Blog by Steve Laug

I decided I needed a change of pace in my restoration/clean up work. I went through my pipes waiting in the queue and chose pone from a group of four pipes that were given to us by a woman in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It had belonged to her Grandfather who lived from 1882 to 1977. There were four pipes that she sent us from his estate – the metal bowled apple, a cased meerschaum with a broken shank and an amber stem, a Whitehall rusticated apple and a BBB Glokar Fraternity Pipe.I chose the metal cap one because it seemed to call out to me with a voice of mystery. It is a very unique pipe with a briar base and silver rim cap. There seems to be a metal bowl insert under the inside lip of the cap. The bowl has five holes in the bottom of the bowl. The pipe has a silver ferrule on the shank end. It covers some of the stamping on the shank but what remains is readable. The partial stamp on the left side of the shank read… MID [over] LOND….The rest is covered by the ferrule. The stamp on the right side read BK4. The pipe was dirty and well used. The finish on the bowl was spotty showing damage to the varnish coat. The bowl had tobacco debris in it but little cake. The silver cap and ferrule were very tarnished. The stem was dark horn and there were some nicks in the edge where it sat against the ferrule. There was no button on the stem but was tapered down to a orific opening in the end of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition. You can see the tarnish on the silver and some scratching in the rim top. The bowl is almost copper coloured but it is not entirely clear at this point. The horn stem is quite clean and polished. There were scratches on the button end of the stem and some nicks on the shank end. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the composition of the pipe. You can see the damage to the varnish and the tarnish on the silver rim cap. He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. You can see what is readable and what has been cut off by the placement of the ferrule on both sides. It is clear and reads as noted above.He took a photo of the chip out the end of the tenon end of the stem where it is inserted into the silver ferrule.When the pipe arrived in Vancouver it was very clean. The briar, the metal bowl insert and the rim cap/top and silver ferrule were spotless and shiny. The silver shone in both places. The horn stem looked very good. There was a small chipped area where it fit in the ferrule but otherwise it was clean and tooth marks and chatter were absent. He had cleaned out the bowl, base and the airway in the stem and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with Murphy’s Oil Soap (undiluted) and a tooth brush. He rinsed the exterior with warm running water and dried. He polished the silver, bowl and stem with a small drop of olive oil. The pipe really looked very good. It was going to be a fun one to work on for my part.  I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the table for my work. I took photos of the bowl and the polished metal insert and cap. It is clean and it is beautiful silver work. The bowl is very clean and there are small dents and nicks in the surface of the rim cap and bowl sides. The horn stem is in great condition. It is fascinating to me that there were no button edges but the stem just ran flush to the end. There were no tooth marks or chatter on the stem surface on either side. I tried to take photos of the shank sides to capture the stamping on the briar. It is faint but it is still readable. I took a photo of the bowl and shank separated to show the condition of the pipe. It really is a great looking pipe. I started my work on the pipe by wiping down the briar with alcohol and a cotton pad. I was able to remove the spotty remnants of the finish from the bowl. I was able to remove all of the remnants of the varnish and it really looked much better without it. The grain shown through really nicely. With the polished silver the briar looks really good! I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I dry sanded the briar and then progressively brought a shine to the pipe. It looked really amazing – the combination of the silver and reddish briar. It is a beauty!   I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips. The product works to clean, preserve and protect the briar. I let it sit and absorb for 10 minutes. I buffed it off with a soft cloth and then gave it a rigorous buff to raise the shine. It looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I decided to give the stem a thinner profile and give it a button. I used needle files to shape the stem surface and give it a thin button. I like the new look for the stem.I sanded the filed areas and the area at the top of the stem near the tenon. I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem by sanding it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It is starting to look much better.I polished out the chatter and marks on the stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth after the sanding pads. I finished the hand polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian oil and set it aside to dry.I am really happy with the way that this Mystery Metal Insert Bowl with a Silver Cap and Ferrule and a Horn stem turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and smooth finished on the lower half of the bowl and silver rim cap. The original horn taper stem is really nice. The polished dark horn stem works well with the briar and the silver cap and ferrule. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth 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 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 Silver Capped Mid…London BK4 Apple really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/ 1.09 ounces. The pipe will be staying with me and joining my collection of older pipes. The horn stem, silver ferrule and rim cap look great with older dark briar. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

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 pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.