I too love the oddities. I have quite a few strange pipes. I also have a jet stream. Nice job on that one
Photographed and written by John M. Young I love the oddities and curiosities, as I call them, regarding the designs of pipes. I have a 4 pipe rack…
A Medico Jet Stream Restoration
Blog by Kenneth Lieblich
Here’s another terrific pipe from my gentleman customer in Washington. This is a GBD Prehistoric 9493 pot with a Perspex stem – well, it’s officially listed as a pot, but some (like Greg Pease) call it a long-shank pot, and I thought it was a lovat when I first saw it. I’m arbitrarily calling it a “lovat pot” – so there!
I love GBDs and I was delighted to work on this one. However, there was one significant issue: a very thin, but very long, crack on the underside of the bowl. As the English say, I would have to use all of my “nous” to repair it without making it look like a dog’s breakfast.
Let’s look at the pipe’s markings. On the underside, going from left to right, we see GBD in an oval (albeit very worn); next to that is the word Prehistoric; next to that are the words London England; and, finally, next to that is the shape number 9493. I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess on the specific age of this pipe, other than to say that the brass oval on the stem suggests that it (fortunately) predates the merger Comoy’s. This pipe is likely from the 1960s or 1970s.
A page from a 1961 GBD catalogue shows our shape (if not the model). It reads, “#9493 – Large Pot, Long Shank, Flat Saddle Mouthpiece”. That matches our pipe’s description.
Let’s start with the Perspex stem. As an aside, Perspex simply means a type of clear, cast acrylic. GBD has used it since the 1930s, apparently. As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts on acrylic stems, they are tricky to get completely clean because the tobacco stains the material quite thoroughly. This one wasn’t too bad and I worked hard on this one – using dental tools, pipe cleaners, and alcohol. Having had some success with other acrylic stems, I also used SoftScrub on some pipe cleaners for further scrubbing. I was pleased with the results.
There were a few tooth marks, etc. on the stem, and I addressed those by filling them with some clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. Once that had cured, I sanded the stem down – first with some sandpaper, then with my Micromesh pads and pipe stem oil. I was really pleased with the way it came out in the end. Lovely shine!
On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. The bowl was quite wide and I used both the KleenReem and the PipNet to remove the built-up cake, and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to remove as much as I could. I wanted to take the bowl down to bare briar. Unfortunately, there were many heat fissures on the inside of the bowl. I would address those later.
I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel – it took many pipe cleaners et cetera to clean it out. As usual, I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some soap and tube brushes. In fact, at that point, I took the opportunity to also use a toothbrush and gently clean the sandblast. Much improved.
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.
Now on to the tricky business of repairing that long crack on the underside of the bowl. The technique I use for repairing these is one I learned from Steve long ago. It involves drilling a tiny hole at the very end of the crack to stop it from progressing any further in years to come. Now, it’s often challenging at the best of times to find the end of a crack on a smooth bowl, but it’s nigh on impossible on a sandblasted one! Nonetheless, I took my time and ever so carefully searched and found the ends of the crack. I took my micro drill bit and delicately drilled a hole through the briar right at both ends of the crack. I then carefully laid a thin bead of CA glue along the crack and let it cure. This bead of glue was placed with a needle-nosed nozzle, so that excess glue wouldn’t be an issue around the crack. I obviously didn’t want to sand the sandblast, so being extra careful with the glue was important.
The next step was to sand the rim down. I started with some sandpaper on a wooden sphere and then used my nine Micromesh pads. On the rest of the stummel, I only used the last couple of pads, as I didn’t want to lose any of the beautiful blast. Where it was required, I touched up a couple of spots on the wood with my furniture pens.
Of course, I used my restoration balm and rubbed that into the wood to have its nourishing properties work on the wood. I left it set for 20 minutes or so. While I was waiting, I took some of my pipe mortar and lined the briar walls with it. It was necessary for repairing the fissures inside the bowl. It’ll make a world of difference to the long-term viability of this great pipe. Afterwards, I rubbed down the stummel with a microfibre cloth.
Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and several coats of Conservator’s Wax were just what this pipe needed. The handsome sandblast just popped and looked great.
This GBD Prehistoric 9493 lovat pot is much improved. I’m delighted and I’m sure my customer in Washington will be too. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did in 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.
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe on the table is a unique one and I think it is an older one. We purchased it from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark 01/22/24. The pipe is a Shell Briar with a rugged sandblast finish. The pipe is stamped on the heel of the bowl and the underside of the shank on a smooth panel. On the heel it is stamped with the shape number and the designation for a Fish Tail stem – 32 F/T followed by Dunhill [over] Shell Briar. Next to that it is stamped Made in [over] England with the date stamp 7 following the D in England. Next to that it is stamped 1 in a circle and S which tells me it is a Group 1 sized pipe and it is in the Shell Briar finish. The pipe had been smoked and there was a thick cake in the bowl overflowing as lava in the sandblast on the rim top. The stem is oxidized and had tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below. 
Jeff took photos of the rim top, bowl and the surfaces of the stem to give a sense of the condition of the pipe. The walls of the bowl had a thick cake on them and lava overflow onto the rim top – heavier toward the back of the bowl. The stem is oxidized and has tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.
He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a clear picture of the depth of the sandblast. It really is a great looking blast that shows the grain underneath very well.
He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and the shank. It is clear and readable and read as noted above. 
I turned to the dating key on Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html) to establish a date for the pipe. I drew a red box around the pertinent information below. It fits the criteria of a Sandblast with a year suffix and a Non possessive form Dunhill. The suffix is the number 7 same size as the D which puts in the section below which notes 1960 + suffix 7 to establish a date. In this case it is 1960 + 7 making the pipe a 1967.
I turned to Pipedia to verify this date on the pipe and have included the link and the post for that below (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipedia_Dunhill_Dating_Guide#Post-Patents). It verifies that date is 1960. I have included further information that was on the site for this time period. I have highlighted the pertinent information in red below:
[1955 up to 1969] Only a single suffix number.
The date code is just after ENGLAND: 1950 +: 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the 50s and 0 for 1960 (they are smaller and underscored) then, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 for the 60s (they are equal in size to the “D” in the word “ENGLAND”).
Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it.
I took photos of the bowl and the rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show the condition of the pipe before I started my work. The rim top looked remarkably good. Unfortunately I forgot to take stem photos of the before and only took the ones below after I had some repair work on the top and underside.
I took a photo of the stamping on the shank. The photo of the stamping is clear and readable. I also removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. 
The bowl was in such good condition that I had to do some minimal work with it. 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 then 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 “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift the majority of them. Those that remained I filled in with clear CA glue. Once the repairs cured I used a small file to flatten the spots. It looked much better.
I sanded the surface of the stem and the repairs smooth with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It worked well to smooth things out and remove remnants of oxidation. When finished the stem looked much better.
I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.
This 1967 Dunhill Shell Briar 32 F/T Group 1 Billiard has a beautiful, unique Dunhill Sandblast finish that is very deep and craggy. The rich brown/black finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank. It has some great rugged sandblast that Dunhill developed and specialized in making. The polished vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It is critical to avoid buffing the stamping and to have a lighter touch on the sandblast briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Dunhill Shell Briar 32 F/T Billiard is quite stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .67 ounces/19 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I am going to add it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for your time.
rebornpipes 