By Al Jones
It has been a while since I’ve had a GBD on my work bench. Here’s yet another oddball GBD shape, one I’ve not yet encountered. The typical GBD bent bulldog shape is the 549. I’ve seen and restored a 584S, but this one is oddly stamped 5841S. I have not seen this shape in any of my saved GBD catalogs. This one has the brass rondell and “London, England” stamping used on pre-Cadogan era pipes (made before 1981).
The pipe had an oxidized stem and a heavy cake in the bowl, including some tobacco left from the last time it was smoked. The beveled bowl top also has some build up on the rim. Below is the pipe as it was received.
I used a worn piece of scotchbrite on the bowl top followed by 8,000 grit micromesh sheet. I reamed the cake and found the bowl interior to be in great shape. The bowl was soaked with alcohol and sea salt.
Following the soak, the stem was mounted and the oxidation removed with 800, 1,500 and 2,000 grade wet sandpaper, followed by 8,000 and 12,000 grade micromesh. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic polish. The bowl was buffed with White Diamond rouge, followed by several coasts of Carnuba wax.
Below is the finished pipe.