Blog by Steve Laug
Getting a box of pipes from Jeff is like opening a box of Christmas Presents… though they won’t often be mine for the keeping. The buzz that I get when the box arrives and I am not sure what pipes he is sending always is a highlight for me. Not long ago he sent a box of a group of Stanwell pipes that we purchased from our contact in Denmark. This pipe was in that group of pipes purchased 01/26/2023. When I took this box out of the larger box I got a double dose of excitement. If you want to feel like I felt holding it stay with me and follow the photos in order. It is a black Stanwell box in great condition. I always turn the box over in my hand and read the end panels for any hints. In this case it had a tag on the right end (photo) that read Trio Brown/Pol Model 191. The hint was a good one… I now knew I was going to find a smooth Bulldog shaped pipe in the box when I removed the lid.
What I did not know was the condition of the pipe – smoked or unsmoked and the banding that was on a Trio. I seemed to remember it was a combo of metal and acrylic and the stem would also be acrylic. So, I lifted the lid and saw a black Stanwell stamped pipe sock in the box. You can certainly skip ahead to the third photo if you are impatient to see the pipe. 😊
So, the moment arrived. I opened the pipe sock and lifted out a beautiful Stanwell Bulldog in the shape 191 which is a favourite of mine. The rich walnut finish was beautiful and the triple (TRIO?) bands looked great. There was an orange/amber acrylic spacer sandwiched between two silver wafers attached to the shank. On the side of the acrylic saddle stem is that classic Silver Crowned S logo inlaid in the acrylic. It really is a great looking pipe.
Now it was time to examine the pipe more thoroughly. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands to examine the condition of the bowl and the finish and the stem. Amazingly this pipe was UNSMOKED. The had a light carbon bowl coating that was undamaged. The finish was in okay condition though it had been coated with shellac and in places the shellac had wrinkled. That is a pretty easy fix but it was there. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the left underside of the diamond shank it reads Stanwell [over] Danish Design [over] Trio. On the right underside of the shank, next to the Trio shank extension the shape number 191 is stamped alongside the extension/shank joint. The stem was clean and shiny acrylic with no tooth marks or shop display damage. It looked very good. The pipe even smelled great… There you go all the senses come into play – touch, eyes, smell… oops forgot taste but then there is nothing to taste! I took photos of the pipe as I saw it at this stage of my examination.
Now I examined it more closely. I will show you what I see and describe it as I go. The rim top looked very good and was clean with a slight bevel inward on the inner edge. The finish was in good condition with no wrinkles in the shellac coat on the top or down the sides of the rim cap. You can see the dark carbon coat on the bowl walls and it was smooth to the touch. Turning to look at the stem I found that it was very clean, just a little dust next to the edge of the button. There were not any tooth marks or nicks in the acrylic. It was also clean on the inside of the airway in the mortise and stem and the slot was clean in the button.
I examined the sides of the shank and the stamping is clear and readable. It is deep and clean stamping. The finish on the underside of the shank is where the wrinkles are in the shellac coat are visible. The triple bands are also undamaged and very smooth. The transitions between the briar and the shank extension is smooth as well as that between that and the acrylic stem.
I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the parts. It is a beautiful pipe for sure. It is hard to see but the wrinkles in the finish are more on the shank than anywhere else.
I did some reading to see if I could find out anything about the Danish Design Trio Line of Stanwell pipes. The pipe I have does not say Made in Denmark and from what I can find it seems that the line is a newer one and could have been made in Italy. However, it does not say that either so I am wondering if it is a transitional line that came out during the move from Denmark to Italy. I can’t find anything listed on the line itself so that is what I am left with.
I did find several listed on the web for sale so they are available. I found the line offered online on cigarsunlimited.co.uk site (https://www.cigarsunlimited.co.uk/product-category/pipes-pipes/pipes/stanwell-pipes/stanwell-trio-serie-pipes/). The description was helpful so I have included that below.
Dark brown polished bowl with a superior grain and a combination of metal and acrylic rings on the shank. The rings create a perfect match to the pitch-black acrylic mouthpiece displaying the Stanwell Silver S. The Trio Series is an example of a pipe that will suit any occasion.
I also did some looking through the catalogues on Pipedia and the information there and did not find the line listed. I did have a look at the article on Shape Numbers and Designers there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). From there I found that the shape 191 is a small Rhodesian that was designed originally by Tom Eltang.
Now I knew a little bit about the pipe in my hands. Now where to begin this cleanup? I decided to begin by removing the wrinkled shellac coat. I wiped the bowl down with a cotton pad and some fingernail polish remover (acetone) to remove that top coat. It was so wrinkled on the shank I decided to remove it all.
With the topcoat gone I rubbed the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and into the grooves with a shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it off with a soft cloth. I liked the finish sans shellac much better. What do you think?
I hand buffed the bowl another time and set it aside. Now it was time to do a little detail work on the stem. It was very clean and there were no marks on the surface on either side. I ran a pipe cleaner through it to remove the dust and worked over the sharp edge of the button with my Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the dust that had collected in that spot on both sides. It looks great.
I am excited to put the finishing touches on this Tom Eltang Danish Design Stanwell Trio 191 Bulldog. 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 Danish Design Trio 191 is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is also an UNSMOKED and NOS (New Old Stock) pipe that you can break in as you choose. 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 1.80 ounces/51 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. 
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