Daily Archives: December 21, 2023

Spiffing Up a Handsome Churchwarden

Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a charming bent Dublin churchwarden (ten inches long), commissioned for a priest friend of mine. He expressly asked for a churchwarden (of course, he did). Fortunately, I had one on hand and I did a nifty restoration job on it. This is just a quick-and-dirty report for two reasons. First, I lost most of the photos I took of the restoration. Grrr. Second, this pipe has literally no markings on it, so I have no information to provide on its origins.The pipe was in decent condition. It had been well-smoked, but the bowl and shank were fairly clean. The bowl had notable cake on the inside and some lava on the rim. I felt that some burning was possibly there too. On the bottom of the stummel, there was a strange, hard, brown substance – possibly wood glue or putty. Not sure what it was, but it wasn’t supposed to be there! Similarly, the stem was relatively clean – not much oxidation to speak of, and what I would describe as “typical” tooth marks on the bit. The stem was slightly bent out of shape (in the yaw and roll axes) and would need to be corrected. The stem was first on my list. I wiped the outside down with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. I cleaned out the insides with lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol and some churchwarden pipe cleaners.

I then heated the stem with my heat gun and gently worked the twisted stem back into place. I have bent many stems before, but churchwardens always seem trickiest – perhaps because they’re so long. In the end, I got it looking just as it should.

I scrubbed the stem with SoftScrub on some cotton pads. I built up the remaining marks on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and then cured it with the aid of some CA glue accelerator. I then carefully sanded the adhesive down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing (from 3,600 onward).

Now for the stummel. I reamed out the bowl to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper taped to a dowel to eliminate as much as I could. I took the chamber down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the wall. Fortunately, there were none.

I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel and it took a fair amount of cotton to get it clean. I used cotton rounds and some Murphy’s Oil Soap to scrub the outside of the stummel. I followed that up by cleaning the insides of the stummel with some Castile soap and tube brushes.

Next, I decided to de-ghost the pipe in order to remove any lingering smells of the past. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this.

In order to safely remove the damage on the rim, I “topped” the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded down the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively removed the damage, without altering the look of the pipe. I used some 220-grit sandpaper to remove the brown stuff on the bottom. No harm done. Then I sanded the stummel down with all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit).

Finally, I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm and buffed it with a microfiber cloth. During the restoration, I noticed some previously repaired damage to the end of the shank. The repair was sound but ugly, so I decided to add a charming band to the shank. I think it suits the pipe quite well and brings a bit of “bling”.

I then took the pipe to my bench polisher and buffed it with White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax. Wow – the pipe really looks lovely.

This churchwarden will suit my priest friend very well and I know that he will enjoy smoking it for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring another City Pipe, a Stanwell Aalborg 2000 Billiard 54

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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. This is another one that might be your birth year pipe is you were born in 2001 when this Danish City Pipe was made. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the topside of the shank is an engraved brass plate that reads Aalborg [over] 2000. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with a shape number 54 mid-shank. The stem had a brass Crowned “S” Stanwell logo inlaid on left side of the taper stem. The stem also has single brass band and an acrylic extension. There is also a band on the shank end. Together these bands sandwich the black acrylic space on the stem. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was some lava, dust and debris on the rim top and inner edges. The finish was in okay condition with oils and grime ground into the briar around the bowl sides. The vulcanite stem has 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 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 grain 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. In the last photo of the heel of the bowl you can see the fill. It is solid and undamaged. The next photos show the stamping on the shank top and bottom. It is clear and readable as noted above. The stamping on the brass insert is clear and readable. He also captured the Brass Crown “S” Stanwell logo on the left side of the taper stem.I had spent a fair bit of time trying to figure out the Stanwell City pipes when I was working on the Esbjerg Canadian. I did a quick check and found nothing more. The best I can find is that they were made for a pipe show or a slow smoking competition in those particular cities. I have several of them here that I have to work on. I do know that Rødovre is another city in Denmark. Aalborg is another city there as well.

I had an idea about how to gather some information on the pipes. I thought that Jesper (a friend and blog reader) in Randers, Denmark perhaps would have information on the city pipes. I wrote him a message on FaceBook. That morning I read his reply. As usual he was extremely helpful. Thank you Jesper!

Hi Steve,

The city POY pipes were made (rather customized) for individual tobacco shows all over Denmark. The tobacconist chose a model and Stanwell would make them and do the engravings. So a Viborg 1995 might be a Bulldog while the Vejle 1995 is a Lovat.

I have no idea about how many tobacconists/cities did that but they were quite popular 20-30 years ago. When I worked at FF Pipes here in Randers around 200 we usually bought 3-4 dozens each year and they sold well for Christmas.

Cheers, Jesper

Thanks to Jesper, I now knew that the City POY pipes were customized for individual tobacco shows all over Denmark. The tobacconist would choose the model and Stanwell would to the do the engraving on them. I also learned that they were quite popular 20-30 year ago so I was dealing with a pipe at least that old.

I turned to Pipedia and looked at the Shape Numbers and Designers article to see if there were any specifics (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers) that could help. I found that the shape number listed two shapes there – a Freehand and a Lovat. This did not describe this shape at all. There was nothing on a Billiard. Now it was time to work on this interesting pipe with a great designer attached and a unique and fascinating pipe history also attached.

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 darker spots 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 photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and on the brass plaquette. The stamping is clear and readable though hard to capture with the reflection. The stamping on the right side of the shank is a bit faint but readable. With the stem removed the pipe looked quite nice and you can see the band and stem extension.I started my work on the pipe by polishing the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I polished the brass plaquette with a jewellers cloth to restore the shine and remove the tarnish. It really glows now.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 and chatter on the vulcanite stem surface near the button with a new product I am using. I ordered a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button.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 am excited to put the finishing touches on this 2000 Stanwell City Pipe Aalborg Made in Denmark Billiard as it is a beauty. 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 brass plaquette and the polished vulcanite stem. This Stanwell Made in Denmark Aalborg 2000 Billiard 54 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.20 ounces/34 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.