Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a classic British looking Lovat shape. This particular pipe had a very dirty/grimy finish and some peeling varnish. It had some nice grain around the bowl sides and shank underneath the grime and peeling finish. It came to us from an antique store in Vancouver, Washington, USA on 10/20/2022. How it travelled from Malta, an island country in the Mediterranean, to the west coast of the US to an antique shop in Vancouver, Washington is a story I would love to learn more about. But that is a mystery that shall remain with this speechless pipe. The Lovat was stamped on the left side of the shank with a Maltese Cross. On the right side it is stamped Made in Malta. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with oils and grime ground into the briar sides and rim. The bowl had a thick cake and a heavy lava overflow on to the rim top. It was hard to know what the inner edge of the rim looked like under the grime. The stem was dirty with some light oxidation or calcification on it ahead of the button. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was also a bite through on the underside of the stem ahead of the button. There was not a logo stamped on the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl had a heavy cake and a thick coat of lava on the rim top. It was hard to know what the inner edge looked like at this point but we would know after clean up. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. You can also see the small bite through on the underside of the stem near the button. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain showing through the brown stain and the peeling varnish that was around this bowl. It is a pipe with some great potential.    He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photo below and is as noted above. I looked on Pipedia to see if there was any information on the brand. It was listed under the article for the Briar Pipeworks Ltd. (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Briar_Pipeworks_Ltd.). There was not a lot of information on the brand there but it was helpful. I quote it in full below. I highlighted in bold the stamp on this pipe – Maltese Cross.

The Briar Pipeworks Ltd. (or Malta Pipes as they call themselves) is situated in Marsa, Malta and produces hand finished medium priced pipes. The company was founded in 1933 and specializes in Briar and Maltese Olive wood pipes in a vast range of models. They also produce custom made engraved pipes.

The current number of employees is said to be three.

Some brands / models made by Malta Pipes are:

• Big Bill
• Boschetto (olive wood)
• Calypso
• Champion
• Comino
• Darville (churchwarden pipe)
• Dr. Stewart “Safety Smoke”
• Filfla
• Grandmaster
• Maltese Cross
• Mayfair
• Portland Pipe

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He scrubbed the bowl with acetone to remove the peeling finish. He worked on the rim top lava and the darkened spots with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The rim top had cleaned up pretty well but you can see the burn damage to the inner edge. The backside of the bowl is worse than the rest of the edge. There scratches and nicks in the surface of the rim top. The stem cleaned up very well. You can see the deep tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button and the bite through on the underside of the stem ahead of the button. It was going to take a bit of work to clean it up and repair it.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I decided to address the damage to the front rim top and inner edge of the bowl first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel on the inner edge to remove burned areas and blend them into the edge. I used an Oak stain pen to stain the bevel to match the surrounding briar.I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the bowl after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris.   I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I decided to deal with the bite through in the stem surface. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the airway in the button under the bite through. I filled in the hole with black CA glue. I set it aside to let the repair cure. Once the repair cured. I flattened it with a file to start the blending process. I continued that process with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I started the polishing process with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It was looking much better and the bite through was gone.  I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil.I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it sit and absorb into the vulcanite.I am excited to finish this Made in Malta Maltese Cross Lovat. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Lovat shaped Maltese Cross is great looking and the 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: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.09 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

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.