Monthly Archives: December 2020

Unleashing the Bling of an Aldo Velani Trio 51 Pot of Italy

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Blog by Dal Stanton

With 4 of 7 of Daniel’s commissioned pipes completed, the pipes remaining are the last 2 Aldo Velani Trios that remained in the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection and what I have called a, ‘Spotted Bent Billiard’ or perhaps, dragon skin!  This pipe is a ‘specialty pipe’ where the stummel was wrapped with a carbon resin material.  The ‘skin’ almost looks like dragon hide to me. The 2 Aldo Velani Trios remaining were acquired in 2018 in what I have called the St. Louis Lot of 26 that my son, Josiah, found in an antique shop. He was impressed by the quality of pipes in the Lot and emailed me in Bulgaria with a proposition of going in together for the Lot of 26.  His part in the purchase would be his Christmas present to me – that I would choose a pipe for my own from the Lot.  My part of the purchase would be to restore the pipes to benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria.  It was a proposal hard to refuse and some weeks later I unwrapped the St. Louis Lot of 26 in Denver where our family had gathered for Christmas.  The original 4 Aldo Velani ‘brothers’ stand out among the St. Louis Lot of 26 below.  The upper Bent Apple and the lower Rusticated Volcano have already found homes with new stewards. The Pot and Billiard are next on the worktable.All the Aldo Velani pipes have in common the bling of nickel gold-plated shank rings and acrylic stems.  The Billiard’s stem is a clear acrylic, but the Pot shows off an eye-catching ruby/burgundy stem complementing the characteristic red burgundy Aldo Velani stummel.  With the Pot first in line, some pictures provide a closer look.  The nomenclature on the left shank side is cursive script, ‘Aldo Velani’ [over] ‘TRIO’.  On the shank underside, the COM, ‘ITALY’ is followed by the shape number ‘51’.   The Aldo Velani stem stamp is interesting and in the previous research discovered what it was.  I found in Pipedia’s Aldo Velani article, an example and details of the stamping on an original Aldo Velani box (courtesy of Doug Valitchka).  The stamp depicts a pipe as the front leg of the ‘A’ for Aldo and the back leg of the ‘A’ forms the front riser of the ‘V’ of Velani. As a good refresher, I repeat the previous research here:  The article cited from Pipedia provides helpful information understanding the provenance of the Aldo Velani name:

Most Aldo Velani pipes are made in Livorno, Italy, for the USA market by Cesare Barontini. They were previously imported by Lane Limited. Lane spokesman Frank Blews once described Velani’s stylish, intrinsically Italian designs as “Billiards with more ball, bulldogs with more jaw.” The name “Aldo Velani” is actually fictional.

Another Barontini 2nd is named “Cesare”.

I learn two interesting things from this information.  First, Aldo Velani is a faux name that does not describe an Italian pipe house but a specific line of pipes.  Secondly, the Aldo Velani is made by the Casare Barontini name based in Livorno, Italy.   Further information is available cross referencing to Casare Barontini in Pipedia:

In 1890 Turildo Barontini opened a factory for the production of briar. In 1925 his son Bruno began to produce the first pipes. Cesare Barontini, son of Bruno, started direction of the factory in 1955, and still runs it together with his daughters Barbara and Silvia.

Sub-brands & Seconds: Aldo Velani. Cesare, L’artigiana, Stuart, Cortina

 Pipephil’s site has several examples of the Aldo Velani line depicted which tend to be very stylish and nice-looking pipes which confirms the Pipedia assertion that Casare Brontini produced the Aldo Velani lines primarily for export.  It is evident that there was not a consistency in the stem stamping or name style for Aldo Velani as different examples are given.  Here are the stem stamping variations provided by Pipephil:Looking now to the condition of the Aldo Velani Trio Pot, the chamber has some cake build up as well as a crusted layer of lava flow over the broad Pot rim.  Taking a close look, I can see fissures on the back side of the chamber wall.  This could be an indication of burning problems with the Pot.  He’s been well used and when I ream the chamber, I’ll be able to see if the fissures are only the cake or if it goes deeper into the chamber wall briar – not something I’m hoping for!The ruby/burgundy stummel is sharp but covered with grunge.  The challenge in restoring these two Aldo Velani Trio brothers together, first the Pot then the Billiard, is to maintain the consistency of hue.  The ruby/burgundy is a unique, eye catching hue that sets the entire line apart in a classy way.  They strike me as ‘after dinner pipes’ when the pipe is packed with one’s favorite blend and the glass is poured with one’s favorite adult beverage!  It is possible that during cleaning and possible repairs to the stummel that the hue can change a bit or a lot.  With the previous Aldo Velani Apple, all the stummel needed was a cleaning.  I’m hopeful of the same for the most part with the Pot and Billiard.  A few pictures show some closer looks at the surface’s need of cleaning. The ruby red acrylic stem has amazing ‘fire’ and presents a spectrum of colors which will be beautiful when the stem is cleaned.  The chatter on the bit is more severe on the lower side with a characteristic, singular tooth compression which is consistent with all the Aldo Velani pipes I’ve worked on.  This indicates a common steward of all. To begin with the cleanup of this Aldo Velani Trio Pot, the Pipnet Reaming Kit is employed to begin the process of clearing the chamber of the cake build up which hopefully reveals a healthy chamber. I take a few more pictures to mark the starting point. Working on a piece of paper towel to help cleanup, starting first with the smallest blade head and moving toward the larger from the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I use 3 of the 4 blade heads available.  Next, the Savinelli Fitsall Tool is employed to scrape the walls.  This is followed by sanding the chamber with 240 sanding paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen.  Finally, a cotton pad wetted with alcohol is used to wipe the chamber to clean the carbon dust residue.   An inspection of the chamber shows some chamber damage from heating where fissures have developed.  The thickness of the carbon cake buildup was deeper toward the backside of the chamber where the damage is located.  It’s important to remove all the charred wood and in doing this, the contour of the chamber is wider or ‘bowed out’ where more char was removed toward the shank-side.Another result of this damage is shown in the next picture.  The shank-side of the rim is thinner just a bit and this has created a flatness on the back of the rim lip.  The result is that the chamber mouth is out of round.  This can be seen in the next picture with a downward perspective.  As I continue to clean the rim and stummel, it will give me time to consider how to approach the chamber repair.Next, I work on scraping the lava caked on the rim.  Both a Winchester pocketknife and the Savinelli Fitsall tool are used to gently scrape the buildup off the rim. I don’t scrape too much to risk scratching or gouging the briar.  Next, I transition to cleaning the rim and stummel using undiluted Murphy’s Oil.  A cotton pad is used to scrub the stummel and a brass wire brush is used to help break up the remaining lava clinging to the rim.Transitioning from the worktable, the next stop is to the sink to continue the cleaning.  Using shank brushes and anti-oil dish washing soap, the mortise is scrubbed with warm water.  The stummel is then rinsed thoroughly with warm tap water.  Back on the worktable, I take another picture.The stummel cleaned up well.  The rim reveals places where the finish has thinned and is absent.  This picture also continues to show the issue of the ‘out-of-round’ chamber.  The challenge in restoring the rim will be to continue to clean the rim and to match the burgundy color of the rim after the repairs are done.While I think about this approach, I continue to fine tune the internal cleaning by using pipe cleaners and cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 99%.  After several buds and pipe cleaners they start emerging lighter.  I move on!With the stummel cleaned, I decide to address the rim issues before going on to the stem work.  I take a fresh picture of the rim to shape out the issues.  First, the reaming of the chamber revealed some heating problems resulting in some smaller fissures on the shank-side of the chamber.  The picture below is facing toward the back or shank-side of the chamber.  You can see the heating cracks.  They are not serious enough to take extraordinary measures to repair – using a product like J-B Weld, a heat resistant epoxy which I’ve used with success with past projects.  To address these heating veins, later I will apply ‘pipe mud’ to the chamber which is made of water and cigar ash.  This mixture will provide a protective layer to help enhance the natural development of a protective carbon cake of about a dime’s width.   The following picture also shows, though not easy to see, the chamber bowing toward the shank because of the charred briar removed.  The rim is also out of shape above this – flattened, throwing the entire rim out of round.  The second picture shows this as well.My plan is to sand the upper chamber on the shank-side (right side below) and transition the sanding up toward the rim.  My goal is to ease the chamber bowing and ‘re-round’ the chamber mouth.  I’m considering after the sanding, creating a sharp, internal rim bevel which should help the rounding and appearance.The next issue is the rim itself – the finish is shot and needs help.  I’ll start by lightly sanding the rim with micromesh pads to see if this cleans things while retaining a measure of the hue. I’ll seek to match the hue with bottle dyes or dye sticks.Starting on the chamber sanding, I use 240 paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen.  This not only gives me some leverage but helps with the rounded shaping needed on the flattened portion of the rim. After sanding with the 240 Sharpie, trying to regain as much rounding as possible, I use a round hard backing behind 240 paper to cut a bevel.  I hope to gain more rounding doing this.  The picture below shows the result of this approach.  There is a sacrifice of the narrowing of the shank-side rim surface as the sanding and rounding is achieved to some degree.  There is no perfection, but I like the progress made.Next, I sand the rim top, or almost a plateau, to clean and smooth the surface instead of a full topping of the stummel.I follow by applying the full regimen of micromesh pads to smooth the rim – pads 1500 to 12000.The next challenge is to color the rim to match, as closely as possible, the ruby/burgundy stummel finish. The closest color that I have to matching the stummel, after testing several candidates on a cotton pad, is Oxblood.  Yet, I’m concerned that Oxblood hue by itself might not be dark or deep enough.  I decide to use Fiebing’s Oxblood Leather Dye as the base, but I add a drop of Black Leather Dye to deepen the hue a few degrees.  I use a shot glass to mix the dyes.  I use a large eye dropper to draw out a small portion of the Oxblood and place it in the shot glass.  After cleaning the dropper with alcohol, I then draw some Black Dye and allow one drop to join the Oxblood. I use a cotton bud to place some of the mixture on a cotton pad and compare.  Well, this isn’t rocket science and it looks good to me.I then use a cotton bud to apply the dye mixture carefully to the rim.  The next picture shows the result.  It looks good, but I decide to add another drop of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye to the mixture and give the rim another application.This mixture was hitting the bull’s eye a bit more it seemed to me.  As I apply the dye with the cotton bud, I’m careful to apply dye to the small inner rim lip bevel but not to drift into the chamber.  After applying a few coats of dye, I put the stummel aside to allow the dye to settle.  I also save the mixture in case it’s needed for the next pipe on my table, the Aldo Velani Trio Billiard.  In this way I’ll have consistency of color between the brothers!With the stummel now in the wings, I turn to the acrylic stem and use pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 99% to clean the airway.  It does not take a lot of effort and I move on.The stem is dirty, but the main issues are the tooth chatter and a singular tooth depression that has been consistent with all the Aldo Velani Pipes that came from the St. Louis Lot.  The steward who had these pipes was consistent in his clenching habits!    The button has also experienced some clenching and will need to be addressed. I begin with the lower bit looking at the lone tooth compression, most likely from the steward’s eyetooth.  Before sanding, I use regular clear CA glue to fill the compression. I first clean the bit with alcohol and then, using a toothpick, I spot-drop CA glue in the compression.  I also apply some CA on a compression on the button lip.  I set the stem aside for the CA patches to cure.After a time, the patches are cured and using a flat needle file, the patches are filed down to the acrylic surface.  I also refresh the button lips with the file. Next, I continue to sand with 240 paper on first, the lower side then the upper bit.  The patch looks good.On the upper side, along with sanding out the tooth chatter with 240, the button lip is refreshed with the flat needle file.Next, using 600 grade paper, the entire stem is wet sanded.  This is followed by applying 0000 grade steel wool. Moving next to applying the full regimen of micromesh pads, the stem first is wet sanded with pads 1500 to 2400.  After this, the stem is dry sanded with pads 3200 to 4000 then 6000 to 12000.  Between each set of thee pads, Obsidian Oil is applied to the acrylic stem.  The stem’s swirls emerged nicely during the process.  Before rejoining the stem and Pot stummel, I refresh the nickel gold shank ring.  This ring is one of the aspects of the Aldo Velani Trio line that augments the ‘bling factor’.  I use a product called Tarn-X Tarnish Remover that works well with several metals to remove the tarnish and increase the shine.I take a closeup to provide a comparison of before and after application.  Using a cotton pad, I carefully apply some of the Tarn-X to the ring and rub in it in well avoiding the briar.  Per the directions, I then immediately use another cotton pad wetted with water to rinse off the remover.I buff up the ring with a cotton cloth and the bling factor has increased!After reuniting the acrylic stem and Pot stummel, a cotton cloth buffing wheel is mounted onto the extender arm of the rotary tool.  With speed set at about 40% full power, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the stem and stummel.  In the picture below you can see that the rim is still dull from the dye that was applied earlier after having plenty of time to settle.  I start with the rim and remove the excess and continue with the rest of the stummel and stem with the mildly abrasive Blue Diamond.After applying the Blue Diamond, I use a felt cloth to wipe and buff the stummel and stem to remove compound dust.  I do this before applying wax.  The compound is an abrasive and is the final sanding phase in a restoration to sand out fine blemishes and scratches.  It leaves abrasive particles behind which would not be good to mix with a carnauba wax application – which is not an abrasive.

There is still one more cosmetic project before applying wax.  I use European Gold Run ‘n Buff to refresh the Aldo Velani stem stamp.  The gold of the metallic paint will match nicely the gold shank ring.I place a small amount of the Rub ‘n Buff on the end of a toothpick and rub it over the stamp imprint.  After making sure that the paint has found all the crevasses of the lettering, I first lightly scrape the excess paint over the stamping with the flat edge of the toothpick then rub the area with a cotton pad.  The results are great!Next, after mounting another cotton cloth buffing wheel onto the Dremel, set at 40% full power, I apply carnauba wax to the stem and stummel.  Little wax is needed on the highly glossed surface of both the bowl and the acrylic stem.  After applying the wax over the entire pipe, I give the pipe a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth.  This not only raises the shine but removes excess wax from the surface.After completing the application of wax, one mini project remains.  Earlier during the chamber repair of the heating issues, I decided I would apply ‘pipe mud’ to the chamber walls to provide a starter for a protective cake.  In the picture below, not only am I giving a close up of the now beautiful rim, but also visible are remnants of cracks in the chamber wall.  Earlier sanding almost erased the cracking.  I decide to do a mini tutorial on making pipe mud to conclude the restoration of this Aldo Velani Trio Pot.Pipe mud consists of cigar ash and water.  If you have cigar smoking friends, ask them to save the ash of the cigars they enjoy!  Often, cigars will come in heavy duty plastic tubes or flutes, with caps.  They can use these tubes to store the ash.  When I collect cigar ash, seldom is it ‘clean’.  Often it as chunks of debris left that isn’t great for making pipe mud.  I have my ash in a ‘throw-away’ salt grinder that you can buy at the supermarket with salt in it.  When the salt is used, the grinder works well with grinding up cigar ash!I also have a strainer that I use to catch big stuff that comes through the grinder.  Placing the grinder on a paper plate I grind the ash into the strainer.  When I have enough ash ground, I then sift the ash onto the paper plate.  The picture below shows the ‘big stuff’ caught in the strainer and the finer ‘gold’ on the paper plate.The paper plate is helpful because it then becomes a funnel by bending the plate.  Then with the plate folded and functioning as a funnel or a chute, I transfer the ash to the mixing glass.Using a large eye dropper, I then add a small amount of water into the ash and stir it with a pipe nail tool.  CAUTION!  Go slowly on the water.  If too much water is added, then the resulting concoction will be more like an ash slurry rather than a mud that will hold its shape and adhere to the chamber wall.  If too much water is added, then more ash must be added to again thicken the consistency.The mud below is looking good.  It’s holding its shape as I press it against the glass.I place a pipe cleaner through the draft hole to guard against blockage.  Then, using the pipe nail, mud is troweled into the chamber and spread over the wall.  I start at the floor of the chamber and work my way up to the rim.  The flat side of the nail is good to use as a trowel and the round side is good to spread.  The picture below shows the finished job. When the mud dries, it hardens.  During the curing time, I place the pipe with the bowl down so that leaching water won’t settle in the bottom of the chamber but spread out toward the mouth of the chamber.  It seems to dry better this way.  The hour is late, so I’ll let the pipe mud cure through the night.  The next morning in Golden, Colorado, I’m up with coffee in hand.  The pipe mud has cured, the protective layer is in place and this pipe is ready to go.  I give it one more hand buffing with a microfiber cloth for good measure.This is the 5th of the pipes that Daniel has commissioned – the first of the Aldo Velani Trio brothers.  This Aldo Velani Trio Pot had some chamber and rim issues that had to be addressed and I think the results are great.  The style of this Pot stummel brings attention to the broad Pot rim – could almost be described as a plateau.  The characteristic that predominates on the Trio line though, is the ruby red/burgundy finish.  It catches the eye very quickly.  The gold shank ring dials up the bling factor as it transitions from the bowl to the kaleidoscopic acrylic stem alive with all shades of reds, ruby, burgundy and colors that I don’t have a name for!  This pipe, packed with one’s favorite blend, is an after-dinner player which looks good next to a glass of one’s favorite adult beverage – for me, a single malt.  Daniel will have the first opportunity to claim this pipe in The Pipe Steward Store benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria.  Thanks for joining me!

 

Another Bizarre & Interesting System Pipe – A Lenox All Wood Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

A few years ago Jeff picked up a Lenox from EBay that had a plastic wood finished barrel and a wooden bowl. It was an interesting looking piece. I restored it and have it in my collection of unusual pipes. When he saw this one he was drawn to it because it was all wood. The barrel and bowl were both wood. The internals were the same as the previous pipe. He picked it up because of it being all wood. He can’t remember where it came from but he remembers finding it. It is now on the work table after sitting here for almost a year. The pipe was dust and dirty. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a lava overflow on to the rim top. There appeared to be burn damage on the back inner edge and rim top that would need to be dealt with. The wooden barrel was dirty and dusty but otherwise in good condition. The bowl screwed onto the barrel and seemed to align well. The barrel is stamped Lenox on the left side of the barrel near the stem. The wood of the barrel and that of the bowl were stained to match each other well. The stem was inserted in the end of the barrel and was in good condition. There was some light oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos of the pipe before he sent it to me. It looks a lot like a wooden version of a Kirsten — at least externally. Jeff took some photos of the rim top and bowl to give an idea of the extent of the cake and the damage to the inner edge of the bowl at the rear of the pipe. You can see the damage and the lava coat on the top. The stem photos show the light oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.  He took photos of the sides of the barrel and the bowl. The grain on this wooden barrel and bowl is quite unique. It is obviously not briar but I am not sure what the wood is. He removed the bowl from the barrel and took a photo.  His photo shows the threads in the bowl and the metal threaded extension on the top of the barrel. I turned to the blog I had written on the previous Lenox pipe and read what I had found out when I worked on that pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/30/a-bit-of-the-bizarre-and-interesting-restoring-a-lenox-system-pipe/). I include that information below.

I was not familiar with the Lenox brand so I did some research to see what I could find out. There was not much information on the brand online until I turned to one of my favourite sites for information on odd and unusual metal pipes – smokingmetal.com

I found the brand listed in three variations. The first of them was a Lenox made of Lucite (ed. By Lucite I assume that barrel is actually made of Perspex so in the information below I have edited it to read that). The link for the brand is: http://smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=82. The site has this to say about the Perspex version of the pipe. I quote: “Hard to see the purpose of this one. There would be no significant extra cooling and there is no end plug to remove for ease of cleaning. It is stamped LENOX in the perspex top of barrel. (ed. I have included two photos from the site on the Lucite version of the pipe.) Centre image shows two colour versions. The dark version does not appear to be the result of discolouration by tar etc. These pipes were certainly on sale in 1951. The overall length 5 5/8 inch (143 /m).The site also had photos of the Lenox with a wooden barrel and wooden bowl. The metal barrel is stamped LENOX on the top of the barrel and a threaded bowl was screwed onto the top. The bowl had a brass insert in the bottom and it threads onto the nipple on the barrel. The following link has photos of the pipe: http://smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=150.Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the barrel and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.  I took photos of the bowl and rim top after the cleanup. You can see the extent of the damage on the backside of the edge and rim top. The bowl is very clean. The stem looks very good. The light chatter and marks will easily come off.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above.I unscrewed the bowl from the barrel and took the stem out of the end. The next three photos below show the “exploded” view of the pipe. The rim darkening in the first photo needed to be cleaned up. I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the damage to the rim top and inner edge. The damage was quite extensive so I started by topping the bowl on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had removed some of the damage I rebuilt that portion of the top and edge with the dust from the sanding and super glue.   I cleaned up the inner edge with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair and then retopped the bowl to remove the buildup from the repair. Once I finished it was better. The bowl was back in round and the darkening was minimized on the top.  I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each set of sanding pads.  I stained the bowl and the barrel with an Oak Stain pen to blend in the repairs with the rest of the bowl. The Oak stain highlighted the grain and tied the parts together. I put the pipe together and took photos of it at this point in the process.   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 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out.   I pulled the pressure fit stinger out of the tenon and ran a pipe cleaner through the stem. It came out very clean – yet another testimony to the great job my brother does in his clean up. I put it back in the tenon and took two close-up photos of the stem to show the really clean condition the stem was in. All that needed to happen was to polish it.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and hand buffed it.   The wood is clean and really came alive. The rich reddish brown coloured stain gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the pipe back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond polish to bring a shine to the surface. I gave the bowl, barrel and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the bowl, barrel and stem with a clean buffing pad to polish the wax coats. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finish unique pipe is shown in the photos below. The bowl and barrel and the bowl match very well and look like they may well have come from the same piece of wood.  The finished Lenox System Pipe has its own 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 34grams/1.20oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the US Pipe Makers section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

New Life for a Barling’s Garnet Grain Oval Shank 9001 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was purchased on Ebay in 2017 and came to us from Latgale, Latvia. The pipe is smooth, nicely grained Bent Billiard pipe with an oval shank and an acrylic, saddle stem. The pipe is stamped on left side of the shank and reads Garnet Grain. On the right side of the shank it is stamped England. On the underside of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 9001. The stem has the Barling Cross logo on the top of the saddle. There was a lot of grime and dust ground into the smooth finish. The bowl had been reamed before we bought and to be honest if had been smoked at all it had maybe had a half a bowl run through it. The inside and outside edges of the crowned rim top looked to be in excellent condition other than the grit and grime of the years. The acrylic stem was in excellent condition with minor scratches but no tooth marks. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.   He took a photo of the rim top, bowl and stem to give a clear picture of the condition of the pipe. The condition of the rim top and edges is very visible. The photos of the stem show that other than the light scratches in the acrylic it was in excellent condition. He took a photo of the heel of the bowl to give a clear picture of the condition of the pipe and the grain that was shining through. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.  He removed the stem from the shank and revealed several issues. The first is that the stem and tenon is drilled for a filter. The second issues is that there is a large piece of acrylic missing on the top side of the tenon.  I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-barling.html) to see if I could find a listing that had the same or similar stamping on the pipe. The stamping is similar to the one I am working on other than the shape number. The pipe that I am working on has the shape number 9001 on the underside shank. Garnet Grain and on the right side England. I am pretty sure that the one I have is significantly newer and does not have the Barling stamp on the shank and merely reads England. It does have the Barling cross on the stem top.Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Barling) that is well worth reading. I am pretty sure that it is newer but I have no way of proving that for certain but that is my guess. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

This one has a back story that is a bit embarrassing. This morning on Facetime, Jeff and I sorted through some bowls that we had in Idaho and here in Vancouver. Between us we had around 50-70 stemless bowls. The majority of them were here in Vancouver. My box had 50+ bowls that I have accumulated over the years. Going through them with Jeff, I was not sure why I had kept most of them. They really were worthless and in varying degrees of disrepair. Some of them had broken shanks and others had cracked bowls and shanks. We pitched the majority of them (which is very hard for us to do if you have known us for very long!). Here is where the story gets dicey for us! We had pitched this bowl into the garbage. It had a large shank and was without a stem. Later in the morning I was going through my assortment of stems trying to find stems for the bowls that we had kept. In the bottom of one of the bags I came across an oval Barling stem that was made for a filter and had a chip out of the tenon. I wrote Jeff and asked if he had any photos of a Barling Garnet Grain with a stem. He immediately sent me the above photos that linked the stem I had found with the bowl. I took the bowl out of the trash and tried the stem on it. They fit together perfectly. I  was a bit embarrassed and was totally unclear how the parts had been separated. With that background I decided to work on it.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The stamping on the right and left topside of the shank is clear and readable and reads as noted above.  I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the bowl after each sanding pad.  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 15 minutes 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 started by rebuilding the chipped and damaged tenon. I greased a pencil with Vaseline and inserted it in the tenon. I mixed a batch of charcoal powder and black super glue to great a paste.  I applied the paste to the chipped tenon using a dental spatula to fill in the damaged area. I sprayed the repair with an accelerator and once it was cured I used a rasp to remove the excess repair. I reshaped the tenon on the outside with a Dremel and sanding drum and on the inside with a small round needle file. I also created an adapter to convert the stem from a filter stem to a regular stem. It was removable so that it could still be smoked with a filter.Once the reshaping was complete on the tenon I inserted the adapter in place and smooth out the tenon repair to make the tenon round once more.  The acrylic stem was in great condition so I did not need to polish it with micromesh pads. I did a quick buff on the Blue Diamond wheel and the shine came alive. I touched up the Barling Cross logo on the stem with Liquid Paper and worked it into the stamping. I buffed it off with a cotton pad. The product brought the stamping that remained to clear readability. This beautifully grained Barling’s Garnet Grain 9001 Bent Oval Shank Bent Billiard is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar is clean and really came alive. The rich reddish brown coloured stain 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 Barling’s Bent Oval Shank Bent Billiard 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 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 53grams/1.90oz.Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

 

Breathing Life into a 1960 Dunhill Bruyere 251 Group 3 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 an Antique Mall on the Oregon Coast, Oregon, USA. It is a Dunhill Bruyere Straight Billiard that is in good condition. It is stamped both sides of the shank. On the left side it is stamped with the shape number 251 followed by Dunhill [over] Bruyere. On the right side it is stamped with 3 in a circle followed by A for Bruyere next to the bowl. That is followed by Made in [over] England0. Interpreting that stamp it is as follows: The 251 is the shape for a straight billiard. The Dunhill Bruyere is the finish which is corroborated the A at the end of the stamping. The 0 following the D of England gives the date the pipe was made and identifies it as 1960. The stamping is clear and readable. The age of the pipe and the oils in the 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 ground into the surface of the bowl and shank. 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 on the surface. The vulcanite taper stem was oxidized, calcified and had light 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. There were also nicks around the outer edge of the bowl. 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 great 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 fourth photo shows the white spot on the stem.   I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Root Briar Pipes to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Bruyere

The original finish produced (usually made using Calabrian briar), and a big part of developing and marketing the brand. It was the only finish from 1910 until 1917. A dark reddish-brown stain. Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red.

There was a link on the above site to a section specifically written regarding the Bruyere finish (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Bruyere). I turned there and have included the information from that short article below.

Initially, made from over century-old briar burls, classified by a “B” (denoted highest quality pipe); “DR” (denoted straight-grained) and an “A” (denoted first quality), until early 1915. After that, they became a high-end subset to the Dunhill ‘Bruyere’. The DR and B pipes, a limited production, they should be distinguished as hand-cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that “no French briar was employed”.

Bruyere pipes were usually made using Calabrian briar, a very dense and hardy briar that has a modest grain but does very well with the deep red stain.

“Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red. The Shell finish was the original sandblast with a near-black stain (though the degree to which it is truly black has varied over the years). Lastly, the Root finish was smooth also but with a light brown finish. Early Dunhill used different briars with different stains, resulting in more distinct and identifiable creations… Over the years, to these traditional styles were added four new finishes: Cumberland, Dress, Chestnut and Amber Root, plus some now-defunct finishes, such as County, Russet and Red Bark.”

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png). 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 suffix 0 that is raised superscript it points to the 1960 line on the chart below.I now knew that I was working on a Bruyere that came out in 1960. The shape of the pipe was one of many Billiards that Dunhill put out and that the #251 was a normal billiard shape with a taper stem.

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 scrubbed it down with Soft Scrub All-Purpose cleaner 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. It is roughened and slightly out of round. The stem came out looking quite good. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button but the oxidation was gone.  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 on the inner edge of the bowl. It had darkening and some damage to the edge. There were burn and reaming damage marks on the edge from a previous pipeman. I worked it over with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the edge a light bevel and remove and minimize the damage on the edge. When I finished with it, the bowl and the rim top looked much better. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The briar began to take on a shine.   With the repair completed I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. 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 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 Bruyere 251 Group 3 Billiard from 1960 is a beautiful looking piece of briar that has a shape that follows grain. It is a great looking pipe that came out looking even better after the cleanup. The Bruyere is an early finish that Dunhill specialized in making. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. The red and brown stain on the bowl works well to highlight the grain. The polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. With the grime 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 Bruyere 251 Billiard 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 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29grams/1.02oz. It will soon be added to the British Pipe Makers section on the rebornpipes store. 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.

This Long Pencil Shank Viborg French Made Lovat is a real Beauty

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Blog by Steve Laug

I woke up to the sound of something large jumping on the roof next to our bedroom window around 4:30am this morning. That gave me an early start at the work bench. I have to tell you that on days like today I miss my old supervisor Spencer who would greet me no matter what time and beg for a treat… strange to not have him here. Ah well time to work. The next pipe, the second one on the table today, came to us in a group of pipes that we picked up through an online auction in 2017 in Wilder, Idaho, USA so it has been sitting here for a while. Even though the finish was a dirty and worn it had some charm showing through the grit and grime of the years. On the left side of the shank it was stamped Viborg [over] Made in France. The pipe is a long pencil shanked pipe with an elliptical shaped bowl. The saddle stem would make it a long Lovat but the stem is also long! The finish is filthy with grime and oil ground into the briar of the bowl and shank sides. The bowl had a thick cake and there was an overflow of lava on the rim edges. There was some damage to the inner edge of the bowl as well. The stem was a vulcanite saddle stem that was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava and dust ground into the rim top. You can also see the damage to the inner edge of the bowl and the burn marks on the top back. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There are a lot of white putty fills on the right side of the bowl and on the right and underside of the shank. He took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. The pipe is a bit of a mystery to me. The Viborg name sounds like it should be Danish but the pipe is stamped Made in France. I looked on Pipedia and Pipephil’s site and nothing was listed for the brand on either one. Perhaps one of you know the brand and could shed some light on it for us all. Thank you!

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris on the rim top and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove remaining oxidation on the ferrule and the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good.  The rim top and the inner edge of the rim were clean but the damage was very evident. The stem had remaining oxidation and a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was clear and read as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The pipe has a vulcanite saddle stem. I decided to address the damaged white putty fills first. I cleaned up the area in the fills and then replaced them with briar dust and super glue. It tends to turn the repair dark but anything would look better to me than the white spots on the bowl and shank.   When the repairs had cured I flattened them with a small file and then smoothed them out with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to start the process of blending them into the surrounding briar so I wanted them smooth to touch.   With that finished I wanted to address the damage to the rim top and inner edges of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit paper. The rim top and edges looked considerably better once I was finished.   To help mask the fills on the bowl and shank and to make the grain stand out better I stained the pipe with a black aniline stain. I flamed it to set the stain and repeated the process to ensure good coverage. Once it had cured I wiped down the bowl with isopropyl alcohol to begin the process of removing the black from bowl while leaving it in the grain.   I polished the bowl and the rim top with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding to remove more of the stain and make the grain stand out more.   Once I had finished the sanding I buffed the pipe with red Tripoli and then brought to the worktable for the top coat of light brown stain. I applied the stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until I had proper coverage. I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then brought it back to take it through the entire range of micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the sanding dust. 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. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.    This interesting French Made Long Pencil Shank Viborg Lovat with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and 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 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 French Made Viborg Lovat 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ x 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 23grams/.78oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly in the French Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

 

 

Recommissioning an Interesting Belgian Hilson Fantasia Block Meerschaum Lined Billiard

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Blog by Dal Stanton

Thanksgiving travels are now completed with us visiting kids and grandchildren in St. Louis and Nashville and I’m now back at the worktable in Golden, looking at an interesting pipe.  Daniel was bold to commission 7 pipes from the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection and with 3 completed, the fourth is now on the table, a Meer lined Hilson Fantasia.  I acquired it along with another commission of Daniel, the Paul Viou Plume (See: Discovering the Vintage of a Paul Viou ‘Feather’ with the Help of Sebastien Beaud of Genod Pipes of St. Claude) from a Lot I acquired from an eBay seller in Paris.  The pictures show the French Lot of 50 and the Hilson marked by the arrow in the picture below.The Hilson is next on the worktable and I take some pictures to get a closer look. The Hilson name is not found on the shank, but the stem.  On the right shank flank is imbedded, BLOCK [over] MEERSCHAUMLINED.  To the right is the shape number, ‘7’. The stem’s left side is stamped a half ghosted, HILSON [over] FANTASIA.  This is my first opportunity to work on a pipe with the Hilson mark and my first impression of it drew mixed reviews – what is the material this is made of?  I discover in a quick look to Pipedia’s article that this name finds its origins in Belgium but after financial difficulties was acquired in the early 1980s by the Dutch consortium, Elbert Gubbels & Zonen B.V., which later acquired the Big Ben name from England and started the Royal Dutch Pipe brand.  I think the best short description of the Hilson name I initially found in Pipephil.eu but later discovered it originally came from Estervals Pipe House website:

 In 1846 a German named Jean Knödgen started the production of clay pipes in Belgium. At the end of the 19th century Jean Hillen (married into the Knödgen family) took over the company and developed the idea of also producing briar wooden tobacco pipes in his factory. He had some suppliers from the French Jura district turn some bowls which he then finished himself. Some time later he took up the complete production process of briar wooden tobacco pipes so he did not have to depend on others.

Jean Hillen had 2 sons: Jos Hillen who was responsible for sales and Albert Hillen who was responsible for the production of pipes. Albert was also an interpreter in the English army during WWII and he succeeded in establishing many international contacts. Thus they were soon able to export the first pipes manufactured in Belgium to countries all over the world with the brand name HILSON (Hillen and sons).

In 1980 the Hillen Pipe factory from the Belgium-Limburg town of Bree was purchased by the Royal Dutch Pipe Factory where the production of Hilson pipes was continued, carefully observing the traditional craftsmanship.

The link to the Estervals Pipe House website I found in a rebornpipes posting in which Steve’s research and summary of the Hilson name provides a great overview of the Fantasia.  The title of this rebornpipes.com writeup resonates with my first impressions and sets the table for a great summary:  Is it really a plastic smoking pipe? What is a Hilson Fantasia?

From my research on the web I found that the Hilson Fantasia, made in Belgium originally came out as a meerschaum lined pipe with an outer bowl made of a new material that they called pipenite. In 1962 it came out in what they called ivory white and in a colour they called tortoise. In 1963 they seemed to have added the option of a black pipenite bowl. From what I can find out about the material they call pipenite, it was a specially designed polyester resin. It was light weight and fairly indestructible. The block meerschaum insert was something that Hilson turned into a specialty. (I have restored some beautiful briar pipe with the Double Ecume or meerschaum liners as well.) These colourful resin pipes look like a product of the 60’s and in my research on Chris’ Pipe pages, http://pipepages.com/hilson.htm I found them in catalogues from that era. The swirled materials of the bowl gave the pipe a 60’s psychedelic look. I have included a catalogue page from a 1962 Wally Frank Catalogue that was on the pipepages site. The write up on the Hilson Fantasia is entertaining to read in terms of the sales pitch that is delivered.

Unfortunately, Chris’ Pipe Pages that Steve references above is now defunct, but the Pipedia Hilson article has the early 60’s Fantasia add Steve references which follows containing the great pipe pitch as the ‘Most Beautiful Pipe in the World’!  Who could resist having a Fantasia in one’s collection!When I first took a close look at the Hilson Fantasia chosen by Daniel, I wondered what the butterscotch colored material was – plastic?  Steve’s research revealed that the ‘pipenite’ described in the Wally Frank add is a specially designed polyester resin which is practically indestructible.  The other noteworthy characteristic Steve referenced from the add is the quality Meerschaum block used in the Fantasia line.  The add also makes a point regarding the long, smoking condenser which was Hilson’s contribution to the pipe world’s ‘holy grail’ – the dryer, cooler smoking experience. The lower inset box in the add above shows the #7 as among a large offering of shapes by Hilson equipped with the condenser.

With a better understanding of the history of the Hilson Fantasia on my worktable, I look closer at its condition.  The Block Meerschaum chamber and rim are covered with a thick cake buildup with the lava over the rim.  This needs cleaning to give the Meerschaum a fresh start.   I’ve lightened the picture to enable the black surface to be visible.The stem has deep oxidation, and the bit has heavy tooth chatter on both upper and lower bit.  The ‘Pipnite’ surface is dirty and should clean up well without problem.  The only question I have is what first appeared as a crack in the polyster acrylic resin bowl but is most likely a scratch.  The question is, how best to address this, if at all?  The glassy surface probably does not respond well to sanding or if I did sand the surface or buff with a compound to erase the scratch, will the scratching of the abrasives (papers, pads or compound) be able to be removed?  Or will sanding inevitably leave the highly glossed surface dulled? If this is the case, then any attempt to sand out the scratch will leave the repair area standing out from the rest of the Pipenite surface.  My guess now is that it is an ‘all or nothing’ proposition – either sand/buff the whole stummel or not at all.  With the question of the approach to the stummel a question, I decide to send a note to Steve to get his feedback on the behavior of Pipenite if sanded?  While waiting for Steve’s response, I press on.

The cleaning of this Hilson stem began while I was still in Bulgaria and these pictures record the cleaning of the stem.  Starting with 0000 grade steel wool, I rub and buff the long, heralded Hilson condenser. It spruces up the nickel condenser nicely.Following this, only a few pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% clean the internal stem airway.Next, a ‘Soft Scrub’ product gets a head start breaking up the oxidation imbedded in the stem surface before continuing the cleaning by giving the stem a Before & After Deoxidizer soak.  While protecting the Hilson stem stamp, using 0000 grade steel wool wetted with the CIF, the oxidation is mitigated. To further the cleaning of the stem, it joins other stems in the queue in a Before & After Deoxidizer soak.  The stem soaks for several hours.After the soak is completed, the stem is fished out of the Deoxidizer allowing the fluid to drain off.  A cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95% is then used to wipe away the excess Deoxidizer from the stem surface.  This is followed by using a few pipe cleaners, also wetted with isopropyl 95% to clear the Deoxidizer from the internal airway.The stem’s rejuvenation is commenced using paraffin oil and a cotton pad.  The stem looks good.Earlier I sent a note to Steve to get his input on how best to approach the Pipenite surface scratch and the kind of material Pipenite is?  His response was helpful in describing the universal lack of consensus on what ‘Pipenite’ is!  Here’s Steve’s first response:

Hey Dal

The material on the Fantasia is described as everything from Bakelite to epoxy resin in a multitude of places. Others have called it plastic resin. some even fiber glass. To me nothing fits better than the resin concept… not sure about epoxy but everything about it is resin. It is not bakelite for sure…

Sanding the pipenite or resin leaves scratches that are nearly impossible to remove. I polished out a lot of scratches with my buffer and blue diamond polish and succeeded in not losing the lustre. Personally, I would buff it out best you can and leave it alone… war wounds from its travels.

S

To refresh my understanding of the unique composition of resin, I turn to a helpful Wikipedia article:

In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous  substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers.[1] Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on naturally occurring resins.

Plants secrete resins for their protective benefits in response to injury. The resin protects the plant from insects and pathogens.[2] Resins confound a wide range of herbivores, insects, and pathogens, the volatile phenolic compounds may attract benefactors such as parasitoids or predators of the herbivores that attack the plant.[3]

Steve followed with another email with links from sites like Pinterest, Etsy, and Worthpoint, which are sales platforms with examples of different Hilson Fantasia offerings and the varied descriptions of the pipes running the gambit as Steve described above. I enjoyed looking at the Hilson Fantasias for sale on these sites which were of the ‘tortoise shell’ variety – nice.  The collage below shows these examples.These examples reminded me of another Hilson Fantasia in my Pipe Steward inventory that also is a tortoise shell but has a significant crack in the stummel, so it never made it to the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only!  online offerings – I just didn’t know what it was – or whether it was worth the effort being a ‘plastic’ pipe?  I might give this Hilson another look!The tortoise shell is attractive, but the description by Steve that Pipenite is ‘practically indestructible’ found an example expanding ‘practically’!  I still believe that Daniel’s Hilson Fantasia is marred by a scratch in the polyester resin shell, even if it is a trauma crack, perhaps from being dropped (?), it doesn’t appear to be such to question the pipe’s integrity with the Pipenet resin material.  Turning now to the Hilson Block Meerschaum stummel, I start with clearing the Block Meerschaum chamber of the accumulation of carbon cake.  As a reminder, Meerschaum does not need a protective layer as with briar pipes.  It is best to keep the Meerschaum totally clean of buildup.  In my own Meerschaums, after each use my practice is to gently scrape the chamber with a folded bristled pipe cleaner.  This cleans the surface nicely keeping the Meerschaum in good shape.  To allow a cake buildup can cause the Meerschaum to crack in time.  Carbon cake expands differently from Meerschaum when heated and this can cause stressing on the Meerschaum.  I take a couple pictures to mark the start of the cleaning process.The aft section of the rim reveals the lighting practices of the former steward – drawing the flame over the back.  The crusted lava cake has totally covered the Meer rim lining and the Pipenet portion, too.  Cleaning is needed to show what’s beneath.With Meerschaum, using my usual Pipnet Reaming Kit with the blade heads is not good.  The torque created by this reaming approach can crack the Meer.  Instead, using the slow, patient, less intrusive approach, the chamber wall is gently scraped using the Savinelli Fitsall Tool.The Fitsall Tool also does well to begin clearing the rim of lava flow.  The approach is gentle!  I then transfer to the sharper edge of the Winchester pocketknife.  With the knife, the approach is more to ‘pull’ the blade carefully over the surface rather than to push the blade.  I’m careful not to gouge the softer Meerschaum.    With the rim scraping looking good, I transition to sanding the chamber by wrapping 240 grade sanding paper around a Sharpie Pen.  I then continue the sanding on the rim using a small piece of 240 paper.  I sand the rim gently and remove the lava and clean the rim nicely.     To complete the main cleaning of the Meerschaum lining and finish, I wipe the bowl with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 99%.  In Bulgaria, I was able to find isopropyl at 95% purity.  Now in the US, I was able to find 99% which is about a pure as one can get.  Switching now to the external ‘Pipenite’ surface, undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap is used to scrub with a cotton pad.  The surface, as expected, cleans up very nicely.  To guard the Meerschaum lining, instead of rinsing under a tap, I wet a cotton cloth and wipe the bowl to rinse off the soap. Next, the internal mortise is cleaned using several cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 99% and one pipe cleaner.  After a time, the buds emerge lighter and it’s’ time to move on.  Cleaning completed.The stem now awaits attention.  The stem cleaned up nicely from the thick oxidation.  Even though the HILSON FANTASIA stem stamping was protected during the process, it appears even more ghosted now.  I’ll continue to protect this remnant by covering the stamping with painters’ tape during the next stages of sanding.Both the upper and lower bit have minor tooth chatter remaining along with a bite compression.  I’ll begin to minimize the damage by the heating method.  Vulcanite, a rubber compound, is an amazing material.  Using a Bic lighter to paint flames on the bit, the heating causes the expanding of the vulcanite allowing it to regain much of its original composition.  After several ‘flaming’ cycles, a few more on the lower bit, the comparison of before and after shows a distinct improvement with upper and lower.  Using a piece of 240 sanding paper, I sand the residual tooth chatter which is dispatched without difficulty.  I also refresh the button with a flat needle file and sand it with 240.  From the 240 paper and file working on the bit and after placing tape over the stem stamping, the sanding is furthered first by wet sanding the entire stem with 600 grade paper.  The 600 paper is followed by applying 0000 grade steel wool.  Next, the full regimen of micromesh pads is applied to the stem.  Starting with pads 1500 to 2400 the stem is wet sanded.  This is followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian Oil is applied which rejuvenates the stem and helps to prevent future oxidation. The pop in a freshly micromeshed stem is nice!   After the micromesh cycles are completed, the Hilson Fantasia stem and stummel are reunited to get a look at the progress. I discover that the union of tenon and mortise reveal a bit too much tightness.  I know that the Pipenite is tough, but I don’t want to test it and inadvertently crack the shake trying to force the tenon in the mortise.  To reduce the mortise pressure, 0000 steel wool is first used to see if this will clean the tenon allowing a seating.  While pinching the tenon with the steel wool, I then rotate the stem to create the abrasion.  After using the steel wool, the fit is tried again, and it remains too tight.Next, 240 is employed in the same way to reduce the pressure by sanding the tenon.  This does the trick.  The mortise now receives the tenon snugly.   I finish the tenon smoothing with 600 paper and 0000 steel wool and reunite the Hilson stem and stummel.Next, after mounting a cotton cloth buffing wheel on the rotary tool, the speed is set to about 40% full power and Blue Diamond compound is applied to stem and stummel.  I start with the Pipenite stummel with a bit of fear and trembling.  Steve had used the compound on his Fantasia projects but the anxiety stewing in my mind was, will the Blue Diamond buff up the glossy surface or will it apply fine scratchings that become impossible to remove?  I gingerly start applying the compound with the Dremel’s cotton cloth buffing wheel and to my joy, the surface is responding very nicely to the fine tune buffing of the Blue Diamond.  I continue with the stummel then the stem.  I like the results. The gloss of the Pipenite is enhanced with additional glow and the removal of fine marks and scratches on the resin surface.Before applying wax to the pipe, I spruce up the BLOCK MEERSCHAUMLINED stamping on the right shank side with Rub ‘n Buff European Gold metallic paint.  The gold and the butterscotch hue of the stummel will go well.As the name implies, after rubbing some of the metallic paint with a toothpick over the lettering and number, I simply rub it off with the flat edge of a toothpick then a cotton pad.  The result is good.  The ghosting of the stem stamping leaves me with no hope of freshening it with white acrylic paint, so it remains as it is – bearing the wear of its service.After wiping the entire pipe with a felt cloth to remove residue compound dust, another cotton cloth wheel is mounted with the speed remaining the same.  Carnauba wax is applied to the entire pipe followed by a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further.

This Hilson Fantasia Block Meerschaum Lined has transformed amazingly from being an interesting gimmick pipe to becoming an extremely attractive alternative pipe to briar.  The butterscotch hue of the bowl pops in relationship to quality Block Meerschaum lining. The added benefit is the ability of the Meerschaum to be used repeatedly without rest, unlike briars.  This makes for much fellowship!  The timeless classic lines of a Billiard make this Hilson Fantasia a great addition to a collection and possibly to add to one’s regular rotation.  Daniel commissioned this pipe and will have the first opportunity to claim it from The Pipe Steward Store benefitting the Daughters of Bulgaria.  Thanks for joining me!

Look at the grain on this Stanwell Regd No. 969-48 Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

I woke up to the sound of something large jumping on the roof next to our bedroom window around 4:30am this morning. That gave me an early start at the work bench. I have to tell you that on days like today I miss my old supervisor Spencer who would greet me no matter what time and beg for a treat… strange to not have him here. Ah well time to work. The next pipe on the table came to us in a group of pipes that we picked up from an Antique Store in Montana, USA in mid-2019 so it has been sitting here for a while. Even though the finish was a dirty and worn it had some amazing grain showing through the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was stamped Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 [over] Made in Denmark. The pipe is a freehand and there is no shape number stamped on it at all. The finish is filthy with grime and oil ground into the briar of the bowl and shank sides. The bowl had a thick cake and there was an overflow of lava on the rim top filling in the plateau and inner bevel of the rim. The stem was a fancy turned vulcanite stem that fit snugly in the ferrule. It had the Stanwell Crown S faintly stamped on the topside of the saddle stem. The vulcanite was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava and dust ground into the plateau finish of the rim top. There is dust and debris stuck to the walls of the bowl clearly visible in the photos. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There are a lot of angles on this pipe and there is some stunning grain under the grime.    He took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I turned first to Pipephil’s site to get a quick idea of when this pipe was made by reference to the Regd. No. on the underside of the shank (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). I quote what I found there.

The “Regd. No.” stamping discontinued in late 1960s to very early 1970s.

I also turned to Pipedia’s article on Stanwell but it did not add any further information. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information from Pipephil that the Regd. No. stamping was discontinued in the late 60s to very early in the 70s. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris on the rim top and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove remaining oxidation on the ferrule and the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good.  The rim top and the inner edge of the rim looked very good after the cleaning. It had a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.  I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was clear and read as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is fancy turned vulcanite. I polished the bowl and the smooth portions on the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth.  The bowl had lightened around the top edge and on the shank end. I touched up the stain on the bowl with a Maple stain pen.    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. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end.. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I “painted” the stem surface on both sides with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of them on the underside of the stem but two of them on the topside remained. I filled them in with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I reshaped the button with a rasp and a file. I smoothed out the repairs further with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the faint stamping on the top of the stem. It was a Stanwell Crown S logo. Parts of it were faint but I was able to get some of the stamping to show up with the Rub’n Buff Antique Gold.    I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.  This beautiful Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 Freehand with a fancy, turned vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. 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 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 Stanwell Danish Freehand 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 54grams/1.90oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly in the Danish Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

 

 

New Life for a unique Rhodesian Elongator Fireside 2 In 1 Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us in a group of pipes that we picked up from an Antique Mall on the Oregon Coast, USA. Even though the finish was a bit dull and lifeless it had some amazing grain showing through the grit and grime of the years. On the left side of the shank it was clearly stamped Elongator [over] Fireside. On the right side it is stamped Century Old [over] Briar Italy. On the underside of the shank it is stamped 2 in 1 which I wonder if it points to the possibility that the pipe originally came with the stem that is on it and a long Churchwarden stem. Unfortunately the long stem is missing. The pipe has the shape number stamped on the underside near the junction of the shank and vulcanite ferrule and reads 8343/1. The finish is filthy with grime and oil ground into the smooth briar of the bowl and shank sides. The bowl had a thick cake and tobacco debris mixed in with the cake. There was a light overflow of lava on the rim top and inner bevel of the rim. There was a vulcanite ferrule on the shank end that read Hand Cut. The stem was a thin military style vulcanite stem that fit snugly in the ferrule.  The vulcanite stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava on the rim top. There is dust and debris stuck to the walls of the bowl clearly visible in the photos. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean.   Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There are a lot of angles on this pipe and there is some stunning grain under the grime.    He took photos of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I did a google search for the Elongator Fireside Pipes and did not find anything on either Pipedia and Pipephil. I did find a listing on Esty for a very similar pipe. Here is the link that shows the longer stem that is missing. I don’t know if the stem fits in the end of the long piece or if the entirety is a stem. It could very well be a stem that can fit in the vulcanite tube and the shank end (https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/220451374/fireside-churchwarden-tobacco-smoking?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details). I have included the photo that I found below.Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris on the rim top and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove remaining oxidation on the ferrule and the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.  It really looked good.  The rim top and the inner edge of the rim looked very good after the cleaning. The ferrule had some light oxidation as did the stem surface. It had a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.    I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank and ferrule. It was clear and read as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is a military bit shape made of vulcanite. I can only guess what the vulcanite long tube must have looked like. I scrubbed the vulcanite stem and the ferrule with Soft Scrub All Purpose cleaner to remove the remaining oxidation on both. It came clean with a bit of scrubbing.  I touched up the Hand Cut stamp on the vulcanite ferrule with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I applied it into the stamp with a tooth pick and buffed off the excess with a cotton pad.I polished the bowl and the smooth portions on the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad 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. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.   I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.  This beautiful Elongator Fireside Rhodesian with vulcanite military style stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. 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 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 Elongator Rhodesian fits nicely in the hand and feels great. I can only guess what the “elongator” stem would be like. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 1/2 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 46grams/1.62oz. It is an interesting pipe that I am going to hold on to for a while. I want to see if I can find an extension for the stem. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Mixed Finish Soren Hand Carved Pedestal Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us in a group of pipes that we picked up from an auction in 2018 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. It has a mixed sandblast and smooth finish that was a bit dull and lifeless. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Soren [over] Hand Carved [over] Made in Denmark. When I received it from Jeff somehow the bowl and stem had separated and I had the bowl in hand but no idea what stem fit the shank. I tried a variety of stems that I had but not one of them fit well.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris in the plateau on the rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. When I took it out of the box it did not have a stem in the shank. I wrote Jeff and sent him photos of the bowl and asked him if he had photos that showed what the stem looked like. Jeff did a bit of hunting on his hard drive and found the pictures of the pipe with the stem that it had when he started his work. He sent me the following photos of the pipe. The pipe was very dirty with grime and grit ground into the sides of the sandblast and the rim top. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of lava on the rim top that obscured the edges of the rim and the plateau finish. To me the stem just did not look like the right one for this kind of freehand pipe. It looked like a replacement stem that was just stuck in the shank. Now I had to see if I could find it in the boxes that he sent. That would be a bit of a treasure hunt. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava on the plateau finish of the rim top. There is dust and debris stuck to the walls of the bowl clearly visible in the photos. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem that came with it to show the chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the sandblast on the briar looked like. The pedestal on the heel of the bowl is a unique feature of this pipe.He took photos of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I found the stem that was pictured above in the photos in one of the bags of stems that I had put together in the bottom of one of the boxes. I took photos of the stem to give an idea of the appearance. Jeff had done a great job cleaning it. The tenon was very short and stubby and there were casting marks on the side of the stem blade. I put the stem on the bowl and took a photo of the stem that Jeff had sent with the pipe. I have worked on quite a few Soren pipes over the years and turned to one of the blogs that I wrote  on another interesting Soren Freehand Sitter (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/02/26/this-interesting-soren-hand-carved-freehand-turned-out-to-be-more-work-than-expected/). I quote from that blog below.

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

I decided to set the stem aside and see what I could find in my cans of stems here. I found an interesting turned stem that had a lot of potential. It had some oxidation, calcification and deep tooth marks on the surface. The tenon was a perfect fit in the shank so I would just need to clean it up and repair the tooth marks. Here are some photos of the stem as it looked before I worked on it.   I put the stem on the pipe and took some photos of the look of the “new” stem on the bowl. I think that with some work this was the right stem for the pipe.  I took a close up photo of the bowl and the stem to give an idea of what I had to work with. The bowl was very clean and it would polish up nicely. There was still some darkening in the plateau on the back side of the bowl that would need to be dealt with. The stem photos show the oxidation, calcification and deep tooth marks on both sides near the damaged button surface. It was badly damaged but showed a lot of promise. I removed the stem from the shank and dropped in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to soak while I worked on the bowl. I figured the soak would bring the oxidation to the surface and clean the surface so that I could do the repairs to the stem surface once it was clean.While the stem soaked in the deoxidizer I worked on the bowl. I scrubbed the rim top with a brass bristle brush to remove the darkening and deep grime. Once it was finished it looked much better. I stained it black with a black stain pen. I used the wire brush again to clean up some of the high spots leaving the stain in the grooves. I also lightly sanded the rim top with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to further highlight the high spots. I like the look of the rim at this point though with more polishing and Balm it would come alive. I polished the smooth portions of the bowl sides with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. With the smooth portion of the briar polished 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 into the plateau rim top and sandblast with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the Balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. While the Balm did its work I worked on the “new stem”. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I removed it from the Deoxidizer bath and rubbed it down with a coarse cloth to dry it out. It had brought oxidation to the surface and made it easier to deal with but it had not removed it. The good news for me was that it had done a great job removing it from the tooth marks. I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite with the flame of a lighter to lift the dents as much as possible. I was able to lift them significantly. I filled in the remaining divots with black super glue. I chose to use black glue this time just in case there were some remaining spots of oxidation in the tooth marks. The black would take care of that. Once the repairs had hardened I scrubbed the remaining oxidation in all of the grooves of the fancy stem with Soft Scrub all purpose cleaner. I was able to get into the grooves with the product and the cotton pads that I used to scrub it. It was beginning to look better.   I cleaned out the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners to remove the tars and the debris that was loosened by the deoxidizer bath.I smoothed out the repairs and recut the button edges with a rasp and a file. The stem was taking shape.  I smoothed out the remaining repair marks and the file marks with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.  This beautiful Soren Hand Carved Pedestal Freehand with a fancy, turned vulcanite replacement stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. 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 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 Soren Hand Carved 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 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 72grams/2.54oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipemakers section. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Mixed Finish Ben Wade Amber Freehand Sitter

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us in a group of pipes that we picked up from a fellow in Los Angeles, California, USA. Even though the mixed sandblast and smooth finish was a bit dull and lifeless it showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Ben Wade in script [over] Amber [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The finish is filthy with grime, dust and oil ground into both the sandblast finish and the smooth briar of the bowl and shank sides. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava on the plateau rim top filling in some of the grooves and valleys of the finish. The same was true of the plateau on the shank end. It had a lot of dust and debris in the grooves. The acrylic stem was dirty but the Ben Wade Crown logo was in good condition. The pipe had some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava on the plateau finish of the rim top. There is dust and debris stuck to the walls of the bowl clearly visible in the photos. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean.  Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There are a lot of angles on this pipe and there is some stunning grain under the grime.    He took photos of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. The stem also is stamped with a gold Ben Wade Crown Logo.I remembered that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement.I quote the portion of the article that summarizes the Danish period of the history of the brand:

Young Copenhagen master pipemaker Preben Holm had made a meteoric career heading a pipe manufacture employing 45 people at the age of 22! But around the turn of 1970/71 he was in major financial difficulties. His US distributor, Snug Harbour Ltd. in New York City, left him in the lurch. Holm had three unpaid invoices on his desk and another large shipment was ready for the USA, when Snug Harbour’s manager told him on the phone that there was no money at all on the account to pay him.

So the Dane went to New York for an almost desperate search for a new distribution partner. He made contacts with Lane Ltd. and met Herman G. Lane in February 1971. Lane Ltd. had no interest in Holm’s serial pipes produced at that time but so much the more in the hand-carved freehands because the hype for Danish freehands and fancies in the States was still on its way to the climax then. The meeting resulted in an agreement to start a cooperation. Lane insisted to improve the quality considerably and in return he assured to be able to sell essentially larger quantities.

Holm went back home to work on new samples with all-new designs and altered finishes for Lane. Both, Lane and Holm, agreed that it would be unwise to sell the pipes under Preben Holm’s name as long as Snug Harbour had a considerable stock of Preben Holm pipes and might sell them pipes at very low prices just to bring in some money.

So on Mr. Lane’s proposal it was determined to use the name Ben Wade belonging to Lane Ltd. Lane spent considerable amounts of money for advertising the new brand in the big magazines– the centerpiece being whole-page ads showing a very exclusive Seven Day’s Set.

The cooperation with Lane Ltd. proved to be an eminent business success for both partners. Within a very short time Ben Wade Handmade Denmark sold in much larger quantities and at higher prices than they had ever dreamed of. And the hype these freehands and fancy pipes caused went on unbroken long after Herman G. Lane deceased. Preben Holm – obviously much more brilliant in pipe making than in pipe business – was in major troubles again in 1986 and had to sack most of his staff. The Ben Wade production was significantly lowered but continued until his untimely death in June of 1989.

Up to now Preben Holm made Ben Wade pipes are cult and highly sought for on the estate markets.

With that information my initial thoughts were confirmed. This pipe was a Preben Holm made Freehand distributed in the US by Lane Ltd under the name Ben Wade. The freehand rage occurred in the late 70s and the pipes were made until Preben’s death in 1989. My guess would be that this pipe was made sometime during that time period and potentially in the late 70s.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris in the plateau on the rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. When I took it out of the box it had the following black stem in the shank. I had not seen the photos above so I did not have a clue it was the wrong stem. Jeff had soaked this stem in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe with the stem it had in the box.  It really looked good. I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. 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 into the plateau rim top with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. While the Balm did its work I went to look for the stem that is showing the photos above that Jeff sent to me.   I found the stem on another pipe in the bottom of the box. It was exactly the stem that Jeff had shown in the photos above of the pipe when he received it. I put it in the shank and took photos of the amber coloured tortoise shell stem in the Ben Wade Amber bowl. It looked really good.   The rim top had some darkening on the back of the bowl. The inner edge of the rim looked very good with slight darkening. I took photos of it after I had worked the Balm into the finish. The stem surface looked very good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the stem before I filled in the marks on both sides with clear super glue.      I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is turned fancy acrylic. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I filled in the tooth marks with clear super glue. Once they cured and hardened I smoothed out the repairs on the surface of the acrylic with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.   I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.  This beautiful Ben Wade Amber Freehand Sitter with a fancy, turned acrylic stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. 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 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 Amber Freehand 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 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 62grams/2.19oz.If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!