Monthly Archives: October 2024

Replacing a tenon, restemming and restoring another Mixed Finish Soren Hand Carved Freehand

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by Steve Laug

I am taking a break from the last two of the four pipes I am working on for Jack to clean up and match a stem with a nice freehand pipe that I have here in my box. It is another quick cleanup and restore and gives me a break from the heavier restoration work on Jack’s next pipe. This bowl has a mixed smooth and rusticated finish with a plateau rim top and shank end. The finish was a bit dull and lifeless. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Soren [over] Hand-Carved [over] Made in Denmark. The bowl had a thin cake and some lava overflow on the smooth and plateau areas of the rim top. The bowl also had some dust and debris in rusticated patch on the right side of the bowl as well as in the crevices of the plateau on the shank end. I took some photos of the bowl before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl to give an idea of what I had to work with. The bowl was very dirty and had a moderately thick cake. The smooth portions of the rim top have a lava coat the plateau portions are also almost filled in with lava. I also took a photo of the plateau on the shank end to show its condition – dirty but in good shape.I took a photo to try and capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is present and is readable in person far more than the photos show. It is stamped as noted above.I went through my cans of stems here and found a nice vulcanite fancy saddle stem that would fit quite well ONCE I REPLACED THE SNAPPED TENON. It was dirty and needed a thorough cleaning but I think it will look good.I have worked on quite a few Soren pipes over the years and turned to one of the blogs that I wrote  on another interesting Soren Freehand Sitter (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/02/26/this-interesting-soren-hand-carved-freehand-turned-out-to-be-more-work-than-expected/). I quote from that blog below.

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus, I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

It was time to work on the pipe! I decided to start with refitting the new tenon to the stem I had chosen. Hmmm…I thought I was done with that for a while but this stem just worked with the bowl. I flattened the broken tenon remnants on the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum and then further smoothed it out with a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted a smooth surface for my drilling.I learned a helpful trick on the last batch of six tenon replacements. I use a small pen knife to give the airway in the stem end a slight chamfer to guide the drill bit into it and keep it straight. Once I did that I used a series of drill bits to open the airway to receive the threaded portion of the tenon. I choose to use threaded replacement tenons as they provide a rough serrated surface for the glue to bind to the drilled hole in the stem. It has worked well for me a for a long time.Once it fit well in the stem I needed to reduce the diameter of the portion that went in the shank mortise. I use a Dremel and sanding drum to work it until it fits well in the shank of the pipe. I took photos of the look of the tenon when it was finished and put it in the shank and put the stem on it and took photos. I think it will work very well! I checked the fit of the stem to the tenon, the tenon to the shank repeatedly and once it was proper I glued it in place with black CA glue.I set the stem aside to allow the glue to cure. While it dried I took a photo of the stem and the bowl together to give a sense of the look of the pipe and stem. Proportions and look just work together in my opinion. While the glue cured I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed it with a PipNet Pipe Reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the bowl by sanding the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls looked very good. I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. It was quite dirty.I cleaned up the plateau areas on the rim top and shank end with a brass bristle wire brush. I worked on it until the groves were clean. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove all the debris. I sanded the smooth portions on the rim top with a folded piece of 200 grit sandpaper. It was looking better each step!I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I worked it into the grain on the sides, the plateau on the rim top and shank end and the rusticated patch on the right side of the bowl with the tooth brush. I rinsed the soap and grime off with warm water and dried it off with a soft towel. I looked much better at this point. The grain really stands out. I sanded the smooth part of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to start the polishing process. I wiped down the bowl with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I followed that by polishing the smooth portions of the bowl sides with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. With the briar polished I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and into the plateau rim top, shank end and rustication with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the Balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. While the Balm did its work, I worked on the “new stem”. I sanded the tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was starting to look better.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further polish the stem. I wiped it down between sanding pads with a damp cloth. I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This beautiful Soren Hand Carved Made In Denmark Freehand with a fancy, turned vulcanite saddle replacement stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Soren Hand Carved Freehand fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ x 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 58 grams/2.12 ounces. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Cleaning up a Dull and Dirty Bertram 80 Straight Apple

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by Steve Laug

I have been working lately replacing tenons on bowls in my own work box. After 6 of them I am ready for something different. While I was in Florence, Italy I had received and email from Jack regarding some pipes that he had that needed some work. Here is his email.

I have a Dunhill from unknown era, a Hardcastle, and possibly a third pipe that could use your workmanship. If you’d like, I can send you pictures of the pipes so you know what condition they’re in. Please let me know the necessary details! — Jack

We chatted about that and I suggested he email me when I returned to Canada. He wrote back and asked me to work on not three but four pipes. He listed what he had and I thought these would be an interesting diversion from tenon replacement work.

Are you still willing to entertain restoring/refurbishing a few pipes? I have four in various stages of need, and I’ve attached pictures of each for your evaluation. I would be very grateful for anything that you could and would be willing to do.

  • 1992 (?) Dunhill
  • Bertram 80
  • Hardcastle – This pipe looks very clean except for some pitting? fissures? in the chamber.
  • Dr. Grabow Supreme – This poor pipe… well, it’s a doozy.

Thank you very much! – Jack

I agreed and asked that he send them to me. Interestingly they arrived the day I finished the last of the tenon replacements. I unpacked them and they were indeed as interesting as his email had led me to believe. I decided to work on the second pipe listed in the foursome next – the Bertram 80. Here are the photos he sent to me of that pipe. I will give my evaluation of the work that will need to be done on the pipe as I walk through the photos with you.

The first two photos that Jack sent show the overall condition of the pipe. You can see from these photos that the rim top had a thick coat of lava on the rim and inner edge of the bowl. There is a thick cake that is rock hard and fills the bowl. The finish is very dirty but does not look to damaged with scratches or nicks in the photos. It is thoroughly dull under the grime.The stem is oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks on the top and the underside. The stamping on the left side of the shank is clear and readable. It reads Bertram over Washington, D.C. in a banner. Next to the bowl/shank junction is the grade number 80 stamp.The next two photos affirm my evaluation of the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. Fortunately there do not appear to be any cracks on the rim top or sides of the bowl. I unpacked the pipes when they arrived on Thursday and went over each one. As I examined this one my observations based on the photos were confirmed. The one thing that was better was that the finish actually looked better in person than in the photos. There was some nice grain around the bowl that was a bit obscured by the oils and grime. The cake and the lava were as expected. They were both thick and hard as I had guessed from the photos. The stamping on the shank was clear and readable. The stamp read Bertram [over] Washington, D.C. in an unfurled banner. To the left of the stamping next to the bowl was the number 80 which was the grade stamp of the pipe. Just a note, I have yet to quite understand the grade stamps as I have worked on grade 20 pipes with absolutely stunning grain and higher grades with fills. It really is inexplicable. The stem looked as noted above. It was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. There was no stamp or logo on the stem as is normal for Bertram pipes. Have a look at the photos below. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both the bowl and the rim top. The bowl has a thick cake that lining the walls and overflowing into lava. You can see the lava and build up on the rim top and the lava flowing over the inner edge of the bowl. It is hard to know if there is damage or if the lava protected it. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I tried to capture the stamping on the shank to show their condition before my work. They are clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the symmetry of the pipe. It is a beauty beneath all grime.As always, I like to go back and read about the brand. In this case the Bertram name is one that I am very familiar with. Instead of going to Pipephil or to Pipedia I went to my own blog. I am including the information that I read below along with the links to further blog articles for you to have a look at.

As I have worked on Bertrams I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

I have included the following link to give a bit of historical information on the pipe company. It is a well written article that gives a glimpse of the heart of the company. http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/01/bertrams-pipe-shop-on-14th-street.html#

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Straight Apple with stunning grain has one fill on the shank. This pipe has a 80 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar.

I decided to ream the bowl and do some internal clean up work before further polishing the briar. The cake was very hard so I proceeded with care so as not to either break my reamer or damage the rim edges. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 1st and 2nd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. The walls appeared to be in good condition. I scraped the lava on the rim top with the Savinelli Fitsall knife and a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the majority of it. There was some light damage to the inner edge that would need to be addressed.I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. It was quite dirty.I scrubbed the bowl and rim top with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime. I rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a cotton towel. The grain really began to stand out. Polishing would only make it more prominent. I worked over the damaged inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and smoothed out the nicks in the briar. I gently topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. While it was better, there was still some darkening and light damage to the back left side of the inner edge. I used a wooden sphere and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work in the top and the inner edge of the rim to minimize the damage on the edge. It looked very good once it was finished. I sanded the bowl, rim top and shank with sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove grime and check the progress. It was looking very good by the time I finished with the final pad. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.   I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. This Bertram Washington, DC 80 Apple (some might call it a Prince but the bowl is not shaped right and the stem is not bent correctly for one) with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Bertram 80 Straight Apple fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/33 grams. This older American Made Apple is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will set it aside and once I finish the other two pipes that Jack sent to me, I will send the lot back to him. Thanks for your time.

Restoring a Peterson Sterling Silver Deluxe System 11S Pipe

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Ah, the Peterson Deluxe System – such a lovely pipe. Good fortune has provided two such pipes for me. First is the one you’re about to see restored and the second in a few days time. The two pipes didn’t come into my possession together, but they are being restored together. Despite both being Deluxe Systems, they have different finishes, come from different eras, and had different challenges in restoration. This 11S is really a fantastic pipe with wonderful grain. I am delighted with the way it cleaned up and I hope you are too! Our first Pete is this handsome fellow. It’s an 11S shape, has a smooth-finish, comes from the Republic era, and has the classic Peterson P-lip. Let’s have a look at the markings on this pipe. The left side of the stummel reads, Peterson’s [over] DeLuxe. The right side of the stummel reads, Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland [over] 11S. The band has markings too. It has a set of faux hallmarks which read K&P. Over that are the words Sterling [over] Silver. To the right, are the words Peterson [over] Dublin. Finally, the stem reads Hand [over] Cut. In order to find out a bit more about the Deluxe System, I looked at Peterson’s own website and they furnished this information:

While the Deluxe stamp first appeared on our System pipes in 1940, the design itself dates to our 1896 and 1906 catalogues and, with the exception of the Supreme, has always marked our highest tier of System pipe. Like the System Standard and System Spigot lines, the Deluxe System pipe incorporates Charles Peterson’s patented System design, including a deep reservoir to collect excess moisture from the smoke; a graduated-bore mouthpiece that funnels the smoke and allows moisture to collect within the reservoir; a sturdy sterling silver military mount, which allows the pipe to be broken down and cleaned without damage or warping; and our patented P-Lip bit, which draws the smoke upward, thus reducing tongue bite. The Deluxe differs from those aforementioned lines, comprised of bowls with only the finest grain patterns and featuring a sterling silver mount and a push-gap stem, which was never designed to be flush-fitting, the space between the mount and stem base gradually decreasing with prolonged use. The Deluxe also elevates the System pipe by fixing each stem with a traditional chimney, an aluminum fitment that extends the tenon past the chamber’s airway for optimal System performance. Created for Peterson enthusiasts interested in acquiring the finest System pipe on the market, the Deluxe System will serve as the crown of any collection.

Then, over at Pipedia, there is the following commentary:

The handsome and very distinctive Deluxe system pipes, include the Darwin, Mark Twain and the Charles Peterson 140 year anniversary Pipe. These pipes are at the top of the ‘system’ series in terms of quality and finish. Each Peterson Deluxe is made from carefully selected, age mellowed root briar. In matt finish with hallmarked sterling silver mounts and a unique space fitting mouthpiece to allow for years of wear. They are available in a wide range of shapes numbered, as follows: 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 8s, 9s, 11s, 12.5s, 20s, XL5s, 20FB and 11FB. The pipes are well carved and construction, engineering and workmanship, is outstanding. The stems are well drilled and aligned. Silver work is excellent, finish very good, and the often maligned briar is of outstanding quality. The design is a very typically Peterson classic shape. Apart from the Darwin, the balance can be stem heavy, the bit is thick and chunky, especially in the larger versions. I also enjoy the sense of presence they give to the pipe, particularly if smoking in company with friends or strangers. They have a sophistication about them. The smoking qualities are excellent, dry and cool. The draw is good, and the flavour is particularly great in new pipes. The Mark Twains are outstanding in this department. As for the aesthetics and ergonomics, I find some shapes much more attractive than others. Favourites for me are the 1s, 2s, 3s, the Mark Twains and the Darwin deluxe. As a clencher most are very good to hang, except the beautiful Darwin which is more of a ‘hand holder.’ The one weakness I find is the modern orange/golden colour, (the so called natural) it is, in my opinion, less attractive than that found in the older Walnut finish of the eighties. As far as value and cost is concerned, for the excellent quality finish, these are competitively priced at around $135 to $250 depending on size and briar grade. For what it is worth, I reckon the Deluxes are probably the best value range of pipes that Peterson produce, both in terms of functionality and value. There is not a thing wrong with these pipes. Those who malign the brand because they’re made by the hundreds using machines, are very wrong, in my opinion. I like them a lot and the bang for the buck is the best I’ve ever seen for new pipes of this quality.The Deluxes are all excellent smokers. The Darwin, of course, is a truly outstanding pipe, its only “flaw” being that it’s not a clencher. One particular aspect of this pipe that appeals to me most is its physical beauty and presence. They are a pipe like no other. For me, they also offer a bowl capacity that I like and a balance in the hand that I appreciate. They are well named Deluxe s for giving that special experience.

These Petes with the faux-marks are a bit tricky to nail down in date. Mark Irwin, who runs the great Peterson Pipe Notes blog, has a whole page here on this topic. He writes:

Pipe smokers new to Peterson sometimes wonder what the “K&P” stamp is all about, not realizing the company was known as “Kapp & Peterson” until the 1970s and is still referred to as “Kapps” by the old hands who work in the shop. Most Peterson pipes with metal mounts (and all nickel-mount Systems) have a “K & P” Maker’s Mark, also called a Sponsor’s Hallmark, which is used by The Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin (est. 1637) to identify the silversmith or goldsmith responsible for making the article. The “K & P” maker’s mark was registered at the assay office shortly after Kapp & Peterson’s incorporation and appears either in capital letters (on early sterling and later nickel mounts) or capital letters in shields (on sterling). The maker’s mark was later placed in shields, which may be flat or pointed at the top. After 1938, the K&P maker’s mark became a stand-in for the Company of Goldsmiths (aka Dublin Assay Office) date letter and was usually accompanied nearby by the STERLING over SILVER stamp. The practice of stamping sterling with the date letter wasn’t resumed at Peterson until 1969, for rather humorous reasons explained in the Peterson book.

Sadly, I don’t have the Peterson book, so I cannot enlighten you on the humorous reasons. It would seem from Mark’s words that this pipe falls into the period between 1938 and 1968. However, we can refine that a bit, as the pipe’s markings clearly indicate that it’s a republic-era pipe. Ireland became a republic in 1949, so a date range of 1950-1968 seems suitable for this pipe.

Time to get on with it! The stem was pretty dirty. It had some calcification on it and I used a sharp edge to carefully scrape that off. Once done, I scrubbed the stem with oil soap on some cotton pads. I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the few bite marks and dents. Then I cleaned out the inside with pipe cleaners and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. You can see just how filthy it was inside. Also, it’s worth noting that the aluminum chimney that often goes with these pipes is missing – but a replacement could be sought from Peterson’s. I wiped down the stem with cleanser to remove surface oxidation. Then the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The next day, I used the cleanser again with some cotton rounds. I built up the small tooth marks on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. I put a tiny piece of hockey tape over the “Hand Cut” words, so I wouldn’t accidentally sand them. I then used my needle files, Micromesh pads and Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil to make it look great. Onto the stummel, and the first thing I did was to clean up the rim a bit. I took a piece of machine metal and meticulously scraped away the cake without affecting the finish of the wood.Then I reamed out the stummel and removed all the cake. I used a bit of everything to get it all out: PipNet, KleenReem, knife, sandpaper, etc. Fortunately, there was no damage to the interior walls. I used cotton rounds and some oil soap to scrub the outside of the stummel and a toothbrush with oil soap for the lava on the rim of the pipe. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I followed that up by de-ghosting the pipe and the bowl was nice and clean after this. I then cleaned the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. I then worked on cleaning up the sterling silver band. I taped it off, as I didn’t want to damage the wood. This worked well and I was pleased. There were a couple of very small knocks in the wood and I opted to use a damp cotton cloth and an iron to help. By laying the wet cloth over the affected area of wood and applying the hot iron, steam is generated in a way that can often swell the wood back into place.Next, I sanded all of the wood down with my Micromesh pads and made it lovely and smooth. I followed that up with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I let it sit on the wood for 20 minutes or so, then buffed it off with a microfibre cloth. I took the pipe to the buffer. I gave it a good application of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax. This made all the difference. It really sparkled after that. I also polished the silver with my jewellery cloth.

This Peterson Deluxe System 11S pipe looks amazing now. It’s really a beautiful pipe and it is ready to be enjoyed by the next owner! I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Irish’ Pipemakers Section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6 in. (152 mm); height 3⅔ in. (93 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ⅔ in. (17 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2¼ oz. (67 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restemming and Restoring a Mixed Finish Soren Hand Carved Freehand

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by Steve Laug

I am taking a break from the four pipes I am working on for Jack to clean up and match a stem with a nice freehand pipe that I have here in my box. It is a quick cleanup and restore and gives me a break from the heavier restoration work on Jack’s next pipe. This bowl has a mixed sandblast and smooth finish that was a bit dull and lifeless. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Soren [over] Hand- Carved [over] Copenhagen [over] Denmark. The bowl had a moderate cake and some lava overflow on the smooth and plateau areas of the rim top. The bow also had some dust and debris in the flaws on the smooth portion of the bowl as well as in the crevices of the sandblast and the plateau on the shank end. I took some photos of the bowl before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl to give an idea of what I had to work with. The bowl was very dirty and had a moderately thick cake. The smooth portions of the rim top have a lava coat the plateau portions are also almost filled in with lava. I also took a photo of the plateau on the shank end to show its condition – dirty but in good shape.I took two photos to try and capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is present and is readable in person far more than the photos show. It is stamped as noted above.I went through my cans of stems here and found a nice smokey grey and tan variegated acrylic saddle stem that would fit quite well with a few adjustments. It was dirty and needed a thorough cleaning by I think it will look good. I put the stem in the shank and took a few photos to get a sense of the look of this stem. I have worked on quite a few Soren pipes over the years and turned to one of the blogs that I wrote  on another interesting Soren Freehand Sitter (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/02/26/this-interesting-soren-hand-carved-freehand-turned-out-to-be-more-work-than-expected/). I quote from that blog below.

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus, I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

It was time to work on the pipe! I reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the bowl by sanding the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls looked very good. I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. It was quite dirty. I repeated the process with the stem as well.
I cleaned up the plateau areas on the rim top and shank end with a brass bristle wire brush. I worked on it until the groves were clean. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove all the debris. I sanded the smooth portions on the rim top with a folded piece of 200 grit sandpaper. It was looking better each step!I touched up the plateau on the rim top and shank wend with a black stain pen. I used a brass bristle wire brush to knock of the black on the high spots.I stained the smooth portions on the rim top with a Maple stain pen to match the rest of the bowl and shank. It looked good with the contrast of the black in the plateau areas.I sanded the smooth part of the front half of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the flawed spots and the scratched. I forgot to take photos of the work – I apologize. I followed that with polished the smooth portions of the bowl sides with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad (Again no photos).

With the smooth portion of the briar polished I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and into the plateau rim top, shank end and sandblast with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the Balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. While the Balm did its work, I worked on the “new stem”. I sanded the tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was starting to look better.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further polish the stem. I wiped it down between sanding pads with a damp cloth.I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This beautiful Soren Hand Carved Copenhagen Denmark Freehand with a fancy, turned grey/tan variegated acrylic replacement stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Soren Hand Carved Freehand fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 74 grams/2.61 ounces. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Cleaning up and Adjusting a Dr. Grabow Supreme 9437 Straight Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

I have been working lately replacing tenons on bowls in my own work box. After 6 of them I am ready for something different. While I was in Florence, Italy I had received and email from Jack regarding some pipes that he had that needed some work. Here is his email.

I have a Dunhill from unknown era, a Hardcastle, and possibly a third pipe that could use your workmanship. If you’d like, I can send you pictures of the pipes so you know what condition they’re in. Please let me know the necessary details! — Jack

We chatted about that and I suggested he email me when I returned to Canada. He wrote back and asked me to work on not three but four pipes. He listed what he had and I thought these would be an interesting diversion from tenon replacement work.

Are you still willing to entertain restoring/refurbishing a few pipes? I have four in various stages of need, and I’ve attached pictures of each for your evaluation. I would be very grateful for anything that you could and would be willing to do.

  • 1992 (?) Dunhill
  • Bertram 80
  • Hardcastle – This pipe looks very clean except for some pitting? fissures? in the chamber.
  • Dr. Grabow Supreme – This poor pipe… well, it’s a doozy.

Thank you very much! – Jack

I agreed and asked that he send them to me. Interestingly they arrived the day I finished the last of the tenon replacements. I unpacked them and they were indeed as interesting as his email had led me to believe. I decided to work on the last of the foursome – the Poor Dr. Grabow Supreme doozy. Here are the photos he sent to me of that pipe. I will give my evaluation of the work that will need to be done on the pipe as I walk through the photos with you.

The first two photos that Jack sent show the overall condition of the pipe. You can see from these photos that the rim top had a thick coat of lava on the rim and inner edge of the bowl. There is a thick cake with all the potential for damage on a thin walled bulldog on the bottom half of the bowl. The finish is very dirty but does not look to damaged with scratches or nicks in the photos. The stem is overclocked (or underclocked depending on your perspective😊). It is also oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks on the top and the underside. The stamping on the left side of the shank appears to be faint toward the bowl but the shape stamp on the right side looks good.The next two photos affirm my evaluation of the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. Fortunately, there do not appear to be any cracks on the rim top or sides of the bull cap.The final photo that Jack send showed the Grabow “spoon” stinger/tenon apparatus. It is intact which is good news as many have been snipped off that I have worked on. The stinger is coated with a tar and oil coat and the aluminum is oxidized but it is in decent condition. The insert in the shank end also appears to be in good condition other than being dirty. I unpacked the pipes when they arrived on Thursday and went over each one. As I examined this one my observations based on the photos were confirmed. The one thing that was better was that the finish actually looked better in person than in the photos. There was some nice grain around the bowl. The cake and the lava were as expected. They were both thick but did not appear to be hard as is often the case. The stamping on the shank was clear and readable. The left side stamp was faint on the bowl side of the stamping. It read Dr. Grabow [over] Supreme [over] Imported Briar. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 9437. The stem looked as noted and you can see that it is overturned in the photos below. It was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks as noted. The Grabow Spade logo is white and is horizontal on the top left side of the saddle. Have a look at the photos below. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both the bowl and the rim top. You can see the lava and build up on the rim top and the lava flowing over the inner edge of the bowl. It is hard to know if there is damage or if the lava protected it. The bowl has a thick cake that lining the walls and overflowing into lava. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The metal “spoon” stinger and tenon were dirty but in good condition.I tried to capture the stamping on the shank sides to show their condition before my work. They are readable as noted above and faint in spots. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the symmetry of the pipe. It is a beauty beneath all grime. I looked up information on the Dr. Grabow Supreme 9437 Bulldog on Pipedia to see what I could learn about the pipe. There was specific article on the Grabow Models available and turned to it (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Grabow_Models_(Series,Line)_Names_Through_the_Years) to see what I could find. Here is what I learned:

To make it much easier to locate a certain pipe name in this section, I have placed them in simple alphabetical order with a little information about each line or series. Information with more detail about the grade of briar used, the ranking of the pipes in quality from say, best to least, will be added later in a different area.

Furthermore, I have split these pipe names into two groupings of my own definition, “OLD” and “NEW”. Roughly that equates to pipes made in Chicago and pipes made in Sparta, North Carolina area after the sale and “move”. In a very grey area in between is an era I call the “transition period” when strange things were happening with production and the like, and where, possibly, pipes were being made at both locations at the same time, or may have even been contracted out to yet another place. This is a separate subject in and of itself and one we may never really resolve, but it IS a very interesting time in Dr. Grabow history, even if we affectionately call some of the pipes we suspect from that time, “Dr. Crapos”.

“OLD” Pipe Names and First Two-Digit Codes and Symbols:

  • COURTLEIGH begins with 91 Series 82 = “The Antique Courtleigh” with an Antique Grain Finish c1937. (Not really a Dr. Grabow) Series 91 = Natural Select Grain Finish, c1937.
  • DE LUXE begins with 92, 97, 98 – Two Dots, Circle or Shield on shank sometimes. Series 92 = Very dark reddish wine, solid looking finish, yet undefined, possibly from 1938 or slightly later era. Series 97 = Natural Variegated Grain Finish, c1937. Series 98 = yet undefined, Dark Brown appearance? Series 99 = Dark Walnut Finish, c1937.
  • DOLLAR DR. GRABOW — See “SPECIAL” below.
  • DR. GRABOW (C1930 to 1932?) had no series number as in the begining, this WAS the only pipe name for this new Linkman’s line of pipes. Most examples have MLC in an ocal stamp and just a TWO-digit shape number.
  • FIFTY GRAND begins with 15, c1937? or later. (Not really a Grabow)
  • HOLLYCOURT begins with 88, c1938 or later. (Not really a Grabow)
  • RINGMASTER begins with 50, c1955+?
  • SELECT GRAIN begins with 84 – Sideways Spade pointed to bowl
  • SUNSET GRAIN begins with 96, c1955? or later.
  • SPECIAL (or Special Italian Briar) post-1937, begins with 43, 49, maybe no number at all; DOLLAR DR. GRABOW 1937 or previous, may not be marked as such, begins with 43, 44, 49 Series 43 = Natural Finish (DG), c1937. Series 44 = Dark Finish (DG), c1937. Series 49 = Walnut Finish (DG), c1937.
  • STANDARD begins with 44 (early Linkman’s?) or has no number at all, may be replacement for Special. Linkman’s were push stems, HL&T’s were Ajusto.
  • SUPREME begins with 94, 95 Series 95 = one example has lighter reddish stain, yellow stem, c1950?
  • TRU-GRAIN begins with 60, 62
  • VENTILATOR begins with 63, 64, 65 Series 63 = Natural Finish, c1937. Series 64 = Dark Finish, c1937. Series 65 = Walnut Finish, c1937.

Thus, I knew that the pipe was made before the move from Chicago in what the writer of the article calls the old pipes. I marked the Supreme in the list above. It states that the four digit shape number with 94, 95 came out around 1950.

I did some more digging on Pipedia and found the following information that also helped pin down the date (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Grabow).

The production of the pipes started in 1930/31. In 1937 Linkman began calling his pipes “Pre-Smoked”. An ad dating from 1946 celebrates it as “America’s Most Wanted Pipes” and the text announced that each Dr. Grabow was broken in on the Linkman’s Automatic Smoking Machine with fine Edgeworth tobacco, reducing the need for the new owner to spend time breaking in his pipe. In 1949 the official name read Dr. Grabow Pipe Company Inc. with seat at W. Fullerton Avenue 1150, Chicago 14, Illinois. (Thus the Linkman factory.) Series: Special, De Luxe, Supreme, Tru’ Grain, Select Grain.

That helped to pin down the line to the manufacture at the Linkman Factory. It is listed as one of the series. I have highlighted the SUPREME in red. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

I decided to ream the bowl and do some internal clean up work before further polishing the briar. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. The walls appeared to be in good condition. I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. It was quite dirty.I scrubbed the aluminum “spoon” stinger and threaded tenon with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the debris and start the polishing. I scrubbed the bowl and rim top with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime. I rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a cotton towel. There were still some shiny spots on the briar where the varnish had stuck to the finish. I wiped the bowl and shank down with acetone to remove the shiny spots. It worked well and the bowl looked great once it dried off. I sanded the bowl and shank with sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove grime and check the progress. It was looking very good by the time I finished with the final pad. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I cleaned off the surface of the stem with alcohol on cotton swabs. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. I set it aside and let the repairs cure.I flattened the repairs with a small file to start the process of blending them into the surface of the vulcanite. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs and remove the stubborn oxidation in the grooves and against the button edge. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. This once wreck of a pipe turned out to be a beautiful Dr. Grabow Supreme 9437 Straight Bulldog with a black vulcanite saddle stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape fits well in the hand with the curve of the bowl and shank junction a perfect fit for the thumb around the bowl when held. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of browns in the smooth finish took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished stem. I like the grain and finished look of this Dr. Grabow Supreme 9437 Straight Bulldog. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.20 ounces/35 grams. This older American Made Bulldog is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will set it aside and once I finish the other three pipes that Jack sent to me I will send the lot back to him. Thanks for your time.

Uncovering the Identity of a Classic Metal Pipe

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by Kenneth Lieblich

This pipe is one of those that makes you raise an eyebrow and wonder. I acquired it a while ago in a large lot of pipes and, although it was a mess, it always had appeal and intrigue. Initially, I didn’t know what the pipe was or who made it. Why? Alas, no markings of any kind! It turns out that Steve restored a pipe very much like it about four years ago, but because I had no way of searching for it (I had no brand name), I had to be creative – or, perhaps, I had to be the opposite… I went to a very fine resource on metal pipes, a website called www.smokingmetal.co.uk, in hope that I could learn more. I hunted around somewhat randomly for a while but came up empty. Then came the stultifying part. I started going through the entire list of pipes in order to find a match. There were a couple of times when I though I had found it, but it just wasn’t quite right. Eventually, after going through nearly 200 listings, I found it. This is an L&H Stern (aka LHS) pipe and – boy-oh-boy – was I ever relieved. When Steve last restored one of these, more than four years ago, he described it as follows:

It has a briar bowl with the screw holding it to the top of the metal tube that forms the shank. The smooth finished bowl is either a buldog or Rhodesian bowl with the twin rings around the cap. The shank piece is oxidized aluminum with cooling fins and a threaded end cap that is removable for cleaning. The stem is plastic (perhaps nylon or an early acrylic).

It certainly does have a futuristic look, very characteristic of mid-twentieth-century industrial design. Unfortunately, SmokingMetal didn’t have any information on LH Stern as a company, but they did have these two photos of similar pipes: Pipedia has an article on L&H Stern and I would encourage you to have a look: https://pipedia.org/wiki/LHS. Among other things, they write

Ludwig Stern, a successful pipe manufacturer since 1893 and closing around 1960, reorganized his company along with his brother Hugo Stern, opening a factory in 1911. They named the company L&H Stern Smoking Pipes & Holders. The newly formed company was moved into a six story building on the corner of Pearl and Waters street Brooklyn, NY.

Pipedia also provided a photo of a pipe like mine from a 1946 catalog. It’s difficult to be accurate in dating the pipe, but the late 1940s seems to be a reasonable supposition.Time to get to work. This pipe was a bit of a mess. The metal was dirty and dull, and the insides were filthy. The stem was worn and had some micro-cracks in it. In the following picture, you can see the pipe as I disassembled it. There are seven pieces, even though the photo appears to show only five. Allow me to explain: there is a stem, a shank (or main section of the pipe), the briar bowl, a nut on the underside of the bowl, a screw that attaches the bowl to the shank, a valve screw at the far end, and a gasket to go along with it.First things first. Before I started working on the stem, I put the metal pieces in an acetone bath. Who knows what sort of horrors might be stuck to the metal and I wanted to get it as clean as possible. I left that to sit for a few hours.The stem was first on my list. As usual, I wiped the outside down with oil soap on some cotton pads. Then I cleaned out the inside with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was dirty, but not terrible. I’ve seen far worse.As the photos show, there was a small chunk missing from the end of the stem and, although it didn’t affect anything significant, I wanted to ensure that it was repaired. I rolled up a piece of duct tape and fitted it snugly inside, before making a repair with amber cyanoacrylate adhesive. I used duct tape because the outside does not stick to CA glue. I built up the adhesive on the stem and let it fully cure. At this point, I also added some extra, clear CA glue to the end because the fit was very loose. I then sanded the adhesive with some sandpaper to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to smooth the entire stem and highlight the variegated design on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. I’m not convinced that this did anything, but it’s just what I do! I yanked the metal bits out of the acetone and wiped them down. Since most of the pipe was made of aluminum, the cleaning procedures were different than usual. The inside of the shank was much more cavernous than normal, too. I started with pipe cleaners and Q-tips for the inside, but that only worked so well. I ended up using some of my usual cleanser to clean the metal shank, including the interior – and I made extensive use of some tubes brushes to get it all really clean.Polishing up the metal was tricky because the cooling fins were relatively deep and would need to be addressed separately. I used some very fine sandpaper to work on those grooves. I then used some 0000 steel wool to give a beautiful polish to the shank. This worked spectacularly well, but it’s such a mess! I laid out some newspaper to catch the debris because it goes everywhere. I did all the same stuff on the two metal screws as well. Now for the briar bowl. This is more standard fare, since I’m working with wood again. I took a small wedge of machine metal and, holding it at a 45-degree angle, gently scraped the lava and carbon off the rim.I reamed it with the KleenReem, and 220-grit sandpaper taped to a dowel to eliminate as much build-up as possible. I took the chamber down to bare briar to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the wall. Fortunately, there were none. Then I used cotton rounds and some oil soap to scrub the outside. However, this wasn’t good enough. There were some odd blemishes to the wood and I had to fix that. I went back to the acetone and removed the blemishes thoroughly. I was amazed at how much better the bowl looked after that. I used the Micromesh pads on the bowl and made them beautiful. As I mentioned earlier, there was a small nut in the underside of the bowl. This popped out while I was working and I cleaned it as I had the other metal parts – then I glued it back in place. I then applied the Before & After Restoration Balm on the wood, as this always makes the briar sing. The buffing procedure was different because of the metal – although the briar bowl did receive the normal White Diamond and carnauba wax treatment. I used Red Tripoli first and White Diamond second to polish the metal nicely. It came out so well! When I went back to my workbench, I cleaned the grooves in the metal with some soft pipe cleaners – just to remove any slight, remaining polishing compound. I then took a microfiber cloth to wipe the metal parts of the pipe to make it shine! This L&H Stern looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by the next owner! I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ Pipe Section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 4⅞ in. (125 mm); height 1⅔ in. (43 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ⅔ in. (17 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¼ oz. (39 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading, and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Repairing a Broken Tenon and Restoring a Wreck of a Ben Wade Deluxe Freehand

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by Steve Laug

There is something almost electric about handling and working on a pipe designed and carved by Preben Holm. I can’t describe adequately the feeling I have when I turn the bowl and stem over in my hands even before I start working on the pipe. There is an energy that flows through the way he carved and shaped the pipes of his making. It calls me to clean up and restore even the worst wrecks of his pipes that come across my table. This filthy Ben Wade Deluxe was in the box of bowls with snapped tenons that I have here. It is number 6 of the recent rash of tenon replacements I have been doing.

In the title I call the pipe a wreck because of some serious issues that stood out on the pipe. It had some visible repairs on the shank at the bowl and on the plateau on the shank end. The shank had been broken off somewhere along its journey. It had been well repaired with a stainless tube inside the shank. The repairer left a lot of glue all around the repaired crack – I say around because it went well beyond just the crack. It was a mess. The shank end plateau had what looked like a crack but surprisingly turned out to be a repaired chunk of briar that had been expertly fit and rusticated on the top right side along the mortise. The vulcanite stem had a snapped tenon and was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks ahead of the button on both sides.

The grain on the bowl was present but almost a ghost. Preben Holm always chased the grain so it must be there under the dirt, messy glue and heavy oils on the surface. The plateau on the rim top was worn and heavily filled in with lava and debris on both the top. The shank end plateau was dry and spotty looking from the grime. While the pipe was a wreck all of the repairs pointed to the fact that it was well loved. It had continued to be smoked until the tenon snapped in the shank. The thick cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top point to the fact that it was always in use. The cake is quite sticky and stinky and makes me wonder what was smoked in the pipe. Was it a heavily cased aromatic or something more nefarious? I am not sure, maybe both! I took these photos before I started my work. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both the bowl and plateau finish. You can see the lava and build up on the rim top and the lava flowing over the inner edge of the bowl. It is hard to know if there is damage or if the lava protected it. The bowl has a thick cake that lining the walls and overflowing into lava. The plateau surface is duty and also has some lava overflow in the valleys and crannies of the surface. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Add to the mix the snapped tenon and you have a mess!I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped tenon in the shank. It is snapped off quite smooth so it should be a relatively easy fix.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank, It is clear and readable. It reads Ben Wade [over] Deluxe [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark.I remembered a bit of history on the brand that included the thought that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement.Ben Wade Ad in a Tinder Box catalog, courtesy Doug Valitchka 

I quote the portion of the article that summarizes the history of the brand.

Advertisement

Young Copenhagen master pipemaker Preben Holm had made a meteoric career heading a pipe manufacture employing 45 people at the age of 22! But around the turn of 1970/71 he was in major financial difficulties. His US distributor, Snug Harbour Ltd. in New York City, left him in the lurch. Holm had three unpaid invoices on his desk and another large shipment was ready for the USA, when Snug Harbour’s manager told him on the phone that there was no money at all on the account to pay him.

So the Dane went to New York for an almost desperate search for a new distribution partner. He made contacts with Lane Ltd. and met Herman G. Lane in February 1971. Lane Ltd. had no interest in Holm’s serial pipes produced at that time but so much the more in the hand-carved freehands because the hype for Danish freehands and fancies in the States was still on its way to the climax then. The meeting resulted in an agreement to start a cooperation. Lane insisted to improve the quality considerably and in return he assured to be able to sell essentially larger quantities.

Holm went back home to work on new samples with all-new designs and altered finishes for Lane. Both, Lane and Holm, agreed that it would be unwise to sell the pipes under Preben Holm’s name as long as Snug Harbour had a considerable stock of Preben Holm pipes and might sell them pipes at very low prices just to bring in some money.

So on Mr. Lane’s proposal it was determined to use the name Ben Wade belonging to Lane Ltd. Lane spent considerable amounts of money for advertising the new brand in the big magazines– the centerpiece being whole-page ads showing a very exclusive Seven Day’s Set.

The cooperation with Lane Ltd. proved to be an eminent business success for both partners. Within a very short time Ben Wade Handmade Denmark sold in much larger quantities and at higher prices than they had ever dreamed of. And the hype these freehands and fancy pipes caused went on unbroken long after Herman G. Lane deceased. Preben Holm – obviously much more brilliant in pipe making than in pipe business – was in major troubles again in 1986 and had to sack most of his staff. The Ben Wade production was significantly lowered but continued until his untimely death in June of 1989.

Up to now Preben Holm made Ben Wade pipes are cult and highly sought for on the estate markets.

With that information I knew that this pipe was a Preben Holm made Freehand for distribution in the US by Lane Ltd under the name Ben Wade. The freehand rage occurred in the late 70s and the pipes were made until Preben’s death in 1989. My guess would be that this pipe was made sometime during that time period and potentially in the late 70s.

I started my work on the pipe by pulling the broken tenon from the shank. I used a dry wall screw turned into the airway in the broken tenon. I wiggled the tenon until it came free. It was tight so it took a bit of fiddling to get it to pop free.I took photos of the repaired crack on the shank. It had a heavy coat of glue all around the shank. It was smeared around the crack and also on the curved where the shank joined the bowl. It was messy but it was a strong bond. I sanded the area around the repair and the surrounding briar with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to smooth out the repair and remove all of the glue spread around the briar. I decided to ream the bowl and do some internal clean up work before further polishing the briar. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. The walls appeared to be in good condition. It still needed a lot of cleaning as the sticky debris was still on the walls. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. I scrubbed the bowl and rim top with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime. I rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a cotton towel. I drew a box around the repair on the shank end. There was a square plug of briar that had been glued into the shank end and rusticated to look like plateau. I stained the shank end and the rim top with a black stain pen to blend the surfaces together. I used a brass bristle wire brush to work over the plateau on the top and shank end. I used a sanding pad to remove the black stain from the high spots on the plateau and it looked better. There was a strong stink of the previous tobacco (?) in the pipe so I stuffed the bowl with cotton bolls and filled it with alcohol using an ear syringe. I rolled a cotton boll and plugged the shank with it. I set it aside to draw out the tars and oils for the afternoon.While the cotton and alcohol were doing there work deghosting the bowl I turned my attention to working on the new tenon. I flattened out the tenon end of the stem with a Dremel and sanding drum and cleaned up the area on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper.I drilled the home for the new tenon using airway in the stem as a guide. I drilled it several times with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the opening the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure it was straight everything aligned straight. At this point the stem and new tenon looked very good. I took a break at this point and went out on the porch and enjoyed a few bowls in my new Castello. I came in late afternoon once it got cooler and checked on the deghosting of the bowl. I could not do any more work fitting the stem until I had removed the cotton bolls and cleaned out the shank and bowl once more. The cotton had darkened and once I removed it the bowl smelled much better. I cleaned up the bowl and shank with alcohol cotton swabs and pipe cleaners a second time. It smelled much cleaner and looked that way too. Now I could fit the new tenon to the mortise. I took a photo of the repair to the shank. There is a stainless steel tube in the shank that gives it more strength. It is a well done and solid repair. [The photo is from an earlier moment before I stained the shank end.]
I used the Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the new tenon to fit in the mortise. I fit it in the shank to make sure it would work well. I put it in the stem to show the fit as well. I put the tenon in the shank and slipped the stem over it to see what the pipe looked like with the stem fit in place. I liked what I saw and new that it would clean up very well and polish up nicely. Now that everything fit well I glued the tenon in the stem with black CA glue. I set the stem aside to let the glue cure. I sanded the bowl and shank with sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove grime and check the progress. It was looking very good by the time I finished with the final pad. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention back to the stem. I rubbed the stem down with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the oxidation in the grooves. It looked much better once I had removed the oxidation.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the tooth marks and remove the stubborn oxidation in the grooves and against the button edge. Once finished it began to look better.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. This once wreck of a pipe turned out to be a beautiful Preben Holm made Ben Wade Deluxe with a fancy, turned, black vulcanite stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape fits well in the hand with the curve of the bowl and shank junction a perfect fit for the thumb around the bowl when held. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the plateau on the rim top and shank end multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of browns and black in the smooth and plateau finishes took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished stem. I like the grain and finished look of this Preben Holm Ben Wade Deluxe Freehand. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.12 ounces/60 grams.This Danish Freehand is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Replacing a snapped tenon on Fischer “Presi—-” Zulu

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a smooth, classic Zulu shape that looks very European. It is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads “PRESI—-” with the rest of the stamp covered by the silver repair band. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Fischer in script but also some of the letters are covered by the band. On the right side of the shank it reads IMPORTED BRIAR. There were no other identifying marks or stamps on the shank or the band. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Another one of those days I guess! It is Zulu shaped bowl with a slight bend and canted bowl and a vulcanite taper stem. It has a mix of grain around the sides and shank. The bowl had a heavy cake in the bowl and thick lava on the rim top. The finish was in worn and very dirty so it was hard to know with certainty what lay underneath. The internals were also very dirty and the shank/mortise was filled with tars and a white residue of what looked like tape. The nickel band has some deep nicks in it and the shank end of the band bent and flattened on the shank end. The vulcanite taper stem had no logo stamped on the topside. It has oxidation, calcification, tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly and was missing when it came to us. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and stem sides to show the condition of the both. It was a dirty bowl with debris and a heavy cake on the walls. The rim top had a thick lava covering the bowl and the edges. It was hard to know what the condition of the inner edge was underneath. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing condition and the tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos to capture the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. What is visible ahead of the band is clear and readable as noted above. I could not capture the faint Imported Briar stamp on the right side.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-f2.html) and looked up the Fischer brand. I found the listing below and have included both a screen capture and the side bar notes. The stamping is the same as the one on the pipe I am working on.Store closed in 1978. Former address: House of Fischer, 1722 Boston Ridge Road, Orchard Park, NY.

I then turned to the listed for US pipe makers/manufacturers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Fischer) to see if I could find out more information. I have included the article below.

Gustave Fischer was pipe maker for “The House of Fischer’, which was located in Orchard Park, NY, near Buffalo. The Fischer family apparently made pipes for six generations, starting in Germany and continuing in the United States until the 1970s. Their literature from 1956 said that all their briars were bench made. They also made meerschaums, but some confusion is caused by the fact that there was also Gustav Fischer, who made meerschaum pipes in Boston during roughly the same period.

The article went on to give information on the Fischer from Orchard Park, NY. I quote from that below.

The following information is gleaned from a thread on PipesMagazine.com

PIPES BY THE HOUSE OF FISCHER, ORCHARD PARK NY
Fischer pipes were made in USA through the 1950’s up to late 1978 when the owner, Paul Fischer retired, sold the store and moved to Florida in 1978. Unfortunately, The House of Fischer did not use a date stamp on their pipes, and therefore it is not possible to determine the exact date of manufacture.

Lee Pattison writes the following:

The Fischer shop in Buffalo closed in the late 1950’s last run by Arthur Fischer who moved shop to his home in Orchard Park. Arthur was the last of the family and retired 1978. Early pipes made in shop in Buffalo were stamped Buffalo in loop below name. Art deleted this from the stamp in early on 1960’s which helps in partial dating. Art did only pipe repair and sales. An unconfirmed report from a pipe maker Milton Kalnitz from the same era stated that the later pipe may have been made by Weber. Paul Fisher was part of the unrelated family in Boston Mass. The Buffalo shop started about 1890’s. Source of info was personal contact with family.

FISCHER PIPE QUALITY GRADE STAMPS
This is a list of various Fischer pipe stampings from my personal collection of over sixty Fischer pipes accumulated over the past forty plus years. It is by no means meant to be all-inclusive, however, if you find more Fischer pipe stampings please email me so I can update my list.

  1. Fischer Supreme
  2. Fischer Royal
  3. Fischer Imperial
  4. Fischer Golden 15
  5. Fischer 15 Grand
  6. Fischer 25 Grand
  7. Fischer Ramsgate
  8. Fischer Deluxe
  9. Fischer Special
  10. Fischer Texan (for which they applied for a patent)
  11. Fischer Seconds

The list of Quality Grade Stamps does not show one with the “PRESI… (President) stamp so it does not help me in identifying more information about the pipe. The Zulu has some great grain on the bowl and shank. I do know that is was made after the removal of the Buffalo stamp on the shank in the early 1960s as far as I can see due to partial coverage with a silver repair band on the shank end.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I carefully smoothed out the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum.I drilled the home for the new tenon using airway in the stem as a guide. I drilled it several times with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the opening the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I reduced the diameter of the tenon with a Dremel and sanding drum for a smooth fit in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment.With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure. Once the glue cured I fit the stem on the shank and took some photos to capture the fit to the shank. It looked very good. While the glue on the tenon continued to cure I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. I scrubbed the bowl and rim top with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime. I rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a cotton towel. I worked on the inner edge of the bowl to smooth out the darkening and damage. I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the rim top. I worked over the inner edge once again and the top and edge looked good. I sanded the bowl and rim top with sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove grime and check the progress. It was looking very good by the time I finished with the final pad. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention back to the stem. I was surprised that there were not deep tooth marks to deal with and that really all I needed to do was remove the oxidation and calcification. To address that I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I put the stem back on the Fischer “President” Imported Briar Zulu and took it to the buffer. I worked it over with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really well and the rim top looked good. I was happy with the look of the finished pipe. The photos below show what the pipe looks like after the restoration. The Fischer Zulu is a beautiful and unique take on a classic shape. The polished vulcanite taper stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe 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 1.13 ounces/32 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. The long shank and tall bowl look and feel great in the hand. This one should be a great smoker. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Replacing a snapped tenon on Old World Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a smooth Canadian that has an Italian look to it but I cannot prove that. It is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads OLD WORLD. There were no other identifying marks or stamps on the shank of the pipe. It is a bit of a mystery pipe. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Another one of those days I guess! It is long shank Canadian shaped bowl with a vulcanite taper stem. It has a tall bowl on it with some mix of grain around the sides and shank. The bowl had a moderate cake in the bowl and some lava on the rim top. The finish was in excellent condition and the stain highlights the grain. It was a dirty pipe on the inside of the shank. The vulcanite taper stem had no logo stamped on the topside. It has oxidation, calcification, tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly and was missing when it came to us. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and stem sides to show the condition of the both. It was a dirty bowl with debris and a moderated cake on the walls. The rim top had some darkening and lava on the right side toward the back of the bowl. The inner edge showed darkening and some build up in the same area. It was hard to know what the condition of the inner edge was underneath. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo to capture the stamping on the topside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.There was nothing online to identify the maker of the Old World pipe I was working on. The only thing I found was a note on “Who Made That Pipe” linking it to a brand stamped Old World Collectors made by Mastercraft. I knew from a lot of work on Mastercraft in the past that they never actually made pipes but had a wide variety of European carvers who made pipes for them to sell in the US. My early thoughts were that this was an Italian Made pipe but I will never be certain of that. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I carefully smoothed out the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum.I drilled the home for the new tenon using airway in the stem as a guide. I drilled it several times with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the opening the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I examined the end of the shank to check for cracks or chips and found that there were no cracks but there were several chips on the shank end on both sides. I knew that I would need to fit a band on the shank end to give it a sharp edge for the fit of the stem to the shank.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I reduced the diameter of the tenon with a Dremel and sanding drum for a smooth fit in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. I went through my bands and found an oval band that would fit well on the shank end. I used a folded pipe cleaner to apply all purpose glue to the briar.I pressed the band on to the shank end and squared it off for the fit of the stem against the shank. The band added a touch of bling to the shank that would look very good once the glue cured.I put the tenon in the shank and made sure that it was straight in the shank. Once it all was straight the stem would fit perfect on the shank end.With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure. While it was curing I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. It looked progressively better with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter and light tooth marks. I worked on the fit of the stem to the shank end so that it sat right in the edge of the band. It was looking much better at this point. I put the stem on the shank and took a photo of the pipe at this point to show the fit of the stem and the new band. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. Once again, I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the deeply rusticated finish and the black acrylic stem. This richly stained Old World Canadian is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy a fresh smoke. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 45 grams/1.59 ounces. This is one that will go on the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Replacing a snapped tenon on Tinderbox Verona Rustica 702 Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is an almost Sea Rock Rusticated Canadian. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Tinderbox [arched over] Verona [over] Rustica [over] 702 to the left. Along the shank end it is stamped Italy. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Today is that day I guess! It is very deeply rusticated Canadian shaped bowl with an acrylic fancy smooth saddle stem. I really like the look of the rustication. The bowl had a moderate cake in the bowl and some lava in the rustication on the rim top. The finish was in excellent condition and had a mix of stains to highlight the high points and valleys. It was a dirty pipe on the inside of the shank. The acrylic fancy taper/saddle stem had a V logo stamped on the topside. It has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped off tenon in the shank. The break is quite clean so it should clean up very well.I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cleanness of the bowl and the condition of both. It was a dirty bowl with dust and debris in the bottom and a thick cake on the walls. The rim top was filled in with lava. The inner and outer edges look good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took a photo to capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. There was also a V stamped on the top of the shank.I remembered that The Tinder Box Tobacconist had several pipe companies in Europe make pipes for them so I looked them up on Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t6.html). I found a listing with three examples shown in the screen capture below. The pipe I am working on is stamped like the first one, the Bent Billiard below. The stamping is identical other than the shape number 702 on mine.I turned to Pipedia for more information on the potential pipe makers for the company (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Tinder_Box). I quote below.

The Tinder Box was the chain of tobacco stores started by Edward Kolpin, Sr., who carved Ed’s Hand Made pipes. The store, eventually sold to a Canadian conglomerate, eventually reached 200 retail outlets by 2007, and in the 40 years it operated on a large scale a great number of pipes were made for The Tinder Box by well respected makers. A few include the Tinder Box Unique, made by Charatan, Christmas Pipes by Ascorti, and the Tinder Box Noble and Exotica, made by Shalom Pipe Factory, Mauro Armellini did make the Verona and Napoli lines.

Ed Kolpin, Jr., opened a small tobacco, pipe, and cigar store in Santa Monica, the Tinder Box, in 1928. Later it moved to its current location in 1948 where it began serving the many Hollywood celebrities living nearby. Part of the attraction were the famous pipes handmade by Kolpin himself. In 1959 Kolpin began a tobacco-store franchise, at first locally and then by the mid-1960s there were Tinder Box stores in malls across America. The franchise business was sold in the 1970s, but Kolpin still owns and operates the original store as of 2003.[1]

The stamping Italy that made me wonder if it was made by Lorenzo but it was not! It was carved by Mauro Armellini as noted in the quote in blue above. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started by pulling the broken tenon from the shank. I used a dry wall screw and turned it into the airway and wiggled the tenon free from the shank. It came out with no problem.In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I carefully smoothed out the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum.I drilled the home for the new tenon using airway in the stem as a guide. I drilled it several times with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the opening the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I reduced the diameter of the tenon with a Dremel and sanding drum for a smooth fit in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure.While it was curing I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. I did the stem cleaning before I drilled the airway for the new tenon.I cleaned up the lava in the rustication on the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush. I worked over the surface until the grooves were clean and debris free.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the debris from the deep rusticated grooves. I rinsed off the soap and grime with warm water. It looked much better at this point. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips and a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really depth and colour to the rustication. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter and light tooth marks. It was looking much better at this point.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem. I interrupted the sanding after the 1500 grit pad to touch up the V stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I continued polishing the stem with the 2000-3500 grit pads. I worked over the stamped area to remove excess acrylic white. The logo looked very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. Once again, I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the deeply rusticated finish and the black acrylic stem. This richly stained Tinderbox Verona Rustica 702 Canadian is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy a fresh smoke. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 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 43 grams/1.48 ounces. This is one that will go on the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.