By Al Jones

This pre-Cadogan (made prior to the 1981 merger) came to me via eBay. It is only the third “Patina” finish Comoys that I’ve had on my workbench. The Comoy’s shape chart calls the shape 87 the “Woodstock” It is shown on the shape chart, but I’ve never seen it in a catalog. From the index in Neil Archer Roan’s magnificent “Comoy’s Blue Riband” book, the shape was originally called the “Boston” and originated in the early 1900’s.

From a blog entry of a previous Patina pipe, historian Jon Guss shared some information about the Patina grade,and a catalog price list.

Hi Al, I can tell you a little about the Patina but only a very little. It was in the middle to lower tier of Comoy’s branded models, introduced in 1973 and withdrawn in the early Eighties. There are a number of 1970s Comoy catalogs floating around and anyone who has one (I don’t) can transcribe the entire copy for you. I’m pretty sure advertisements and/or catalogs referred to the briar as “specially selected” and “aged”, and to the “reddish walnut color” stain as a special selling feature (hence Patina). At least one ad labeled the pipe as “moderate in price, exceptional in looks”. In 1975 the Patina was retailing at $12.50. Cheers, Jon

The pipe was in very good condition, and was an easy restoration. The finish was faded, with some very slight build up on the bowl top and a slightly oxidized stem. Below, is the pipe as it was received.

I used a worn piece of scotch-brite to remove the build-up on the bowl top. The bowl itself held nearly no cake, so I used a piece of sandpaper to remove what was there. The bowl was in excellent shape. The bowl was then soaked with alcohol and sea salt.

Following the bowl soak, the stem was mounted and oxidation removed with 800, 1,500 and 2,000 grade wet sandpaper. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond rouge and Meguairs Plastic polish. The bowl was buffed lightly with White Diamond and then several coats of carnuba wax.

Below is the finished pipe.