By Al Jones

This Comoy’s, a Tradition finish shape 284 is one of my favorite of the British Rhodesians. It was sold in a group of pipes on Ebay and the listing didn’t detail the shape number. I forgot to take “before” pictures, so below are the cropped photos from the Ebay listing.

The briar was in great shape, but the nomeclature was a bit worn, so I’d have to be careful in that area. The stem was worn, but had no issues. The multi-piece, drilled C stem logo and COM stamp date this one have been made from 1946 to the merger in 1981. I’ve had a number of 284’s in the past, but this one has a thicker shank than the others, almost like a mini shape 499.

I reamed the slight cake and soaked the bowl with sea salt and alcohol. Following the bowl soak, the shank was cleaned with a brush dipped in alcohol, until it came out clean.

The stem was mounted to remove the minor oxidation. I used some 800 grit wet paper, wrapped around a flat needle file to add a bit more shape to the button. The stem was then sanded with 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grade wet paper, followed by 12,000 grade micromesh. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic Polish.

The bowl was lightly buffed with White Diamond and several coats of Carnuba wax. My intent was to resell the pipe, but unless I get a strong offer, this one is staying in my collection.

Below is the finished pipe.