Daily Archives: April 26, 2023

Restoring a Lightly Smoked Castello Sea Rock SS32 Canadian with an acrylic stem

5 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking rusticated Castello Canadian that I picked up in a lot of 10 pipes from a fellow on Vancouver Island who was selling his collection. He said he bought it in Bozeman, Montana quite a few years ago and had not smoked it much since he purchased it. The stamping on the underside of the shank reads Castello [over] Sea Rock Briar on the heel of the bowl. That is followed by the shape number SS32. Next to that is stamped Reg. No. 66171N0. Next to the shank/stem joint it is stamped Made in Cantu [over] Italy followed by Carlo Scotti in an oval. The stem has a “diamond” insert on the left side of the brown variegated acrylic. On the underside of the stem it is stamped Hand Made Castello 3(size of the Straw Inner Tube for the shank). The pipe came in its original box with the Castello pipe card guaranteeing that it was made by Carlo Scotti, Cantu, Italy. The box included a soft pipe sock stamped with the Castello Castle [over] Pipa Castello [over] Di [over] Carlo Scotti [over] Cantu (Italy). There was also a small package of Castello Straw Innertubes in the box. I took photos of the box and the contents before moving on to the pipe. I took the pipe out of the box and turned it over in my hands. It was in pretty good condition. This is what I saw

  1. The finish was dusty and dirty in the grooves and valleys of the finish. Otherwise the finish looked very good.
  2. The rim top and edges were clean – just dusty. There was no lava build up in the rustication on the rim top and the inner and outer edges of the bowl were clean and undamaged.
  3. There was a light cake in the bowl. It held the aroma of the tobaccos smoked in it but fortunately they were not aromatic. The walls looked to be undamaged but once I reamed it I would know more about that.
  4. The acrylic oval taper stem is a variegated brown with a “diamond” logo on the left side. It is stamped Castello Cantu Italy and a 3 on the underside. There is light tooth chatter on both sides but no deep tooth marks.

To summarize what I saw – this Castello is a well made pipe as to be expected. It is dusty but otherwise in good condition. The acrylic stem is lightly marked but otherwise undamaged. The look and feel of the pipe is great in the hand and the rustication is rugged and beautiful. It is going to clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe before I started my clean up. What do you see when you examine it? The bowl of the pipe looked very good. The rustication is clean other than dust – no lava build up. The edges of the bowl were undamaged and looked very good. I see no warning signs in the rim top or the edges of the bowl. I took photos of the acrylic stem to show its condition. Though hard to see there are light tooth marks and chatter on the surface of both sides ahead of the button but it should clean up easily with sandpaper.The next photo captures the stamping on the underside of the shank. They read as I have noted above.The acrylic/Lucite stem was in excellent condition. It was dirty and had light tooth chatter but no deep tooth marks in the stem surface. The Castello “Diamond” on the left side of the shank is quite nice and undamaged. With the stem sitting next to the shank you can see the proportion of the pipe. It really is a beauty. It has been awhile since I had cleaned up a Castello and the Reg. No. and the Carlo Scotti stamp left me with some questions that I need to answer before I began to work on the pipe. I turned first to the Pipephil site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-castello.html) because of the general quick summary of information I get there. I quote:

Castello PIPA CASTELLO di Carlo Scotti & C. was founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti († 1988). Franco Coppo (AKA “Kino”) who married Carlo Scotti’s daughter Savina, manages (2012) the corporate since 1985.

The site also gave a good summary of the grading and sizes of the pipes. I quote that in full.

Sizes (ascending):

1K to 4K, G (Giant) and GG (Extra large)

Rusticated grading: SEA ROCK, OLD SEA ROCK, NATURAL VIRGIN,

Sandblasted grading: ANTIQUARI, OLD ANTIQUARI

Smooth grading (ascending): TRADEMARK, CASTELLO, COLLECTION

Other stampings: Great Line (Non-standard or freestyle) Fiammata (Straight grain)

Production (2012): ~4000 pipes / year

I also found a note on the page that the Rhinestone logo was originally on pipes for the US market. It is occasionally used now.

I turned then to Pipedia for more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Castello). The majority of the information was what was already quoted above in abbreviated form. However there was a link to an article by Bob Hamlin that gave some interesting bits of information that I found helpful (http://www.pipes.org/BURST/FORMATTED/196.016.html). I quote in part from that article.

SEA ROCK [Carved Black or dark brown]:  This is the lowest grade of the Castello line and is the most common in the USA.  Sea Rocks are produced by taking a smooth bowl that has not been “final finished” and surface carving the finish with tools. This “carved” finish is then evened out using a steel wire brush, stained and then waxed. The Natural Vergin carved finish is left unstained and unwaxed as a rule, although we have seen waxed and partially waxed “Vergins”. 

All carved Castello pipes  are graded by the number of K’s that are stamped on each piece and are K-graded by SIZE.  1K is the smallest and fairly rare, 2K is small to medium, with  3K or 4K being the most common and ranges from medium to medium large. Large pieces are stamped “G” for giant and extra large pieces are stamped “GG” for double giant.  In addition to the number of K’s on a carved Sea Rock piece the shape number is almost always added.  As a rule a Sea Rock Castello is stained Black, although recently there have been quite a few coming in stained deep brown and still stamped “Sea Rock”.  American Logo’d Sea Rocks are all priced the same to the consumer, although most are 2 or 3 K’ed models.  G/GG models are charged at a higher price on American pieces and are basically the same as their European counterparts.

The Castello Sea Rock briar I was working on did not have the K stamping. It definitely was made for the American Market with the Rhinestone in the stem. It had the black finish. The shape number still needed to be determined.

Pipedia also gave a link to Mike’s Briar Blues site for help in dating and determining shapes (http://www.briarblues.com/castello.htm). I quote a piece on the Reg. No. that I found helpful.

1947 – Carlo Scotti begins the company.  In the beginning ( 1947 – 1949, maybe 1950 ) the pipes were stamped Mi Reserva ( my reserve ).  Later the Reg No was added.  This Reg No has nothing to do with shape numbers, but is merely the Castello company trademark…

Shape numbers. Shape numbers are all 2 digits. A 2 in front indicates a “fancy” interpretation, a 3 in front means that the carving is somehow unique. I don’t know when the change was made, but currently, a π symbol is used instead of the 3xx. I’ve only seen this on Sea Rocks, but that doesn’t mean anything…

Pre K grading.  Late 1950’s to mid 1960’s the pipe carried stamps which indicated sizes. These were as follows; SA, SB, SC, and SS.  SA being the smallest and SS the largest.

Now I had more information to work with. The Castello in my hands was pre K graded. That told me that it came out in the late 1950s to mid 1960s. The SS stamp makes it the largest sized pipe from that time period. The number 32 makes it a Canadian with an oval shank and acrylic stem.

Armed with that information and renewing my knowledge of the brand it was time to work on the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning the internals. The cake was quite thin but it can hold residual oils from previous tobaccos and I wanted to check the bowl walls for burn damage or checking. I reamed it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife and took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I worked on them until they were smooth. There was no checking or burn damage to the bowl walls. It was quite clean.I cleaned out the internals of the shank and the airway in the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I worked them over until they were clean.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked the soap into the grooves and valleys in the finish. I rinsed it off with warm running water. I dried it with a soft cotton towel. The bowl looks much better at this point in the process of recovery. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the rusticated Sea Rock finish on the bowl and the rim top. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. I used a horse hair shoe brush to work it into the crevices and keep from building up in the valleys and crevices of the finish. Once the bowl was covered with the balm I let it sit for about 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth and the shoe brush. I polished it with a microfiber cloth. I took photos of the pipe at this point in the process to show what the bowl looked like at this point. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded out the chatter and tooth marks with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the marks from the surface very well, leaving behind no sign of the tooth damage. I started polishing the stem surface with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I dry sanded both sides of the stem with 1500-12000 grit pads to polish it further. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The shine grew deeper with each sanding pad.I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I wiped the stem down with a damp cotton pad afterwards and buffed it with a soft microfiber cloth.I put the bowl and stem back together. I don’t buff the rusticated bowl on the wheel as it leaves a lot of grit in the deep grooves of the rustication. I gave the bowl and shank multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a shoe brush to raise the shine. The wax is great protection and I love using it on rusticated and sandblast finishes because it does not build up in the grooves and valleys like carnauba wax does. I buffed it by hand with a microfiber cloth to finish the shine. I polished the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish out the scratches in the Lucite. 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 contrast of the blacks and dark browns of the briar with the shine of the polished variegated brown acrylic/Lucite is quite stunning. The dark and coral like rustication around the bowl and shank is quite remarkable and gives the pipe an incredible tactile presence. This is truly a beautiful pipe and one that will give the next pipe man or woman a great smoking pipe that will outlast them. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is a light and comfortable 55 grams/1.94 ounces. I have a few Castellos in my collection that have come to me in a variety of ways. They have all been beautiful pipes and the look of this Canadian Sea Rock should be the same kind of smoker. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section soon. If you want to add it your rack let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Restoring a Carved Figural Black Meerschaum

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

Once again in this write up and I will take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 04/18/2021 from a online auction in Rimersburg, Pennsylvania, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental or chance as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to assess what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is the a dark (black), intricately carved figural meerschaum bowl. It is well proportioned and well made with a classic Turkish facial carved sheik.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is dust and debris ground into the carved finish on both side of the bowl and shank. The finish is almost a like snake/fish/dragon scales on the shank. There is a meerschaum cap on the shank extension that is carved as well and is connected to the smooth portion of the extension.
  3. The rim top had a light cake in the bowl and a lot of dust on the top in the carving. The bowl is undarkened in the photos looking down into the bowl. It appears to have been lightly smoked and hardly broken in.
  4. The bowl has a light cake in it that hides the top ½ inch of the bowl walls and the inner edge of the bowl looks quite clean and the outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious damage to the top or bowl edges.
  5. The vulcanite taper stem is in good condition – dirty and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a beautifully carved meerschaum that once cleaned up will look pretty amazing. The exterior of the bowl is quite dirty with dust and debris. The pipe is very Turkish looking and is a classic carved figural pipe that has the distinctive cut of other figurals pipes that I have worked on. The black stain on the finish is quite stunning and will clean up well. The photos below confirm the assessment above. Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is quite thin and is only in the top ½ inch of the bowl from the top down. You can also see the condition of the edges. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. While there is dust and grime in the finish there is no visible burn or reaming damage at this point. The bowl looks quite good. The photos of the stem surface and the shank extension from various angles confirmed my assessment of its condition. The stem surface though dirty also has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. Jeff took the pipe apart to show the two different styles of tenon on this pipe. The shank extension is held to the bowl with a nylon threaded tenon that is in good condition. The tenon on the stem is a new style push tenon that pushes into a Delrin insert in the shank end. The next photos show the amazing carving strokes around the heel and the sides of the bowl. Tell me what you see? Are there any visible problems that stand out to you? Are the cracks or scratches? Are there visible flaws or chips in the meerschaum? What kind of carving and grooves are around the bowl and shank? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? Even the questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. Jeff took a photo of the carved meerschaum shank extension that the longer smooth meerschaum extension was attached to. It is a uniquely carved piece of meerschaum it is carved roses and circles. It is quite beautiful. Have a look in the photo below.I am including Jeff’s cleaning regimen once more because in this case he used the same procedures on a meerschaum pipe. Remember that the point of these blogs is not to wow your with the work or make you shake your heads but I want you to know the details of the work we do so you can do your own. Back in 2020 Jeff wrote a blog about his cleaning process. I am including a link to that now so you can see what I mean about his process. Do not skip it! Give it a read (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/20/got-a-filthy-estate-pipe-that-you-need-to-clean/). Here is the introduction to that blog and it is very true even to this day.

Several have asked about Jeff’s cleaning regimen as I generally summarize it in the blogs that I post rather than give a detailed procedure. I have had the question asked enough that I asked Jeff to put together this blog so that you can get a clear picture of the process he uses. Like everything else in our hobby, people have different methods they swear by. Some may question the method and that is fine. But it works very well for us and has for many years. Some of his steps may surprise you but I know that when I get the pipes from him for my part of the restoration they are impeccably clean and sanitized. I have come to appreciate the thoroughness of the process he has developed because I really like working on clean pipe!

For the benefit of some of you who may be unfamiliar with some of the products he uses I have included photos of three of the items that Jeff mentions in his list. This will make it easier for recognition. These three are definitely North American Products so you will need to find suitable replacements or order these directly on Amazon. The makeup pads are fairly universal as we were able to pick some up in India when we were with Paresh and his family.

In the blog itself he breaks his process down into two parts – cleaning the stem and cleaning the bowl. Each one has a large number of steps that he methodically does every time. I know because I have watched him do the work and I have seen the pipes after his work on them. He followed this process step by step and when the pipe got to me it was spotlessly clean and ready for my work. The inside of the stem, shank and bowl were clean and to me that is an amazing gift as it means that my work on this end is with a clean pipe! I cannot tell you how much difference that makes for my work.

  1. The first thing I see is the a dark (black), intricately carved figural meerschaum bowl. It is well proportioned and well made with a classic Turkish facial carved sheik.
  2. The finish is clean and the dust and debris has been removed from both sides of the bowl. The grime ground into the finish is gone and there is some great features to the carving around the bowl sides. The carved features and the scales around the bowl sides and shank look very good.
  3. The dust and debris on the rim top has been removed and it looks very good. The walls of the bowl are clean and I do not see any checking or burn damage. The inner and outer edge of the bowl look good.
  4. The vulcanite taper stem is clean and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. There is no identifying stamping on the stem or the shank.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and also what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver.  I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the dust and debris was removed, the edges and top looked very good. It is clean looks very good. I also go over the stem carefully. There were no tooth marks or dents in the stem. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them.I love just looking at the beauty of the lay of the pipe with the carving and the proportion of the pipe. I like to remove the stem and the meerschaum shank extension from the shank to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. It is a beauty in flow and shape. By this time you should know that I almost always start with the bowl in my restoration because I truly do not like the tedious work of stem repairs and polishing. I always leave that until last even though I know that it needs to be done. For me the encouragement of seeing a rejuvenated bowl is the impetus I need to attack the stem work.

Today I started working on this pipe by turning to the bowl. For the past few years now I have been using Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the grain shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I worked the Before & After Balm into the meerschaum shank extension both the carved and smooth portions. I let the Balm sit on the surface and after 10-15 minutes buffed it off. I used a black stain pen to fill in the places at the sharp edges that had become lighter during the clean up work on it.I put the shank extension back on the shank of the bowl. It is held together with a threaded nylon tenon that screws into both the shank and the extension and allows the two to be held together snug. It is a great looking pipe. Now it was time to address the part of the restoration I leave until last. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I started with the tooth marks. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks and chatter in the vulcanite. I started the polishing of the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I use micromesh sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pad as I find it does two things – first it protects the vulcanite and second it gives the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the extra fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection from oxidizing quickly.On meerschaum pipes I avoid the buffer (especially on figurals with ornate carving) as I do not want to risk flattening the carving or damaging it. I tend to do all the polishing work by hand. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of rich mixture of Beeswax and Carnauba wax that is soft and can be put on by hand. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I follow that up with a hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished vulcanite stem. It really is a beautiful pipe. The many sided carving of shapes around the bowl sides and shank show the rich craftsmanship. The rich dark stain of this Figural Carved Sheik with Beard and Turban makes the carving stand out. The finished pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 8 inches, Height: 2 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches x 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.05 ounces/57 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Ceramic & Meerschaum Pipes section.

Hopefully the shape the writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. As always I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.