Monthly Archives: November 2020

Bringing a Beautiful Benaderet’s Smooth Poker/Cherrywood Back to Life

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a nice looking smooth finish Poker. We picked it up in 2018 from a fellow in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. The pipe is a real mess with dust and grime ground into the finish on the bowl. There is a thick cake in the bowl and the rim top and beveled inner edge is covered in lava. The cake was so thick in parts of the bowl that it was hard to know for sure what the condition of the rim edge was under the lava. The finish appears to be a reddish brown or oxblood colour with dark highlights underneath. On the left side of the shank it is stamped Benaderet’s [over] Paramount [over] San Francisco. On the right side it is stamped Natural Grain [over] Made in England with the shank number 20 next to the shank bowl junction. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides just ahead of the button. There was not any stamping on the stem so it did not have any identifying marks. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the rim top and dust and grime in the finish. It was thick and hard and heavier toward the front of the bowl. Hopefully it had protected the rim and edges from damage. The lava is thick and scattered across the top and there is a buildup on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem shows scratching, oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks on the stem surface and button. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish – the grime and grit all over the sides and bottom of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is very clear and readable as noted above. From the Natural Grain stamping and the shape number on the shank I was pretty certain I was dealing with a Comoy’s pipe. The stamping Benaderet’s was a dead end and the shape number 20 seems to point to Comoy’s.

I did a quick google search for a Benaderet’s Pipe Shop and came on two good links. The first is from a post on reddit that included a quick bit of information on the shop being located in San Franscisco, California that closed in the 1970s. (https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/comments/dzg3y8/any_info_on_a_benaderet_pipe_year_etc/ ). I quote:

Benaderet’s was a pipe shop in San Francisco that closed in the 70’s. Their house pipes were made by Comoys or Sasieni although smokingpipes had one made by GBD once. Good find.

The other link was to a blog (http://theothersideofthelizard.blogspot.com/2018/11/benaderets-pipe-shop.html). That blog gave the original address of the shop in San Francisco and the names of the owners of the shop.

Benaderet’s Cigarette, Pipe and Tobacco Shop
215 Sutter Street [Formerly at 566 California Street], San Francisco.
Owners: Robert and Edith Rashaw (Robert Rashaw: born 1916. Edith Edna Rashaw: born 1916.)

Store still extant in the late seventies. No longer there by the eighties. At one point, they had Egyptian cigarettes made for them. Their house pipes were usually by Comoys. There are also Benaderet Sasienis. More research required.

Quote: “Benaderet’s Inc. was California’s oldest pipe and tobacco store when it went out of business in 1980. Sam Benaderet was a tobacconist from New York City who came to San Francisco in 1915 to work at the Panama Pacific International Exposition. An immigrant to the United States from Turkey, Mr. Benaderet decided that he liked the West Coast’s Mediterranean like climate. After the Exposition closed, he stayed to open his own tobacco business. This new firm produced custom private-label cigarettes for men’s clubs. A lavish retail store was opened in the late 1920’s that quickly became a mecca for tobacco connoisseurs.”

So what I could find out about the pipe is that it is a pipe probably made by Comoys (The Natural Grain mark and the shape number points to this conclusion). It was made for Benaderet’s Cigarette, Pipe and Tobacco Shop in San Francisco, California. Since the shop went out of business in 1980 I now knew that the pipe was made before that time. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

This pipe was a real mess like many of the pipes we work on. I was curious to see what it would look like when I unpacked it. I was surprised at how good it looked. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked much better and the inner and outer edges were looking good. He had cleaned the internals and scrubbed the exterior of the stem and soaked them in Before & After Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked very good other than the tooth marks and chatter in the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks very good. The beveled inner edge of the rim is clean and look great. The bowl is spotless. The stem is clean and has light tooth marks and tooth chatter. I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show overall look of the parts. It is a nice looking piece of briar and the pipe will be a beauty.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down after each sanding pad. I decided to leave the few scratches in the briar and they would not steam out and they were minor enough to leave. There were some light spots around the bowl and shank that I touched up with a Maple stain pen to blend into the surrounding briar. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was in good condition and the light chatter and marks would be removed when I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the Benaderet’s Cherrywood/Poker Paramount 20 pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the black vulcanite saddle stem contrasting with the colours of the bowl. The reddish brown stain on the Benaderet’s Paramount Cherrywood looks absolutely great. It is nice to know that it has a west coast tie to the San Francisco area and a long gone pipe shop. It must have been a fine smoking pipe judging from the condition it was when we received it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 36 grams/1.27 oz. This is one that will go on the British Pipemakers section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Breathing Life into a 1972 Dunhill Red Bark 6P F/T Group 4 Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us in a group of pipes that we purchased from a fellow in Los Angeles, California, USA. It is a Dunhill Red Bark Bent Bulldog that is in good condition. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank. On the heel of the bowl it is stamped with the shape number 6P F/T followed by Dunhill [over] Red Bark followed by Made in England 12. That is followed by 4 in a circle followed by R/B for Red Bark. Interpreting that stamp it is as follows: The 6P is the shape for a bent saddle stem Bulldog and the F/T is the designation for the button shape – a Fish Tail. The Dunhill Red Bark is the finish which is corroborated the R/B at the end of the stamping. The 12 following the D of England gives the date the pipe was made and identifies it as 1972. The stamping is clear and readable. The age of the pipe and the oils in the sandblast finish has given the pipe a rich reddish brown finish. There is also some amazing grain that the shape follows well. The finish was dirty with dust around the nooks and crannies of the sandblast. There was a thick cake in the bowl and tobacco debris stuck to the walls of the bowl. The rim top showed darkening and some lava in the sandblast. The vulcanite saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the darkening and light lava overflow on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter on the surface on both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the deep sandblast grain on the pipe. It is a beauty under the grime and dust. The stamping on the underside of the shank is shown in the photos below. It looks very good and readable. It reads as noted and explained above. The third photo shows the white spot on the stem. I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Red Bark Pipes to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Red Bark

Red Bark: Introduced in 1972, the Red Bark is a reddish stained sandblast, and is the most famous of Dunhill’s retired finishes. Originally, the stain was a medium red. A couple of years later the stain was changed to a brighter red, almost pinkish in colour. The almost pink colour caused pipe sales to plummet. In 1976, the stain was changed back to the original darker medium red finish. The Red Bark finish was officially retired in 1987. The County and Russet finishes have also been retired.

I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a 12 it points to the 1960+ suffix line on the chart below.I now knew that I was working on a Red Bark that came out in 1972 which was the first year that the line was introduced. It was retired in 1987 and was one of the most famous of Dunhill’s retired finishes. It also had the medium red stain of the first pipes introduced from Dunhill in the Red Bark line.

I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had carried out his usual thorough cleanup of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake and cleaned the reaming up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very clean when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the darkening on the rim top on the back right. It is roughened and chipped and out of round. The saddle stem came out looking quite good. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button as well as some remaining oxidation. I took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. It is clear and readable as noted above.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. It is a nice looking pipe.I decided to start the restoration on this one by working on darkening on the right rear of the rim top. I scrubbed it with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the darkening. I also scrubbed the front of the bowl where there was some darkening. After scrubbing it the bowl and the rim top looked much better. With the repair completed I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It turned out to be a 6mm filter stem. It had some underlying oxidation that needed to be dealt with. I put it in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover and let it soak for half a day. I took it out of the bath, dried it off and scrubbed the remaining oxidation with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleanser. I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Dunhill Red Bark 6P F/T Bent Bulldog is a beautiful sandblast with the unique Sandblast finish made in 1972. It is a great looking pipe that came out looking very good. The Red Bark finish has a great rugged sandblast that Dunhill specialized in making. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. The oils off the smoker’s hands and the mahogany/medium red stain on the bowl works well to highlight the grain. The polished black vulcanite saddle stem adds to the mix. With the dust gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and is eye-catching. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished 6P F/T Red Bark Bulldog is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 37grams/1.31oz. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restoring a Chunky, Rusticated Tom Howard Panel Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us in a group of pipes that we purchased from online auction on in 2018 from Dearborn Heights, Michigan, USA. It is a rusticated Panel Billiard that is in good condition. It is stamped on the sides of the shank. On the left side it is stamped Tom Howard. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar. The stamping is clear and readable. I have worked on at least one Tom Howard pipe in the past and later in the blog will give a bit of the history. At this point I have to say that the pipe is well made but it is clunky looking and feeling. It does not have the rugged beauty or finesse of a Tracy Mincer Custom-Bilt in my opinion. It has its own charm, to be sure but it is not the same. The age of the pipe and the oils in the finish has given the pipe a rich reddish brown finish. There is also some nice grain that the shape follows well. The finish was dirty with dust around the nooks and crannies of the worm trail rustication. There was a thick cake in the bowl and the rim top showed darkening and some lava. The inner edge showed some potential damage that would only become clear once the pipe was cleaned. The vulcanite taper stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button on both sides. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the darkening and lava overflow on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter on the surface on both sides. The photo of the side and heel of the bowl shows the carved worm trail rustication and the grain on the pipe. It looks quite nice under the grime and dust. The stamping on the sides of the shank is shown in the photos below. It looks very good and readable. It reads as noted and explained above. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to refresh my memory of the brand. I remembered that Tom Howard was a notable figure beyond pipe making. I also remembered that Dal Stanton had worked on one and done a great job ferreting out the history of the brand and the maker. I turned to his blog on the brand and read what he had written during his restoration of one of the Howard pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/09/16/the-vintage-notoriety-of-tom-howard-and-his-jumbo-squat-rustified-tomato/). I have included the portion of the blog on the history below for ease of reference. (Thanks Dal!)

I had never heard of a Tom Howard stamp on a pipe and after I put the name in search tool on Pipedia I was surprised to find what I found. Tom Howard was a vintage celebrity in America during the 1940s and 50s. Here’s what Pipedia said about Tom Howard the man:

Tom Howard was a popular comedian and personality in the 1940s/50s, known for vaudeville stage and radio work. But he also was a skilled pipe maker. In a Popular Mechanic article from 1947 he is written up as the “Hobbyist of the Month, Tom Howard.” He made pipes in his workshop outside his home in Red Bank, NJ. Starting about 1939 and looks like into the late 1940’s or later. He purchased briar blocks by the bag as well as stem blanks, and in his well-equipped shop he handcrafted his pipes, in about three hours on average. He was a true craftsman, also specializing is intricate model boats, trains and brass canons, all built to scale.

I was intrigued – this vaudeville and stage comedian made pipes and this pipe came from his workshop made by his hands. How cool is that? Desiring to find out more about Tom Howard the man, I searched Wikipedia and found a fun and informative article about his professional life and how he hosted a I was intrigued – this vaudeville and stage comedian made pipes and this pipe came from his workshop made by his hands. How cool is that? Desiring to find out more about Tom Howard the man, I searched Wikipedia and found a fun and informative article about his professional life and how he hosted a zany Q&A game show that was spoofing the ‘serious’ Q&A game shows. It was called “It Pays to Be Ignorant”. Here is what the Wikipedia article said:

It Pays to Be Ignorant was a radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto. The series was a spoof on the authoritative, academic discourse evident on such authoritative panel series as Quiz Kids and Information Please, while the beginning of the program parodied the popular quiz show, Doctor I.Q. With announcers Ken Roberts and Dick Stark, the program was broadcast on Mutual from June 25, 1942 to February 28, 1944, on CBS from February 25, 1944 to September 27, 1950 and finally on NBC from July 4, 1951 to September 26, 1951. The series typically aired as a summer replacement.

Snooping a bit more, I found an online site that had the July 5, 1951 episode of ‘It pays to Be Ignorant’ available for viewing. I watched it and it was like I was in a time machine! The video also included period advertising for cars and tobacco and Tom Howard in form, dawning a professorial gown and a gravelly 1950s vaudeville tin can voice. It’s great! I clipped a picture of the episode. If you want to see it yourself, here’s the link: The Internet Archive.

The Pipedia article I included above, referenced one more source to learn a bit more about Tom Howard. In a 1947 Popular Mechanics edition he was named ‘Hobbyist of the Month’ – but it didn’t say which month! With a little bit of help from Google, I found Archive.org that housed old editions of many periodicals including Popular Mechanics. I started in January and started searching – thankfully they had a search tool I utilized for each month. Finally, I found the article in the Popular Mechanic 1947 June’s edition. For the absolute nostalgia of it, and for the interesting information it adds about Tom Howard and especially his pipe production, I’m including the pages here for you to read – including the cover page! I couldn’t pass it up! Armed with the great information Dal had provided I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had carried out his usual thorough cleanup of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake and cleaned the reaming up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked much better when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the darkening and the damage to the inner edge of the rim on the back right. It is roughened and chipped and out of round. The taper stem came out looking quite good. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and some damage to the button surface itself. I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. It is a nice looking pipe.I decided to start the restoration on this one by working on the damage and darkening on the right rear of the rim top. I sanded the rim top with 220 grit sandpaper and gave the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel to remove the damage and blend it into the rest of the rim edge. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I touched up the sanded rim top and edge with a Maple stain pen to blend it into the surrounding briar. The match is perfect and once the bowl is buffed it will disappear.With the repair completed I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the bite marks on both sides of the stem and button with clear super glue and set it aside for the repairs to cure. I reshaped the button with a file and then sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I started the polishing with a piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Tom Howard Panel Billiard turned out to be a nice looking pipe. The rusticated finish looks quite good while not obscuring the grain around the bowl. The stain used on the bowl served to highlight the grain on the bowl. The polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. With the dust gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and is eye-catching. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Tom Howard Panel Billiard is a large pipe and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 71grams/2.50oz. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Sasieni Ashford Walnut – the Band is Back Together!

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By Al Jones

Wow, things have changed at WordPress! It’s been several months since my last submission and the new format is going to take some getting used to.

I wasn’t necessarily looking for another Sasieni Ashford, but this Four Dot Walnut appeared in my Ebay search engine and it looked like a great candidate to join my three other Ashfords. I previously had a Walnut Ashford, but sold it several years ago, to fund the purchase of my Ashford Natural, which was unsmoked and by my standard, pricey. Selling that Walnut was always one that I regretted.

This example, shown below looked well loved, but solid. There were some dings around the bowl, and build-up on the bowl-top. The most problematic would be the deep tooth indention on the bottom of the button. Stem fitment was excellent as was the nomenclature.

I used a worn piece of Scotch-Brite and a Micromesh sheet to remove the build-up on the bowl top. The briar had some small handing dings. I used an electric iron an a wet cloth to raise them, which worked well. The bowl was then soaked with alcohol and sea salt. Following the soak, the shank and draft hole were scrubbed with a bristle brush dripped in alcohol.

The tooth indention on the bottom of the stem was deep, and the rubber protruded into the draft hole. I used a heat gun to soften the vulcanite and using a small needle file, I was able to push the material back into it’s original shape. There was only a scratch underneath. I used some black superglue to fill that in and give the button some extra stability. It seemed solid, and under magnification, there was no break, so that was precautionary.

The oxidation was removed with 400, 800, 1200 and 2000 grade wet paper, followed by 8,000 and 12,000 micromesh sheets. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic Polish.

The briar was buffed lightly with White Diamond and several coats of Carnuba Wax. Below is the finished pipe.

Below is the Fab Four of Ashfords, as I’ve taken to calling them. I liken the Natural to Paul, the Walnut to John, the Ruff Root to George and the Rustic to Ringo (so far, my favorite to smoke)

Breathing Life into a BBB Own Make Thorneycroft 708 Square Shank Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next interesting looking large Billiard was picked up in 2018 from a fellow in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. The long, square shank sandblasted Dublin looked very good. The finish was dirty but otherwise in good condition on the bowl and shank. The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads BBB in a diamond [over] Own Make [over] Thorneycroft [over] London, England. To the right of this toward the stem it is stamped with the shape number 708. The Thorneycroft line seems to be associated with the sandblast finished pipes. There was a thick cake in the shank and thick overflow of lava on the rim top that obscured potential damage on either. The stem was the original, square tapered vulcanite without the usual brass BBB diamond of stamping. It was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. The pipe had a lot of potential. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took a photo of the rim top to show condition of the bowl. It is hard to tell what the inner edge of the bowl looks like under the lava coat. It is a very dirty pipe. He also captured the condition of the stem. It is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem near the button. He took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the sandblast finish around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. The pipe is stamped BBB in a diamond [over] Own Make [over] Thorneycroft [over] London, England that is followed on the right by the shape number 708. I looked on Pipephil’s site for information on the Thorneycroft line and found the following listing. I did a screen capture of the section on the line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-bbb.html) and have included it below.I looked on Pipedia and found several references to the BBB Own Make Thorneycroft pipe but nothing specific (https://pipedia.org/wiki/BBB).

It was time to work on the pipe. As usual Jeff had done a thorough cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. I took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the rim top and bowl. The bowl has raw briar for the lower third of the bowl. The rim top is clean and the blast looks very good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show cut marks on the top and underside of the stem.The stamping on the underside of the shank was readable. It read as noted above.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for ten minutes and then buffed it with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive and the finish looked rich. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further the stem. The photos below show the polished stem. I am pretty happy with the restoration of this BBB Own Make Thorneycroft Sandblast Canted Dublin. There is a sandblast finish to the bowl that is rugged and rich looking. The stem is clean and smooth with no damage. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished BBB Own Make Thorneycroft fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe was 29g/1.06oz. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restemming and Restoring a No Name Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

This morning I received another call from a customer sent to me by the local pipe shop. The fellow had a pipe that needed to be restemmed. He said he would stop by and drop the pipe off for me to work on. Irene and I were out and about so he left it in the mail box. When Irene brought it down to me in the shop the smell was overwhelmingly strong and filled the room with the overly sweet smell of years of aromatic vanilla smelling tobaccos. It was in a plastic bag and once I opened the bag it was even more pungent. The bowl was filled with a thick cake that took over half the diameter of the bowl. There was tobacco debris stuck on the walls of the bowl. The cake was sticky and tacky with the tars and oils. The exterior of the pipe was cake with sticky substances around all the sides and on the rim top. The rim top had been beat up and was in rough condition with a thick buildup of lava on the top. The finish was in rough condition with a lot of nicks and gouges around the sides of the bowl and shank. It was really a mess. The stem was chewed and split in half at the button forward for about an inch up the stem. Once I removed it the inside of the shank was as smelly as the rest of the pipe. I took photos of the pipe before I began my clean up. I took a photo of the rim top to show condition of the bowl. You can see the damage to the top and the inner and outer edge. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat on the heavily damaged rim top. It is a very dirty pipe. I also took photos of the stem to show its condition. It has tooth marks and cracks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. You can also see that the stem does not fit tightly against the shank but has gaps on both sides. I took the pipe apart and took photos of the pipe as a whole. It is in rough condition and I think that the stem was a replacement at some point in its life.The pipe stunk so bad and filled the room with the odor to the degree that I decided to clean the bowl before restemming the pipe. I reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer using three of the four cutting heads. I removed the cake back to bare walls so I could check for damage to the inside of the bowl from heat or otherwise. I scraped the remainder of the cake from the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and scraped the rim top at the same time. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I worked to get the thick grime off the outside of the bowl and shank. I rinsed it with running water and rinsed off the soap and grime. I cleaned out the shank and the airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to remove the tars and buildup in the shank. I wanted the shank clean before I fit a new stem.I built up the inside edge of the bowl and the damage to the rim top with super glue and briar dust. I layered the mixture on the rim and rebuilt the inner edge. Once I had it built up I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. Once I topped it smooth I stained the rim top with a Maple Stain Pen. I found a stem that was the same diameter as the ruined stem. I turned it on the PIMO tenon turning tool and my hand drill. I took the excess material off the diameter and the length of the stem to get a snug fit in the shank. I took photos of the fit of the stem to the shank. The fit of the stem to the shank end was the same as the previous one.There was a gap on both sides and it sat firm against the top and bottom. I examined the shank end and saw that it had been damaged and was no longer flat. I decided to square it up with a thin brass band as it would give a flat surface for the stem to face against. I glued and pressed it onto the shank end and set it aside to cure. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to take down the excess diameter of the stem and sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had the fit correct I put the stem in place on the pipe and took photos of the fit and look at this point in the process. I filled in the nicks and chips in the finish with briar dust and clear super glue. Once it had cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to remove the finish and the dust on the briar. I restained the bowl and shank with a light brown aniline stain. I flamed it with a lighter and repeated the process several times until I had the coverage that I was looking for.Once the stain had cured I took the pipe off the cork and took photos of the stained look of the bowl and shank with the brass band. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to make the stain more transparent. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down between pads with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I sanded out the scratch marks on stem from the Dremel with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem. This pipe has come a long way from where it was when I received it to restem. It is not flawless but it looks better. The Vancouver piper who it belongs to has received far more that what he originally wanted – just a new stem. The briar around the bowl is clean and looks better. The rich brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The rim top while not perfect is far better. I put the newly fitted vulcanite stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The pipeman will be picking it up soon and will be reintroduced to this pipe. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Unplugging a Plugged stem on a Peterson’s 2018 Pipe of the Year

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Blog by Steve Laug

On Tuesday this week I received the following email from a fellow here in Vancouver regarding repairing a couple of pipes for him. He wrote as follows:

Hi Steve… You were recommended to me by our good friends at City Cigar (Vancouver). I have 2 pipes I’d love to have rescued – if possible! Please let me know if you could be of service. I’ve attached a few photos.

One is a Peterson 2018 Pipe of the Year, Smooth Fishtail. Pipe is great – except there is an unsolvable (for myself) blockage in the stem. I think the filter is damaged.

The other is an unfortunate Savinelli; the actual wood is broken, right at the connection between pipe body and stem.

Let me know your thoughts! I’d love to regain these to a workable state if possible; they are lovely pipes.

Thanks kindly and best regards, Zak

He included pictures of both pipe for me. It was time to work on the plugged stem in the Peterson 2018 POY. Here is the photo that Zak included with his email. Once I saw the pipe I confirmed that the stem was not sitting correctly in the shank and the finish on the bowl was dirty and needed a little attention. Once I had the stem cleared out I would clean up the exterior of the bowl.I did a Google search for the Peterson 2018 Pipe of the Year to double check the fit of the stem to the shank. It is not fit against the shank in the above photo but in the ones that I found on two different sites (same pipe) the stem was a snug fit against the shank. I have included the links and photos that I found below.

The first photo is from Petersonpipenotes site. The write up there by Mark Irwin is a great read (http://petersonpipenotes.org/2018/01/16/77-first-look-the-2018-peterson-pipe-of-the-year/).The second photo is from and advertising page on the GQTobaccos.com site for the Peterson’s 2018 Pipe of the Year (https://www.gqtobaccos.com/tobacco-pipes/peterson-pipe-of-the-year-2018-smooth/).The pipe I am working on is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Peterson [over] Of Dublin [over] Pipe of the Year [over] 2018 [over] 47 of 500. The Sterling Silver Band on the shank is stamped on top and reads Peterson [over] Dublin. On the underside it reads Peterson [over] three hallmarks. I have included the Hallmark chart from Peterson below. I have also done a screen capture of the section entitled Peterson Silver Hallmarks. I am not sure what to make of the information on the band as it does not match the 2018 year on the POY.The photo to the left explains the hallmarks on this Peterson 2018 Pipe of the Year.

The first hallmark on this pipe is what is noted as Hibernia – a seated woman with her arm on a harp. This represents the country of manufacture – Ireland.

The second hallmark is 925 in an oval. It is the standard European Mark or Millesimal Mark which gives the purity or quality of the silver in parts per 1000.

The third hallmark is the Date Letter Code for the year in which the silver was hallmarked. The Date Letter on this pipe band is an italic upper case “G” which according to the chart dates the band to 1992. It is interesting that the band is on a pipe that is a Pipe of the Year for 2018. I am not sure what to make of that conflicting information. Was the band old stock made previously? I am not sure I will ever know that for sure.

I decided that the first thing I would work on was the fit of the stem to the shank. The shank itself was dirty and there was a thick coat of stain on the inside that had tar and oils built up on it that kept the tenon from seating properly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe as it looked when I received it. Compare the fit of the stem in these photos with the fit in the photos of the same pipe above. I cleaned out the shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the build up from the walls of the shank that prevented the stem from seating properly. There was also a lot of stain on the inside of the shank that must have influenced the taste of the smoke. I smoothed out the ridges on the tenon with 220 grit sandpaper and made it smooth to allow an easy push into the shank. I put the stem on the shank and took photos of the proper looking 2018 Pipe of the Year. With the fit of the stem to the shank corrected it was now time to deal with the plugged stem. Zak thought that there was a filter jammed up the airway. My guess, judging on the size of the airway in the tenon and stem was that it was a broken pipe cleaner or even just pipe cleaner debris compacted and blocking the airway. I tried to push a cleaner in from both directions to try and locate the blockage. I was able to assess that it was equal distance from the tenon end and the button end – dead center in the stem, just before the bend.

I began my work on the obstruction by using a small drill bit and turning it into the clog without pushing the clog further up the stem. I was able to pull out some of the debris using that method but I did not push it as I did not want to move it up the stem. Once I had it drill I used a pipe cleaner to drip some acetone on the blockage. I repeated that from both ends of the stem and let the acetone sit and work on the blockage. I was hoping that it would dissolve any tar or oils that held the plug tightly in place in the stem.I was hoping to unplug it without heating and straightening and rebending the stem with my heat gun. After the acetone had soaked on the plug for a while I used an unfolded paper clip to push and pick at the plug. I inserted it from both ends and worked on the blockage. After working the block over with the wire I was able to break through the blockage. The airflow was very constricted but at least there was some air. I cleaned the airway with a pipe cleaner and alcohol, working on the clog from both directions. I used the wire to pick away at the edges of the plug and loosen it. The pipe cleaners push out what the wire had loosened. In the next photos you can see the pile of darkened pipe cleaner debris that I was able to work out of the airway. I worked on the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol until the airway was clean and the airflow was no longer hampered. With the stem finish I cleaned up rim top and beveled rim edge and then I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I buffed the Sterling Silver band with a jeweler’s cloth and removed the tarnish coat. This nicely grained Peterson 2018 Pipe of the Year with a Sterling Silver band and an acrylic taper stem with an inlaid silver P is a great looking pipe. The briar around the bowl is clean and really came alive. The rich brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. I put the acrylic stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 54grams/1.90oz. The pipe will be going back to Zak along with the Savinelli I finished earlier. He will see them in person soon, so he can enjoy them both again. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Repairing a broken shank on a Savinelli Liquirizia 920KS Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

On Tuesday this week I received the following email from a fellow here in Vancouver regarding repairing a couple of pipes for him. He wrote as follows:

One is a Peterson 2018 Pipe of the Year, Smooth Fishtail. Pipe is great – except there is an unsolvable (for myself) blockage in the stem. I think the filter is damaged.

The other is an unfortunate Savinelli; the actual wood is broken, right at the connection between pipe body and stem.

Let me know your thoughts! I’d love to regain these to a workable state if possible; they are lovely pipes.

Thanks kindly and best regards, Zak

He included pictures of both pipe for me. I decided to tackle the Savinelli first. Here are the photos that Zak included with his email. As you can see the shank is snapped with a clean break about ½ inch up the shank. Zak fortunately had the pieces of the broken pipe and delivered them to me. The break had not damaged the stamping on the pipe. It read on the left side Savinelli [over] Liquirizia. On the right side it had the Savinelli Shield S logo followed by the shape number 920KS [over] Italy. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Hand Made. The pipe had a beautiful acrylic stem with a white band on the end. The tenon was Delrin and had been drilled out for a Savinelli 6mm filter or a Balsa filter. The bowl had a moderate cake and some lava on the rim top. The stem and shank had tar and oils. I cleaned out the shank and the areas of the break and glued the broken piece back in place on the shank using clear CA (super glue). The photos below show the glued shank piece. When I repair this kind of break in a shank gluing and clamping it is not sufficient to hold. As the stem is put back in place the break will happen again due to the pressure from the tenon on the walls. I have learned that a simple band will bind it together and add strength. I have some brass bands that I picked up online that are quite thin but have and end cap that works really well to bind it all together and strengthen the joint. I went through the bag of bands I have and found the one that fit the best.I sanded the repaired area smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repair into the surface of the briar. Once the repair was smooth heated the band with a lighter and pressed it onto the shank end against my topping board to press it in place. The band added stability to the repair.I filled in a few spots with clear CA glue and resanded them with 220 grit sandpaper. Once the repairs cured I wiped the bowl down with acetone to remove the spotty varnish coat that was on the rest of the bowl. I touched up the repaired areas with a Cherry stain pen to blend it in and prepare it for a further stain coat a little later.I reamed out the uneven cake in the bowl with a PipNet reamer and cut it back to bare briar so I could inspect the interior walls. I cleaned up the remnants of the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The walls of the bowl looked very good with no heat damage or fissures.I put a cork in the bowl and stained it with a dark brown stain. I flamed the stain to set in the briar and then repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage on the bowl. It did a great job blending the repaired area into the briar. I set the bowl aside so the stain coat would cure overnight. Here is what it looked like in the morning when I brought it to the table. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to make the finish more transparent. I began to see the grain stand out. I continued to wipe it down until I had the variation in colour I was looking for. The grain really stood out now and the brass band was a great contrast. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the bowl down between each pad with a damp cloth. The contrasting colours really came alive. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The photo below shows the polished stem. This nicely grained Savinelli Liquirizia 920KS Bent Dublin with a thin brass repair band and a swirled acrylic stem is a great looking pipe. The briar around the bowl is clean and really came alive. The rich brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. The brass band binds the cracked shank repair and gives it a bit of bling. I put the acrylic stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Savinelli Liquirizia Bent Dublin is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44grams/1.55oz. The pipe will be going back to Zak as soon as finish the second one. He will soon, so he can enjoy it again. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Breathing Life into a GBD Tahiti Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next interesting looking large Billiard was picked up 2018 from a fellow in Pocatello, Idaho, USA. It was a bit of an oddity for me in that it is a GBD pipe with a very different rustication on the bowl and shank than even the alligator finish I have seen. The finish was dirty but otherwise in good condition on the bowl and shank. There was a repair band on the shank that generally signals a repair on a cracked shank. The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads GBD in the oval logo [over] TAHITI. I wonder if the shape number is not under the repair band. The line does not show up on any of the GBD materials that I have accessed. There was a thick cake in the shank and thick overflow of lava on the rim top that obscured potential damage on either. The stem was an original tapered vulcanite with the GBD Brass roundel on the left side. It was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. There was also a gouge on both the top and underside of the stem mid-stem. It had a lot of potential. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took a photo of the rim top to show condition of the bowl. It is hard to tell what the inner edge of the bowl looks like under the lava coat. It is a very dirty pipe. He also captured the condition of the stem. It is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem near the button. He took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the rustication pattern around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. You can see the repair in the photo below next to the shank. I have used a red arrow to highlight the repaired area under the band.The pipe is stamped GBD in an oval followed by TAHITI on the underside of the shank there is no London England stamp and no shape number. I looked on Pipedia and Pipephil’s site for information on the Tahiti line and came up empty handed. There was no information on the line. I did a Google search on the brand and came upon a link on smokingpipes.com to a very similar looking pipe and a description (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=35108). On the site Bear Graves writes this description of the pipe:

One thing I love about the older GBD pipes is that they were never timid when it came to staying within shape charts, and they would often play with different carved finishes. “Tahiti” is a wonderfully appropriate name for this pipe. I can almost hear the ocean now.–Bear Graves

It was time to work on the pipe. As usual Jeff had done a thorough cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. I took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the darkening and damage to the rim top and edges of the bowl. There appeared to be some burn damage on the surface and inner edge of the rim. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show cut marks on the top and underside of the stem.The stamping on the underside of the shank was readable. It read as noted above.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe.I started my work on the rim top by cleaning the top and edges with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage on the top of the rim. The rim had a very nice inward bevel that when cleaned up was attractive. The grain on the top of the rim was very nice. I started the polishing process with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. Note the rim top and you can see the change to the look of the bevel that I worked on above. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for ten minutes and then buffed it with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive and the finish looked rich. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the damaged areas with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. I started polishing them with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further the stem. The photos below show the polished stem. I am pretty happy with the restoration of this GBD New Tahiti Billiard. The rim top looks far better and the finish is now and reveals the grain really well. There is a matte finish to the bowl that is rugged and rich looking. The stem is clean and smooth with no remaining damages. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished large GBD Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe was 49g/1.73oz. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Golden Parker Danish Style 141 Bent Acorn

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table we purchased in 2018 from a fellow Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. It is a mixed grain in a Danish looking shape. The bowl has a rich reddish brown colour combination that highlights grain. The pipe was dirty but appeared to be in decent condition under the grime. There was grime and oils ground into the surface of the briar. This pipe is stamped on the sides of the shank. On the left it reads Golden [over] Parker. To the left of that is the shape number near the bowl that reads 141. On the right it Made in London [over] England. There is a tarnished Sterling Silver band on the shank that appears to be a repair band. The fancy saddle stem has no distinguishing marks or logos. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy overflow of lava on the crowned rim top. It is hard to know the condition of the top or edges underneath the lava. We would know more once it was cleaned up. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface. It was definitely someone’s favourite pipe judging by the condition it arrived at Jeff’s house. He took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. He took a photo of the rim top to show condition of the bowl. It is hard to tell for sure but the inner edge of the bowl looks good the lava coat. The top and outer edge also look okay. It is a very dirty pipe. He also captured the condition of the stem. It is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the beautiful grain around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. There was a spot on the lower left side of the bowl where the pipe appeared to have been dropped and there was some “road rash”. He took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. The repair band was well done and did not cover the stamping on the left side and went right along side of the M on Made in in England on the right side. The tarnish silver repair band is stamped Sterling. I turned first to Pipephil’s site to look at the Parker write up there and see if I could learn anything about the line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-parker.html). There was a Parker Golden pipe listed and the stamping matched the one that I am working on but there was no further information on line.I looked up the Parker brand on Pipedia to see if I could find the Parker Golden (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Parker). There was nothing that tied directly to the line I am working on. There is a decent history of the brand there that is a good read.

It was time to work on the pipe. As usual Jeff had done a thorough cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. Other than the damaged rim top the pipe looked good. I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. The rim top and edges looked very good. The vulcanite stem had tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button edges. The stamping on the sides of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is a nice Bent Acorn that should clean up very well. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and edges. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damaged areas and scratches in the bowl. It looked much better than when I started. I filled in the damaged areas on the left side of the owl with clear super glue. Once the glue cured and hardened I sanded them smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished they were smooth. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down between pads with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks and chatter. I was able to life many of them. I filled in the remaining marks with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. I started polishing them with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem. This nicely grained Golden Parker 141 Danish Looking Bent Acorn with a Sterling Silver repair band and a fancy vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar around the bowl is clean and really came alive. The rich brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. I put the vulcanite stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Golden Parker Bent Acorn is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 40grams/1.41oz. This will be going on the rebornpipes store under the British Pipemakers section soon. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!