By Al Jones

This BBB was posted to a thread in the British section of the PipesMagazine.com forum. The owner was curious as to how old it was and started a thread on the pipe. We are fortunate on the forum to have the participation of tobacciana historian, Jon Guss. Jon has a wealth of knowledge and resources and is always willing to track down the history of a pipe brand,etc. Jon was able to clean this information about the pipe:

The first mention I found of the BBB Ne Plus Ultra was in a 1950 directory of Fancy Goods Brands; the last was in 1961. It might well have started a little earlier and ended a little later but if you assume it’s probably a 1950s pipe you’re on pretty safe ground.

The pipe came with a windcap, which was removed. I puzzled over the marks on the bowl top, until I remembered it was smoked (quite heavily it seems) with a windcap.

Below is the pipe as it was shown on Ebay, than after some work done by the owner, how I received it:

The pipe had a heavily oxidized stem, but only two small tooth indentions. The stem was very tight in the mortise and it fully inserted, there was a noticeable gap. The stem had a “HAND CUT” stamp (that would prove difficult to retain). The metal BBB stem logo was also oxidized.

I advised the owner that I didn’t recommend topping the bowl and he agreed. I said it would be difficult to remove the oxidation and keep the “Hand Cut” stem stamp. Before sending it to me, the owner had removed the cake and cleaned the bowl top.

The first challenge was to get the stem to seat fully. George Dibos confirmed the two options I had considered –

1. Deep the mortise – if the gap was even around the stem or chamfer around the end of the shank
2. Square up the shank if the gap was not even

The gap was even, and I felt and measured a ridge inside the shanks, beyond the reach of the stem tenon. I used a Tap bit that fit inside the shank, without contacting the walls and I was able to remove that ridge. The stem still was not completely flush, so I attempted to chamfer the edge of shank. This is where disaster struck – a piece of the briar broke off. I was horrified and had never broken someone else pipe before. The chip that came off was on the end of the shank. I was able to glue the piece back on, but was devastated.

I decided to continue to restore the stem. With the stem mounted, removing the oxidation via sanding and buffing, you can’t exactly baby the pipe. The repair held thru the remaining steps, so I’m hopeful that it is only cosmetic. If it were to come off, a band would be needed.

I used 600, 800, 1500 and 2000 grade wet sandpaper to remove the oxidation, the stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic Polish. Care was needed around the small BBB emblem. Saving the “Hand Cut” stem stamp, and removing all of the oxidation was not possible,so the owner opted to have a uniform black shine.

The briar was buffed lightly with White Diamond and several coats of Carnuba wax. We’ll see how the repair holds in use. And, I’m reminded that 70 year old briar is not very forgiving! Below is the finished pipe