Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I have been picking up Malaga pipes for a very long time. It does not seem that long ago that we picked them up for $4 – $5USD each. We purchased an estate of more than 30+ Malaga pipes. It was not long before the brand had our attention. The pipes are very well made and all are oil cured with a “secret” recipe and process.

The next pipe on the table is a “Malaga” pipe that is made in a shape that I would define as a Twisted Bent Egg. We picked it up from a seller on eBay in Bristol, Indiana, USA. It has some great cross and birdseye grain and a tapered vulcanite bent stem. The grain around the bowl and shank combined with the stem make it a stunning pipe. The carver did a great job of uniquely shaping the pipe to follow the grain on the briar. The twists and turns in the bowl are well done and almost seem to be carved for fingers to fit against the bowl either left or right handed. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed with lava onto the rim and there were scratches and nicks on the top and edges under the grime. The sides of the bowl and shank are very dirty with grime and oils from prolonged use. The stamping on the left side of the shank read “MALAGA” in quotations. On the right side it is stamped in script and reads CUSTOM CARVED. The vulcanite stem had light tooth dents and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem. The button was worn on both sides. Jeff took these photos before he started the cleanup work on the pipe.Jeff took a closeup photo of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The rim top had some lava overflow and darkening on the back of the bowl. There are nicks around the inner outer edges of the bowl and rim top. The stem is oxidized and dirty and there is tooth marks (dents) and chatter on the button edges and surfaces ahead of the button. The shank was too dirty for the stem to fit snugly and it looks like it is poorly fit. I will know more once I have it in hand. He also took photos of the sides and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. The photos show the general condition of the bowl and wear on the finish. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. Jeff took a photo to capture the stamping on the shank. The photos show the stamping “MALAGA” on the left side of the shank and CUSTOM CARVED on the right side. The stamping is very readable.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/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/). That blog also includes a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

Jeff 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 exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the flat surface of the rim looked very good. The inner edge of the rim has some serious burn damage on the front inner edge. The outer edge looked very good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it with hot water. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. Note that I will need to bend the stem slightly to fit the bend of the shank.  I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils but you can now see the on the rim top and edges. The vulcanite stem had tooth chatter on both sides near and on the button surface.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank to show how good the condition is. It shows the “MALAGA” stamp on the left side and CUSTOM CARVED on the right side. The stamping is very legible. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to give a clear picture of the character of the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the inner edge of the bowl and the scratching and nicks on the rim top. It looked much better than when I started.I polished the rim top and the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the bowl with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads to prepare the rim top for staining. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I turned to the stem to address the issues on the surface of both sides at the button. I painted the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks from the surface. I was able to lift them to some degree but they would need to be repaired. I also heated the stem with the flame to soften the vulcanite and bend the stem to match the angles on the bowl. I filled in the tooth marks in the top and underside of the stem with black rubberized CA glue. I set it aside to cure. Once it cured I use a small file to flatten the repairs and blend them into the stem surface. I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to flatten the repairs and blend them into the surface. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I also cleaned up the tenon for a better fit to the shank. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. 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.This Malaga Custom Carved Twisted Fluted/twisted Bent Egg with a vulcanite tapered stem turned out to be a real beauty. It has great grain around the bowl and the carver really maximized that with the shape of the pipe. Everything about the pipe – the shape of the bowl, the thin flat rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel and the grain 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 grain took on life with the buffing. The rich oil cured colour works well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished Malaga Custom Carved Fluted Bent Egg 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I will be adding the pipe to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your rack send me an email or message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another estate pipe.

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.