Daily Archives: January 19, 2025

Restemming and restoring a Comoy’s Made Town Hall Made in England 19 Military Bit Billiard

by Steve Laug

I decided to restem another bowl that I had here in the box. Jeff and I purchased on 11/23/2020 from a seller in Brazil, Indiana, USA. It is a nice bowl with a silver ferrule on the shank end. The left side of the shank is stamped at and angle and reads Town Hall [over] Made in England. The right side has the shape number 19 next to the bowl/shank junction. The ferrule is stamped with an arched Sterling Silver. The bowl is quite clean with no cake and no lava overflow on the rim top or the bevelled inner edge. The briar is dry but clean – just a bit lifeless looking but there is some great grain hidden by the dullness. The silver ferrule is not oxidized but there are some dents on the shank end on the underside. The ferrule is a bit ragged looking around the entrance to the mortise. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on restemming and restoring it back to its former glory. I tried to capture the stamping on the shank sides. It is readable but faint in spots. It reads as noted above.The ferrule was loose so I removed it and took a photo to show the dents and the condition of the opening on the ferrule end.I went through my stems and found this partially shaped stem that would work quite well. It would need to be reduced in diameter and cleaned up. There were some gouges on both sides ahead of the button that looked like someone had started shaping a dental bit. Before I started working on the pipe I wanted to get an idea of the maker of the Town Hall brand. Something about the shape and the number reminded me of the Guildhall by Comoy’s but I was not sure. I turned first to Pipephil’s site and found a link that gave a good summary of the information and confirmed the Comoy’s connection (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t7.html) that I suspected. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section and the side bar information below the photo.Other Comoy’s seconds with a one bar mouthpiece logo: Carlyle, Charles Cross, St James, The Golden Arrow, Trident,

I turned to Pipedia for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s). Other than the great history of the brand there was a note in the section entitled “Seconds made by Comoy’s” that had a listing for Town Hall. I scrolled down the page and found some interesting photos that I have included below including an original box for the pipe. The second and third photos show similar stamping though horizontal on this pipe. At the very bottom of the article I found perhaps to me, the most exciting connection – a Town Hall – same shape, same silver ferrule as the one I was working on. The stamping on it was clearly a Comoy’s Town Hall Pipe, Made in England. The thing I am glad for is that the photos show the type of stem I would need to fit on the pipe. The one I had chosen would work quite well with some shaping.I started my work on this one by fitting the newly chosen stem first. If you have followed me you will note the departure from my normal pattern of working on the bowl first. But in this case, I really wanted to see if I could duplicate the stem shown above for this pipe. I shaped the conical end with my Dremel and a sanding drum to get it close to the look I was shooting for. The rough shape was done but I would need to fine tune it by hand.I carefully sanded the conical portion with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and blended it into the rest of the stem. I reshaped it in the process and sanding out the gouges in the button end on both sides. I was able to remove the roughening left by the Dremel and the shape was beginning to look right. I worked on the silver ferrule to try to smooth out the dents and damage to the opening on the stem end. I was able to remove some of the dents and minimize the others. It looked better. I pressed it onto the shank and fit the stem. I took photos of the stem in place to give a sense of how it was beginning to look. The fit of the stem still needed adjusting and the scratches needed to be sanded out from the surface. It was beginning to look much better. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to polish out the scratches in the surface. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris on the surface of the stem. It began to take shape and look better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped down again with Obsidian Oil and set it aside while I worked on the stem. I sanded the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the scratching and nicks in the rim edge and the side of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. It is starting to look very good at the end of the process. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain really began to sing. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips 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. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. This Comoy’s Made Town Hall 19 Military Bit Billiard was one I was looking forward to seeing come together. The brown stains highlight the grain around the bowl – sides, top and heel. The polished silver ferrule and the black vulcanite military bit that I fit to the shank works very well with the look of the pipe. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and 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. I polished the silver band with a jeweller’s cloth. The finished Town Hall 19 Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.20 ounces/34 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This pipe will be added to the British Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

Amazing Grain on a Charatan Perfection 2122DC

2 Replies

by Kenneth Lieblich

This beauty is a pipe I acquired recently and it turned out so well – especially compared with how it looked when I found it. I took a liking to it immediately and figured you would too, so I cleaned it up poste haste. The pipe is light, attractive, and comfortable – and the grain is just so warm and inviting. This is an apple shape with a ‘Double Comfort’ saddle stem. Let’s look at the markings. On the left side of the shank are the words, Charatan’s Make [over] London England [over] Perfection. The right side of the shank shows the model, 2122DC. The ‘DC’ suffix here indicates what we already know: the pipe has a ‘Double Comfort’ saddle stem. Finally, the stem has the letters C and P – with the C penetrating into the P. This is notable for dating purposes. I believe this pipe comes from the Dunhill era. Using Pipedia’s Charatan dating page (which you can see here), I saw that this pipe has

Double comfort mouthpiece
In the CP logo, the C enters the P
Absence of £ on the shank
Presence of the letters DC just after the shape number

Having said that, dating these pipes precisely is always a tricky business. A good estimate would be late 70s-early 80s. Meanwhile, I was also curious about the model name ‘Perfection’. Once again, Pipedia indicated that ‘Perfection’ was one of Charatan’s Make’s ‘Apprenticeship’ standard shape grades.On with the restoration! I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning comes next. I cleaned the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was clean.I used a disposable lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame. The gentle heat of the flame can cause the dents in the vulcanite of the stem to expand back into shape. In this case, it did help a bit – but only a bit.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result is a hideous brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some de-oxidation fluid. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew the stem out from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.Now that the stem is clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This is done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.After this, I painted the logo on the stem with some nail polish. I restored the logo carefully and let it fully set before proceeding.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduce the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I want to remove the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I use all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also apply pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. This was a surprisingly difficult stem to restore, but, in the end, we got there. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.Now that the stem is (nearly) complete, I can move on to the stummel. The first step for me is to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplishes a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleans the bowl and provides a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake is removed, I can inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there is damage or not. I used a reamer and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim. This work revealed that, fortunately, everything was in good shape. No issues.The inside of the stummel needs to be cleaned thoroughly. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds. This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process is to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the outside of the stummel to finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 20 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it – first with a white diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Charatan’s Make Perfection 2122DC apple looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its 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 ‘British’ 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 5⅞ in. (149 mm); height 1⅔ in. (43 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 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 enjoyed 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.