Thanks Charles a marvellous restoration. I love the finished look of the pipe. Well done
This old meerschaum stummel came to me in a lot of bowls I purchased from a pipe friend in the Netherlands. It caught my eye immediately due to its …
Creating a Mini-Warden from a Vintage Meerschaum Dublin
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe on the table is another mystery one. What that typically means is that it has been around here for a long time. Neither Jeff nor I have any recollections of where it came from. I know that he cleaned it before it came north but when that was I have no idea. My guess is that is from one of our hunts in 2014-15. It is a nice looking Blatter Montreal Billiard. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Blatter [over] Montreal. There is no other stamping on the pipe. I suspect that the stem is a replacement as it does not have the characteristic Blatter dot on the top side. The fit is well done however and it is a beauty. The finish is in good condition and will come alive with buffing. There are some small nicks on the rim top but the inner and outer edges look very good. The stem has some light oxidation on the top near the shank. There is light chatter on both sides just ahead of the button. I took some photos of the pipe before I began my work on it. 
I took photos of the rim top and the stem to give an idea of the condition of the pipe. You can see in the photo of the rim top that there are some nicks and scratches on the surface. The stem looks good other than the light oxidation on the top at the shank and the light tooth chatter on both sides.
I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank to capture the condition. It is clear and readable and actually better than it appears in the photo below.
I removed the stem from the shank to show the look of the parts. I am pretty certain the stem is a replacement but it is well done.
I have worked on a lot of Blatter pipes over the years but always find that a quick read of the information on Pipephil (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b5.html) is helpful. It has been awhile since I looked at the information and I do not recall seeing the time line before. It is very helpful information. I have done a screen capture of the information and the time line and included them below.
The stamping on the pipes changed in the early 1980s from a Germanic script to more current flowing script. The pipe I am working on has the post 1980s script so it was made at least after that change.
I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Blatter_%26_Blatter) to read a bit more about the brand. They have a great article (in French) that is worth a read. As usual Doug Valitchka has some great photos in the side bars and also a collage of the shop exterior and interior. It never ceases to amaze me the collection of photos (if not) pipes that Doug has at his disposal. Thanks Doug for your contributions.
Photos Courtesy Doug Valitchka
I also have included the link to Blatter of Montreal’s own website for your reference (http://www.blatterpipes.com/English.html). Well worth a visit. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.
I lightly topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove the damage on the rim top. It took very little work and the top was clean again. I would need to polish out the scratches but the rim top damage was gone.
I polished the rim top and the rest of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. As the pipe was polished the rim top began to match the rest of the bowl. By the final sanding pad it blended perfectly.
I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. The product is remarkable and continues to amaze me with its ability to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the surface and let it sit for 10 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. The bowl and rim look amazing! The grain really comes alive.
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite with the flame of a Bic lighter. I was able to lift the tooth marks almost completely. A little sanding would take care of the rest. I sanded out the remaining marks and the oxidation on the top end of the stem near the shank with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit sandpaper.
I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside.
I put the parts back together and buffed this beautiful Blatter Montreal Billiard with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. The grain came alive with the buffing. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine further. I had buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am happy with the look of the Blatter Billiard. The only thing that would make it even better is an original stem for it. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.62 ounces/46 grams. The pipe is a real beauty. I am probably going to send it to Robert Blatter in Montreal to be restemmed with an original Blatter stem. If I have the stem made for it I will likely hold onto the pipe. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. As usual there are more to come.
Blog by Steve Laug
I think I must be on a bit of a roll with restemming some of the bowls I have collected over the years. I decided to do yet another one that has been here for a very long time. The pipe I chose to work on next is a lovely Bullmoose rusticated stummel with a smooth rim top and twin rings around the cap of the bowl. The bowl looked very good. The rustication while not deep was quite nice and an interesting texture. The rim top was a bit rough with nicks and dings in the rim top and wear on the front edge of the cap. There were also burn marks and darkening on the outer edge of the cap. The interior of the bowl was clean and there were not any chips, cracks or checking on the walls. The finish was dull and bit and tired but still quite redeemable. The stamping on the pipe was clear and readable in smooth panels on the shank. On the left side it read Weber in a circle [over] Custom Made. On the right it read Imported Briar. I took some photos of the bowl before I started to work on it. 
I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. (I forgot to take a photo of the Imported Briar stamp on the right side). You can also see some of the chips in the twin rings around the bowl – particularly on the cap edge. 
I went through some of stems and found this saddle style stem that was close to the right diameter but would need to have a tenon replacement. It has a few tooth marks and chatter near the button but it would clean up well. I took a photo of the bowl and stem together to show what the look would be once I fit the stem.
I worked on quite a few Weber pipes in the past but decided to have a look on Pipephil anyway (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-w2.html). I have included a screen capture of the information that was present there.
I turned to Pipedia found that it gave significant amount of history and some advertising on the brand as well (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Weber_Pipe_Co.). I quote from the article below:
Carl B. Weber was a German from Bavaria. Aged 21 he emigrated to the USA in 1911. In 1938 he established Weber Briars Inc. in Jersey City, New Jersey. Later renamed in Weber Pipe Co.
The firm grew to be one of the giants of American pipe industry focusing itself in the middle price and quality zone. Trademark: “Weber” in an oval. Beside that Weber – especially in the years after 1950 – was a most important supplier for private label pipes that went to an immense number of pipe shops. Alone in New York, exactly the same pipes were found at Wilke’s, Barclay Rex, Trinity East, Joe Strano’s Northampton Tobacconist in Ridgewood, Queens, Don-Lou in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn… Nearly all pipes for Wilke were unstained and many models, for example the “Wilke Danish Bent”, could hardly deny originating of Weber.
Among other well reputated pipe makers Anthony Passante[1] worked for Weber.
Weber Pipe Co. owned and manufactured Jobey pipes – when mainly sold in the USA by the Tinder Box from 1970’s – 80’s. In addition Jobey / Weber bought Danish freehands from Karl Erik (Ottendahl). These pipes were offered as Jobey Dansk. Ottendahl discontinued exports to the United States in 1987 and in the very same year – obviously only as a ghost brand – Jobey was transferred to Saint-Claude, France to be manufactured by Butz-Choquin.
Carl B. Weber is the author of the famous book “Weber’s Guide to Pipes and Pipe Smoking”.
Armed with the confirmation about the maker of the pipe it was time to work on the pipe itself. I started my work on it by replacing the tenon on the stem. I flattened the short stubby tenon with a Dremel and sanding drum to make the surface flat. 
I found the proper replacement tenon in my box of tenons. I used a cordless drill and a series of bit to drill out the airway to receive the new tenon replacement.
I lined up the stem and tenon with the shank and then glued the tenon in the stem with clear CA glue. I set the stem aside to let the glue cure.
I decided to put a decorative band on the shank of the pipe. It was not necessary but I liked the look of it. I used a dental spatula to spread the glue on the shank end. I pressed the brass band in place on the shank, wiped off the excess glue with a damp cloth and set it aside to dry.
Once the glue on the band and the tenon cured I put the stem in place on the shank and took photos of the new look of the Weber. I have always liked Weber Golden Banded pipes so this brass band approximates that look. Still a lot of work to do on the fit of the stem and the clean up of the rim and top of the bowl.
I removed the stem and turned my attention to the bowl of the pipe. I started the clean up of the rim by topping it on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I rebuilt the outer edge with a little bit of CA glue and briar dust and then topped it again to smooth it out. 
I cleaned up the inner edge of the bowl and the cap of the rim with folded 220 grit sandpaper. It took some work but it looked much better when finished.
I wiped off the rim cap and smoothed it with some 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with a damp cloth. I stained it with an Oak stain pen to match the rest of the bowl and shank.
I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. The briar began to take on a rich shine.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the valleys and crevices of the blast finish. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the briar come alive and look quite rich. 
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth chatter and the deep scratches on the saddle portion of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.
I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth and Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. 
I put the pipe together – the bowl with its new stem. This restored and restemmed Weber Custom Made Bullmoose (or Scoop) turned out to be a real beauty. I think the brass band and the chosen stem works well with it. The finish on the bowl came alive with the buffing. I used Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel on both the bowl and stem. I gave both multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The Weber Custom Made feels great in the hand. It is lightweight and the contrast in the browns of the briar, the gold of the band and the polished vulcanite stem with the popping grain on the mixed brown stained bowl is quite amazing. The dimensions of the pipe are Length:5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.62 ounces/46 grams. It really is a beauty. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American (US) Pipe Makers section shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restemming and the restoration with me. Cheers. 
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe I chose to work on was a unique one in many respects. It was a rusticated Panel Lovat that came to us with a very deep silver band. Neither Jeff nor I remember where we got it. But I know it has been here for quite a while. I had no idea what was under the large Sterling silver band but truly expected the worst. The pipe is stamped on the heel of the bowl and reads Jumbo in script [over] Bench Made [over] Marxman (a logo stamp with an arrow going through it), [over] Imported Briar. There was also an upper case “A” stamped at the shank/bowl junction. It has a unique style of rustication that I have become accustomed with on Marxman Jumbo pipe. It includes Tracy Mincer style worm trails but in all different directions with a lot of cross hatching inside the trails. On this pipe the rustication is on the shank and on the left and front of the bowl with smooth portions on the back and right side of the bowl. It is flat bottomed so that it was a sitter. The silver band took away some of the charm of the pipe for me and I was looking forward to removing it and seeing what was underneath.
Jeff had done his usual thorough clean up of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and finished with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and the interior with isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He worked on the vulcanite stem with Soft Scrub then let it soak in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. It has minor tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. 
I took some close up photos of the bowl/rim top and the stem to show the condition they were in at this point. The rim top looked very good and the bowl was clean. The stem had light chatter on both sides near the button.
I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It is clear and readable as noted above.
I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of the pipe. You can see that the band on the shank is quite large. It is a bit of a mystery in that I have no idea what is underneath it! Generally with a band this large it covers some serious shank damage.
I wanted to refresh my memory of the brand so I turned to Pipephil first to get a short summary of the history (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m2.html). The site had a side note that the brand was created in 1934 and merged with Mastercraft Pipes in 1953.
I then turned to Pipedia to find out more information on the brand and the maker of the pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Marxman). The site quote from Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes. I include a portion of that information below.
Marxman (Marxman Pipe Company) was created by Robert (Bob) L. Marx in 1934, when he was 29, and after he had worked for the William Demuth Company. His pipes were not outstanding because of the quality of their wood (probably Algerian), but Bob started making unique sculpted pieces, which brought the brand fame in the World of Hollywood cinema. Actors like Zachery Scott, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, Joel McRae, and Ronald Reagan were some of the faces that appeared on the bowls.
Bob knew how to innovate and took full advantage of marketing and press advertising in order to sell the brand–one of his slogans being “Relax with a Marxman”.
From the information on the two sites I learned that the pipe was made between 1934 when the company started and 1953 when the company was taken over by Mastercraft. I have included an advertisement for the Marxman Jumbo that was included on the article (1946 Ad, Courtesy Doug Valitchka). 
It includes the following information. “A rare treat for the pipe connoisseur is the Marxman Jumbo, distinguished by a carved bowl that is in perfect balance for easy, comfortable smoking. From the thousands of pieces of briar that flow into our factory we select the perfect and unusual. These are reserved only for the Marxman Jumbo – and are fashioned into truly elegant pipes of exclusive designs – unique in appearance and superior in smoking qualities. Each pipe is an individual artistic creation following the natural shape of the briar. No two pipes are alike. They are priced according to size.”
Now it was time to work on the pipe. I decided to try and remove the band from the shank so I could see what was underneath it. To my surprise and joy the glue had dried out on the band and it was quite simple to remove. I checked out the shank and there was a long (approximately 1 inch) crack from the shank end almost straight forward on the underside. At about ½ inch in it split off to the left side of the shank and was about ¼ inch long. It was not wide spread and the repair appears to have been well done under the band. I would know more once I removed the dried glue and debris on the shank surface.
I went through my bands and found a nice looking thinner brass band that had an end cap on it that would work well to hold the shank together once I had clean up the repair.
I wiped down the shank with acetone on a cotton pad. It worked well to remove the glue and the debris on the shank surface. I was careful around the repair to not get the acetone in the repair itself. The repair itself was lightly pitted but otherwise it looked good.
I put a bead of clear CA glue on the crack and the branch crack. I used a dental spatula to fill in the hollow spots with briar dust.
I smoothed out the repaired crack with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to blend it into the surface of the shank. Once I had it smooth I put some white all purpose glue around the shank end and pressed the band in place on the shank. I wiped off the excess glue and touched up the repaired area with a Cherry Stain Pen. It matched well and the finished shank and band looked good at this point in the process.
I took photos of the newly banded shank. I like the thinner depth of this band over the deeper Sterling silver one that had been on the shank previously. The finer band gave the briar a chance to really stand out. 
I polished the briar and band with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl and band down after each pad with a damp cloth. The finish bowl and shank look very good.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the valleys and crevices of the rustication. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the briar come alive and look quite rich.
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth and Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. 
I put the Jumbo Bench Made Marxman Panel Lovat back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond. It raise a shine on the briar and the stem and gave some depth to the look of the carved grooves. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe turned out to be a unique beauty in its own rugged way. Flat bottom and the panelled shape make it very different from most of the other Marxman Bench Made Jumbos I have worked on. I like the look of the thinner profile band as it really allows the carving on the shank of this Lovat to show. The dimensions of the pipe are Length:5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches wide x 1 ½ inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.31 ounces/37 grams. It really is a uniquely beautiful pipe. I am not quite certain what I will do with it. I am actually sitting looking at it now as I write this. If I choose to sell it I will put it on the rebornpipes store in the American (US) Pipemakers Section. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.
Blog by Kenneth Lieblich
Today, I thought I would try something a bit different. This is the first installment of what I am arbitrarily calling, Pipe Incident Report. My idea is to provide a brief write-up – focusing on a particular pipe-related problem and/or solution, rather than an entire restoration story. These reports will be intermittent and, hopefully, instructive. Please let me know what you think.
The pipe in question today is a leather-wrapped, meerschaum lined, pot billiard by Croydon. The pipe was made in Belgium, but, other than that, there is not a whole lot of information to be had about this company. Steve has restored a few over the years (and I checked his previous posts), but he had not gleaned any significant information either. The “incident” we will address in this report is some unexpected damage to the inside of the meerschaum bowl. We will get to that shortly – first some background.
A friend of mine wanted this pipe – somehow, it spoke to him – so I was happy to bring it back to life for him. The pipe was in decent enough shape: the stem was well-used but not damaged, the leather was sound, the rim was a bit of a mess, and the bowl looked as though it had been reamed with a boat hook. Although it is difficult to make out in the photos, the bottom of the bowl was quite badly gouged and I wondered whether I should fill in the gouge or leave it as is. Steve had told me in the past about making a paste of egg white and chalk dust. Something for me to consider…
Anyway, I began with the stem and inner tube, which I resolved fairly quickly. The leather enveloping the bowl was quite clean and in good shape, so that was also a quick fix. I then moved on to the rim of the pipe. As the photos show, it was filthy and slightly damaged. I “topped” the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded down the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This was done with even greater care than usual, as I did not want to scuff the leather. I finished up the top with all nine of the MicroMesh pads to make a lovely surface and then used one of my furniture pens to liven up the colour of the rim.
That done, I moved on to the inside of the bowl. Meerschaum does not do well with traditional reaming processes – it needed to be sanded. This was required – not just to clean things up – but also as there was a distinct aromatic ghost left behind. Well, I went sanding away happily, when – lo! and behold – a flaw or cavity appeared in the wall of the meerschaum bowl. Yikes!
This is obviously a serious concern for this pipe. One is tempted to wonder: was there a manufacturing flaw? Not sure. Did I sand too hard and cause the breakage? Definitely not. Could there be other flaws? Not as far as I could tell, but it was difficult to be sure.
This repair was going to need something more than egg white and chalk dust. After consulting with Steve, his recommendation was to repair both the gouge in the heel and the wall cavity with plaster of Paris. I agreed since plaster of Paris has the virtues of binding well to the meerschaum, resisting heat nicely, and (best of all) drying rock hard. I rushed out to buy some and started making my mix. In order to ensure that it works correctly in this context, the plaster of Paris must be much thicker than usual. Normally, the consistency would be something like thick pancake batter, whereas the mix I made was closer to cream cheese.
As you can well imagine, actually applying the plaster of Paris properly to the inside of the bowl was a bit of a challenge. I used a dental spatula, which made the job much easier. First, I placed the plaster carefully in the gouge at the heel of the bowl. Next, I delicately filled in the cavity on the wall by inserting as much plaster as possible behind the intact areas of meerschaum. This would provide added strength and support to the repair. Finally, I filled in the hole itself and let all of the plaster harden overnight.
On the morrow, the repair looked sound. The next step was to sand the plaster of Paris down to make it smooth and even with the surrounding meerschaum-lines bowl. I used 200- and 400-grit sandpaper to make this happen. I was very pleased with the way it looked in the end. As the photographs show, the plaster and meerschaum merged very well. I should add that the craze lines that you can see were also addressed, but I neglected to take a photo of that.
In the end, the pipe was successfully restored and, what looked at first to be a fatal flaw in the meerschaum, turned out to be an educational and enjoyable repair. I was originally tempted to call this blog post “I got plastered in Paris”, but that seemed too cheeky in the end. It is a nice pipe and its new owner is very pleased with the results. I hope you enjoyed reading this first installment of Pipe Incident Report – I look forward to writing more. If you are interested in my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.
Blog by Steve Laug
I think I must be on a bit of a roll with restemming some of the bowls I have collected over the years. I decided to do yet another one that has been here for a very long time. The pipe I chose to work on first is a lovely Bent Billiard stummel with a sandblast finish and a smooth panels on the sides of the bowl. The bowl looked very good. The blast, while not deep was quite nice and a the smooth panels had some interesting grain. The rim top was in excellent condition. The interior of the bowl was clean and there were not any chips, cracks or checking on the walls. The finish was dull and bit and tired but still quite redeemable. The stamping on the pipe was clear and readable. On the underside of the bowl an shank it read 983 followed by Royal Danish [over] Made in Denmark. I took some photos of the bowl before I started to work on it. 
I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.
I went through some of stems and found this fancy saddle style stem that was close to the right diameter and had a tenon that would work as well. It has a few tooth marks and chatter near the button but it would clean up well.
I knew that I was working on a Stanwell second from previous experience but decided to have a look on Pipephill anyway (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r6.html). I have included a screen capture of the information that was present there.
Pipedia also verifies that it is a Stanwell second (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Danish).
Armed with the confirmation about the maker of the pipe it was time to work on the pipe itself. I started my work on it by fitting the new stem to the shank. I trimmed down the tenon diameter slightly with a file so that the fit in the shank was snug. The stem diameter needed more work so I worked on it with 180 grit sandpaper to match it to the shank. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the shank fit.
I heated the stem with a heat gun to bend it to the correct angle to match the flow of the bowl and shank.
I removed the stem and turned my attention to the bowl of the pipe. I sanded the inside of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped 2w9th 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the walls and further check them for issues. Fortunately the bowl was in excellent condition. I used a brass bristle wire brush to clean off the remaining debris in the sandblast finish on the rim top.
I cleaned out the internals of the pipe and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to remove the sanding debris on both. It also removed any remnants of tars and oils in the shank and stem.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the valleys and crevices of the blast finish. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the briar come alive and look quite rich.
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and smoothed out the sanding I had done on the diameter of the saddle portion of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.
I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth and Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. 
I put the pipe together – the bowl with its new stem. This restored and restemmed Royal Danish 983 Sandblast Bent Billiard turned out to be a real beauty. I think the chosen stem works well with it. The finish on the bowl came alive with the buffing. I used Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel on both the bowl and stem. I gave both multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The Royal Danish Bent Billiard feels great in the hand. It is lightweight and the contrast in the browns of the sandblast and smooth briar and the polished vulcanite stem with the popping grain on the mixed brown stained bowl is quite amazing. The dimensions of the pipe are Length:5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/33 grams. It really is a beauty. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers section shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restemming and the restoration with me. Cheers.
Blog by Steve Laug
I am back to a few other pipes that have been here for a long time. You can see from the photos that Jeff took that it came to us back in 2017 and maybe earlier. It is about time I got around to working on it because it really is quite nice. Jeff purchased this pipe from an antique mall in Sandy, Utah, USA. It had an interesting rusticated brown finish with a smooth band and rim top and a smooth band at the shank. The bowl was classic Calabash shape. There was a thick cake in bowl and lava on the rim top and the inner bevel. The finish was filthy with grit and grime ground into the surface of the briar. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank Jirsa [over] the shape number 167. The polished aluminum band is a part of the stem. The stem surface was oxidized and had a rotting Softee bit with a lot of awful looking sludge built up around it. The Jirsa logo on the topside of the saddle stem looked pretty good. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. 
I like to have an idea of how the pipe was smoked before we got it and what the bowl and rim top looked like. Jeff always takes some photos of the bowl and rim from various angles to show what it looked like. He took photos of the stem with and without the Softee bit to show the condition. 
He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the rustication on the pipe. 
The next two photos show the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. Jeff also captured the Jirsa Logo stamp on the topside of the saddle stem. The band is part of the stem.
I did a quick scan of rebornpipes and found a link to the Jirsa Octagonal Panel that I had restored (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/05/01/rebirthing-an-oldrich-jirsa-bent-octagonal-panel-138-billiard/). Rather than start over in my research on the brand I am quoting from that blog and the work I did there.
I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what he had on the Jirsa brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j2.html). He had an entry that I did a screen capture of and also the following information on the brand. Artisan: Oldrich Jirsa (born 1962) makes pipes since 1994.
I turned to Pipedia for more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jirsa). I quote from the article below.
Jirsa is a Czech Republic brand owned by the family company headed by the artisan Oldrich Jirsa. They use Ebonite and Cumberland stems. Best Grading: SG (Grain), three stars. Symbol: stylized J coming out of an oval. 
I knew that I was working on a Czech made pipe by Oldrich Jirsa. The stem on the one I was working on was vulcanite and had a built in metal adornment on it. Now it was time to work on the pipe.
Jeff had done a great cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime on the finish of the bowl and the lava from the rim top. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. When I received it the pipe looked very good.
I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. The rim top and the beveled inner edge and outer edge of the bowl were in good condition. The stem was vulcanite and there was some light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button. 
The stamping on the pipe is clear and readable as noted above. The Jirsa logo on the stem is deep and needs to be repainted with white.
I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. 
I polished the smooth portions of the briar with 1200-1500 micromesh sanding pads and wiping it down with damp cloth after each sanding pad. As I worked through the cycle of pads the shine developed with each change of pad. The pipe looks very good. 
I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes, then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain on the smooth portions stood and the rustication showed depth. 
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the BC stamp on the left side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. I worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick and then sanded off the excess once it had dried with a 1500 micromesh sanding pad.
I polished the stem and built in band 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. The photos below show the polished stem. 
This Czech Rusticated Jirsa 167 Calabash with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich browns of the stain made the grain and rustication come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire 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 Jirsa 167 Calabash really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.08 oz./59 grams. This beauty will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers section. Let me know 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! 
Blog by Steve Laug
I was going through my boxes of pipes this weekend sorting out pipes for new grab bags and came across several that I wanted to work on right away. I find that I have so many sitting in boxes right now that I easily forget what is in the boxes. A periodic tour of the boxes brings and interesting string of pipes to the table. The first of these is a nice looking large bent Dublin that is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Johs in script [over] Hand Made [over] In Denmark. The stamping is faint but readable under a lens and light. The pipe was very well made and the grain though dull with time had promise. The bowl was clean and reamed and the rim top looked very good with no damage on the top or outer edges. The inner edge has some damage that makes it slightly out of round. The stem looks like it is acrylic and has some light tooth chatter near the button on both sides of the stem. Jeff and I cannot remember when or where we picked this one up. I know that Jeff cleaned it as it had been reamed and cleaned and showed signs of his clean up methodology. 
The rim top is quite stunning. It is wide and has some great birdseye grain around the top. You can see the damage on the inner edge of the bowl where a lighter left behind some burn marks. It is slightly out of round. The outer edge looks very good. The stem has light tooth chatter on both sides near the button.
I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It reads as noted above. You can see that it is a bit faint but it is still readable.
I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show the overall look of this beauty. It has some great grain around the bowl and I am pretty sure the stem is acrylic.
I turned to Pipephil’s site to get a bit of background on Johs. I know that I had read this before but I could not remember the connection to the Danish Pipe Making circle. It was a great short read (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j3.html). I have included a screen capture of the info there. I have also copied the side bar information for it concise introduction to the maker.
Artisan: Mogens Johansen has carved pipes for Bjarne during 15 years. When Bjarne Nielson passed away “Johs” established on his own in 2008.
I turned then to Pipedia for more information on the brand and was awarded with a great write up. There was a quick introduction and then a fairly long article from the book, Scandinavian Pipemakers by Jan Andersson (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Johs). I quote in part.
Mogens Johansen and his wife Doris operate a pipe and tobacco shop named Gaden Pibemagerie in the small hamlet Ravenhøj, not far from Frederikshavn. Mogens, he calls himself Johs as a pipemaker, makes his classical Danish freehands in the adjacent workshop…
Likely many pipe smokers have smoked a pipe made by Mogens Johansen without realizing it. For many years he made pipes for Bjarne Nielsen, and those pipes were not stamped with his name. So apart from tourists visiting his workshop in Frederikshavn, few knew who Johs was. But in 2008, when Bjarne died so suddenly and unexpectedly, Johs had to make his name known and start selling his pipes on his own. A natural first step toward becoming known was to visit the pipe show in Chicago, and he did so that same year. When sellers learned that Johs had made pipes for Bjarne, who had a very good reputation, it was not hard for him to find interested dealers…
In the late 1980s Johs met Peter Hedegaard, a meeting of great importance for Johs. The beautiful pipes Peter made inspired Johs, and Peter gave him valuable advice and suggestions. The two of them became close friends, and that probably was a contributing factor for Peter to move from Helsingor to Frederikshavn in the early 2000s.
As time passed, Johs spent more and more time in his cellar, where he had his tools and machines, and finally he decided to try making a living from pipe making. He rented an old stable, situated in the backyard where he lived, and started to make pipes full time. Most of them were sold to German tourists. But in 1992 Johs started to work for Bjarne Nielsen and continued until Bjarne passed away.
…There he makes 800 – 1000 pipes a year, and most of them are sold to dealers in the USA. Despite the large production, Johs says that he probably has enough briar to last for the rest of his life, as he bought the entire stock Bjarne left behind. And it was huge. He also has a lot of ebonite and, except for a few pipes with stems from Cumberland, all his pipes have ebonite stems. Adornments from many different materials are quite frequently used.
Johs’s pipes are stamped Johs. Handmade in Denmark. The sandblasting is performed in Peder Jeppesen’s workshop.
Jeff had obviously done a thorough job cleaning and reaming this pipe so when I brought I to the table it was very clean. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl really began to take on a shine.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the smooth briar with my finger tips. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the grain really stand out clearly.
When I put the above pictures in I noticed that I had missed a little burn damage on the inner edge of the bowl at the backside. The bowl was slightly out of round. I dealt with that now! I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edge and then gave it another coat of restoration balm. It looked a lot better.
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. There was nothing more to deal with there than tooth chatter so I was able to polish it out with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded with 1500-12000 grit pads to bring those areas near the button back to smooth and give them a shine.
I put the pipe together – the bowl with its polished stem. This restored and polished Johs Hand Made Danish Dublin is quite stunning. The grain around the bowl came alive with the polishing. I used Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel on both the bowl and stem. I gave the bowl and the stem mulitple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The attractive Johs Dublin feels great in the hand. It is lightweight for its size and the contrast in the browns of the briar and the polished vulcanite stem is quite beautiful. The dimensions of the pipe are Length:5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.73 ounces/49 grams. It really is a beauty. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers section shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.
The 9282 1/8th bent bulldog is one of GBD’s more elegant shapes. This one is in the sandblast, “Prehistoric” finish. The stamping and brass rondell mark it as being from the pre-Cadogan era and made prior to the 1981 merger with Comoy’s that forever changed those two marque’s.
The pipe had an heavily oxidized stem, but fitment was good and other then a few teeth dents, was in good condition. There was some scorching on the polished beveled bowl top, but those usually clean up nicely. Below is the pipe as it was received.
I used 1500 and an 8,000 grit micromesh sheet to restore the bowl top, which was then polished White Diamond rouge and several coats of Carnuba wax.
I reamed the cake from the bowl and let it soak with alcohol and sea salt. Following the soak, the shank was cleaned with a bristle brush dipped in alcohol. The stem was mounted to remove the oxidation. First I heated the stem near the button to lift the small teeth indentions. I first used 600 grit wet paper, wrapped around a flat file to maintain the beveled stem edges. That was followed by 800,1500 and 2,000 grit wet paper, and 8,000and 12,000 grade micromesh sheets. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic Polish.
I hand polished the sandblasted bowl with Halycon wax.
Below is the finished pipe.
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe is bowl that I have had in the box for a very long time. The rugged and very tactile sandblast really caught my eye and the cocobolo shank extension (at least it looks like that to me) and the thin ivory coloured spacer looked really good. I figured some day I would restem it and bring it back to life again. Since I am in the mood to restem a few pipes today turned out to be that day! It had a broken tenon in the shank when I put it away but the stem had disappeared long before it arrived in my care. The sandblast is very visible in the photos below. The pipe was very clean with no cake in the bowl and a decent finish in good condition. The cocobolo wood shank extension was lightly scratched but otherwise in good condition. It really is a beautiful looking oval shank Billiard. (I had already started wiggling out the broken tenon when I remembered to take these photos.) 
I started to work on the pipe quickly as there was no stamping or identifying features that I could dig into regarding the maker of the pipe. The first thing that had to be done was to remove the broken tenon from the shank. I used a drywall screw with coarse threads to lock into the airway in the tenon and remove it. It took a bit of wiggling to do so but it came out.
I went through a can of stems that I have here and almost immediately found one that looked like it would work with the pipe. I took some photos of it. There were some tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The tenon fit perfectly. The stem was a little wide on the right side and would need to have the shape reduced to fit snugly against the shank like the left side. Otherwise it was a perfect fit. I have to say that does not happen very often but it keeps me picking up used stems because one day “I will need them!”. In the second and third photo below I gave them a quick sand to see how deep the tooth marks were. I was pleasantly surprised.
I wiped off the stem with some Obsidian Oil and put it in place in the shank. I took photos of the fit to the shank to give a clear picture of what the stem looked like. It would only take a bit of adjusting on the right side and clean up of the tooth marks. It would be a great looking pipe with the addition of this stem. 
I moved on to sand the shape of the stem fit it evenly to the shank. The stem diameter needed more work so I worked on it with 180 grit sandpaper to match it to the right side of the shank. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I repaired the tooth marks on each side o f the stem at the same time. I smoothed out the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.
I set the stem aside and polished the cocobolo shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down with a damp cloth after each pad. It really began to shine.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the smooth briar with my finger tips. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the grain sing.
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention back to the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth and Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil.
I put the pipe together – the bowl with its new stem. This restored and restemmed No Name (Anonymous) Sandblast Oval Shank Billiard is quite stunning and I think the chosen stem works well with it. The sandblast on the bowl came alive and showed the depth of the crevices with the polishing. I used Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel on both the shank extension and stem (carefully avoiding the bowl so as not to fill in the crevices). I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem carnauba wax on the wheel then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The attractive Anonymous Sandblast Billiard feels great in the hand. It is lightweight and the contrast in the browns of the briar, the cocobolo shank extension and the polished vulcanite stem is quite amazing. The dimensions of the pipe are Length:5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/38 grams. It really is a beauty. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers section shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restemming and the restoration with me. Cheers.
rebornpipes 