Monthly Archives: May 2022

Breathing Life into a Custom-Bilt Rhodesian

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us on 10/14/2017 from now closed antique shop in Pocatello, Idaho, USA. The pipe is a classic Custom-Bilt piece – a rusticated Diamond shank Rhodesian shaped pipe with some deep carving around the bowl. The pipe is stamped on the left underside of the shank and reads Custom-Bilt [over] Imported Briar. On the right underside of the shank it bears a carved square near the stem/shank junction. The bowl was heavily caked with a an overflow of lava on the smooth rim top toward the back and on the inner edge. The inside edges looked to be in good condition. The finish was dirty but the pipe still has a sense of charm. The stem was dirty and lightly oxidized. It had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The was a chipped area on the topside edge of the button. There were no markings or a logo on the saddle stem. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some 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 tobacco debris as well as the lava on the smooth rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks. The photo of the topside of the stem also shows the chipped edge of the button. Jeff took a photo of the heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar looked like. The rustication pattern around the bowl is instantly recognizable as done by Custom-Bilt. The stamping on the left underside of the shank and the right underside at the shank/stem joint is clear and readable and read as noted above. I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c8.html) to get a quick view of the brand once again. I knew that I was working with one of the older pipes and probably made by Tracy Mincer himself. He stopped making the Custom-Bilt pipes in the early 1950s. The screen capture I included below shows a brief history of the brand. It also has a comment on the symbols stamped on the shank near the stem including the square that is stamped on this one.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:CustomBilt_Stamp1.jpg) for a quick read. The majority of the information there included two book reviews of the “Custom-Bilt Story” by Bill Unger.

The one line I culled was the following: “Tracy Mincer started the original Custom-Bilt pipes it appears in 1934”.

I did a screen capture of the stamping that matched the stamping on the pipe that I am working on. What I learned from that is that the stamp was used by Tracy Mincer in Indianapolis in the US from 1938-1946 and possibly in Chicago before 1938 as well. So now I had a possible date for this pipe. It was an old timer and it was well worth working on.Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. 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 alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top and the inner edge had some darkening and wear that would need to be addressed. The outer edge of the bowl look very good. The stem surface looked good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The biggest issue was the chipped button on the tops side. The stamping on left side of the shank is clear and readable. I failed to take photos of the stamping on the heel and right side but they to are clear. It is stamped as noted above.I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is a proportionally pleasing pipe.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the rim top and cleaning up the damage to the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to reshape the edge and to clean up the rim top. The finished rim top and edge looks better. I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads to develop a deep shine on the smooth portions of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The bowl looked good at this point so I rubbed it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 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 rebuilt the chipped button with black rubberized super glue. It was not a large chip and the glue would do the trick with it. I folded a pipe cleaner and greased it with Vaseline. I slipped it in place in the slot under the chipped area. I filled the chip in with the super glue. I rebuilt the inside edge using a tooth pick. I filled in the deep tooth marks with black super glue at the same time. Once the repair cured I used a pottery trimmer blade to shape the inside of the slot. I need to do some light patching still to take care of some air bubbles in the inside edge. I also flattened the repair on the topside and shaped the button edge on both sides with a small flat file. It is starting to look very good.I sanded the button edges and the repairs on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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. This Custom-Bilt Rhodesian is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The style of rustication that is used around the bowl is highlighted by the stain application and works well with both the shape and 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Custom-Bilt is another pipe that fits nicely 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 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 40 grams/1.41 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection 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!

An interesting challenge – joining a broken shank and bowl on a Manx Meerschaum

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Blog by Steve Laug

Yesterday afternoon a fellow stopped by for a visit and to show me his collection of Manx Meerschaum pipes from the Isle of Man. It turned out that his great uncle had worked at the Laxey Pipe Factory which closed in 2002 so he had some of his pipes and some others that he had collected over time. He also wanted to show me sad victim or circumstance – a Manx Billiard that a friend had knocked out of his hand/mouth the night before. The shank had snapped off at the bowl. The break was very clean and there were no extraneous pieces to deal with. It was complete in the two parts. The stem and tenon were undamaged. Fortunately as he transported it to my porch wrapped in a scarf it did not chip or incur further damage. I took photos of it this morning when I brought it to my work table. I had a short piece of metal tubing. It is harder than the average aluminum inner tube and also a bit larger in diameter. It fit well in both sides of the broken airway. I was going to use super glue to anchor it in the bowl half first and let it harden very well. I did not want any slippage back and forth in the airway. I set the bowl aside to let the glue cure on the tube. I filed the tube to roughen it up and to make the fit in the shank part of the break work well. I slide it in place and took a photo of the fit of the shank to the bowl. It looks quite good. I will need to glue it to get a solid repair but it looks like it will work well with no gaps once it is glued.With the restoration going on in my basement shop area I could not put my hands on my epoxy so I went to the local tool shop near my house and chatted with one of the gents there about what I was working on. They had some JB Weld but he recommended a product called Weld Bond. It is good for repairing cracked pottery, stone and even wood. It dries rock hard in 24 hours and is clear once it dries (a bonus on this pipe). I spread the glue on both halves of the broken pipe and painted it on the surface of the tube as well with a tooth pick and worked it into the grooves of the break. I slid the shank piece on to the tube and lined the break up. I pressed the parts together and wiped off the excess glue with a cloth. I held it in place until it bonded the parts together. I pressed the parts together and bound it together with green tape. I wrapped the tape around the entire bowl and shank to hold it tightly in place while the glue cured. I set the bowl aside for 24 hours to let that happen. That is always the hardest part for me as I am impatient and want to move onto the next part. But the wait is on and I am gritting my teeth while I wait. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to work on the stem. It had a lot of tooth chatter and light marks on the surface on both sides. I had originally thought the stem was acrylic but it was a nice vulcanite. I “painted’ the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift them as much as possible. The marks on the underside lifted well. The majority of the top side also lifted. I had a few deeper ones that need a spot of super glue to smooth them out. Once the repair cured I sanded the repairs on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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. I removed the tape holding the repaired shank/stem repair together. It was solid. The crack was only visible on the lower right side and part of the underside. It is filled in but can be seen if you look for it. I filled in the remaining crack in the surface of the meer on the right lower/underside with the Weld Bond glue I used to bind it together. It dries clear so I am looking forward to seeing how it looks afterward.I reamed the pipe with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I cleaned the rim top with the tip of a knife and a brass bristle wire brush. I was able to get back some of the rustication on the top. I have had good success with Before & After Restoration Balm on Meerschaum so I worked it into the surface of the bowl and shank with my finger tips and a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the rusticated surface of the meerschaum. I let it sit for 15 minutes and then buffed it off with a soft cloth. It looked very good. This Manx Made Meerschaum Rusticated Billiard is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The style of rustication that is used around the bowl is classic Isle of Man rustication from the Laxley Pipe Company. It works well with both the shape and the polished vulcanite stem. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Manx Made Meerschaum Billiard is another pipe that fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 61 grams/2.15 ounces. I will be giving the fellow a call who dropped it off. I think he will enjoy the repair of one of his favourite pipes. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Sidle Up to the Bari

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a charming Danish pipe, likely by Bari. I say “likely” because it does not specifically name Bari on the pipe, but Steve assured me that he has seen other Bari pipes like it. He feels comfortable calling it a Bari and that is more than good enough for me. His imprimatur is worth its weight in gold! There was only one marking on the pipe – the underside of the stummel read Made in [over] Denmark. There was no shape number or any other identifying marks.This freehand pipe is quite beautiful and many of its curves are reminiscent of ski slopes from my youth. It is a pretty pipe and feels light and comfortable in the hand.

From Pipedia, here is a very brief history of the Bari company:

Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding around the turn of 1950-51. Viggo’s sons Kai Nielsen and Jørgen Nielsen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975. Bari had very successfully adapted the new Danish Design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for its own models. When Viggo Nielsen sold Bari in 1978 to Joh. Wilh. von Eicken GmbH in Hamburg, Bari counted 33 employees. From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production. Thomsen bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand. Thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions.On to the pipe: it was in decent shape, but there were a few issues. The stem had a bit of oxidation and a LOT of calcification, though fortunately, very few bite marks. The stummel also had a few issues. The outside of the bowl had some dings and a couple of fills that needed to be addressed. The wood also had some stains and paint splatter. There was lava and debris on the rim, and a small burn mark. Most significantly, there was a chunk missing from around the mortise end of the shank. Some serious repair work was needed there! The stem was first on my list. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. There was so much calcification on the stem that I decided to take a blade and gently scrape it all off. You can see in the photos how much came off! I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the few bite marks and dents. This was moderately successful in raising the damage. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was pretty dirty and required quite a few pipe cleaners. Once this process was done, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The following day, I cleaned all of the de-oxidizing mess off with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. The oxidation had migrated to the surface and would be fairly straightforward to remove. I scrubbed with SoftScrub on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation on the stem. I built up the dents on the stem with cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. Then I sanded the adhesive down with 220-, 400-, and 600-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. Finally, I 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.On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I first decided to ream out the bowl. I used both the PipNet Reamer 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 the bowl 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 used a small butter knife to gently chip away at the lava on the rim and used more Murphy’s with a scrub brush to remove any remainder. This actually worked quite well. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. That removed any latent dirt that blighted the wood. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was some filth inside this stummel and it took quite a bit of cotton to get it clean. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes.A de-ghosting session also seemed in order, so I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. Now it was time for the serious work: to fix the large gouge in the mortise, at the end of the shank. There were several problems to be addressed: to ensure that the repair was structurally sound, so it could withstand the wear and tear of the tenon going in and out; to ensure that the repair looked reasonably consonant with the surrounding wood, and to ensure that the inside of the mortise was smooth and conformed perfectly to the shape of the tenon. The repair was made with a mixture of briar dust and cyanoacrylate adhesive. This ensures a strong repair and one that looks similar to the surrounding wood. As it turned out, I had to build up the repair more than once to achieve the results I wanted. It was fairly straightforward to sand down the flat end of the shank, but it was very difficult to ensure that the inside of the mortise matched perfectly with the tenon. Honestly, it took a bit of trial and error to get it right. I sanded the repair down with a file and 200- and 400-grit sandpaper until it was level with the surrounding briar. Having completed that, I was able to address the small nicks on the rim and the bowl. I dug out my iron and a damp cloth to try to raise the nicks. The hot and moist steam 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. The repair was not perfect, but the remaining scratches would be improved by sanding. Now I could address the burn on the rim. I took some oxalic acid, used several Q-tips, and rubbed. The burn improved quite a bit. The burn was very superficial and did not affect the integrity of the wood at all.After removing the burn and checking in on the mortise repair to ensure its integrity, I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stummel to finish it off. After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. This is a very elegant Danish pipe. At this point, I checked in with Steve to see what he thought of the restoration so far. He made the excellent suggestion of applying a layer of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye to the rim and the mortise-end of the shank. After applying the dye, flaming it, and letting it set, I wiped those areas down with isopropyl alcohol to remove most of the dye. The goal here was to accentuate the grain on those particular areas of the pipe with only residual amounts of black dye. In order to further the external beauty of this pipe, I applied some of Fiebing’s Medium Brown Leather Dye over the entire stummel. As usual, I applied flame from a BIC lighter in order to set the colour. I then added a second coat – just to make sure. It looked so much better with a richer colour. I then used some isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the pipe and remove some excess dye. At this point, I chose to re-sand the stummel with all of the micromesh pads. I followed up with some more Before & After Restoration Balm. What a wonderful result! 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. In fact, it turned out so well that this pipe has already sold! I know that the new owner will enjoy smoking it for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. 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.

The Trials of Perspex – A New Stem for a French C.G.T. Elite

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Nicely done Charles. Working with the clear acrylic stem is a challenge as you note but one you rose to. Well done my friend. Looks great.

Working with translucent or transparent pipe stems can be a real test of patience and skill. As everything is (almost painfully) visible, there is no margin for error when drilling, shaping or slotting Perspex (aka clear acrylic). To complicate matters further, cleaning clear acrylic with alcohol can lead to the formation of cracks inside the stem. On the whole, I’d much rather fit a black or dark coloured stem any day.

That, however, was not an option when this smaller CGT Elite pipe arrived on the workbench. The original horn stem had seen better days, so the pipe’s steward wanted it replaced with a new stem made from acrylic. Not a big problem normally, but the COVID pandemic has a long reach, affecting the supply chain for just about everything, including replacement parts for tobacco pipes. When I went looking for stem options, the only acrylic stem I could get…

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New Life for an Old Emperor “Limited” 192 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am back to a few other pipes that have been here for a while. You can see from the photos that Jeff took that it is another one that has been here for a long time. We picked it up back in 2019 – I can’t believe that it is over three years ago. It is about time I got around to working on it because it is a nice one. We purchased the pipe from an online auction on 02/10/2019 in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, USA. It had an smooth brown finish with a chunky shank and stem. The stem is older style thin taper. There was a thick cake in bowl and a heavy lava coat on the rim top and the inner edge. The finish was absolutely filthy with grit and grime ground into the surface of the briar. There is a heavy dust coat on the finish but there is some nice grain showing through. The pipe is stamped on the sides of the shank. On the left side it reads Emperor [over] Imported Briar. On the right side it reads “Limited”. On the underside it has the shape number 192. The left side of the taper stem is stamped CUSTOM FINISHED. There is a fascinating stinger apparatus in the tenon. The stem surface was oxidized and dirty. It was hard rubber so the oxidation was not a heavy. It had tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I like to have an idea of how the pipe was smoked before we got it and the condition of the bowl and rim top. Jeff always takes some photos of the bowl and rim from various angles to show what it looked like. He took photos of the stem to show the condition. The stem was dirty, oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides at the button. He took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition of the pipe when we received it. It was filthy but there was some underlying beauty to the briar. The next photos show the stamping on the sides of the shank and the stem. It is clear and readable as noted above. The Brand was unfamiliar to me so I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what he had on the Emperor Pipe Brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-e3.html). The site had a small one line entry in the side bar that read “a brand of Empire Pipe Co.”. I also included a screen capture of the two examples of the pipes shown there. The first is a Supreme and the second is a Standard. The one that I have is different form those and is marked “Limited”.I turned to Pipedia for more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Emperor). I quote from the article below.

Empire Briar Pipe Company Inc. of New York produced Emperor pipes. Known at “The Pipe that knows no Peer” as their 1945 advertising promotes. That ad reads “The pipe that knows no Peer. For every Emperor pipe is a notable work of art, a masterpiece created in the custom tradition.” They are a subsidiary of the Continental Briar Pipe Co. Inc. 80 York Street, Brooklyn, New York. They had Three grades: Standard, De Luxe and Supreme.

There was a pipe illustrated in the article that was stamped the same as the one I am working on. While it was definitely in much better condition it was the same stamp. I have included a photo of the stamping on that pipe to show the parallels to the one I have on the table now.There were also some advertisements that had been provided by Doug Valitchka. The first is a from Look Magazine, 1945. The second one is from December of 1947. Both are fascinating examples of the kind of descriptions used to sell these pipes – Pipes that Know No Peers!.

1945 Ad, courtesy Doug Valitchka

December 1947 Ad, courtesy Doug Valitchka

Another piece of the puzzle for me included this description of the fascinating “cleaner” stinger that was in the tenon on the pipe. It was called a Keystone Cleaner. It reads as follows:

By twice reversing the direction of the smoke, Emperor’s exclusive Keystone cleaner gives you cooler, drier, sweeter smoking. It can be quickly and easily removed. Try it yourself. You will notice a pipe cleaner will not pass directly through it, but rather through two divergent channels, to spin the smoke clean.I knew that I was working on an American made pipe by Empire Briar Pipe Company, Inc. at 608 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. The stem on the one I was working on was stamped CUSTOM FINISHED and had the screw in stinger pictured above. My guess is that the pipe was from the late 1940s to early 1950s judging from the shape and the material provided on Pipedia. In the last paragraph of the ad above it gives a listing of the grades beginning at Standard and moving through Deluxe, Supreme and then Limited. I was working on one of the higher grades. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime on the finish of the bowl and the lava from the rim top. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. When I received it the pipe looked much better. I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. The rim top and the inner edge and outer edge of the bowl were in rough condition. The stem was hard rubber and it was lightly pitted. There was light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button surface. The stamping on the shank of the pipe is clear and readable as noted above. The stamping on the stem is deep and readable.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole.I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the rim top and edges. I used a folded piece of 220 sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the inner and outer edge of the bowl. The outer edge still shows some damage but it is minimized. I do not want to top it as it is already a short bowl and I do not want to change the profile.I polished the smooth portions of the briar with 1500-12000 micromesh sanding pads and wiping it down with damp cloth after each sanding pad. The inner edge of the rim, the band on the shank end and the band round the smooth base were all polished. As I worked through the cycle of pads the shine developed with each change of pad. The pipe looks very good. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes, then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain showed clearly. It was a beautiful piece of briar. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I heated the stinger with a lighter to loosen the gunk holding it in place. Once it was loose I removed it from the tenon and clean both the inside of the stem and the stinger itself. I cleaned the airway in both and the threads in both. Once it was clean I greased the threads with Vaseline and put it back in the tenon. I polished the stem and built in band with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. The photos below show the polished stem. This American Made Emperor “Limited” 192 Bent Billiard with a hard rubber stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich browns of the stain made the grain come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Emperor “Limited” Bent Billiard really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces /51 grams. This beauty will be going on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

New Life for a BBB Tortoise 403S Straight Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

It was time to work on one of the pipes that was purchased off EBay back in 06/05/2016 from a seller in Frederiksberg, Denmark. This one is a straight Bulldog with a diamond shank and a saddle stem. The rim topped is worn and dirty and had darkening and burn damage on the front rim top and bowl. It also has some darkening on the lower part of the bowl on both sides. It is stamped on the left side of the shank BBB in a diamond [over] Tortoise followed by RJ. On the right side it is stamped London, England and the shape number 403S. The stem has a BBB Diamond medallion on the topside of the saddle. The pipe was very dirty with a thick cake in the bowl and some lava overflowing on to the rim top. It was hard to know what the inner edge of the rim looked like because of the lava and cake. From the photos there seemed to be some damage to the inner edge at the front of the bowl but I could not be sure. The shank was quite dirty so the tenon did not seat in the shank. The stem was pearlized white. There was light tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides of the stem at the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup. He took photos of the rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl and the overflow of lava. The cake is thick and hard and the lava overflow is a thick band around the bowl. The bowl is a real mess. This must have been a great smoking pipe. There were not photos of the stem surface to include as we did not take photos of that at this point in time.Jeff took photos of the stamping to capture the clarity of it even under the grime. The brand and the shape number are very readable. He also took a photo of the BBB Diamond Medallion on the stem top.I turned to Pipephil (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-bbb.html) to see what I could learn about the BBB Tortoise Model. The pipes that came with a pearlized stem that almost looked like it was made of abalone. It was acrylic of some sort but has the softness of vulcanite. It is remarkable material. I have included a screen capture of the section on the Tortoise.I turned to address the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He scrubbed the stem Soft Scrub to clean off the grime and grit. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the incredibly thick cake and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar. There was some burn damage on the rim top and the inner and outer edge toward the front of the bowl. There was also some darkening on the rest of the rim top. The stem was much cleaner than before. There was some staining just ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and stem. They are a bit faint but are readable as noted above.I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to show the parts and the size of the stem compared to the shank and bowl. It is a well made pipe.I decided to address the bowl first. I worked on both the rim damage and try to minimize the burn damage on the front top and on the inner and outer edges. I worked on the inner edge of the rim first using a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper smooth out the damage and give a light bevel to the inner edge. I next tried to lightly top the bowl with a medium sanding sponge to see if I could minimize it further. While it was better I was not happy with it at this point. The rim top has a slight dip where the burn had been and the top was not flat. I decided to do a more radical topping on the topping board with 180 grit sandpaper. I took off a minimal amount just to flatten the rim top. I would need to clean up the inner edge again but I liked the look the pipe was beginning to have.I polished the briar, including the inner edge of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. After it sat for a little while I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl and even the burn damage it not too intrusive – it is present but not too distracting as it is now just darkening. With the exterior cleaned and polished I looked down the shank with a light and saw that the shank was still quite oily looking. I cleaned it and the airway into the bowl with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I cleaned out the airway in the stem and removed the dark tars and material that was on the internal of the slot and V into the airway. It took time and some extra work but I was able to clean both well. I set the bowl aside and worked on the externals of the stem at this point in the process. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil to enliven and protect the stem material. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the pearlized stem even after the micromesh regimen. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I worked it over with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really well and even the newly beveled rim top looked good. I was happy with the results of the reworking of the rim. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The unique BBB 403S Straight Bulldog Tortoise shape and look of the pipe is a beauty which epitomizes the BBB Tortoise pipes that I have restored. It is a very stunning looking pipe with the mixed grain and the pearlized stem. The polished stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ 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 1.06 ounces/30 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes online store in the British Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

New Life for a Beautiful Rusticated Jirsa 96 Poker/Sitter

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am back to a few other pipes that have been here for a long time. You can see from the photos that Jeff took that it is another one that has been here for a long time. We picked it up back in 2017 – I can’t believe that it is almost five years ago. It is about time I got around to working on it because it really is quite nice. Jeff purchased this pipe from an antique mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. It had an interesting rusticated brown finish with a smooth band around the base and shank end as well as a smooth heel of the bowl. There is a carved ring around the top ¼ inch of the rim top and edge as well that is a nice touch. There was a thick cake in bowl and lava on the rim top and the inner bevel. The finish was filthy with grit and grime ground into the surface of the briar. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank Jirsa [over] the shape number 96. The stem surface was oxidized and had a rotting Softee bit with a lot of awful looking sludge built up around it. The stem did not have a Jirsa logo. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I like to have an idea of how the pipe was smoked before we got it and what the bowl and rim top looked like. Jeff always takes some photos of the bowl and rim from various angles to show what it looked like. He took photos of the stem with and without the Softee bit to show the condition. While the stem was dirty the Softee had protected it from tooth marks and chatter. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the rustication on the pipe. The next two photos show the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I did a quick scan of the rebornpipes blog and found a link to the Jirsa Octagonal Panel that I had restored (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/05/01/rebirthing-an-oldrich-jirsa-bent-octagonal-panel-138-billiard/). Rather than start over in my research on the brand I am quoting from that blog and the work I did there.

I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what he had on the Jirsa brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j2.html). He had an entry that I did a screen capture of and also the following information on the brand. Artisan: Oldrich Jirsa (born 1962) makes pipes since 1994.I turned to Pipedia for more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jirsa). I quote from the article below.

Jirsa is a Czech Republic brand owned by the family company headed by the artisan Oldrich Jirsa. They use Ebonite and cumberland stems. Best Grading: SG (Grain), three stars. Symbol: stylized J coming out of an oval. I knew that I was working on a Czech made pipe by Oldrich Jirsa. The stem on the one I was working on was vulcanite and was not stamped. I suppose it could be a replacement but the fit and slow makes me think it is original. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime on the finish of the bowl and the lava from the rim top. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. When I received it the pipe looked very good. I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. The rim top and the beveled inner edge and outer edge of the bowl were in good condition. The stem was vulcanite and there was some light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The stamping on the pipe is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole.I polished the smooth portions of the briar with 1200-1500 micromesh sanding pads and wiping it down with damp cloth after each sanding pad. The inner edge of the rim, the band on the shank end and the band round the smooth base were all polished. As I worked through the cycle of pads the shine developed with each change of pad. The pipe looks very good. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes, then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain on the smooth portions stood and the rustication showed depth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished the stem and built in band with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. The photos below show the polished stem. This Czech Rusticated Jirsa 96 Poker/Sitter with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich browns of the stain made the grain and rustication come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Jirsa 96 Poker/Sitter really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.87 ounces /53 grams. This beauty will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Breathing Life into a Hexagonal Jansen’s N.O. Saddle Stem Panel

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an online auction on 03/21/2019 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. The pipe is an interesting hexagon shaped panel shaped pipe that had been lightly smoked. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads JANSEN’S [over] N.O. The finish is dirty and has some nice grain highlighted by the medium brown stain. The bowl was lightly caked around the first ½ inch down into the bowl then there was bare briar. It was quite clean and the inner edge looked had some damage on the right front. The saddle stem was a nice vulcanite and looked very good. There was light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some 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 cleanness of the rim top. You can see a little darkening and damage on the front right inner edge of the rim. The top and underside of the stem it is remarkably clean and undamaged. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides to give a sense of the grain on this pipe. The stamping on the side of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. I turned to Pipephil and there was nothing listed for the Jansen’s N.O. pipes. Yesterday I spoke with Jeff and commented that I wondered if it was a Pipe Shop in New Orleans.

I turned then to Pipedia to see if I could find anything on the Jansen’s N.O. pipe that might link it to a shop in New Orleans (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jansen%27s_N.O.). Sure enough when I did a search for that in the site I found this – I quote below.

Jansen’s N.O. pipes were made by Comoy and GBD in the classic English shapes for the Jansen Pipe Shop in New Orleans. From the sketchy information I have been able to find “Ye Olde Pipe Shoppe” was on Chartes Street, in the French Quarter. At one time was one of the oldest pipe shops in the U.S., reported to have begun in the 1860’s. The pipe shop was last run by Edwin Jansen, and was started by his grandfather August Jansen, an immigrant from Germany in the 1800’s. They sold all the major brands plus the Jansen’s store brand marked “JANSEN’S N.O.”. When Edwin Jansen passed on in the early 1980’s the shop was closed.

The link also includes a Pipe Book by Edwin Jansen entitled Pipe Smoking Do’s and Don’t’s. It is a fascinating read. Take the time to have a look.

Armed with that information I knew that I was working on an English made pipe for one of the oldest pipe shops in the US. It is sad to think that it is gone. I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. 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 alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top and edges of the bowl looked great. There was one small nick on the left front outer edge of the bowl but otherwise the outer edge looks good. The stem was very clean with no tooth marks or chatter. There was some light oxidation that I would need to deal with but otherwise it was clean. The stamping on side of the shank is clear and readable as noted above.I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is another proportionally pleasing pipe.I worked on the damaged right front inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to smooth it out well. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the sanding dust. It started to take on a rich shine after each successive pad. The bowl and rim looked very good so I rubbed the pipe 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 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 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. This New Orleans based Jansen’s Pipe Shop N.O. Hexagon Panel with a Saddle Stem is a great looking pipe. The contrasting brown and black stain on the briar highlights the saddle 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 Jansen’s N.O. Hexagonal Panel is another pipe that fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 43 grams/1.52 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection 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!

Restoring a MALAGA Rusticated Bent Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another interesting Malaga pipe that Jeff. This pipe was purchased off EBay on 10/29/2017 from Manteca, California, USA. It is an interesting looking rusticated bent Apple. The finish looks a lot like a Brigham. It has the classic Malaga oil cured finish and some great looking grain on the smooth rim, shank top and right side. There was a smooth band around the shank end and the rim. The pipe is stamped on right side of the shank and reads MALAGA. The shape is well done and the fit of the stem against the shank is very well done. The carver did a great job of carving the pipe to capture the grain around the smooth portions bowl and shank. The bowl had a heavy cake with an overflow of thick lava on the rim top. The sides of the bowl and shank are very dirty with grime and oils ground into the rusticated finish from prolonged use. The vulcanite stem was heavily oxidized and calcified. It had tooth dents and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem near the button and on the button surface itself. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup work. With some work it will be a real beauty. Jeff took a close up photo of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started the cleanup work. The bowl has a thick cake and the uneven overflow of lava on the rim top is quite thick all the way around but slightly heavier toward the back. The inside edge of the rim could be damaged but it quite hidden under the lava coat. The stem is deeply oxidized, calcified and dirty and there is tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. He took a photo of the stamping on the right side of the shank. It read as noted above. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar looked like. There is some nice grain around the sides. You can also see the damage to the rim edges and the heel of the bowl in the photos below. I am including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. I have written an earlier blog to give a little history of the Malaga Brand and the pipemaker, George Khoubesser. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/.That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. 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 alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. When the pipe arrived and I unpacked it the stem was broken off at the end. There was about a ¼ inch of the stem and the entire button was in the bottom of the bag that the pipe was packed in. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top and outer edge of the bowl show some darkening over most of the surface. There is damage to the inner edge of the bowl and bowl is out of round. The stem surface looked very good with tooth marks and chatter on the top side and the underside near the button. The stamping on the right side of the shank is clear and readable. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. I started my work on the pipe by dealing with a hard thick area of cake on the lower front of the bowl. The rest of the bowl was very clean but that area had a hard wedge of carbon that was impervious to reaming and scraping. It was thick and was a battle to remove. It is hard to capture a picture of it but you can see part of it in the photo below. I stuffed the bowl with cotton bolls and plugged the shank. I filled the bowl with isopropyl alcohol and let it soak the carbon pack in the bowl. It sat for several hours and once I removed the cotton bolls the cake had softened some. I scraped and chipped the carbon wedge with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and was able to remove all of it. It was rough then but much cleaner. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel and smoothed out the roughness. I worked over the rim top and the inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I gave the inner edge a slight bevel and smoothed out the damage on the rim top. I polished the rim top and smooth briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. I also ran the pads over the high spots on the rustication as well to give some contrast. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10-15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive and the finish looked rich. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift them as much as possible. I filled in the remaining tooth dents and marks with Black Super Glue and set it aside for the repairs to cure. Once they cured I flattened them with a file. I cleaned up the repaired areas with 220 sandpaper to blend the repairs into the surface of the stem. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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. This Malaga Rusticated Bent Apple with a vulcanite taper stem turned out to be a real beauty. The carver did a great job on the rugged rustication and the shape of the pipe. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel and the finish just popped and came alive. I gave the bowl 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 pipe took on life with the buffing. The rich oil cured colour works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished Malaga Bent Apple has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe was 38 grams/1.34 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. It will be in the American Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Breathing Life into a GBD Oxford Saddle Stem Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from EBay on 06/11/2016 from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The pipe is a classic newer GBD Billiard shaped pipe with a varnish coat on the bowl. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads GBD in an oval [over] OXFORD. On the right side it is stamped Made in England. The finish is quite shiny and has some nice grain highlighted by the contrast stain. The bowl was moderately caked around the first ½ inch down into the bowl then there was bare briar. It was quite clean and the inner edge looked to be in good condition. There was a small nick on the left front outer edge. The saddle stem was vulcanite and was lightly oxidized. It had a stamped GBD Oval logo that was in good condition. It is a nice looking newer GBD made by Cadogan and will make someone a great small billiard. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and tobacco debris as well as the thick lava on the smooth rim top. Though there are no photos of the top and underside of the stem it is remarkably clean and undamaged. The stamping on the sides of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. The stamp on the stem is also quite clean. I turned to Pipephil and there was nothing listed for the Oxford model of GBD pipes. I was a little disappointed but have gotten used to that for some the newer GBDs. I have hit the wall in the search for information many times on these.

I turned then to Pipedia to see if I could find anything. On the main page there was a great summary of the history of the brand lots of information on the more known models. There was nothing there on the Oxford model.

At the bottom of the listing on Pipedia there was a link to a section on the various models so I clicked on the link (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Model_Information) and finally found something. At the bottom of the listing of models of GBD pipes there was a list of GBD seconds. I have included the some of models listed there below. I have highlighted the Oxford in red in the list below. That was the extent of information that I could find.

List of GBD “Seconds”

The lines listed below are either 2nds or lines made for other makers/pipeshops. Please send me any corrections or additional information you might have on these.

Matt Special — England, unknown if also made in France: “Warm Amber” on black dual tone Matt finish, “mid-priced” private label. -catalog ( 1976 ). This style was listed under “Private Brand Pipes” in the catalog which means that GBD would stamp a custom name of the pipe, often the name of a pipe shop or chain.
Medley — England, unknown if also made in France: “A collection of oversize Conquest and Collector shapes…varying shape selection”, varying finishs. -catalog ( 1981 )
Oxford — England, unknown if also made in France: –
Peerless — England, unknown if also made in France: –…

Armed with that information I knew that I was working on a Cadogan era GBD pipe (made after 1981) I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. 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 alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top and edges of the bowl looked great. There was one small nick on the left front outer edge of the bowl but otherwise the outer edge looks good. The vulcanite stem was very clean with no tooth marks or chatter. There was some light oxidation that I would need to deal with but otherwise it was clean. The stamping on sides of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is another proportionally pleasing pipe.The bowl and rim looked very good so I rubbed the pipe down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 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 needed to remove the light oxidation on the stem. I rubbed it down with Soft Scrub and was able to clean it up significantly. 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. This Cadogan Era GBD Oxford Vulcanite Saddle Stem Billiard is a great looking pipe. The contrasting brown and black stain on the briar highlights the grain around the bowl and shank. It works well with both the shape and the polished vulcanite saddle 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 GBD Oxford Billiard is another pipe that fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 32 grams/1.13 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection 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!