Daily Archives: May 28, 2022

Restoring Another Lovely 1958 Dunhill Root Briar 34F/T 2R Billiard

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another Dunhill group 2 sized Billiard. It is a small Root Briar Billiard that is proportionally well done. It has a two digit the shape number that I will define below. It is identical in stamping, shape, size and condition to the previous Root Briar 34F/T I worked on yesterday (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/05/27/168579/). Jeff and I purchased the pipes on 04/26/2022 from a woman who contacted us from Cleveland, Ohio, USA. We spent time chatting with her and arrived at a price and she sent the pipes to Jeff. It included 28+ pipes along with this one.

This Dunhill Billiard is stamped on the left side and reads 34 F/T followed by Dunhill over Root Briar and on the right side is stamped Made in England⁸ (two lines) followed by a circle 2 followed by R. The numbers and stamping tell me that the pipe is a Root Briar and the size is a Group 2. The F/T refers to the Fish Tail style stem. The finish was very dirty with spots of grime and debris stuck on it. The bowl had a thick cake in the bowl and heavy lava overflowing onto the rim top. The rim top had burned area on the left front top and inner and outer edges. There was darkening and burn damage on the inner edge all the way around. There were burn marks toward the back of the rim top. The stem had calcification, oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The button itself appeared to be in good condition. The pipe came to us in a meerschaum pipe case (just like is twin). The case was not original. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the burn damage on the rim top and edges of the bowl. It is the kind of damage that come from repeated lighting in the same place. The stem was heavily oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Overall the pipe is a real mess. Jeff took photos of the grain and finish around the bowl sides and heel. It was nice looking if you can see through the grime ground into the finish. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. There is no photo of the right side stamping that gives the Made in England date code. The stamping is readable but filthy.Now it was time to begin to work on the stamping on the pipe. Because I had just finished working on a twin to this pipe I used the information that I had dug up on that one. I quote below.

Pipedia had some great information on the Root Briar finish and dates and how the finish was made (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Bruyere). The first quote below give the short version of the finish. I quote from both below.

Root Briar – Introduced in 1931 and highly prized because the grain is more pronounced in this finish (usually made using Corsican briar – was made exclusively from that briar into the 60s). The Root Briar finish requires a perfectly clean bowl with excellent graining. Therefore, it is the most expensive of the Dunhill pipes. Corsican briar was most often used for the Root finish since it was generally more finely grained. This is a rare finish, due to the scarcity of briar suitable to achieve it. These pipes are normally only available at Company stores, or at Principle Pipe Dealers. Straight grained pipes were formerly graded A through H, but are now only “Dr’s” and graded with one to six stars, with the letters G and H still used for the very finest pieces.

“Dunhill introduced its third major finish, the Root finish, in 1931. Corsican mountain briar is characteristically beautifully grained and the Root was made exclusively from that briar into the 1960s. The pipe was finished with a light natural stain to allow the beauty of the graining to show through. Although always available with a traditional black vulcanite bit, the Root was introduced in either 1930 or more likely 1931 and fitted with a marble brown dark and light grained vulcanite bit that has since become known as the ‘bowling ball’ bit because of the similarity in appearance between the bit’s finish and that of some bowling balls of the time. With the war, however, the bowling ball bit was dropped from production. Through 1954 (and after) the Root pipe nomenclature (including shape numbers) was identical to that of the Bruyere except that instead of the “A” of the Bruyere, the Root was stamped with an “R”. In 1952 when the finish rather then LONDON was placed under DUNHILL, ROOT BRIAR rather then BRUYERE was used for the Root.” Loring, J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998).

With that information clear for me I wanted to identify the shape number and try to pin that down (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Shape_Chart). I turned to the section on the older 2 digit Shape Numbers and read it. I quote it below and added a chart on the numbers.

The original skus/model numbers from the 1920’s until the early 1970’s stood for very specific shapes and bowls. For example, the codes 31, 34, 59, 111, 113, 117, 196, LB, LBS… were all different types of Billiard shaped pipes and there were about 50(!), such codes for the Billiard shape alone.

There was a link there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Shapes_List) to a shape list that Eric Boehm put together for Dunhills. It is amazing to see the sheer number of variations on the Billiard shape. I copied the first three in the list as it includes the shape 34 Billiard.

Billiards:

31 Billiard, tapered bit 1 4¾” 1928, 1950 3

32 Billiard, tapered bit 1 5″ 1928, 50, 60, 69 3

34 Billiard, tapered bit (Dental) 2 5½” 1928, 50, 60, 69 3. (This is the pipe I am working on. It is a tapered bit Billiard. It does not have a Dental bit as noted above. Rather than the Dental bit it has a F/T or Fish Tail bit.)

I turned next to dating the pipe. There is a superscript ⁸ following the D in ENGLAND on the right side of the shank. I turned to the dating chart on Pipephil to pin down the date on this twin (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I did a screen capture of Part 2 of the Dunhill Dating Key and included it below. I drew a red box around the section dating this pipe. It is clear that the pipe was made after 1954 so that is why I went to Part 2. Once again, because the year suffix is ⁸ that tells me that the pipe was made in 1950+8 for a date of 1958.Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Before he sent it to me, Jeff had done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. It almost looked like a different pipe after his work. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and then rinsed it off with warm water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with warm water. It looked amazing when I took it out of the package of pipes he shipped me. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top was cleaner and the inner edge of the bowl looked rough. There was burn damage all the way around but heavier on the front and the back of the bowl on the top and inner and outer edges. There was also darkening on the rim top. The stem surface looked good with the oxidation gone and light but visible tooth chatter on either side of the stem. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. The overall look of the pipe is quite nice.I started my portion of the work on this pipe by addressing the damage to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a board with 220 grit sandpaper to take down the damage on the top of the rim and outer edges. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edge and give it a slight bevel to deal with the chipping and cutting on the inner edge. It cleaned up remarkably well. With polishing and buffing it would look even better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top looked very good and the bowl began to take on a rich glow. I used an Oak Stain Pen to restain the rim top and the inner bevel of the rim edge. Once it dried I buffed it with a cotton cloth and the match was very good. There was some darkening on the back inner edge of the bowl but it is in far better condition.The bowl looked very good at this point so I rubbed it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for about 10-15 minutes and buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I polished the vulcanite stem 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 and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil to finish it. This 2^nd beautiful 1958 Dunhill Root Briar 34F/T 2R is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich Root Briar finish that highlights the grain and works well with the polished vulcanite stem. 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 Dunhill Root Briar Billiard is a small pipe that will be great for sitting and reading. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 27 grams/.95 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the British Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection be sure to let me know. I take a moment to remind myself and each of us that we are trustees of pipes that will outlive us and the lives of many other pipe men and women who carry on the trust of their care and use. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Breathing Life a Peterson’s African Block Meerschaum Bent Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a multi-faceted finish Peterson’s African Block Meerschaum pipe. This one is a Bent Meerschaum pipe that has facets around the bowl and shank. The rim top is flumed as was the style of the 60s and 70s. This pipe was purchased on 12/08/21 from Facebook Marketplace in Durham, North Carolina, USA. This faceted bowl and shank adds a touch of depth to the pipe. The pipe was dusty in the meerschaum ridges and flat spots on the bowl and shank. The contrast of the colouration/patina developing on the high spots and shank with the flumed top looks very good. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was lava on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The Sterling Silver ferrule is oxidized and dirty. It is stamped Peterson’s [over] Dublin followed by Sterling [over] Silver. On the underside are three hallmark stamps – 1. Seated Hibernia (Ireland) 2. The Harp (symbol for the silver quality) 3. The lower case letter “l” for the date of the pipe. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top and edges have lava overflowing on to them. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the faceted finish around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the Sterling Silver ferrule to show the stamping around it. You can see that it reads as noted above. He did not capture the hallmarks on the underside.I took some time to remind myself of the provenance of these Peterson’s Dublin Meerschaum pipes. I am pretty sure the pipe was made by the Laxey Pipe Ltd. on the Isle of Man for Peterson’s in Ireland (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Laxey_Pipes_Ltd). I quote from the Pipedia article in full:

Laxey Pipe Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved. The company specialized in the production of Meerschaum Pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania). Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipe Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipe Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distributed by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meer from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipe Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.

As noted above the silver is stamped Peterson’s [over] Dublin followed by Sterling [over] Silver. On the underside are three hallmark stamps – 1. Seated Hibernia (Ireland) 2. The Harp (symbol for the silver quality) 3. The lower case letter “l” for the date of the pipe. I have included the Peterson’s Hallmark chart below as it is a very helpful tool that I have used repeatedly to date my Peterson pipes.I found a larger photo of the letter section of the above chart. The letter stamp is a lower case “l” which dates the pipe to 1977.

I know that the pipe was made on the Isle of Man by Laxey Pipe Ltd. out of African Meerschaum. It was made for export for Peterson’s of Dublin. From the hallmarks on the silver I know that the pipe (or at least the silver) was made in 1977. That fits the flumed top on the bowl and the faceted carving around the bowl and shank. That was as much as I could figure out.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare meerschaum. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He cleaned up the tarnish on the silver ferrule. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked very good when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. The stem showed some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the silver ferrule. You can see that once the tarnish was removed it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has an interesting style of rustication around the bowl.I polished the meerschaum bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. I polished the Sterling Silver ferrule with a jeweler’s cloth to shine and slow down the process of oxidation. The ferrule really looks good even with a few worn spots around it. Once it was polished with the Before & After Balm and buffed with a microfiber cloth the stain would blend perfectly. I rubbed the meerschaum down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the meerschaum with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet 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. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem of this Peterson’s Meerschaum back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the meerschaum and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I 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 polished up pretty nicely. The meerschaum has a rich glow with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the rich developing patina of the bowl and the polished silver ferrule. This Peterson’s meerschaum was made by the Laxey Pipe Ltd. on the Isle of Mann. The faceted finish on this pipe made it another fun pipe to work. It really is a quite stunning pipe whose shape and finish make it stand out. The thick/chubby shank makes it a very comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams/1.52 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.