Monthly Archives: December 2021

Another interesting old timer – a L.G.B. Bent Bulldog

Blog by Steve Laug

This morning I decided to work on another of the older cased pipes that I have here. This one is a cased Bent Bulldog. It has the brass (rolled gold?) filigreed rim cap and ferrule from the late 1800s and early 1900s of many of the other ones I have worked on previously. We bought this pipe from an online auction on July 30, 2019 from Oceanside, New York, USA. The pipe had no stamping on the shank or bowl but the case had a gold L.G.B. oval logo stamped inside the cover. The leather cover on the case was in was worn and in rough condition but still solid. There was heavy wear on the edges of the case but the hinges and lock still worked very well. Don’t you want to know what is inside of this case? It really is another beauty though it has the marks of a hard journey. Well… I will get there. Jeff opened the case to show us what the pipe looked like inside. The lining of the case was far more worn and had a orange colour to it. It had L.G.B. stamped on the inside of the cover. The rolled gold (brass) cap and ferrule were ornate and filigreed. The finish on the bowl was quite dark and opaque but I am pretty certain that the bowl is made of meerschaum. The amber stem was cracked on three sides with a deep crack but it had been repaired sometime in its life from the look of it. It was a pretty pipe.It was another beautiful looking older pipe. The meerschaum is dark – almost cherry coloured and goes very well with the amber stem. The gold coloured rim cap and shank ferrule were dirty but in good condition. The cap was smooth and not dented which was quite surprising to me for an older smoked pipe. The stem was amber had a large repaired crack on the top and underside of the diamond shape. It was chipped and dirty as well. It still looked all right but definitely had the tooth marks and chatter of its previous trustee! Once again this was an old timer – a pipe from the late 1890 or early 1900s. The case has a gold stamped L.G.B. in an oval logo on the inside of the green fabric lid. The shank of the pipe bears no stamping on either side. Have a look at the photos of the case lid below.Jeff took the pipe out of the case and took photos of the pipe to show the look and the condition it was in when we received it. The bowl and the “gold” was in excellent condition. There was a cake in the bowl and the rim top had some spots of lava on it. The stem is beautiful but under the bright light of the flash appears to have a lot of crazing that is often in these old amber stems. He took close up photos of the bowl, rim and stem surfaces to show their condition. You can see the light cake in the meerschaum bowl and tars/oils on the rim top that tell the story of how the pipe was used by its previous caretaker. The bright flash of the camera shows the crazing in the amber on both sides of the stem. You can also see the tooth marks in the stem surface. He took photos of the metal tenon in the shank to show the tars and debris that had collected on the screws of the tenon. It was well used and filthy. It was anchored in the shank and the stem was threaded and screwed on to it. The end of the shank confirms that the pipe is meerschaum to me. You can also see the chips/cracks in the stem.He also captured the look of the bowl. When I first took it out of the case I thought it was briar but I don’t think it is. I am pretty sure that it is meerschaum. It actually looks quite amazing. The twin rings below the rim cap have dirt and grime in them but otherwise the bowl is in good condition.He also took some photos of the crack in the stem. The first photo shows the stem from the top left side of the diamond stem. The second one shows the left underside of the stem. You can see that it is actually missing some chips in the second photo. Someone did a repair on the stem as you can see the glue marks on the first photo. It was a solid repair but would need to be revamped and cleaned up.I turned to the internet to see if I could find information on the L.G.B. brand and was not able to find anything about it. The only thing that came up was a link on Worthpoint for a carved figural meerschaum (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/large-meerschaum-smoking-pipe-bent-1799326507). I have included a screen capture of the pipe below.The seller described the pipe with the words below. It was the most information that I could find on the brand. I am not sure how applicable the information is but it is a possible link.

Beautifully hand carved! Length is about 7 inches. Real amber stem. Gold center ring. I have not cleaned this meerschaum. Leaving that to the new owner to do as he/she wishes. The original case has inscribed ‘Made In Austria’ and ‘L.G.B. Real Meerschaum Amber’.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He cleaned out the interior of the shank and airway with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He carefully cleaned out the amber stem with clean water and pipe cleaners to remove the debris and oils in the airway and the threads of the tenon. I took photos of the pipe when it arrived here. The first two photos show the worn case. The third one shows the pipe in the fitted case and the L.G.B. logo stamped on the lid of the case. While worn it is clear and readable. The overall look of the pipe after cleaning shows the beauty of the meerschaum bowl. It looks amazing with the genuine amber stem. The crack in the stem is visible in the photos and it is solid and usable. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the cleaned bowl and rim cap. You can see the clean bowl and the smooth and undamaged rim cap. I also took some photos of the amber stem to show how it looked. The crazing in the surface of the stem is visible deep in the photos. The crack in the stem surface is not visible in the photos but it is very present.I took a photo of the left side of the shank. There was no stamping on either side of the shank to identify the brand. You can also see the rolled Gold Plated Ferrule on the shank end in the photo. The photo also shows a crack in the amber stem on the left side. Even in its worn condition it still is a beautiful looking piece of pipe history. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and amber stem with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar and amber. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. It is definitely looking much better and more full of life. I put the bowl in the case for awhile and turned my attention to the stem. I started the process by filling in the cracks on the sides of the stem and tooth marks on the stem surface with clear CA glue. I set the stem aside to let the repairs cure. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and followed that by polishing it with some 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. It really began to take on a shine. 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 impregnated with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. When the bowl and the stem were finished this L.G.B. Bent Diamond Shank Meerschaum Bulldog looked much better. I carefully hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise and deepen the shine. It another beautiful pipe that is well over 100 years old. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 4 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of this large pipe is .95 ounces/28 grams. This L.G.B. Meerschaum Bent Bulldog was another great find that goes with other older pipes from various brands that I have restored in the past. This is a pipe that will hold another special place in my collection. It is also one that will likely be smoked sometime along the way. It is another pipe that has the capability of transporting the pipe man or woman back to a slower paced time in history where you can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through my restoration of this great find.

Next Up An LH Stern Certified Purex 71 Oom Paul

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on was purchased from an online auction on June 10, 2019 in Romney, West Virginia, USA. I have worked on a lot of LHS pipes through the years and many of them had the LHS Certified Purex stamp on the shank. This Oom Paul is very nice with great grain around the bowl. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads CERTIFIED PUREX arched over a diamond the LHS in the centre. Underneath that is stamped Imported Briar. On the right side of the pipe it is stamped with the shape number 71. The stamping is clear and readable. The saddle stem also bears the silver (inlaid) diamond logo on the left side. The bowl had a thick cake and there was a lava overflow on the rim top filling. The inner edge of the rim thickly covered with lava so it was hard to know the damage at this point. The outer edge and rim top showed nicks and light damage. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides at the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top to show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava on the inner edge and rim top of the bowl. I am hoping that the thick lava coat protected things underneath it from damage to the edges and top. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the briar. You can see the beautiful shape of the bowl even through the dirt and debris of many years.Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is clear and readable as noted above. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-lhs.html) and found a pipe with the same stamping as the one that I am working on. There was a brief history of the brand at the top of the page. It read as follows:

The L&H Stern Inc. was established by Ludwig Stern (1877-1942) in 1911. His brother Hugo (1872-?) acted as vice-president & secretary. The firm moved to 56 Pearl St. Brooklyn in 1920. It closed down in the 1960s. LHS was one of the main pipe supplier for US soldiers during WWII.

I turned to Pipedia to try and place this pipe in the timeline of the brand and was able find some helpful information which I have included below (https://pipedia.org/wiki/LHS). Again it had a brief history. It read as follows:

Ludwig Stern, a successful pipe manufacturer since 1893 and closing around 1960, reorganized his company along with his brother Hugo Stern, opening a factory in 1911. They named the company L&H Stern Smoking Pipes & Holders. The newly formed company was moved into a six story building on the corner of Pearl and Waters street Brooklyn, NY…

There were also Notes from Geyer’s Stationer on the page below this. It read as follows:

Thoroughly organized in all departments, and housed in a well-lighted and ventilated modern office and manufacturing building, the firm of L&H Stern Inc. is located near the first arch of the Manhattan bridge, near the river and convenient to the Brooklyn bridge, which makes it accessible from all the hotels in the metropolis for visiting buyers. The structure is six stories with a seventeen-foot basement, with light on three sides through prismatic glass windows, the first floor being seven feet above the sidewalk. Light enters the upper floors from all four sides.

L&H Stern is known to every important wholesaler and jobber in the country. LHS manufactures a complete line of briar pipes. Ginmetto wood pipes are also made, as well as Redmanol goods, the man-made amber. The first substitute for amber. Everything, even down to the sterling silver and other metal trimmings are made under one roof.

LH Stern was a fascinating company that literally covered the manufacture of all the pipe parts. I was not able to pin down the date on it with the information but it was a nice piece of briar. Now on to the pipe.

Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank, stem and shank extension with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and lava on the rim top. The finish looks much better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights grain of the briar. The rim top had some darkening and there was some damage to the inner edge of the bowl. The aluminum on the shank end and on the stem were slightly oxidized but clean. Jeff soaked the stem in bath of Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. He worked it over with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove any remnants of oxidation. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver and I finally started my work on it I was amazed it looked so good. Here are some photos of what I saw. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. The inner edge of the rim was nicked around the back right side. The outer rim showed some damage as well and was not ever truly round. The rim top was nicked and damaged as well. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the surface and button. There was some remaining oxidation near the shank and the tooth marks and chatter were evident near the button on both sides.I took a picture of the stamping on the shank sides and it was all clear and readable as noted above.I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe with the stem. It is a good looking pipe and very unique. The stinger apparatus and integrated tenon were a single unit. It was clean but slightly oxidized.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edges of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work over the inner edge to clean up the damage. I also worked over the rim top and outer edges at the same time.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The bowl began to take on a shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl 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 photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” it with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth dents in the surface of the vulcanite. I was able to lift all of them. I scrubbed the stinger with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the darkening. I sanded out the remaining chatter with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it 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. With the bowl and the stem finished I put the LHS Certified Purex 71 Oom Paul back together and buffed it on the wheel using Blue Diamond to give it a shine. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It really a nice looking sandblast. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of this large pipe is 2.08 ounces /59 grams. This LHS Certified Purex Oom Paul was a great find. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers section soon. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. This is another pipe that has the possibility of transporting the pipe man or woman back to a slower paced time in history where you can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

What a Contrast to the unsmoked G.F.B. Manhattan – a Smaller Three Star G.F.B.

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Blog by Steve Laug

This morning I decided to work on the “little brother” of the G.F.B. unsmoked cased bent billiard I posted yesterday (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/12/18/look-at-this-a-beautiful-unsmoked-pipe-in-my-bag-of-older-pipes-yet-to-be-restored/). We bought this pipe on Ebay back on October 25, 2017 from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The pipe was also a G.F.B. with a diamond shank, rolled gold rim cap and ferrule and amber stem. However this one was heavily smoked and in nowhere near the condition of its “big brother”. The leather cover on the case was in was worn but still in decent condition. There was some wear on the edges of the case but the hinges and lock worked very well. Don’t you want to know what is inside of this case? Do you want to compare it with the other unsmoked on I called its “Big Brother”? Well… I will get there. Jeff opened the case to show us what the pipe looked like inside. The lining of the case was far more worn and had a orange colour to it. It also had the G.F.B. stamp on the inside of the cover. The rolled gold cap and ferrule were not ornate or filigreed like the previous one. It was definitely a lower grade model. It was another beautiful looking older pipe. The briar was worn and tired looking with nicks in the finish and a dull, lifeless look to it. The gold coloured rim cap and shank ferrule were also worn. The cap looked like it had been knocked around on hard surfaces to remove the dottle from the bowl. The stem was amber and was chipped and dirty as well. It still looked good but definitely had the tooth marks and chatter of a previous set of chompers! Once again this was an old timer – a pipe from the late 1890 or early 1900s. The case has a gold stamped Three Stars [over] G.F.B. in a logo on the inside of the orange fabric lid. The shank of the pipe is stamped with Three Stars [over] G.F.B. in and oval in gold. Have a look at the photo of the case lid and pipe below.Jeff took the pipe out of the case and took photos of the pipe to show the look and the condition it was in when we received it. It was nowhere near the pristine beauty of its “Big Brother”. It was well used and tired looking. He took close up photos of the bowl, rim and stem surfaces to show their condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the many dents in the rim top that tell the story of how the pipe was used by its previous caretaker. The stem was worn as well. It had chips out of it at the shank connection and bite marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The button itself was also worn and chipped. He took photos of the bone tenon to show the tars and debris that had collected on the screws of the tenon. It was well used and filthy. He also captured the look of the tired briar. You can see the water damage on the bowl base and heel. There is a large chip on the lower right side of the bowl. It is worn looking but still shows some amazing rain around the bowls ides and shank.I am including the material on the brand and the tie to Manhattan Pipe Company that I dug up on the previous pipe. I am including it in full so you can either read it or skip it if you already read it. It is interesting and pertinent to this pipe as well so that is why it is here for ease of reference.

I turned to first to a couple of the blogs that I have written on the restoration of G.F.B. pipes in the past. I reread them and have included a link to one of them below. I was able to identify that the G.F.B. stamp stood for Genuine French Briar (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/11/21/restoring-an-older-gfb-three-star-horn-stem-bent-bulldog/). I have included a catalogue page on the brand below for you to see. The description fits the rim cap and ferrule of mine. It says “Beautiful Rolled Gold Plate Mountings and Real Amber Bits.”So far I had found and read several blogs on the G.F.B. stamp that was on the inside of the case. Now it was time to do a bit of reading on the Manhattan stamping on the pipe. I again turned to a blog I have written on the brand below (https://rebornpipes.com/2017/07/24/another-interesting-piece-of-pipe-history-manhattan-canted-dublin-with-a-horn-stem/). I quote from that blog what I found on the brand.

I thought it would be interesting to see if there was any new information online regarding the brand. Of course, I checked on the Pipes, Logos and Stampings – PipePhil’s site. There was a listing for Manhattan pipes but there was not any new information and what was there was inconclusive. I turned to Pipedia to see if there was a new article. I was surprised to find that there was one, I do not know if it was new or not, but I do not recall seeing it before. The article was called The Manhattan Briar Pipe Company. It is an interesting read so I have included the article in its entirety as well as the advertisement from 1913 that showed a Manhattan pipe…

The Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. was organized in October, 1902 by the American Tobacco Company, under an agreement with the owners of the Brunswick Briar Pipe Company, as a New York corporation. Its initial address was 111 5th Avenue, New York City, and the value of its stock in 1902 was $350,000.00. American Tobacco Company had itself been founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco companies, and was one of the original twelve members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. It was commonly called the “Tobacco Trust”.

The majority of the stock in Manhattan Briar Pipe Company was immediately acquired by the American Tobacco Company after the company was organized, but the prior owners retained a controlling minority interest for some years. In October, 1906, however, the American Tobacco Company acquired the remaining shares of stock, and from that point on Manhattan Briar was the pipe making branch of American Tobacco. By 1911, however, American Tobacco had been dissolved in anti-trust litigation, and Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. became a separate concern.

Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. had started operations in 1905 in Jersey City, New Jersey, having taken on a lease for a ten year period in 1905, and maintained a factory at Marion, New Jersey, where the pipes were made. By 1913, former American Tobacco pipe department chair John Glossinger was the president of Manhattan Briar Pipe Company, and began a significant advertising push for high grade pipes, using the slogan “Don’t spoil good tobacco by using a poor pipe”. It appears from cases having appeared on the estate market that Manhattan also sold meerschaum pipes, most likely rebranded articles originally made by European craftsmen.

After the expiration of the Jersey City lease the Manhattan Briar Pipe Company maintained offices and a factory at 415-425 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1915, evidently under the direction of W. C. Bastian, who had been granted a patent for a chambered pipe stem otherwise seemingly identical to a Peterson P-Lip in 1910. An employee of the company, one J. Gianninoto, was granted a patent for a device meant to permit the emptying of a cuspidor without the mess in early 1918, and the company continues to be listed in local directories through 1921. In 1922 Manhattan Briar was purchased by S.M. Frank and merged into that company. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Briar_Pipe_Co.

Further digging led me to a link on the S.M. Frank Co. & Inc. history page. Reading through the history of the company I found that S.M. Frank not only purchased the Manhattan Briar Pipe Company but also purchased WDC or William DeMuth & Company – two of the older brands that I enjoy working on. Here is the relevant section from the link: In the year 1900 Sam Frank Sr. started his own business, selling pipes and other tobacco items. His original office was located at 20 W. 17th Street, NYC. He was also closely associated with the sales staff of Wm. DeMuth & Co., selling their line of pipes. It was at this time that Mr. Frank first met Ferdinand Feuerbach and formed what would be a lifelong friendship. Mr. Feuerbach started working for the DeMuth Company in 1897 and by 1903 had become the production manager. In 1919, when Mr. Frank needed an experienced pipe man to run his pipe factory, located at 168 Southern Blvd., in the Bronx, he persuaded his old friend Ferdinand to join him. Mr. Feuerbach is credited with developing DeMuth’s popular Royal DeMuth and Hesson Guard Milano pipelines. In 1922, when S. M. Frank purchased the Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. the company incorporated. http://www.smfrankcoinc.com/home/?page_id=2

This pipe enjoyed the same link as the previous one between the G.F.B. Brand (Genuine French Briar) with the Manhattan Pipe Company. I took the pipe out of the case and turned it over in my hands. It was now time to work on it.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He cleaned out the interior of the shank and airway with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He carefully cleaned out the amber stem with clean water and pipe cleaners to remove the debris and oils in the airway and the threads of the bone tenon. I took photos of the pipe when it arrived here. The first two photos show the pipe in the fitted case and the G.F.B. logo stamped on the shank and the lid of the case. While worn it is clear and readable. The overall look of the pipe after cleaning shows the tiredness and worn look of the briar and the stem. It is a beauty in the rough and definitely needs some TLC. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the cleaned bowl and rim cap. You can see the clean bowl and the many dents in the top of the rim cap. I also took some photos of the amber stem to show how it looked. There were a lot of nicks, chips and tooth damage to be seen on the surfaces of the stem.I took a photo of the Three Stars stamped over the G.F.B. oval logo on the left side of the shank. You can also see the rolled Gold Plated Ferrule on the shank end in the photo. Even in its worn condition it still is a beautiful looking piece of pipe history.I unscrewed the stem from the shank to see an tar and oil darkened well used, threaded bone tenon. Amazingly it was free of damage and had not been over or under-turned in the shank.I decided to try out something I read somewhere about lifting the dents in the rolled gold rim cap. I “painted” the surface of the cap with the flame of a lighter. I was careful to keep the flame moving. While it is not perfect the heat lifted some of the dents in the surface leaving an improvement. I repaired the chip out of the right underside of the bowl with briar dust and clear CA glue. I filled in the chip with the clear glue and pressed briar dust into it. Once it cured I sanded it smooth to blend it into the surface. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. The briar is beginning to look very good. I touched up the G.F.B. Oval and three stars with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold – working it into the stamp with a toothpick. I buffed it off with a soft cloth. It looks better.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and amber stem with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar and amber. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. It is definitely looking much better and more full of life. I put the bowl in the case for awhile and turned my attention to the stem. I started the process by filling in the chipped areas and tooth marks on the stem surface with clear CA glue. Once the repairs cured I smoothed them out with a small file. I sanded the surface with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it in. I started the polishing 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 impregnated with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil.When the bowl and the stem were finished this G.F.B. Bent Diamond Shank Billiard looked much better. I carefully hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise and deepen the shine. It another beautiful pipe that is over 100 years old. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 3 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of this large pipe is .71 ounces/20 grams. This G.F.B. Bent Billiard was another great find that goes with the pipes from both brands that I have restored in the past. This is a pipe that will hold another special place in my collection. It is also one that will likely be smoked before its “Big Brother”. It is another pipe that has the capability of transporting the pipe man or woman back to a slower paced time in history where you can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through my restoration of this great find.

Look at this!! A Beautiful Unsmoked Pipe in my bag of Older Pipes yet to be Restored

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Blog by Steve Laug

This afternoon I was going through some of the older pipes that I have in a bag to filter into the queue of work to do. The case on this one intrigued me and I could not remember what was inside of it. The leather cover on the case was in decent condition and looked to be older. There was some wear on the edges of the case but the hinges and lock worked very well. I took it out of the bag and turned it over in my hands getting more excited by the moment.Don’t you want to know what is inside of the case? Is it an older meerschaum pipe? Is it an amber stem pipe? Is it just a great case with an ugly pipe inside? Well… I will get there. I took it to my desk and laid it on the pad I use for work. I really had no idea what was inside. I slowly opened the case and this is what I saw.I was stunned at what I saw. It was an absolutely beautiful looking older pipe. The briar was pristine and the gold coloured filigreed rim cap and shank ferrule were undamaged and in perfect condition. The stem was amber and there was not a mark or a break in it. It was flawless. When I removed the bowl it was also UNSMOKED or New Old Stock (NOS). I was flabbergasted at what I was looking at – a pipe from the late 1890 or early 1900s. Furthermore the pipe and case linked two of the brands that I have worked on a lot over the years and set up a sub collection of in my cabinet. The case has a gold stamped Three Stars [over] G.F.B. in a logo on the inside of the green fabric lid. The shank of the pipe is stamped with Three Stars [over] Manhattan in an arch underneath. Have a look at the photo of the case and pipe below.I turned to first to a couple of the blogs that I have written on the restoration of G.F.B. pipes in the past. I reread them and have included a link to one of them below. I was able to identify that the G.F.B. stamp stood for Genuine French Briar (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/11/21/restoring-an-older-gfb-three-star-horn-stem-bent-bulldog/). I have included a catalogue page on the brand below for you to see. The description fits the rim cap and ferrule of mine. It says “Beautiful Rolled Gold Plate Mountings and Real Amber Bits.”So far I had found and read several blogs on the G.F.B. stamp that was on the inside of the case. Now it was time to do a bit of reading on the Manhattan stamping on the pipe. I again turned to a blog I have written on the brand below (https://rebornpipes.com/2017/07/24/another-interesting-piece-of-pipe-history-manhattan-canted-dublin-with-a-horn-stem/). I quote from that blog what I found on the brand.

That link led me to me to some further information including an advertisement and a shape chart on Chris Keene’s Pipe Pages http://pipepages.com/mbpc2.htm. I have included them here with acknowledgement to Chris Keene. I always enjoy reading the old copy of these advertisements as they take me back to place where the pipe was an acceptable part of the life. Now I had a pipe that linked the G.F.B. Brand (Genuine French Briar) with the Manhattan Pipe Company and it was a new unsmoked pipe. I carefully took the pipe out of the case and turned it over in my hands. It was indeed unsmoked and pristine. It was almost as if it had been sitting in the pipe case since it was made. I wrote Jeff to ask where we had picked it up. He wrote back that it had been bought off eBay back on December 3, 2017. It had come to us from Kunkletown, Pennsylvania, USA. The fact that it came to us on eBay is hard to believe because what we paid for it in 2017 would not even begin to capture what we would have paid for it today if we could find one. I took some photos of the pipe as I saw it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the unsmoked, pristine condition of the bowl and flawless rim cap. I also took some photos of the amber stem to show how it looked. There were no nicks, chips or tooth damage to be seen on this flawless stem.I took a photo of the Three Stars stamped over the arched Manhattan logo on the left side of the shank. You can also see the rolled Gold Plated Ferrule on the shank end in the photo. It is really a beautiful looking piece of pipe history.I unscrewed the stem from the shank to see an unblemished threaded bone tenon. It was free of damage and had not been over or under-turned in the shank. It was as pristine as the rest of the pipe. Can you tell how excited I am about this pipe.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and amber stem with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar and amber. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process.With the Restoration Balm applied to the briar bowl and the amber stem I was finished with the preservation of this G.F.B. Manhattan Bent Diamond shank Billiard. I carefully hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise and deepen the shine. It really a beautiful pipe that is over 100 years old. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 4 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of this large pipe is .88 ounces /25 grams. This G.F.B. Manhattan Bent Billiard was a great find that links the G.F.B. and Manhattan pipes that I have restored in the past. This is a pipe that will hold a special place in my collection. It is a pipe that has the capability of transporting the pipe man or woman back to a slower paced time in history where you can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through my revelry on this great find.

Breathing Life into a Stunning Charatan Mountbatten Royal Made in London England 209 Pot

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Dal is experimenting with a stainable wood putty in this blog. I thought it would be an interesting read for rebornpipes readers. Give the blog a read. Nice work Dal.

The Pipe Steward

The Mountbatten Pot shape on the worktable came to me in December 2018 when my son, Josiah, came upon a lot of pipes for sale in an antique shop in St. Louis where he was studying. He sent me a picture of the ‘St. Louis Lot of 26’ with the proposal that he would split the purchase price with me to benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria on the one condition that I choose one of the pipes for myself. This pipe would be his Christmas present to me. This was an offer I could not refuse. The St. Louis Lot of 26 was secured and I made my choice of a Christmas pipe of 2018. The box was wrapped and placed under the tree in Denver, where our family gathered that year. When the gifts were distributed, my name was on the wrapped package from Josiah. After unwrapping it, the…

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Working on Hardcastle’s Special Quality Sandblast Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on was purchased from an antique dealer on 02/23/18 in Naples, Florida, USA. I have worked on a lot of Hardcastle’s over the years but most of them have been Jack’ O London and other lower end ones. This is a Sandblast Billiard that is quite nice. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads SPECIAL QUALITY [over] BY HARDCASTLE. That is followed by the stamping Made in London [over] England. The stamping is clear and readable and there is no shape number evident. The taper stem also bears the Hardcastle’s “H” logo on the left side. The bowl had a thick cake and there was a lava overflow on the rim top filling in the sandblast. The inner edge of the rim was damaged and slightly out of round. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides at the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top to show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava on the inner edge and rim top of the bowl. I am hoping that the thick lava coat protected things underneath it from damage to the edges and top. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the briar. You can see the beautiful shape and the deep sandblast on the bowl even through the dirt and debris of many years.Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is clear and readable as noted above. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-hardcastle.html) and found a pipe with the same stamping as the one that I am working on. There was no extra information in the side bars but it was good to see the same stamping.I turned to Pipedia to try and place this pipe in the timeline of the brand and was able find some helpful information which I have included below (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Hardcastle).

Hardcastle was founded in 1908 by Edmund Hardcastle and built itself a good reputation among the numerous British mid-graders. In 1935 Dunhill started to build a factory next door to Hardcastle in Forest Road, Walthamstow, London E17. The family owned Hardcastle Pipes Limited sold 49% of its equity to Dunhill In 1936.

Along with closing down its pipe factory in Notting Hill in 1946 Dunhill bought the remaining shares, turning Hardcastle into a 100% Dunhill subsidiary. As members of the Hardcastle family continued as executives in the company’s management Hardcastle retained a certain independence.

This ended in 1967. Dunhill merged Hardcastle with Parker (100% Dunhill as well). The new Parker Hardcastle Limited also absorbed the former Masta Patent Pipe Company. Hardcastle’s Forest Road plant was immediately given up and the production of Hardcastle pipes was shifted to Parker’s nearby St. Andrews Road factory – now consequently called Parker-Hardcastle factory.

In fact this put a definite end to Hardcastle as an own-standing pipe brand, and none other than Edwin Hardcastle, the last of the family executives, spoke frankly and loudly of Hardcastle pipes being degenerated to an inferior Dunhill second.

Today Hardcastle pipes use funneled down bowls that are not deemed suitable to bear the Dunhill or even the Parker name (as well as obtaining briar from other sources).

Timeline

1903: Edmund Hardcastle establishes the brand
1936: Family sells 49% of the Hardcastle Pipes Limited shares to Dunhill
1946: Dunhill buys the remaining shares, but the family continues to manage the company
1967: Dunhill merges Hardcastle with Parker. The new Parker-Hardcastle Limited company absorbs the Masta Patent Pipe Company also.
After 1967 it is speculated that Hardcastle became the brand for “Parker Seconds”

John Loring states in “The Dunhill Briar Pipe – ‘the patent years and after'” that in the absence of sales receipts, or other items of provenance, Hardcastles cannot be accurately dated. Loring further states that he knows of no way to distinguish the briar source when looking at Hardcastle, Parker, or Parker-Hardcastle pipes. We should not expect to find any actual Dunhill production in these lines, and while one might be there, it is doubtful we will ever be able to determine it…

With the information from Pipedia I knew that I was working on a Family Period Pipe and one that was stamped Special Quality. It appears that it can be dated between 1903-1946 when the company was sold in full to Dunhill. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank, stem and shank extension with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and lava on the rim top. The finish looks much better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights grain of the briar. The rim top looked good with some damage to the inner edge of the bowl and some colour loss to the outer edge. Jeff soaked the stem in bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. He worked it over with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove any remnants of oxidation. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver and I finally started my work on it I was amazed it looked so good. Here are some photos of what I saw. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. The inner edge of the rim was out of round on the back right side. The outer rim showed some colour loss during the clean up. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the surface and button. There was some remaining oxidation near the shank and the tooth marks and chatter were evident near the button on both sides.I took a picture of the stamping on the shank sides and it was all clear and readable as noted above. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe with the stem. It is a good looking pipe and very unique. The stinger apparatus is damaged and fell out when I removed the stem.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edges of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work over the inner edge to bring it back into round and clean up the damage. I restained the outer and inner edge with a Walnut stain pen to match the surrounding briar.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush 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 photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” it with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth dents in the surface of the vulcanite. I was able to lift all of them. The rest would polish out with micromesh pads. I used some white acrylic fingernail polish to touch up the white stamped “H” on the left side of the stem. I rubbed it into the stamp with a tooth pick. I scraped off the excess and buffed it with a cotton pad and a 1500 grit micromesh pad. There was still oxidation that was quite deep and the stem was dull. I scrubbed it with Soft Scrub Cleanser on a cotton pad and was able to remove the remaining oxidation. It looked much better at this point. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it 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. With the bowl and the stem finished I put the Special Quality By Hardcastle’s Billiard back together and buffed it on the wheel using Blue Diamond to give it a shine. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It really a nice looking sandblast highlighted by the combination of walnut and mahogany stains. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of this large pipe is 1.34 ounces /38 grams. This Special Quality By Hardcastle’s Billiard was a great find. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Makers section soon. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. This is another pipe that has the possibility of transporting the pipe man or woman back to a slower paced time in history where you can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

What a Challenge – A Once Beautiful Pipeworks Unique by Elliot Nachwalter

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Blog by Steve Laug

This next pipe was a gift from a friend. He contacted me about a pipe he wanted to give me. He sent some photos of the pipe. It was a beautiful shaped Pipeworks creation, hand made by Elliot Nachwalter. The stamping on the left side of the shank read Pipeworks [over] New York City [over] USA. On the right side of the shank it read Made by Hand [over] Elliot Nachwalter. Near the stem is stamped a number that I assume is the date/shape stamp. It reads 6 81 which could easily be 6^th pipe of 1981 or a pipe made in June of 1981. The pipe has some issues that really don’t show up to well except in the second photo below. There were really just a few of them but they were big ones. The pipe had what looked to be a trough like groove with a crack in the bottom around at least the left side and front of the bowl judging from his photos. It was probably even worse in person than it appeared in the photos. I thought it would be a challenge for me to deal with during some time off over Christmas so he put it in the mail for me. He told me that he had originally purchased it to restore but when it arrived he figured it was beyond his capabilities. That always scares me a bit when someone says that as I am not sure I am all that capable either sometimes. Once it arrives I will know more for sure.The next photo shows some of the crack/trough mid bowl extending from the back of the bowl across the side and around to the front. All around the damaged area the briar had darkened as well. It is a shame as it is a really beautiful pipe. I am guessing that it was smoked very hot but I would have a better idea once I had in hand and cleaned out the bowl.The rim top and edges looked very good and the stem was surprisingly in good shape. There were some light tooth marks next to the button that really were not an issue.Yesterday when I came home from work the pipe was waiting for me. I was excited to see it in person so I took it to the basement worktable and opened the box. I took photos of the pipe as I examined the crack/trough and was not surprised to see that they went all the way around the bowl – left, right, front and rear of the bowl. Other than that the finish looked good. The rim top was in good condition. The bowl had a thin cake that would need to go so I could check out the inner walls to see if the cracks had come through. The stem looked good and sure enough there were some tooth marks and chatter on the stem as noted above – a little heavier on the underside than the topside. This would be a fun challenge as it was a beautiful pipe and one made by a favourite pipe maker of mine – Elliot Nachwalter. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl so you can see how they look. I captured the stem as well to try to show the tooth marks and chatter near the button.I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above (They are far more readable than can be seen in the photos below). There was also the classic Nachwalter snowflake (star) logo on the left side of the saddle stem.I took a series of photos of the trough around the bowl sides. It was a complete loop that had one small trail splitting off down the left front side of the bowl. There was a hairline crack in bottom of the groove that would need to be dealt with. I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of the unique elegance of the shape of the pipe. I really like the look of it.I turned to Pipephil’s site to look up information on the brand to identify the period of time when Nachwalter made the pipe. I turned first to the section on Elliot Nachwalter’s name (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-e2.html#elliotnachwalter) to see what it said. It is interesting in that I shows a pipe made in Vermont whereas the one I have says New York City USA.I turned then to the section of the site on Pipeworks as that is also stamped on the pipe I am working on (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-p3.html#pipeworks). Sure enough the site showed a pipe that was stamped the same way as the one I have. It is shown in the screen capture below. The stem logo looks more like the pipe above than the one below.I also learned that the pipe was crafted during the period (1980-1995) when Elliot Nachwalter and his ex-wife Carol Burns owned the Wilke Pipeshop in NYC. So now I had a time period for the pipe. I wonder if the stamping on my pipe 6 81 helps to date it to 1981?

From there I turned to Pipedia for a bit more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Nachwalter). The site quoted from both Lopes book and from Nachwalter’s website and had a lot of great historical information. I quote portions of it below.

From Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by Jose Manuel Lopés’

Elliott Nachwalter studied the History of Art and Photography, but passionate about pipes, decided to go into pipe making. With a few tools and some machinery, he started his workshop some 25 years ago (that would be 35 years ago now, as of 2015), in Stowe, Vermont, where he shared a warehouse with Andrew Marks. He later created Briar Workshop with Jorg Jemelka, and was joined by the Danish designer Finn Meyan Andersen. They also collaborated with various artisans, such as Brad Pohlmann, J.T. Cooke, and Carol Burns.

Between 1980 and 1983, Elliot had a shop in New York where he would make and sell his pipes There then followed an interregnum — “For three years I was away from my craft, not knowing if I would ever make pipes again” –, after which he returned to Vermont and built Pipestudio. Aim: “to create sensual pipes, beautifully grained that are pleasing to the eye” and which would be “the creation of sculpted smoking instruments that are functional pieces of art”.

He uses Briar from Italy and Greece; and vulcanite, acrylic, or Cumberland stems. Symbol: a kind of six-pointed star…

…In 1980 I opened a store in New York City and designed and made pipes in the back of the store for pipe smokers that visited me from around the world. I worked late into the night. There came a time when I felt the need to stop making pipes. For three years I was away from my craft, not knowing if I would ever make pipes again. Something was missing. Perhaps I was missing the struggle of the creative process and the pure joy that one feels when you make something turn out exactly as imagined in your mind’s eye. I suppose I needed to make pipes; I needed to work late into the night.

In the autumn of ’96 as the falling leaves mixed with the early snowfall, I built a small studio overlooking the Battenkill and surrounded by the Taconic and Green mountains.

It is my desire to create sensual pipes, beautifully grained that are pleasing to the eye. I work with only the rarest of briar burls that are seasoned in a manner that allows for a minimal break in period and a very smooth smoking pipe. The briar grows in the wild and there is a remarkable difference in grain between each block . This variance of grain together with the myriad of designs in my mind and the nature of the work, makes for truly one of a kind pipes. The essence of my work is in the creation of sculpted smoking instruments that are functional pieces of art.

So once again the time period for the pipe that I have was confirmed as being made between 1980 when Elliot was in New York City and 1996 when he left to build a workshop in Vermont. I love it when the information comes together.

Now it was time to work on this old timer. I started my work by highlighting the crack and groove around the bowl sides. I sanded the entire groove all around the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. In the photos that follow you can see the cracked area very clearly. I left the sanding dust in place on the bowl and filled in the crack with clear CA glue. I was not too concerned with further cracking around the bowl as it was complete circle – the ends of the crack were joined. I was more concerned with heat from smoking forcing the cracking deeper into the interior of the bowl. The photos tell the story of the repair. Once the glue cured I sanded it smooth to blend it into the surrounding briar. I refilled any spots that still showed damage with more CA glue. I sanded them smooth as well. The bowl was starting to look quite good. I sanded it further with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to blend the repairs into the surrounding briar. The grain really began to stand out. With that done I called it a night and when I woke early this morning I made a mixture of Oxalic Acid and water. I wiped down the darkened areas on the sides of the bowl to lighten them as much as possible. The mixture worked wonders and the pipe looked much better. There was one small spot on the crack shown in the second photo that I needed to touch up with the CA glue.With the externals repaired I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed it with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I wanted the cake removed so I could check out the inside walls. I finished reaming process by sanding the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I cleaned out the airway in the stem and shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I scrubbed the walls of the bowl with alcohol at the same time. I examined the walls and bottom of the bowl with a bright light. There were not cracks on the internal walls that matched those around the bowl sides and front. There was however some checking on the back wall directly behind the cracks on the back of the bowl. I cleaned those carefully to remove all the debris. I am pretty certain that the heat followed the checking out to the exterior and during repeated hot smoking followed the path of least resistance all the way around the bowl. I think I found the internal source. I would need to do an internal repair to the bowl to stop further cracking from the inside.I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads in preparation for staining the pipe. I stained the bowl with a light brown aniline stain. I applied it with a dauber and then flamed it with a lighter to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage.I went upstairs and had lunch with my wife. The stain cured for an hour while I dined. I wiped the bowl down with cotton pads and isopropyl alcohol to make the finish more transparent and show the grain around the bowl and shank. I was liking the colour and the coverage at this point. I then polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads once again this time to make it even more transparent – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. The grain stood out nicely and the repairs were well hidden at this point! It was looking 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 to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like what I was seeing!I mixed a batch of JB Weld to line the interior of the bowl. I blended the two parts of the product together with a dental spatula and applied it to the walls of the bowl with a folded pipe cleaner. Before I started that though I inserted a pipe cleaner in the shank to keep the airway open in the bottom of the bowl. JB Weld cures neutral and does not gas off when heated. Once it cures I sand it smooth leaving it in the checking and cracks of the bowl walls. I give it a bowl coating of sour cream and activated charcoal powder to further protect the walls until a cake is formed. I set the bowl aside to let the wall repairs cure overnight. I turned my attention to the stem. I removed the tooth chatter and marks with the polishing process with the micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I touched up the stamping on the side of the saddle stem with acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry and scraped off the excess. The snowflake (or star?) is quite visible and looks good.This Pipeworks NYC Elliot Nachwalter Hand Made with a vulcanite saddle stem is really an elegant looking pipe. It was a lot of work to bring it back but I think it was worth the effort. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Nachwalter feels as great in the hand as it looks to the eye. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of this pipe is 35 grams/1.23 ounces. I will keep the pipe (for a while anyway) and enjoy it with a favourite tobacco. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

A Gnarly Bone Tenon Repair for a Stately Smooth Meerschaum Billiard

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This was an interesting restoration to walk through with Dal – at least on the removal and replacement of a new Bone tenon. It was probably the first tenon replacement done via Facebook Messenger Chat… Good job on it Dal. It looks great.

The Pipe Steward

Darren has commissioned several pipes from the ‘For “Pipe Dreamers” ONLY!’ collection and has contributed a great deal to benefit the work that I support with the sale of restored pipes – the Daughters of Bulgaria. When Darren contacted me about doing some repair work on two pipes in his collection it was difficult to say ‘no’. I appreciate so much Darren’s love for vintage pipes I made this exception and so he sent to me two pipes that were important to him. One, a porcelain Tyrolean which Darren received as a gift from a ‘vintage’ and loved pipe man friend. The Tyrolean has some age to it, and we’ll see what I can do with a pipe that is way out of my area of expertise! The other pipe that arrived here in Golden, Colorado, from Pennsylvania, was a very attractive traditional Billiard shaped smooth Meerschaum. The reason…

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Beautification of a Bertram Washington DC Grade 30 Square Shank Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is another on that came to me from one of our estate purchases. Between us we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration. I try to work them into the restoration queue so that I can keep them moving. We picked up over 120+ Bertram pipes from an estate that a fellow on the east coast of the US was selling. This next one is from that estate – a beautifully horizontal (cross)grained Bertram Square Shank Pot Grade 30 with a vulcanite taper stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads 30 (though it is unclear as the 3 is faint). Next to that it is stamped on the left side of the square shank Bertram [over] a faintly stamped Washington D.C. centered on the shank. The finish is dull and has a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. There are also some nicks on the outer edge on the backside of the bowl. The bowl was caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential burn damage on the back inner edge. The stem was lightly oxidized, dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams in this lot the pipe had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took photos of the pipe 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 was a nick on back outer edge of the bowl. The lava was thicker toward rear of the rim top and there were remnants of tobacco on the walls of the thickly caked bowl. 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 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 grade number is on the left side near the bowl and reads 30 (I think that is what it reads). As I have worked on Bertrams I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/). I have included the following link to give a bit of historical information on the pipe company. It is a well written article that gives a glimpse of the heart of the company. http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/01/bertrams-pipe-shop-on-14th-street.html#

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Square Shank Pot has horizontal (cross) grain on the bowl sides and shank sides. The front and back of the bowl has birdseye grain. This pipe has a 30 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

Jeff had 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 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 got around to working on it. The rim top had some slight darkening on the back of the bowl and some damage to the inner edge. There were also some sand pits on the rim top at the back of the bowl. The stem surface had some light oxidation and a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the shank. The Grade Stamp 30 is followed by the brand stamp Bertram Washington DC (faint but readable) is on the top of the left side mid shank. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is tapered. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the inner edge and the rim top with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to minimize the damage and darkening. I filled in the pits with clear CA glue and once it cured sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank 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 to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a light to lift the marks. I was able to lift many of them. I sanded the ones that remained with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surrounding vulcanite. I started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sand paper. 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. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This square shank Bertram Washington DC Grade 30 Pot with a vulcanite taper 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 Bertram 30 Pot is another one that is comfortable in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of this pipe is 34 grams/1.20 ounces. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers section. 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!

A Labour of Love

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is the very first GBD I have had the pleasure of restoring. I titled this story A Labour of Love because the work involved was far more than I could have imagined for such a beautiful pipe. The pipe is a GBD Colossus and I acquired it in a group of pipes I purchased from a fellow in the Eastern US. It was definitely a mixed bag of very good and very bad. Some pipes were destroyed beyond repair, some pipes were filthy but repairable, some stems were missing their stummels, and some stummels were missing their stems. This was one of those – a stummel without a stem. Makes it a bit tricky to smoke, methinks. This pipe is a calabash-shaped GBD Colossus. As the photos show, it is stamped on the left side of the shank with GBD [over] International [over] London Made [over] Colossus. On the right side it is stamped Made in London [over] England [next to] 9552 – this, of course, is the shape number. There is quite a bit of information on GBD on the Internet – they have a long and storied history in pipemaking. In this case, I was curious about International and Colossus. The main Pipepedia article on GBD tells us about their origins:

In 1850 three gentlemen got together in Paris to establish a firm dedicated to the fabrication of Meerschaum pipes – a courageous step in politically restless times. Ganneval probably came from the area of Saint-Claude where he had learned making wooden pipes. Bondier’s family obviously came from Paris and had emigrated in 1789 to Geneva. He himself had worked as a wood turner in the clay and china pipe industry in and around Saint-Claude making stem extensions etc. Donninger was an Austrian or Swiss and had worked in Vienna, the world’s center of the Meerschaum pipe. They agreed on the acronym GBD selecting the initials of their surnames.

The Pipedia article provides a lot more information on their interesting history. I would encourage you to read on here. The shape number 9552 corresponds correctly with GBD’s identification of this pipe as a calabash. The page on GBD models states the following concerning the International line and the Colossus size:

International – France and England made: medium brown smooth, carved top rim, rim stained black. In addition to the pipe line and shape information stamped on the pipe, GBD also had codes for plus sized pipes. These codes in ascending order of size were Conquest, Collector, Colossus.

I also took this screenshot from Pipephil:Anyway, on to the pipe – and what a gorgeous pipe it was (and such a big bowl)! However, it was absolutely filthy and had a few issues. The stummel had the following problems: tons of lava on the rim, notable greasy/sticky stains to the bowl and shank, plenty of cake in the bowl, a few scratches here-and-there, and a few small burns on the rim. Meanwhile, the stem had a few problems of its own. Oh wait. No stem. Umm, yeah, that is going to be an issue. This pipe was going to require some considerable work, but I was really looking forward to restoring this one. Well, suffice it to say that first on my list of tasks was to find a stem for this beauty. However, GBD stems are not just lying around, sad to say. In this case, Superman Steve came to my rescue. He had a spare GBD stem that suited my pipe very well. I was (and still am) deeply grateful to him for getting that stem for me. I will come back to the story of how I fit the stem a bit later. By the way, here is a photo of Superman Steve:This stummel was quite a mess. I first decided to ream out the bowl. I used both the PipNet Reamer (which I broke in the process) and the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to eliminate as much as I could. I took it down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, and lemon isopropyl alcohol. There was a lot of nastiness inside this stummel and – boy-oh-boy – it took a lot of cotton to get this thing clean! As I mentioned earlier, the rim of the stummel was pretty ugly and also needed to be addressed. A combination of techniques was used to sort this out. In order to remove the lingering bits of lava and fix the nicks, I “topped” the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded down the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively removed the lava and the damage, without altering the look of the pipe. I then took a solid wooden sphere, wrapped sandpaper around it, and sanded the inner bevel thoroughly. This was to achieve on the inner part of the rim the same thing that I achieved by “topping” the rim on sandpaper. A de-ghosting session seemed in order, so I thrust cotton balls in the bowl and the shank, and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit for 24 hours. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leech out into the cotton. Finally, a relatively clean and fresh-smelling bowl emerged. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. Some stains were pretty stubborn and I had to scrub hard, but this did eventually remove the remaining dirt. After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. Having completed that, I was able to address a small nick on the shank. I dug out my iron and a damp cloth to try and raise the nicks. The hot and moist steam created can often cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was some movement – not a lot, but it was better than doing nothing. I filled the remaining divot with cyanoacrylate adhesive and let it cure. Now, with the nick filled, it was time to sand down the stummel. I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to wet/dry sand everything smooth. Then I added a bit more Before & After Restoration Balm. On to the stem, and what a trial it was. As mentioned, Superman Steve got me a GBD stem and that was terrific: the stem was clean and in nice shape. So what is the problem? Well, its width did not quite match the width of the shank. The stem was slightly wider. So, with 200-grit sandpaper in hand, I began removing the excess vulcanite. As silly as it sounds, this took a couple of hours of work to get this right. The photos below detail the lengthy process to both remove the excess and ensure evenness all around the stem face. At long last, I managed to get the size and shape just right, but the faces of both the shank and stem were not matching in the way that one would want. I took the decision that this pipe would benefit from a thin – emphasis on thin – band around the end of the shank. My jar of bands proffered a lovely, thin band that perfectly suited this pipe. With a quick application of glue, the band was on and things were looking much improved. I used some of my Micromesh pads to give that extra shine. In order to finish up the stem, I took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ it with its flame in order to lift the slight tooth marks. This was reasonably successful in raising the dents. Before I moved on to the Micromesh pads, I built up the small dents on the stem with cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. I then sanded it down with 220-, 400-, and 600-grit sandpapers to meld the repair seamlessly into the stem. This ensures that it keeps its shape and looks like it should. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. Of course, since the stem was straight, it did not suit the pipe and needed to be bent. The end of the stem needed to be parallel with the rim of the bowl. I did not have a heat gun at the time, so I brought out a hair drier and heated the vulcanite stem in order to make it malleable. After heating it for 90 minutes (yes, you read that correctly), it became obvious that the hair drier just did not generate enough heat to bend the stem. I then realized that I was going to have to use the nuclear option: dipping the stem in boiling hot water. This is a nuclear option because the water added an horrific oxidation to the stem – the worst I have ever seen. When it was finally soft, I gently curved the stem over a wooden dowel. The dowel provided a firm surface and a proper curve. Once I had the bend I wanted, I left the stem to cool and set itself in place. I then had to go back and use all nine Micromesh pads (and the Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil) again to restore the black lustre. A few four-letter words might have been silently uttered in the process, but I digress… Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood look absolutely beautiful.

This is a wonderfully crafted pipe and has a very elegant feel to it. Steve told me from the beginning that this was a pipe I should keep for myself. So, this one is being added to my collection – and I am pleased to say that it smokes beautifully. I am sure that I will be enjoying this one for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of these pipes as much I as I did restoring them. If you are interested in more of 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.