Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was purchased on 05/21/22 from and Antique Store in Longview, Washington, USA. Both Jeff and I love hunting for pipes and we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration from shops on our travels. We work them into the restoration queue so that we can keep them moving. This is a beautifully grained Billiard with a vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side and reads 76 next to the shank bowl junction followed by the stamp IMPORTED BRIAR. On the right side of the shank it reads Ansell’s [over] Wash.D.C. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing thick lava coat on the bevelled rim top and edges of the rim. The stem was lightly oxidized, dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not 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 the overflow of lava on the rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the light chatter and tooth marks. You can also see the light oxidation and calcification on the surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the build up of grime. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I turned to Pipedia to see if there was any information on the brand that gives me the background info that I enjoy as I work on a pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ansell%27s). I found a brief article and I quote it below in full.

Ansell’s Pipe and Tobacco store was at 820 14th St. NW in Washington D.C. It was one of three pipe brands I know of which are marked with Wash. D.C. The others are Bertram pipes and A. Garfinkel.

There was also a photo of a label and matchbook. Thanks to Doug Valitchka for his photo.From this information I learned that Ansell’s was a Pipe and Tobacco Shop in Washington DC and along with Bertrams and Garfinkel made and sold their own pipes. Previously, Jeff and I picked it up a group of pipes from a seller who had bought them at the closing auction of the Bertram’s Pipe Shop in 1970. Though this one came from a separate sale, I think that it is safe to assume that the pipe was made prior to that.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his habitual process that delivers a very clean pipe to me for work. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants 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 Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.     The rim top cleaned up well with the lava coat removed. The inner edge of the rim had some burn damage on the left and back of the bowl with some darkening and burning on the rim top in the same places. The stem surface looked very good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the shank. There is a 76 stamped next to the shank/bowl junction followed by Imported Briar on the left side and Ansell’s in script [over] WASH.D.C. I left on trip around Alberta for work before working on the pipe. I decided to bring it along to work on in the evenings once work was finished. At the first hotel I started my work on the pipe. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The saddle stem billiard is a nice looking pipe. The stem also has an aluminum stinger in the tenon.I brought along a bag with some 220 and 600 grit sandpaper and a set of micromesh sanding pads. Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. I took the pipe to the desk top in the hotel room and started my work. The bevelled rim top and the inner edge of the rim was damaged with burn marks and darkening. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean it up and remove the damage. It looked significantly better.   Once I had cleaned up the bevelled rim top and edges I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. At that point my trip was over and I returned to Vancouver. After a good night sleep I got up in the morning and returned working on the pipe. I used a Walnut stain pen to touch up the stain on the bevelled rim top and rim edges. I stained it and set it aside to cure.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 about ten minutes and then buffed it off with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I heated the stinger and twisted it free of the shank. It was pressure fit in the tenon and the tars and oils held it tight in place. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to carefully twist it free. I cleaned the tenon area after it was removed but it was not too dirty.I polished the tooth marks and chatter out of the vulcanite stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I finished my polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra-Fine polishes. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside.I pressed the stinger back in the tenon. It is simple to remove so if the new owner does not want it in place he/she can remove it.This Ansell’s Wash.D.C. Imported Briar Billiard with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Ansell’s Saddle Stem Billiard 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 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe 1.20 ounces/34 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section soon. 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!

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.