleaned and freshened the stummel internals even after the plethora of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I dump the old expended salt and thump the stummel on my palm, then use a paper towel and wipe the bowl. I use bristle brushes to clean the mortise and again, pipe cleaners through the airway to finish the cleanup. As billed, the soak works. Pictures show the soak results.With the internals of the stummel clean, I clean the internals of the stem. Using pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% I work on the stem. After I begin, even though the ¼ bent saddle stem is not an extreme bend, I’m surprised that I am not able to move a pipe cleaner through the stem without difficulty. Finally, I pass a bristled pipe cleaner through and move it back and forth, hoping that it loosens up the passageway. It doesn’t. I decide to use the technique that Charles Lemon used on Dad’s Pipes (See here: Link) of expanding the airway by heating the stem and moving a pipe cleaner through. Just to be on the safe side, I draw an outline of the stem’s bend to use as a template for a comparison after I re-bend the pipe back to the original. I first straighten the stem by warming it with a heat gun until the vulcanite becomes pliable. After inserting a pipe cleaner through the stem, I then reheat the stem and return the stem to the ¼ bend. Now, back to the original curve comparing to the template, without difficulty I complete the cleaning of the stem using isopropyl dipped pipe cleaners moving freely through the airway. I also clean the crud out of the slot with a dental probe. Pictures show the process. Before starting the micromesh phase to raise the luster of the BC bent stem, I use Miracle Eraser on the ‘BC’ stem stamp to remove the oxidation without applying an abrasive to the stamp. It does seem to help. Then, I wet sand the stem using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, followed by dry sanding with 3200 to 4000, then 6000 to 12000. I complete each set by applying Obsidian Oil to revitalize the vulcanite. To watch the stem gradually pop, is an amazing process. This Butz-Choquin is cleaning up nicely. I set the stem aside to dry. Now I return to the stummel and take a close look. After cleaning with Murphy’s Soap, I detect about 4 or 5 fills on the surface that need addressing. The fills are solid but with some, I’m able to scrape of the upper layer of the fill. There is also a chip in the double grove going around the stummel. With the smaller fills, that are not pitted, I use dye sticks, starting with a lighter hue and graduating to a darker hue, until the blend is best. I then use a lightly dampened cotton pad with isopropyl 95% to dab the areas to blend further with the surrounding briar. The pictures show the progress. With those more pitted, I mix a bit of superglue and briar dust to form a putty and apply on the pitted fills. Carefully, I also paint the groove chip and before the putty start hardening, I clear overflow putty from the grooves with a sharp dental probe. I use an accelerator to cure the briar dust putty patches more rapidly. After a short time, I sand each putty fill to bring it to the briar surface. I first carefully use a flat needle file to work the putty hills down to almost surface level then I use 240 grit paper to sand to the surface level. Decision time. I want to restore this Butz-Choquin as close to the original shade as I can. I discovered on TobaccoPipes.com a BC in the same shape group as the Cocarde Major – 1028. In the picture below, the shade of the stummel is light and I think I can achieve this by simply sanding the stummel and restoring the briar to its original natural luster – MINUS what appears to be an acrylic finish below. I can still decide to apply a stain at the end of the sanding process after I have a better idea of the briar as it emerges. The shape below is a BC Cocarde 1025 – the only difference I detect is the tapered stem versus the saddle stem.First, I want to freshen the rim lines and re-cut an inner bevel which will look better and remove discoloration on the inner rim edge. The rim has a subtle slant toward the chamber. I cut the initial bevel using a coarse 120 grip paper rolled tightly. When I reestablish the bevel, I follow by sanding with 240 grit sanding paper. I then sand the stummel using a medium grade sanding sponge, followed by a light grade sanding sponge. I am careful to work around the stampings on the sides of the shank. Before I move on to the micromesh sanding, I use dye sticks to help blend the fill patch areas that are not yet blending. After applying the dye stick, I then lightly dab the area with a cotton pad slightly wetted with alcohol. This helps blend with the surrounding briar. The pictures show the progress. I follow by using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 and wet sand the stummel. After this, I dry sand using 3200 to 4000 then finish with pads 6000 to 12000. I then run a toothpick through both grooves connecting the upper and lower domes of the Rhodesian to remove residue remaining from the sanding process. To step back and take in the big picture, I reunite stem and stummel and take a picture. I see two distinct briar dust putty fills that are looking like I should have used a clear superglue fill instead. They are darker than the surrounding grain environment – not an ideal situation.I decide I can live with the fill on the upper cone, next to the rim. It is smaller and I hope that it will blend after applying a light brown stain which is looking like will be needed. With the larger lower fill, I will delicately try reaming the fill with the point of a Dremel tool to remove the putty. Depending on how that goes, the next step will be to shape the fill somewhat so that the shape is less circular and flows more with the surrounding grain pattern. Then, I will fill the new hole with clear superglue, sand and again be back to where I am now – hopefully with better blending. Phase one seems to go well – very carefully. With the Dremel tool I clean the putty fill and shape the pit circle to flow with the grain. I then spot-glue and use accelerator to cure the new clear patch. Looking good so far. I use a flat needle file to remove the superglue fill mound almost to the briar surface, then I use 240 grit paper rolled, to strategically stay on top of the glue to bring it down to surface. I follow with 600 grit, then steel wool, then the full array of 9 micromesh pads, 1500 to 12000. I touch up a bit with a light dye stick and blend with a cotton pad with a bit of alcohol. I am now back to where I was at the beginning of the detour. The fill is still visible, but doesn’t jump out proclaiming, “Here I am, Boys!” The pictures show the detoured progress. Now, to promote blending throughout the entire stummel, I use Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye. I warm the stummel to open the grains to receive the dye. Using a doubled-over pipe cleaner I liberally apply the dye over the stummel careful to achieve full coverage, rim and grooves. I then flame the aniline dye with a lit candle and the alcohol immediately burns off, setting the dye in the grain. To achieve total coverage, I repeat the process above after a few minutes, complete with flaming. I put the stummel aside to rest and I’ll return to it after work this evening.One last task to do before heading to work. I want to freshen the ‘BC’ stem marking with white acrylic paint. I put a small dab of paint over the ‘BC’ and then use a toothpick to spread the paint, making sure the marks are fully covered. Tonight, after the paint is fully cured, I’ll scrape off the excess leaving a fresh Butz-Choquin stem.Back home and ready to go. The white acrylic paint has fully cured on the stem marking. I take a toothpick and gently scrape the excess paint away using the side of the toothpick. Doing this, the toothpick passes over the top of the stamping leaving the indentations fully renewed.Time to ‘unwrap’ the fire crusted stummel after applying Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye. Using the felt wheel, I set the speed of the Dremel to the slowest possible and using Tripoli compound, after purging the wheel of old compound with the sharp edge of the Dremel’s adjustment wrench, I remove the crust from the stummel. I take a picture to show this process. After the crust is removed, I use cotton pads wet with isopropyl 95% to wipe down the stummel. I lighten the stummel’s hue a good bit aiming for the original as closely as possible and to blend the dye across the grain. When I reach the hue that looks good, I switch to a cotton cloth wheel mounted on the Dremel, and after reuniting stem and stummel, I apply Blue Diamond compound both. I’m loving watching the grain on this BC Cocarde Major Rhodesian start popping – it is truly an amazing process and the components of such fine abrasion produce such a result in the briar. When completed with Blue Diamond I give the pipe a buff with a felt towel, not so much for shining but to remove residue compound before I apply the wax. After mounting the cotton cloth wheel on the Dremel, I increase the speed to the second slowest speed and apply several coats of carnauba wax to stem and stubble. When finished, I rigorously hand buff the pipe with a micromesh cloth. The grain on this Rhodesian is placed perfectly to enhance the proud, chin forward carriage of the stummel. The horizontal flame grain crosses the heel of the stummel and flows to the sides terminating in bird’s eye – a beautiful showpiece of briar that is well-suited to bear the name of French pride – Cocarde Major. This Butz-Choquin Rhodesian, another traveler from St. Claude, is looking for a new steward. I sell the pipes I restore and give the profits to benefit the work we do here in Bulgaria with the Daughters of Bulgaria – rescuing women and children who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. If you are interested in adding this Butz-Choquin Cocarde Major Rhodesian to your collection, you can find it at the store at my blog site, The Pipe Steward. Thanks for joining me!

Rejuvenating a Made in Leeds, England Ben Wade Natural Grain Lovat

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Blog by Steve Laug

This little Ben Wade Lovat is the fourth pipe of the lot from Eastern Canada that I am restoring for a pipe man from there who sent it to me. It is stamped on the left side of the shank BEN WADE over Natural Grain and on the right side of the shank it reads Made in Leeds over England and a shape number 20 V near the bowl shank junction. The finish was natural and either unstained or stained with a light tan stain. The grain is quite good on the pipe. The rim is in rough shape from having been knocked on hard surfaces to remove the dottle. There were dents, dings and roughening. The bowl was slightly out of round. The stem was good quality vulcanite and has light oxidation at the joint of the stem and shank. There was tooth chatter and tooth marks on the top and bottom side near the button. I took some close up photos of the rim and the stem. You can see the damage to the outer and inner edges of the rim as well as dents in the rim top. The cake has been poorly reamed from the bowl and there were some gouges in the briar walls that will need to be sanded out. The stem photos show the tooth chatter and marks as well as the small band of oxidation next to the shank. I have always heard that the Ben Wade Company made quality English made pipes prior to its purchase by Herman Lane but I did not have any idea of the history of the brand. I did a bit of research on it and found the following helpful information on Pipedia. The link follows the quoted portion.

The company was founded by Benjamin Wade in 1860 in Leeds, Yorkshire, where it was located for over a century. Ben Wade started as a pipe trader, but yet in the 1860’s he established a workshop to produce briar pipes. The pipes were made in very many standard shapes – always extensively classic and “very British”. Many models tended to be of smaller dimensions. Ben Wade offered a very high standard of craftsmanship and quality without any fills. Thus the pipes were considered to be high grade and a major competitor to other famous English brands. The often heard comparison to Charatan seems to be a little bit inadequate because those days’ Charatans were entirely handmade.

In the II World War the factory was destroyed by German air raids on Leeds. But the Ben Wade family decided to re-build it immediately after the war and pipe production was re-started soon and successfully linked to the fame from the pre-war years. Even though the owner family decided to leave pipe business and sell off the firm. The family went into negotiations with Herman G. Lane, president of Lane Ltd. in New York at about the same time as the Charatan family. Lane Ltd. bought both firms in 1962.

Herman G. Lane had been Charatan’s US sole distributor since 1955 and Charatan always remained his pet child. But Ben Wade was treated in another way by its new owner. The fabrication of pipes was reduced and the factory in Leeds was closed in 1965 finally.

So this was the end of Ben Wade pipes stamped “Made in Leeds, England”. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade

The pipe I was working on was stamped “Made in Leeds, England” thus effectively dating it to the period the company was owned by the family. I know that it was made before the closing of the factory in 1965. So I had the last date it could have been made. Judging from the age of the rest of the auction lot my guess would be that this pipe also came from the 1930s. The style and cut of the stem leads me to place it in that period.

I cleaned up the reaming in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and took the cake back to bare wood. It took some work to smooth out the gouges in the bowl walls. I was able to remove many of them leaving only a remnant behind. I wrapped a dowel with sandpaper and sanded the bowl walls after I had reamed it. To remove the damage to the rim edges and the top I topped the bowl on the topping board. I did a minimal topping to just even things out and clean up the surface.I scrubbed the bowl surface with acetone on cotton pads to remove the grime and oils that were embedded in the bowl sides. I wanted to get the briar clean so I could retain the natural finish. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inside rim a light bevel to bring the bowl back into round. I also used in on the outside edge to soften it.With the bowl clean I lightly sanded it with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to take out the scratches and smooth out the finish. I sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads as well. When I had finished sanding it I wiped it down with a last wipe of alcohol on a cotton pad in preparation for giving it a light coat of oil. I rubbed the bowl down with olive oil and polished it by hand. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the entire stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and the tooth chatter. I “painted” the tooth marks in the stem with a lighter flame until they lifted. I sanded the damaged areas with the sandpaper until the surfaces were smooth and showed no more sign of tooth damage.I wet sanded the saddle portion of the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh pads and then used Rub ‘n Buff European Gold to fill in the portions of the BW stamp that still showed on the stem surface.I cleaned out the interior of the mortise and the airways in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they were no longer dirty and oily. As you can see from the photos below it took a few swabs and cleaners to get to that point.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 rubdown with oil I set the stem aside to dry. Once the oil had dried I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave them both multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos that follow. It came out quite nice with the grain popping through over the bowl and shank. The pipe will soon join the others in the lot on the return trip to Eastern Canada. Thanks for looking.