Blog by Steve Laug

I moved on to work on another pipe. The next one I chose was another Stanwell that came to us from our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark 01/26/2023. I have had a Barok that I have been smoking for over 20 years and I love the finish and it is a great smoker. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the underside of the shank it stamped on a smooth panel. It reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] Barok. To the left of the stamping mentioned is the shape number 53. The shank has a silver band sandwiched between two brass rings that is tarnished. It is a standard feature on the Barok. The stem has a brass Crowned “S” Stanwell logo inlaid on left side of the saddle stem. The bowl had a moderate cake with tobacco debris on the bowl walls. There was some lava, dust and debris on the rim top and inner edges. The beautiful, rugged sandblast finish was in good condition with dust and grime ground into the briar around the bowl sides. The vulcanite saddle stem was lightly oxidized and 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 before his clean up. The next photos of the rim and the shank show the condition of the pipe at its arrival in Idaho. You can see the cake in the bowl and the thick lava on the rim top and inner edge. The stem looked good with light marks on the top and underside at the button edge. Jeff took photos of the rich stain highlighting the rugged sandblast on the sides and heel of the bowl and the smooth finish on the rim top. It really is a stunning piece of briar. The contrast stain really makes blast have dimension and depth. The next photo shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. Jeff also captured the Brass Crown “S” Stanwell logo on the left side of the saddle stem.I turned Pipedia for information on the shape number and potentially the designer of the shape for Stanwell (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). There was no information on the designer but the shape number 53 was listed as a medium sized Straight Billiard with a saddle mouthpiece. The description perfectly fit the pipe that I was working on.

I turned to the section on Stanwell history and info. The site had some photos of a Barok that had the same bands and finish as the one I was working on. I also found a page from a catalogue courtesy of Doug Valitchka (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Barok13.jpg). I have included that below.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. There is some slight darkening on the rim top that should come off with polishing. The stem is clean and the tooth and chatter on both sides ahead of the button is very light.I took photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is clear and 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 – a classic Billiard with a great sandblast and a saddle stem.I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I removed the darkening that was on the inner edge of the bowl on the right side.I polished the smooth rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the rim top down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I touched up the rim top and the inner edge with a Cherry stain pen and blended it in with damp cotton pad. Once I buff the pipe on the buffing wheel it should look great. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. I let it sit for fifteen minutes then 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 vulcanite 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. I set it aside to dry.I really like the Stanwell Barok Line of pipes and this 53 Billiard is no exception. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 triple band on the shank and the polished vulcanite stem. The rugged sandblast on the bowl and the smooth rim top of this Stanwell Made in Denmark Barok Billiard 53 make it a beautiful pipe that 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 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 is 1.62 ounces/46 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.