by Kenneth Lieblich

I was recently commissioned to clean up this pipe for a local gentleman – a tugboat captain, no less! I admit that this is not the sort of pipe I imagined in the mouth of a tugboat captain, but that just shows you how little I know! Anyway, great-looking pipe. It is a Harcourt S freehand and it really commands your respect. Fortunately, there wasn’t too much wrong with this beauty – just needed a good cleaning. The markings on the pipe were nice and clear. The underside of the shank read S [over] Harcourt [over] Hand Carved [over] in Denmark. There were no other marks. I went straight over to Pipedia to see what I could find about Harcourt and it confirmed the information I already knew:

The brand Harcourt was produced by Preben Holm (†) for Dunhill to secure a share of the Danish fancy boom for Dunhill’s principal pipe dealers. Later Erik Nørding made Harcourt pipes for a shorter period. These pipes are sometimes (partially) rusticated. It had been reported that the second generation of Harcourt pipes were sold exclusively through Dunhill stores, but we now know through Rich Mervin that the Brick Church Pipe Shop, a chain of 3 stores in NJ sold Danish freehands in the 1970s and 80s including Knute, Ben Wade, and Harcourt. They were also an authorized Charatan and Dunhill retailer. So, apparently Harcourt freehands were sold through at least some Dunhill dealers as well as the Dunhill stores. The stamping includes a letter, and seem to adhere to the Preben Holm grading scale with grades of A, B, C and D in ascending order.

Pipephil didn’t have much more to add:

Anglo-Danish brand whose pipes were made by Nording and Preben Holm in the 1960s for the US distributor Lane Ltd. In the 1970s these pipes were crafted for Dunhill at Preben Holm’s workshop.

I know from Steve’s previous Harcourt restorations (see here) that it is not entirely clear what the ‘S’ refers to. Personally, I find it hard to believe that Preben Holm’s grading went from A to S, but I do wonder if the S stands for ‘sandblast’ – it certainly fits if that’s the case. If you have any thoughts, please let me know in the comments below. Let’s get cleaning! 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. It was fairly dirty inside. 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 Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. 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.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. 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, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to several wooden dowels. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. It took quite a bit of 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 on the plateau rim). 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.No micromesh needed on this stummel. 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 – with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Harcourt S freehand looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its new owner. It was a pleasure to work on. It’s a heavy pipe, but a gorgeous pipe. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6¾ in. (171 mm); height 2⅞ in. (75 mm); bowl diameter 1⅞ in. (49 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 3⅓ oz. (100 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 at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.