Blog by Steve Laug

I moved on to work on another pipe. The next one I chose was another Stanwell in a Pipe Sock that came to us from our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark 01/26/2023. It has a shape that doesn’t appear on any of Stanwell’s shape charts but it is very Danish one. Some have called the shape a Pear while others call it an oval shanked Billiard. This one might be your birth year pipe is you were born in 1983 when this POY was made. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the topside of the shank is an engraved silver plate that reads Stanwell [over] 1983. On the underside of the shank it is stamped on a smooth panel and reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark. The stem had a silver Crowned “S” Stanwell logo inlaid on the top of the saddle stem. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was light lava, dust and debris in the sandblast on the rim top and edges. The finish was in okay condition with dust and grime in the grooves of the sandblast around the bowl sides. The saddle stem was vulcanite. It had some oxidation around the stem/shank junction and on the saddle. There were light tooth marks on the top and underside next to the button. It showed a lot of promise through the grime. Jeff took photos of the pipe as he saw it at this stage of his clean up. The next photos of the rim and the shank show the condition of the pipe at arrival in Idaho. The sandblast grain around the rim top is quite stunning to me. You can see the cake in the bowl and the debris/dust in the grooves of the blast on the top. The sandblast finish is quite amazing as you look at the deep grooves. The stem looked good with light marks on the top and underside at the button edge. Jeff took photos of the rich sandblast on the sides and heel of the bowl. It really is a stunning piece of briar. The contrast stain really makes it stand out clearly. The next photos show the stamping on the shank sides and bottom. It is clear and readable as noted above. The stamping on the silver insert is clear and readable. He also captured the Silver Crown “S” Stanwell logo on the left side of the saddle stem. I turned to the internet to find out information about the Stanwell Pipe of the Year. I came across this interesting article and shape chart on the Blue Room Briars site where they listed a collection of the POYs (https://www.blueroombriars.com/blogs/news/the-stanwell-pipe-of-the-year-collection). I have included the shape chart and part of the article below for the information that it contains.…Recently, Blue Room Briars acquired a complete Stanwell Pipe of the Year (POY) collection spanning from 1980 – 2017. Looking at these pipes in detail reveals some interesting insights into Stanwell’s production, although it should be noted that these findings are not the final say on when a particular pipe was made, but we hope you can use it as a guide when trying to determine the era of manufacture for Stanwell pipes made after 1980. 

The first pipe of note is the 1980 POY. This pipe does not come with the engraved silver plaquette. The pipe also sports a traditional vulcanite mouthpiece.

Between 1981 and 1998, the Stanwell pipes from the POY collection have the addition of silver plaquettes denoting the year, a traditional vulcanite mouthpiece, and also have a Teflon lined mortise. This is an interesting feature that creates a very stable connection between the mortise and tenon, as well as allowing the mortise to be swabbed out easily for maintenance. It wouldn’t be unwarranted to believe that other Stanwell pipes with a Teflon sleeved mortise were probably made between the 1980s to late 1990s. This additional, and costly, feature demonstrates Stanwell’s commitment to quality manufacturing even into the last portion of the 20^th century.

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 worked on the rim top lava and darkening 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’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem to show how clean they were. You can see that rim top and edges look very good. The stem is clean and the tooth and chatter on both sides ahead of the button is very light.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping is readable as noted above.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the flow and proportion of the pipe. It is a beautiful looking pipe.I started my work on the pipe by polishing the silver plaquette on the shank top with micromesh because it was in such good condition. I polished it with 3200-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a jewellers polishing cloth.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks on the stem surface near the button with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove them all. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to put the finishing touches on this 1983 Stanwell Pipe of the Year (POY) Sandblast Made in Denmark Pear. 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 buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black, fancy turned vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Stanwell Made in Denmark POY 1983 Pear is nice 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 1.69 ounces/48 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting in the Danish Pipemaker Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this 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.