Monthly Archives: March 2025

Restoring a Second Duncan Hill Aerosphere Rusticated Apple – another of the 12 Pipes

by Steve Laug

Back in January I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. I chose to work on the second Duncan Hill Aerosphere pipe that he sent next. It is a nice-looking rusticated apple – one of my favourite shapes. The bowl and shank were in good condition but the finish was very dirty. The bowl had been reamed at some time so there was no cake in it. The rim top was clean but had some darkening around the top and the inner edge. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the bowl and shank and read Aerosphere [over] Duncan Hill. This one came with the original stem in place on the shank. It had the triple rings on the stem and a white acrylic (Delrin) tenon. It was oxidized and calcified on the button end. There were light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. It had the classic Aerosphere system stem with the carburetor on the left side of the half saddle stem. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took some closer photos of the bowl and rim top to show its condition before I started my work on the pipe. You can see the clean bowl and the darkening on the rim top. The stem photos also show the general condition of the stem as noted above. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. It was stamped on a smooth panel and was faint but readable. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.Before I started work this one I reread what I had posted on the Duncan Hill Restem job I did. I have included what I found below. I Googled Duncan Hill Aerosphere and the first bit I found was from a Google group for ASP. There I found the following quote. I have the reference link placed at the end of the quote if you want to follow up on the information:

“The Duncan Hill Aerosphere smoking system (U.S. patent #4,275,747) utilizes the same principle of physics as the manometer. The Aerosphere, visible as the brass pin on the side of the mouthpiece, brings a scientifically measured amount of air into the stem with each puff. The control of the amount of air and the velocity of the air produces two effects that result in superior smoking pipe performance.” https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.smokers.pipes/GUxdN5Dus4Q

I decided to start on the bowl itself. I worked over the rim darkening with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The smooth rim top was crowned so it was an easy process to clean it up at the same time as the edge.I scrubbed the exterior of the with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked on the rustication and the smooth rim top. I rinsed it off with warm running water and dried it off with a cotton towel. It is definitely looking better. I worked on the rim top and edges with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further remove the darkening on the briar. It is improving with each pad. I wiped the top down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I polished it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top looked very good. I cleaned out the shank, mortise and the airway in both the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The shank was very dirty. The airflow is great.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the stem surface with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and the calcification. It looked much better. The tenon was a clear/white Delrin that was stained with tars and oils.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I polished it further with Before & After Stem polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and then wiped it down another time with the oil. I put the Duncan Hill Aerosphere Rusticated Apple and the stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 original brown stains gave depth to the rustication and worked amazingly well with the polished vulcanite half saddle stem. The grain around the bowl and shank and looks quite remarkable. This is truly a beautiful Duncan Hill Aerosphere. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.52 ounces/42 grams. This is such a unique shape that I am going to enjoy it for awhile before deciding what to do with it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a tired Dunhill Shell Group 4 Diplomat

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by Steve Laug

I have been working on the 12 pipe lot since I got back from Asia along with two other repairs that I took on before I left. I need a break to work on something of my own for a bit. I went through my boxes from Jeff here and chose a Dunhill to bring to the work table. It is a shape that I have not worked on before and it intrigued me. It was one that we had purchased from a fellow in Ogden, Utah on 12/12/24. It is a unique Dunhill Shell Diplomat with a great sandblast. The stamping on the underside of the shank had a Circle 4 on the heel of the bowl identifying it as a group 4 size pipe. That is followed by Dunhill Shell [over] Made in England followed by a number ²¹ to the right of the D in England that will help me date the pipe. The bowl had been reamed not long ago. There was some dust and debris in the sandblast on the rim but the inner and outer edge looked good. The sandblast finish was rugged and dirty but it could not hide the lovely blast around the bowl and shank. The stem was clean and there were light tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The classic Dunhill White Spot was on top of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava coat overflowing onto the top. He also took photos to capture the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. The stem is also oxidized and calcified. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the interesting sandblast grain around the bowl and the amount of grime ground into the surface of the briar. He took photos of the stamping underside of the shank. It is clear, though in some places it is faint. The overall text is still quite readable. As is my regular practice, before I started my work on the pipe, I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Shell Pipes to get a refresh the information I know regarding the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Shell

A deep craggy sandblast with a black stain finish (usually made using Algerian briar) – the color of the stain used has varied over the years. Although there is some doubt as to them being the first to sandblast pipes, Dunhill’s Shell pipes, and the sandblasting techniques developed to create them are considered one of Dunhill’s greatest and most lasting contributions to the art of pipe making.

The documented history of Dunhill’s inception of the Shell is largely limited to patent applications — there are no catalog pages or advertisements promoting blasted pipes at the time. The preliminary work on the English patent (No. 1484/17) was submitted on October 13, 1917. The patent submission was completed half a year later, on April 12, 1918, followed by the granting of the English patent on October 14, 1918. This was less than a month before the end of The Great War on November 11th.

In 1986 Dunhill released a line of premium Shell finish pipes – “RING GRAIN”. These are high-quality straight grain pipes which are sandblasted. Initially only Ring Grain, but now in two different finishes. In 1995 the “Shilling” was introduced with Cumberland finish – it is an extremely rare series. These pipes exhibit a deeper blast characteristic of that of the 1930’s – mid-1960’s (and the limited ‘deep blast’ pipes of the early 1980s) and show a fine graining pattern. These are considered the best new Dunhills by many enthusiasts today and are very rare. The finish is sometimes described as tasting like vanilla at first, with the taste becoming more normal or good as the pipe breaks in.

See more examples here: Dunhill Shell
See more about this incredible pipe here: The History of Dunhill’s Shell
See more about the patents applied here: Shellbriar & Tanshell, Patents 1917-1954

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png).I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a superscript suffix ²¹ after the D in England it points to the 1960 line on the chart below. To date it just add 1960 +21 for a date of 1981. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent section in the chart.I now knew that I was working on a Shell that came out in 1981 as far as I could tell by the faded date stamp. The shape of the pipe is called a Diplomat but there was no shape number stamped on the heel of the bowl. From the shape chart on the site I could know that I was dealing with a Diplomat (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html).

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim look very good. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of shank. The stamping is clear and readable (though in some spots it is faint). I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. The bowl was in excellent condition so it took little work to prepare it. It was very clean so I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks on the top and underside. It worked very well. I filled in the two remaining marks on the stem with rubberized black CA glue. I set the stem aside to let the repair cure. Once the repair had cured I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to blend in the repair on the surface of the stem. It looked much better and the repair was solid.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the 1981 Dunhill Shell Diplomat bowl and stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Shell Briar stains worked amazingly well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. The grain around the bowl and shank and looks quite remarkable. This is truly a beautiful Dunhill Shell Diplomat. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/45 grams. This is such a unique shape that I am going to enjoy it for awhile before deciding what to do with it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Restemming and Restoring a Duncan Hill Aerosphere Smooth Pot – another of the 12 Pipes

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by Steve Laug

Back in January I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. I chose to work on the Duncan Hill Aerosphere bowl next. It is a nice-looking smooth bowled Pot. The bowl and shank were in good condition. The bowl had been reamed at some time so there was no cake in it. The rim top was clean but had some darkening around the top and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl was dirty with some visible fills on the left side of the bowl. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Duncan Hill [over] Aerosphere. There was a tenon in the shank and three rings on mortise end of the tenon. There was an orange acrylic ring sandwiched between two brass rings. The bowl came without a stem and I would need to either find an Aerosphere stem or fit the tenon on an existing stem. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The tenon was removable and I turned it out of the bowl. The sandwiched triple ring fitting on the tenon was also removable.Before I started work on fitting a new stem to the shank I did a bit of work on the brand itself. I Googled Duncan Hill Aerosphere and the first bit I found was from a Google group for ASP. There I found the following quote. I have the reference link placed at the end of the quote if you want to follow up on the information:

I also found a link to an advertisement for the brand featuring the designer in Popular Mechanics Magazine, February 1980, pg. 31 on Google books. Here is the link:
https://books.google.ca/books?id=m9UDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=Duncan+Hill+Aerosphere+Pipes&source=bl&ots=tR4egGI0ig&sig=XeACE0-Vh19-1JNcA0kAgS87kRI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p1QbVbPTEpLvoATEpoLoCQ&ved=0CBwQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=Duncan%20Hill%20Aerosphere%20Pipes&f=false Next is an advertisement from Popular Mechanics Magazine, September 1982, pg. 216 on google books. Here is the link. https://books.google.ca/books?id=f9kDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA216&lpg=PA216&dq=Duncan+Hill+Aerosphere+Pipes&source=bl&ots=fsZtVqD0z9&sig=Kl3wI-76NJqpFxAg8SPndnnWyqM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=owEcVdGGKdj9oQSD_4L4Bw&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAjgo#v=onepage&q=Duncan%20Hill%20Aerosphere%20Pipes&f=false Finally using the patent number in the ASP quote I was able to find the patent documents for the pipe on the US Patent Office site. I have included the documents from the US Patent Office here. There are four pages – 2 of drawings and two of description. I love finding this old information and reading about the persistent search for the dryer cooler smoking pipe that has led to many creative solutions. It lends some colour to the work of my refurbishing to be able to read about the design ideas and the inventors themselves as I work on the pipes. Armed with new information it was time to work out a new stem for the pipe. I went through my collection of stems and did not have an Aerosphere stem to replace it with. I did find a nice looking acrylic black stem that would work very well. It did not have a tenon and would need to be drilled out to receive the Duncan Hill tenon I had. The beauty was that the diameter of the shank was very close to the diameter of the stem.I drilled out the airway in the stem with increasingly larger drill bits until I had it open enough to fit the tenon. Once I had it drilled out I checked the fit of the tenon in the shank and in the newly drilled out stem. The fit was perfect in the stem. I painted the tenon end that fit in the stem with black rubberized CA glue. I pressed it in place in the stem and set it aside until the glue cured and the new tenon was solid.With the tenon cured I put the stem on the shank and took a photo of the new stem. Though it did not have the Duncan Hill carburettor on the left side of the stem the fit was good and airflow was perfect. With a few adjustments of the diameter of the stem to match the bands the look was very good and it would provide a great smoke. I started the adjustments to the diameter with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It took a lot of sanding to get the flow of the stem and band correct but it was starting to look very good. I removed the stem and fine tuned the flow of the decorative band on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. It was really beginning to look very good at this point.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The stem began to take on a rich shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The stem looked very good. Before I turned to work on the bowl as a whole I took time to clean out the shank, mortise and the airway in both the shank and the new stem. The shank was very dirty and the airway was clogged. I used a straightened paper clip to poke through the clog and break it up. The airflow is great now.I now turned my attention to the bowl. I wiped down the bowl with acetone to remove the shine varnish coat from the surface. It looked much better and with sanding and polishing would look very good. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edge of the rim and to sand out the darkening on the rim top. It looked better but there was more to be done.I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further smooth it out and remove the nicks and scratches in the briar. The bowl was progressing in smoothness and beauty. I polished the briar with the nine micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. The bowl took on a rich shine. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I put the Duncan Hill Aerosphere Pot Bowl and the new stem together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 original brown stains worked amazingly well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. The grain around the bowl and shank and looks quite remarkable. This is truly a beautiful Duncan Hill Aerosphere. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.52 ounces/42 grams. This is such a unique shape that I am going to enjoy it for awhile before deciding what to do with it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Cleaning and Restoring the sixth of a lot of 12 pipes – A Ropp 804 Bent Octagonal Billiard

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by Steve Laug

Back in January I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. I chose to work on the second of the Cherrywood pipes next. It is a nice-looking Cherrywood Bent Octagonal Bowled Billiard. The bowl and shank had bark on the outside. The bowl has peeled striped around the octagon on every other flat side. The rim top and the base of the bowl were both smooth without bark. The bowl had been reamed at some time so there was no cake in it. The rim top had an overflow of lava on it and some darkening around the inner edge. The underside of the bowl was dirty but it was stamped ROPP [over] De Luxe [over] France. Underneath that what the shape number 804. The stem had no logo on it. It had light tooth marks and tooth chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it.The relatively clean bowl looks quite good. There was some thick lava on the rim top and some lava build up on the inner edge of the bowl. It looked to be in good condition other than the lava and darkening. The vulcanite taper stem was dirty, lightly oxidized and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of both.There was stamping on the heel of the bowl that was clear and readable. It read as noted above. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the proportion of this pipe. It is a classic Ropp Cherrywood.I wanted to refresh my memory on the brand so I turned for a short, quick summary to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-ropp.html). I have included the pertinent information from that site below:

Brand created by Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830 – 1907) and continued throughout 3 generations. “GBA Synergie” run by Bernard Amiel (†2008) bought back Ropp in 1988 and owned it until 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises (Chacom, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix…) in 1994.

I also turned to Pipedia to see if there was any additional information that would be helpful (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ropp). I quote the portion of the article on the Cherrywood pipes.

Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830 – 1907) had acquired a patent for a cherrywood pipe (wild cherry, lat.: Prunus avium) in 1869. In 1870 he established a workshop to manufacture such pipes in Büssingen (Bussang, Vosges mountains). Around 1893 the business moved into the former mill of Sicard (part of the community of Baume-les-Dames – Département Doubs, Upper Burgundy – from 1895 on)… Even though cherrywood pipes were the mainstay of Ropp until the company finally closed down in September 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises (Chacom, Jeantet, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix…) in 1994.

The pipe thus was made in France sometime prior to the closure in 1991. It is made from wild cherry and was a specialty of Ropp. I have worked on quite a few over the years but I had forgotten all the dates and information. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I turned to work on the pipe itself. The shank was loose in the bowl so I reglued it with all purpose white glue. I used a tooth pick to press it into the grooves around the junction and set it aside to cure. I worked over rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and darkening on the smooth rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It looked much better once the debris was removed. I sanded the walls of the bowl smooth with a piece of dowel wrapped with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The walls smoothed out very well.I scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean the debris and oils and tars in the cherry bark finish. I rinsed it with clean warm water and dried it off with a soft cotton cloth. I polished the smooth rim top, four panels on the sides and heel of the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. It smoothed out the finish very well and removed much of the damage on the rim top, smooth panels and the scratching around the stamping on the heel. I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I was able to remove the grime and oils in the shank and the airway in the stem.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed it off with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend in the remnants of the tooth marks and chatter on the stem and to remove the residual light oxidation. I am happy with the way that it looked at this point.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Ropp De Luxe Cherrywood 804 Octagonal Bent Billiard with a vulcanite taper stem has a cherrywood bark finish with a smooth rim top and bowl heel. The bark covered Cherrywood pipe is what makes Ropp pipes stand out. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Ropp De Luxe Cherrywood Octagonal 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: 6 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.36 ounces/66 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be sending it back to Robert once I finish the other 6 pipes he sent me to restore. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this beauty. Thanks for your time.

Restoring a Beautiful Handmade Pipe by Pierre Morel

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Behold a fantastic old pipe by the French master, Pierre Morel. This is a beautifully made and modern-looking pipe. What would you call this shape? Perhaps a freehand volcano – sort of? The stem is a slightly bent saddle stem, while it is also curiously set apart from the shank of the stummel. I have a particular interest in French pipes, so I am delighted to be able to offer this one to you all for sale. The marks are clear enough. On the underside of the shank, it reads, Morel [over] Fait Main [over] St Claude [over] France. Of course, the phrase ‘fait main’ means ‘handmade’ in English. On the top of the stem is the single word Morel – alas, the top of the ‘M’ is slightly worn.Let’s learn a bit more about Pierre Morel. His article on Pipedia says the following:

Pierre Morel’s Handmade pipes are very high-quality pieces. Pierre Morel is an extraordinarily talented pipe-maker, who chooses highly fine briar to create handmade pipes with a straight wood grain. Buying a Pierre Morel pipe is a guarantee of an exceptional smoking experience. Each of Pierre Morel’s creations is unique and entirely made in Saint-Claude.

Pierre Morel is one of France’s most talented pipe makers. Based in Saint-Claude, the international capital city of pipe making, he is nowadays one of the only craftsmen who can make a pipe from start to finish. Unlike large brands, Pierre Morel makes all his pipes by hand.

Nothing compares to a Pierre Morel pipe: high quality raw materials, an extremely meticulous design and unmatched finishes… As a true passionate of the art, Pierre Morel often gives advice to other “new” French pipe makers such as Bruno Nuttens or Joseph Rimbaud (Rostiak).

Meanwhile, the real information I wanted to see was over at Pipephil:

Pierre Morel (Father and son).

Pierre Morel (1908 – 1979†) crafted pipes also stamped with brands like “PEHEM”, “PM”, “PEHEM MOREL” or “TOTEM”.

Pierre Morel (Son, born 1949) stamped his pipes “P MOREL jr” and “PIERRE MOREL” after his father passed. He also collaborated with Chacom for highgrade lines (“Grand Cru”, “Millenium”…) until he retired in 2009. His personal production continues.

However, best of all, there is an article on a French website which provides a superb interview with Morel (the son). If you have any fluency in French, I highly recommend reading it. Here is the link: https://www.fumeursdepipe.net/artmorel.htm. One day, I will do a proper translation of the article (as the Google translation is so-so), but the original version will have to suffice for now. I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that this particular pipe is by the son – not the father.The pipe is in good shape. The stummel is lovely, but dirty. It has plenty of cake in the bowl and some lava and wear on the rim. Meanwhile, the stem has been well chomped. Again, dirty and well used. 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 worked fairly well.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.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. 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. Everything looked good inside the bowl.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.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.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 (and a toothbrush). 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 Pierre Morel handmade freehand volcano 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 ‘French’ 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 5⅜ in. (137 mm); height 1⅞ in. (48 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1½ oz. (45 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.

Cleaning and Restoring the fourth of a lot of 12 pipes for a customer – a Falcon 1

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by Steve Laug

Back in January I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. I chose to work on Falcon pipe next. It is a nice looking straight Falcon with a standard bowl. It was a smooth bowl with no rustication. The rim top and the base of the bowl were both very dirty. The bowl had been reamed at some time so there was no cake in it. The rim top had an overflow of lava on it and some darkening around the inner edge. The underside of the bowl was dirty and there were nicks in the threads. It still worked well but they were present. The underside of the metal base was stamped with a 1 in the inset on the heel. That is followed by FALCON where the base and shank come together. There is also a large D stamped at the shank/stem junction that I believe signifies that it has a dental bit on the shank. The stem was oxidized and dirty. It had calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. The button was a classic dental bit with a raised top edge and a series of ridges on the underside. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The relatively clean bowl looks quite good. There was some thick lava on the rim top and some lava build up on the inner edge of the bowl. It looked to be in good condition other than the lava and darkening. The dental bit stem was calcified, dirty, lightly oxidized and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of both.There was stamping on the heel of the bowl and shank junction that was clear and readable. The D stamp on the shank at the stem junction is also clear. It read as noted above. I also took a photo of the inlaid silver logo on the left side of the taper stem. I took a photo of the pipe with the bowl removed to show the proportion of this pipe. It is a classic Falcon.I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-f1.html) to see what I could learn about the brand. I have included a screen capture of the information on the site below. Below; I also include the brief sidebar history from the site:

The Falcon Pipe is an American invention, patented by Kenley Bugg of Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1936.

1948: George L. Hunt of Diversey Machine Works (D.M.W) signed a contract with Falcon Industries as exclusive Falcon pipe distributor for U.S. and Canada.

1956: D.M.W purchased the patents and trademarks from Falcon Industries Inc. and took over the Falcon pipes manufacture.

1968: Falcon pipe production moved from the U.S to the U.K in its entirety. Falcon Pipes Ltd. (also known as Falcon House Group) was owned by David E. Morris.

Falcon Pipes Ltd later became Merton and Falcon Co.

1974: Falcon London had sold about 14 million pipes around the world outside the U.S.A.

The Falcon logo on the mouthpiece was discontinued in 1994.

There was also interesting information the particular stamping on the base of this pipe. It has the stamping that identifies it as an American made Falcon. Now I had the basic background information on the pipe. I also knew that the pipe was made after 1948 and prior to the move of production to the UK in 1968.

I turned to work on the pipe itself. I removed the bowl from the base and worked over rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and darkening on the smooth rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It looked much better once the debris was removed.I scrubbed the bowl interior exterior with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean the debris and oils and tars in the briar. I rinsed it with clean warm water and dried it off with a soft cotton cloth. I worked on cleaning up the base further after the first scrub with Murphy’s Oil Soap using alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I was able to significantly clean up the majority of the tars and oils in the base. I followed that up with a wash of acetone to further remove the darkening and the base looks and smells clean. I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I was able to remove the grime and oils in the shank and the airway in the stem.I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It smoothed out the finish very well and removed much of the damage on the rim top and the scratching around the stamping on the shank. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The briar is quite beautiful. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed it off with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend in the remnants of the tooth marks and chatter on the stem and to remove the residual light oxidation. I am happy with the way that it looked at this point.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.This Falcon 1 Straight Billiard with a dental bit stem is a great looking pipe with the polished metal and briar set off by the black stem. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Straight Falcon 1 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of a inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/33 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Four pipes finished so far. I will be sending them back to Robert once I finish the other 8 pipes he sent me to restore. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this beauty. Thanks for your time.

Cleaning and Restoring the third of a lot of 12 pipes for a customer – a Ropp Cherrywood 921

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by Steve Laug

Back in January I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. I chose to work on one of the Cherrywood pipes next. It is a nice looking Cherrywood Bent Poker. The bowl and shank had bark on the outside. The rim top and the base of the bowl were both smooth without bark. The bowl had been reamed at some time so there was no cake in it. The rim top had an overflow of lava on it and some darkening around the inner edge. The underside of the bowl was dirty but it was stamped ROPP [over] De Luxe [over] France. Underneath that what the shape number 921. The stem had tooth marks and tooth chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The relatively clean bowl looks quite good. There was some thick lava on the rim top and some lava build up on the inner edge of the bowl. It looked to be in good condition other than the lava and darkening. The vulcanite taper stem was dirty, lightly oxidized and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of both.There was stamping on the heel of the bowl that was clear and readable. It read as noted above. I also took a photo of the inlaid silver logo on the left side of the taper stem. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the proportion of this pipe. It is a classic Ropp Cherrywood. I turned to work on the pipe itself. I worked over rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and darkening on the smooth rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It looked much better once the debris was removed. I sanded the walls of the bowl smooth with a piece of dowel wrapped with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The walls smoothed out very well. I scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean the debris and oils and tars in the cherry bark finish. I rinsed it with clean warm water and dried it off with a soft cotton cloth. I sanded the smooth rim top and heel of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It smoothed out the finish very well and removed much of the damage on the rim top and the scratching around the stamping on the shank.I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I was able to remove the grime and oils in the shank and the airway in the stem.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed it off with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with cotton pads and Soft Scrub. I was able to remove the debris on the stem and the oxidation on the surface. It looked much better.I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them all considerably. I filled in the two deep marks – one on each side of the stem just ahead of the button – with black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured, I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. It looked significantly better at this point. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend in the remnants of the tooth marks and chatter on the stem and to remove the residual light oxidation. I am happy with the way that it looked at this point.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Ropp De Luxe Cherrywood 921 Bent Poker with a vulcanite taper stem has a cherrywood bark finish with a smooth rim top and bowl heel. The bark covered Cherrywood pipe is what makes Ropp pipes stand out. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Ropp De Luxe Cherrywood Poker 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 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of a inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/46 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be sending it back to Robert once I finish the other 9 pipes he sent me to restore. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this beauty. Thanks for your time.

Cleaning up the second of a lot of 12 pipes for a customer – a No Name Freehand Sitter

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by Steve Laug

Back in January I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. The second of these I chose to work on was a smooth Freehand sitter. The bowl was almost a panel shape with flattened corners on the four sides. The shank was also panelled in the same manner. It was a pretty pipe and it was a big one. The rim top and the shank end were both plateau finish. The heel of the bowl and the shank end had been flattened to make the pipe a sitter. The plateau rim top and shank end were dirty and debris in the plateau. The bowl had been reamed and was smooth on the inside walls of the bowl. There were some tars and oils in the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem. The fancy turned, vulcanite stem was oxidized and dirty with light tooth marks and chatter in the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The relatively clean bowl looks quite good. There was some debris in the plateau rim top and some lava build up on the inner edge and the grooves of the plateau. It looked to be in good condition other than the debris and darkening. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem was dirty, lightly oxidized and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of both.There was not any identifying stamping or marks on the shank. I also took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the proportion of this pipe. It is really a beauty. I turned to work on the pipe itself. I worked over the plateau rim top and shank end with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the debris. It removed the debris and it looked much better. I scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean the debris in the rustication and also remove the oils and tars in the finish. I rinsed it with clean warm water and dried it off with a soft cotton cloth. I used a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth out the damage and darkening on the smooth inner edge of the bowl. It looked much better once the debris was removed.I sanded the walls of the bowl smooth with a piece of dowel wrapped with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The walls smoothed out very well.I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I was able to remove the grime and oils in the shank and the airway in the stem.I used a black Sharpie pen to touch up the valleys and deep spots on the plateau rim top and shank end. It looks much better at this point.I polished the bowl and shank along with the high spots on the plateau with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It smoothed out the finish very well and made the contrast between the ridges and valleys of the finish stand out well. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It is looking very good at this point in the process. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed it off with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with cotton pads and Soft Scrub. I was able to remove the debris on the stem and the oxidation on the surface. It looked much better.I sanded the tooth chatter and marks with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. It looked significantly better at this point.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend in the remnants of the tooth marks and chatter on the stem and to remove the residual light oxidation. I am happy with the way that it looked at this point.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This No Name Smooth Finish Plateau Freehand with a vulcanite fancy saddle stem has a beautiful, unique finish with great grain on the bowl and shank. The medium brown finish highlights the grain and the polished fancy turned stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished No Name Freehand 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: 7 inches, Height: 2 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches x 2 inches long, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 3.88 ounces/109 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be sending it back to Robert once I finish the other 10 pipes he sent me to restore. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this beauty. Thanks for your time.

Repairing a Serious Injury to a Custombilt Bulldog

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Welcome to another instalment of my Pipe Incident Reports. The idea, in general, is to provide a brief write-up – focusing on a particular pipe-restoration-related issue – rather than an entire restoration story. Today’s story is on the resolution of a very specific pipe repair, with some added challenges. I hope this blog post will be useful for those undertaking a similar repair. Every once in a while, my cousin-in-law sends me a pipe to repair. He hunts for pipes at antique shops and fairs, etc., and when he finds one that’s especially tricky to repair, he sends it my way! When he sent this particular pipe to me, he described it as a “crazy guy project”. Ahem. Well, crazy or not, I’m taking on the challenge. As you can see, it’s a handsome and rugged Custombilt bulldog, from the 1970s or ‘80s. My cousin-in-law did most of the cleaning already and did some restoration work on the stem, so I will be tackling the stummel only. For the most part, the pipe is in decent shape, but there are two major gouges on the side of the bowl. These gouges are going to be tricky to repair for four reasons:

- the gouges occur in spots where there was already some of the signature Custombilt rustication. So I have to fill them and make them look good while maintaining the original rustication and not filling it in.
- the gouges run transverse to the two pre-existing rings that run around the bowl. Again, I will have to repair these without negatively impacting those ring grooves.
- the gouges actually penetrate all the way through the bowl to the inside. I will need to ensure that they are sound on the outside and on the inside.
- the gouges also come with very fine cracks that extend in a ‘southerly’ direction, into some further rustication.

I haven’t even yet mentioned that there are a couple of chips missing from the bowl, on the opposite side of the gouges – and some dents on the rim. So, I’ve got my hands full – time to get started.As I mentioned, my cousin-in-law already did the vast majority of the cleaning – Deo gratias. To finish tiding up the briar, I wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds (and a toothbrush). This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. I then scoured the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes.Having completed that, I was able to address the dents on the rim. I dug out my iron and a damp cotton cloth. By laying the cloth over the affected areas and applying the iron to it, the hot and moist steam can often cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was some improvement – not a lot, but it was better than doing nothing.I decided to repair the tiny cracks in the briar next. Before anything else, it’s imperative that I ensure that the cracks do not continue to creep after I repair them. To that end, I took a micro-drill bit, inserted it in my rotary tool, and very carefully drilled a hole right through the wall of the bowl. That hole will stop the crack from progressing. As you can see, the drill bit is incredibly thin and quite prone to snapping if care isn’t taken.Now, I lined those cracks – and the gouges – with clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. Because of the intricacy of this work, I used a tiny awl to apply the adhesive. I needed to be precise and not smear it all over the place. I wish I had taken more photos of this procedure, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.Moving on to the matching holes on the inside of the bowl… I used an epoxy adhesive that is extremely hard, resistant to high temperatures, and completely inert when cured. It works superbly. I filled the affected area with the epoxy and let it cure for a full 24 hours. I took this step after applying the cyanoacrylate adhesive, so that the epoxy would not ooze out of the gouges. The next day, I roughened up the epoxy’s surface for the next step. I thinly coated the inside of the bowl with a mixture of my wife’s homemade yogurt and activated charcoal. Once hardened, this provided a good, faintly rough surface for a new cake to build. Now I needed to go back to the gouges and finish them off. I delicately and precisely added a mixture of clear cyanoacrylate adhesive and briar dust. This gives an incredibly hard and wood-like appearance to the repairs. I did the same to the chips I mentioned on the opposite side of the bowl. Most of the rest of the work was sanding. I used my dental tools, needle files and some fine sandpaper to sculpt the pipe back into shape. This was very tricky and took considerable patience – a virtue I have in short supply. Once done, I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the smooth parts 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. The Custombilt bulldog is much improved and I hope my cousin-in-law will like it. This was a complex repair – the results are not ideal, but they are as good as I can manage. 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 email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Cleaning up the first of a lot of 12 pipes for a customer – a No Name Freehand Sitter

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by Steve Laug

Back in January, I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. The first of these I chose to work on was a partially rusticated Freehand sitter. The front and the sides of the bowl were smooth part way back. The back half of the bowl and shank sides were rusticated with a unique looking rustication. The top of the shank and the underside were both smooth. The rim top and the shank end were both plateau finish. The bottom of the foot of the shank is etched with the date 11/17/79. The plateau rim top and shank end were dirty and debris in the plateau. The bowl had been reamed and was smooth on the inside walls of the bowl. There were some tars and oils in the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem. The fancy turned, vulcanite stem was oxidized and dirty with light tooth marks and chatter in the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The relatively clean bowl looks quite good. There was some debris in the plateau rim top and some lava build up on the inner edge and the grooves of the plateau. It looked to be in good condition other than the debris and darkening. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem was dirty, lightly oxidized and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of both.The stamping on the shank are not to be found on the shank. There is however, an etched 11/17/79 on the flat bottom of the foot as shown in the photos below. I tried to capture the detail in the photos below. I also took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the proportion of this pipe. It is really a beauty. I turned to work on the pipe itself. I worked over the plateau rim top and shank end with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the debris. It removed the debris and it looked much better.I scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean the debris in the rustication and also remove the oils and tars in the finish. I rinsed it with clean warm water and dried it off with a soft cotton cloth. I used a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth out the damage and darkening on the smooth inner edge of the bowl. It looked much better once the debris was removed.I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I was able to remove the grime and oils in the shank and the airway in the stem.I used a black Sharpie pen to touch up the valleys and deep spots on the plateau rim top and shank end. It looks much better at this point.I polished the smooth portions of the bowl and shank along with the high spots on the plateau with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It smoothed out the finish very well and made the contrast between the ridges and valleys of the finish stand out well. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed it off with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with cotton pads and Soft Scrub. I was able to remove the debris on the stem and the oxidation on the surface. It looked much better.I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them all considerably. I filled in the two deep marks – one on each side of the stem just ahead of the button – with black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured, I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. It looked significantly better at this point. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend in the repairs and remove the residual light oxidation on the stem surface. I am happy with the way that it looked at this point.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This No Name Mixed Finish Plateau Freehand etched 11/17/79 with a vulcanite fancy saddle stem has a beautiful, unique finish with great grain on the smooth portions and rustication on the sides and shank. The medium brown finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank. It has a unique finish and the polished fancy turned stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished No Name Freehand 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: 7 inches, Height: 2 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inch x 2 inches long, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.57 ounces/72 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be sending it back to Robert once I finish the other 11 pipes he sent me to restore. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this beauty. Thanks for your time.