Monthly Archives: August 2025

Restoring a I. Bekler Meerschaum Banded Billiard with a Cumberland Taper Stem

by Steve Laug

This afternoon I decided to work on another pipe that I no longer know where or when we purchased it. I have a large box of Meerschaum pipes that is sitting in my storage that I need to clean up and restore. I have honestly avoided them for years but now was the time to start my work on some of them. Today I chose another of the uncased meers. This one is a Billiard shape with a Cumberland Taper Stem and a Softee Bit on the end. My guess is that the Softee protected the stem for tooth marks. I will know for sure once I remove it. It is a beautifully shaped Billiard Meer that is filthy and covered with scratches from its journey. The bowl and shank have some nice patina particularly on the shank. There is also a signature stamp on the left side of the shank that reads I. Bekler. It is dirty from use with a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy overflow of lava on the inner edge and thin rim top, heavier on the back side. The shank has a silver band on the end that is quite oxidized. The Cumberland stem had a push tenon and the shank was fitted with a receiver mortise. It fit well against the shank end and was slightly dirty and had a dirty and well chewed Softee Bit on the end protecting the stem surface and button. I took photos of the pipe before I started my clean up work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable. You can see the cake in the bowl and the heavy build up of lava and debris on the edge and top of the rim. It is another dirty pipe but still a charmer. There is a silver band on the shank end that is very oxidized and almost black. The Cumberland Taper stem has a rubber Softee Bit on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the I. Bekler signature stamp on the left side of the Cumberland taper stem. It is clear and readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. I used a small knife to pry off the Softee Bit on the stem end. I took photos of the stem. There was some sludge on the stem where the bit had ended but there were not any tooth marks or chatter on the stem surface ahead of the button. The Softee Bit had done its job and the stem looked great.I wanted more background on the brand and on the carver Ismet Bekler. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c2.html) and found a link between CAO meerschaum and Ismet Bekler. I have included a screen capture of the section on the brand and the connection between Ismet Bekler and CAO.The CAO company was founded in 1968 by Cano Ozgener. Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquired the corporate in 2010. Current President of CAO (2010): Tim Ozgener (son of Cano). CAO was the US distributor for Europeans pipe brands like Preben Holm (from 1985) or Joura (Karl Heinz)

I then visited pipedia.org and did a search for more information on the American Meerschaum pipe company, CAO and Ismet Bekler(https://pipedia.org/wiki/CAO).

It was revealed that Ismet Bekler was a pipe carver who had carved many meerschaum pipes for CAO. I have reproduced certain relevant snippets of information from that article on pipedia.org.

C.A.O International, Inc. is the producer of one of the country’s top lines of premium cigars, cigar accessories, Meerschaum pipes, and pipe tobaccos. CAO’s Meerschaum pipes are smoked by presidents, senators, actors and other dignitaries. CAO was founded in 1964 by Cano A. Ozgener. Using his initials as the company logo.

Cano Ozgener’s interest in tobacco began on the banks of the Bosporus. Born on January 19, 1937, Ozgener was raised in his birthplace of Istanbul, Turkey, by his Armenian parents. His father was a jeweller, his mother a homemaker. He studied at a Jesuit French grammar school before being accepted into the American-run Roberts College in Istanbul, from which he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1960.

As a student in Turkey, Ozgener enjoyed smoking pipes, especially those made from meerschaum.

Graduating from Columbia in 1964 with a professional engineering degree, Ozgener was recruited by DuPont to work in the firm’s Kinston, North Carolina, plant. It was during his stint in the textile division at the age of 27 that he came across some imperfect Turkish meerschaum pipes. In his spare time, he decided to use his engineering abilities to improve the pipes.

As Cano and the tobacconists were not happy with the quality of Turkish meerschaum, he decided to take the meerschaums and change the stems, make modifications and work with the carvers to improve them,” One day a tobacconist from Wilmington, Delaware, asked him where had he found the meerschaum, that he had never seen such quality. Cano told him that he had modified them. The tobacconist then ordered a dozen or two. That was just the beginning.

Ozgener kept his engineering job as he built his company. He worked constantly; his vacations from DuPont were spent attending tobacco conventions, which left little time to relax with his wife and two young children. Finally, in 1977, he left his engineering position to devote more attention to his growing business and to spend more time with his family.

The preceding article is reprinted here with the permission (forth coming) of Bennington Tobacconist

Ismet Bekler carved many meerschaum pipes, which were signed by him and sold by CAO, beginning in 1977. CAO actually trademarked his last name for use in 2001. Other carvers also provided pipes to CAO, and at least one other, Kural, also signed pipes made for CAO.

I surfed the net to know more about the pipe carver Ismet Bekler. I chanced upon a website that had some beautiful pipes on sale and most prominently, had many un-smoked meerschaum pipes carved by Ismet Bekler. Here is the link to the website. I have also noted some information about Ismet Bekler which is given in the introduction on this website. https://www.therightpipe.com/meerschaum-pipes/ismet-bekler-c382.html

Ismet Bekler was a prolific and popular carver. He began carving in the early 1970’s. Bekler is known as one of the best carvers in the history of Turkish Meerschaum. Master carver Bekler passed away in 2018 at the age of 84.

In 1980, the CAO Meerschaum Company contracted with Bekler to sell all of his carvings to them. CAO wanted to make Bekler a more well-known carver in the US and it was at this time he began signing his pipes.

Thus, from the above, my guess would be that this pipe is from the period post 1980 but could be pre-2018 since it is signed with the first initial, I. and the last name. However the lack of CAO in brass logo on the stem makes matters murky. Any inputs on this would definitely help me and other readers to know more about this pipe maker whose demise has left a void in the pipe carver’s community.

I started my work on the bowl by reaming the thick cake out of the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer and the 2^nd and 3^rd cutting heads to take back the cake to the walls of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished it looked very good.I scraped off some of the lava coat on the rim top. I used a topping board and some worn 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the rim top and remove the rest of the darkening on the meer. It looked much better once I finished.I used a sharp knife blade to clean out the build up in the shank end around the nylon/Delrin insert in the shank for a push tenon that was in the stem. The inset in the stem was also very dirty so I cleaned it up at the same time using the knife. Once clean it looked much better.I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as in the new stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular) and alcohol. It was much better.I scrubbed the bowl surface with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to wash off the dirt and the soap. It looked much better at this point. I sanded the bowl to smooth out the scratches in the bowl sides and rim top with 320-2500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the debris. It seemed to minimize the scratches and bring out the beauty of the patina developing in the meer. I polished the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cotton cloth. The bowl took on a shine by the last pad. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’s Beeswax Polish which is a soft wax. I rubbed the wax on the bowl sides and the shank end with my finger tips and set it aside to dry. Once the wax cured I buffed the bowl with a clean buffing pad and then with a soft microfibre cloth. The bowl has a rich glow. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to protect it and preserve it. it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I polished the stem on the buffer with Blue Diamond. I took photos of the finished I. Bekler Billiard with a Cumberland Taper Stem to show the shine and the patina around the bowl. The polished Cumberland stem looks very good with the deepening colour on the shank and the bottom of the bowl. With time the contrast will grow richer and deeper to a thing of beauty. The finished Bekler Billiard fits nicely in the hand and I think it will feel great as it heats up with a good tobacco. 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 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/49 grams. If you are interested in carrying on the legacy of this pipe it will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. It is listed in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Section. You can send me a message or an email to let know you are interested. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

A Charming NOS Chinrester from France

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by Kenneth Lieblich

I have a very appealing pipe that came my way recently and I am happy to offer it to you for sale. No major restoration story on this one – just a remarkable pipe! I gave it a quick and thorough once-over (and a quick polishing) and now it’s time to turn it over to you. This chinrester has never been smoked and has some real old-world charm. It’s a handsome billiard with a vulcanite taper stem that has been angled into an S-shape. Take a closer look at the photos below. This one is marked with the words Tout Repos. This literally means ‘all rest’, but I think a more likely translation in this context is ‘rest easy’, as it’s a chinrester. The words also have a more negative connotation in French too, but that seems highly unlikely.I could find no mention anywhere of Tout Repos in connection with pipes. I must say, this pipe reminded both Steve and me of the chinresters of yesteryear by Kaywoodie. Could this pipe have been produced by Kaywoodie in France? No idea and I have no information to suggest that it was. The only (tenuous) connection I have is that a small number of Kaywoodie lines were produced in France (La Roche, Samuel Pepys, etc.). Have a look at this snippet I took from a 1964-65 Kaywoodie catalogue that I have, as they are quite similar.Even though the pipe is new, old stock, the stem had oxidized over the years, so I had to clean that up. I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps.Even though the pipe is new, old stock, the stem had oxidized over the years, so I had to clean that up. I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps.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 was 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 of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. I used the last five or six micromesh sanding pads to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. It was a decent piece of briar – there were a couple of fills (as you can see), but quite nice overall. As it was brand new, I simply cleaned up the dust from decades ago, and repaired a small fill on the inside of the bowl. To fill a gap like this, I used an epoxy adhesive that is extremely hard, resistant to high temperatures, and completely inert when cured. It worked superbly. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.This Tout Repos Chinrester is a lovely, elegant pipe. 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’ 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 5¼ in. (133 mm); height 2 in. (51 mm); bowl diameter 1¼ in. (32 mm); chamber diameter ⅔ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1 oz. (31 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.

Restoring a SMS Meerschaum Skater with a Variegated Orange Acrylic Stem

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by Steve Laug

Welcome to SMS Pipes!!

We are proud to present a wide selection of premium smoking pipes. SMS Pipes features Turkish Block Meerschaum, supplied exclusively by SMS Meerschaums, and Italian Briar, supplied by Lorenzo of Italy. All the pipes offered by SMS Pipes meet or surpass our exacting “Standard of Excellence.”

Samil & Beth Sermet – SMS Pipes is family owned and operated extension of SMS Meerschaums, founded in 1980 by Samil Sermet and his wife, Beth. SMS Meerschaums is recognized nationwide as a trusted supplier by nearly 500 retail tobacconists. SMS Pipes promises to continue the philosophy embraced by SMS Meerschaums and provide premium smoking pipes that are:

Distinctive… each pipe is carefully selected for its uniqueness, quality and reliability.

Affordable… a wide range of prices makes owning a fine pipe possible for everyone.

Collectable… the timeless beauty of each pipe will be treasured for generations.

Key to the success of SMS Pipes is our dedicated staff. Based in the USA and Turkey, they maintain contact with our exceptionally talented pipe carvers and case makers and perform all the daily business activities described below:

Samil Sermet, a native of Turkey, is the buyer for SMS Meerschaums. His hometown is Eskisehir, Turkey, where a majority of the meerschaum pipe carvers live and have their shops. Samil makes a buying trip to Turkey each year and has a close working relationship with all the carvers. He is responsible for sales analysis and placing the orders necessary to maintain adequate stock in the warehouse. (samil@smspipes.com)

Beth Sermet, office manager of SMS Meerschaums, processes all orders. Even though Beth was born in Iowa, she is fluent in Turkish after living in Turkey for several years and knows all the carvers. The owners of Lorenzo Briars work closely with Beth to assure ample supply of their premium pipes. Beth also personally selects and photographs all the pipes shown on SMS Pipes. (beth@smspipes.com)

Mert Sermet, son of Samil and Beth, manages the daily operations of SMS Pipes. He is in charge of processing and shipping all orders. Mert has in-depth knowledge of every aspect of pipe manufacturing both in Turkey and Italy. He will personally respond to any comments, questions or concerns you may have about SMS Pipes by e-mail. (mert@smspipes.com)

Emel Sagtekin, Samil’s sister, is responsible for quality control and shipments of pipes to SMS Meerschaums from Turkey. Since 1988, Emel has personally checked thousands of pipes. She evaluates each pipe based on strict criteria set by SMS Meerschaums and selects only the pipes that meet or surpass our high standards.

SMS Pipes provides a wide variety of services for our customers. Although the inventory on SMS Pipes is reserved for Internet sale only, it is possible to have a selection of similar pipes sent “On Approval” to any tobacconist listed on the site. Membership in the SMS Collectors Society provides additional amenities for those interested in collecting our pipes. Our Master Carvers can be commissioned to carve custom pipe designs by special arrangement. We also offer repair and re-waxing services for all SMS Pipes.”

We are happy to have the opportunity to serve you. We hope your time spent with SMS Pipes is enjoyable and worthwhile.

Now I had a clearer picture of the brand and the makers. I knew that pipe was made after 1980 when the company began. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

I started my work on the bowl by reaming the thick cake out of the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer and the 2^nd and 3^rd cutting heads to take back the cake to the walls of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished the walls of the bowl looked very good. I scraped off some of the lava coat on the rim top. I used a topping board and some worn 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the rim top and remove the rest of the darkening on the meer. It looked much better once I finished.I scrubbed the bowl surface with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to wash off the dirt and the soap. It looked much better at this point. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as in the new stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular). It was much better.I polished the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cotton cloth. The bowl took on a shine by the last pad. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’s Beeswax Polish which is a soft wax. I rubbed the wax on the bowl sides and the shank end with my finger tips and set it aside to dry. Once the wax cured I buffed the bowl with a clean buffing pad and then with a soft microfibre cloth. The bowl has a rich glow. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface.I continued sanding the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to protect it and preserve it. it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I polished the stem on the buffer with Blue Diamond. I put the pipe back together and gave it a buff on the wheel with Blue Diamond polish. I use a light touch on the acrylic as too heavy a touch can cause the heat to damage to acrylic. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a soft cloth to deepen the shine. I put it back in the case and took a photo of the pipe in case.I took photos of the finished SMS Skater with a variegated orange acrylic stem to show the shine and the patina around the bowl. The acrylic stem looks very good with the deepening colour on the shank and the bottom of the bowl. With time the contrast will grow richer and deeper to a thing of beauty. The finished SMS Skater fits nicely in the hand and I think it will feel great as it heats up with a good tobacco. 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 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. If you are interested in carrying on the legacy of this pipe it will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. It is listed in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Section. You can send me a message or an email to let know you are interested. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring an old time Debrecen Meerschaum with Cherrywood Shank and Horn Stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is an old timer. I am uncertain of what the shape is called. Perhaps it is a Debrecen but I am uncertain. I wrote Ben Rapaport for his help on the shape and he confirmed that it looks like a Debrecen to him. It has a tall meerschaum bowl with a gentle curve to the shank. The meer has taken on a nice patina particularly on the shank and other than being slightly dirty from sitting in a box for years is quite pretty. The rim top and shank end have sterling silver rings or caps. There is also a lattice, tall wind cap on the bowl that is quite stunning. It is hinged at the back and has a small catch that holds it closed. There is a small ring on the shank band that a cord could be attached to that links the shank to the bowl. The shank is cherrywood – basically a branch that has been drilled out with an airway. The mouthpiece is attached by a threaded cap on the end of the shank that it screws into. The shank cap and mouthpiece are both horn and quite nice. They are both in good condition. The bowl has a thick cake in it that lines the walls and carbon darkens the inside of the wind cap. The silver is all slightly oxidized and dirty. The stem is held I the shank with a cork in the shank. The previous owner had wrapped the end of the cherrywood shank with cellotape to hold it in place. I will have to remove that and see what I have to do to restore the cork. I have taken photos and included them below. I removed the long cherrywood shank from the bowl/shank unity. I took photos of the bowl and shank apart to give a sense of what the parts look like and give a sense of the size. The photos show the bowl from the side, the top and with the silver cap opened. You can see the dirtiness of the bowl and the carbon coat on the inside of the cap. There are some kind of hallmarks in the grime on the rim top once the cap is open. Once clean I may be able to discern what they say. It is a dirty pipe internally. Look closely at the shank end to see the tape wrapping on the end. I am uncertain what is under that. I removed the horn stem from the top end of the cherrywood and the cellotape from the bottom end of the cherrywood shank. The end is tapered to fit well in the meerschaum shank. Under the cellotape was still cork. It was dry but not crumbling. I gave it a rub down with Vaseline to soften and enliven the cork. I used a qtip to rub the cork down inside the meerschaum. Once it had absorbed some I rechecked the fit in the meerschaum and was pleased to see that the fit is snug. I set the cherrywood shank aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I carefully cleaned off the cake on the bowl walls and bottom with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. It removed the cake well and left the walls quite smooth. Once finished I sanded the walls with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls were smooth so I could move to further cleaning.I cleaned out the internals of the bowl and the airway into the bowl as best as possible with pipe cleaners – normal and bristle and alcohol. I used the pipe cleaners and alcohol to also clean up the heavy carbon buildup on the inside of the wind cap. I cleaned the airway and threaded cap on the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol and also cleaned out the inside of the cherrywood shank with the same. The pipe smelled clean.I used a piece of fine XXXX steel wool to carefully further clean the inside of the windcap and carefully work on the rim top. I wanted to clean up the hallmarks to see if I could read them.I further cleaned up the inside of the cap and the rim top around the hallmarks with a cotton pad and alcohol first. Then, I used a fine dental pick to try and remove more grime in the letters. I cleaned out that with a cotton swab and alcohol and was able to read the stamping a bit more. The pipe is definitely Weis pipe according to the stamping on the right side of the rim top. There appears to be a letter ahead of Weis and it is perhaps a C or possibly an L.W. I am unfamiliar with the maker so I will need to do some research on that further clarify the maker’s name. The other side has some letters which are a bit hard to discern but it appears to be stamped PROMP or something like that. Not sure on those are the are worn.Before continuing the clean up I thought it would be interesting to do a bit of digging online regarding the L.W. Weis company or carver. I googled and the first thing that came up was an AI link to a wiki on LW Weis Meerschaum pipes that connects the LW to a Carl Weis so perhaps it is LW that is stamped on the hallmark. I quote from that below.

AI Overview

LW Weis is a brand of antique meerschaum pipes, specifically known for those crafted by Carl Weis, a late 19th-century manufacturer. These pipes are made from the mineral sepiolite, commonly called meerschaum, and are highly valued for their intricate carvings and the way they change color with use.

Key Features of LW Weis Meerschaum Pipes:

Material: Made from meerschaum (sepiolite), a mineral known for its porousness and ability to absorb oils from tobacco smoke, leading to a unique color change over time.

Carvings: Often feature elaborate carvings, showcasing the material’s suitability for detailed designs.

Color Change: The natural white color of meerschaum gradually transforms into a range of warm hues (browns, yellows, oranges, etc.) as it’s used, a characteristic highly prized by collectors.

Manufacturer: Carl Weis was a late 19th-century manufacturer with a retail store at 399 Broadway, NY, and factories at 69 Walker St., NY, and elsewhere.

To me it is interesting that the LW Weis pipes were done by Carl Weis, a late 19^th century manufacturer who sold his pipes out of a retail store on Broadway in New York, NY. Now to dig further.

I turned to Pipedia and was also taken to the page for Carl Weis. The article there confirmed the information on the New York Store and Factory as well as clearly connecting it to manufacture in Vienna, Austria (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Weis_Meerschaum_Pipes). I quote article in full below.

Carl Weis – Late 19th century manufacturer of meerschaum pipes and smoking articles.

Retail store was at 399 Broadway St., NY; factories were at 69 Walker St., NY and in Vienna, Austria.

From the Internal Revenue Record and Customs Journal, Volume 26 (October 4, 1880):

1st Prize Medal Vienna, 1873 CARL WEIS, Manufacturer of Meerschaum Pies, and holders, Wholesale and Retail. Finest Goods at lowest prices. Send for circular. STORE – 399 Broadway, New York. Factories – 69 Walker St; and Vienna, Austria.

I also searched further and found an advertising piece on the First Prize Medal won at the Vienna Exhibition in 1878. Here is the link (https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1853287006/c-weis-pollak-co-meerschaum-pipes-vienna). The photo from the etsy shop is shown below.I also wanted to look up information on the Debrecen shape. It appears that the shape is Hungarian and is made in one of three famous workshops in Eger, Buda and Debrecen. In the early years of Hungarian production, three bowl shapes prevailed: Debrecen, Kalmasch, and Ragoczy. The Debrecen shape seems to have been carved in Debrecen, Hungary with the silver work being done in Vienna, Austria. The connection of the Austrian Hungarian Empire it seems is seen in the pipe. Thus, from what I can find the pipe is an 1890s (late 19^th Century) pipe so it has some considerable age.

Now it was time to get back to the pipe. With the shank and stem cleaned I put them back together. The stem had no tooth marks or damage on it. The fitting to the cherrywood was perfect. I was missing the cord that would have held the bowl and shank together but I would keep and eye out for one. I rubbed the stem and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I have found it works well not just on wood but also on horn. I rubbed it on with my fingertips and it works to deep clean, rejuvenate and restore the shine to wood and horn. It looked very good at this point. I rubbed the cork on the shank end with Vaseline and set it aside to have the cork absorb the product. It works to soften and preserve the cork making it more pliable when inserted in the shank. I set the cherrywood aside to let the Vaseline absorb in the cork and turned my attention to the bowl. I polished the silver on the rim top, shank end and rim cap with a jeweller’s cloth. It works to polish and protect the silver from oxidation. It looks very good. I polished the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cotton cloth. The bowl took on a shine by the last pads. I polished the bowl with Clapham’s Beeswax Polish. I rubbed it on the meerschaum and let it dry. Once dried I buffed it off with a clean buffing pad on my buffing wheel. I hand buffed the bowl with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. I am really happy with the way that this Late 19^th Century Meerschaum Debrecen with Cherrywood shank and horn stem turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a unique shape and smooth meerschaum bowl, silver rim cap, windcap and shank band. The cherrywood shank and the horn stem are really nice. The patina on the meerschaum came alive with waxing and buffing. The rich patina on the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond and hand buffed it. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with multiple coats of beeswax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Old Time Meerschaum Debrecen really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 11 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 79 grams/2.79 ounces. The pipe will be staying with me for awhile as it is a beauty that I will enjoy smoking one day soon. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

A Well Smoked Pioneer Black Block Meerschaum Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table to refresh and refurbish is an interesting looking Bent Billiard that turns out to be rusticated black meerschaum. It has an acrylic shank extension that has the Pioneer “P” stamp on the left side. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Block [over] Meerschaum. I have no memory of when we bought it or who we purchased it from. It has been here a long time. The bowl has a light cake on the sides and some lava build up in the rustication of the rim top. The finish on the bowl and shank are very dusty with a lot of debris and dirt in the rusticated valleys of the pipe. The shank extension is black acrylic with the clear P stamp on the left side as noted above. The pipe smells dirty and musty from sitting. The fancy turned vulcanite stem is oxidized and there is light tooth chatter or marks on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started my refurbishing work. I took some photos of the rim top and bowl. You can see the lava and debris on the rim top and the tobacco debris and cake in the bowl. The stem photos show the oxidation in the vulcanite and light tooth marks and chatter.I took photos of the stamping on the shank and the extension. The left side of the extension has a clear “P” stamp that is the log for Pioneer Pipes. The right side of the shank is stamped Block Meerschaum. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. It really is a nice looking pipe. To me the pipe looked a lot like many of the black or dark meerschaum pipes that I have worked on from the Isle of Man made by Manxman or Laxley Pipe Company. Yet the stamping was clearly a Pioneer Pipes Co. pipe with the stylized “P” logo on the shank extension. I wanted to see if there was a connection between the two companies so I turned to my normal two sources to see what I could learn. I went first to Pipephil (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-p3.html). I have included a screen capture of the information there as well as further info from the sidebar.Probably a brand of Pioneer Pipes Co., a Meerschaum and Meerschaum lined pipes manufacturer and distributor. Address (about 1960): 1817 Putnam Avenue, Brooklyn 27, N.Y. Pioneer also used to import meerschaum pipes from the MANXMAN PIPES Ltd factory (Isle of Man, UK) as shown by the markings of this pipe. (See “Man“). Wilczak & Colwell, op. cit. mention pipes with this label from Duncan Briars Ltd, Oppenheimer Pipes or Delacour Brothers.

There was the link I was looking for – Pioneer Pipes Co. used to import Manxman Pipes from the Isle of Man. My eye had not failed me and I am sure this is one of those imported pipes.

I turned then to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer) to see what else I could find out about the brand. Unfortunately, the site did not have very much information. I quote below what was on the site.

Pioneer Pipe Company was owned by Wally Frank, who trademarked the name Pioneer in 1940. At the time of the application the name was alleged to have been used in commerce in 1925. The company listed its location at 1817 Putnam Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. Pioneer sold Turkish and later African meerschaum through the Wally Frank, Ltd. Catalogs and elsewhere.

There were also and example of one of their meerschaum pipe and a page of a pamphlet shown on the site. Both of these come to Pipedia by the courtesy Doug Valitchka. Now I knew what I was working on with this pipe. It was an imported Manxman pipe probably distributed by Wally Frank through their catalogue sales. It was likely African block meerschaum from Tanganyika or nearby that had been fashioned by the Isle of Man company for Pioneer. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the bowl by reaming the thick cake out of the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer and the 2^nd and 3^rd cutting heads to take back the cake to the walls of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished it looked very good. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as in the new stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular). It was much better.I scrubbed the meerschaum with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish of the bowl and shank. I rinsed it with warm water to remove the soap and the grime in the finish. I touched up the areas on the rim top where the stain was worn and damaged. I used a Black Stain Pen to restain them and blend them into the surrounding surface of the rustication.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the rusticated meerschaum with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the bowl come alive again. The contrasts in the rusticated surface give the pipe a sense of depth. I let the balm sit for 10 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 scrubbed it down with cotton pads and Soft Scrub Cleanser and was able to remove the oxidation. It looked better once I finished with the cleanser. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to break up the oxidation. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil Cloth. I continued sanding the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With a refurbishing the final moment when all the pieces come back together is the tell all! I put the pipe back together and buffed the meerschaum bowl with a shoe brush and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the meerschaum several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed those parts 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 black fancy vulcanite stem. This Rusticated Pioneer Black Meerschaum Bent Billiard is light weight and it is ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy breaking it in for yourself. 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 51 grams/1.83 ounces. This is one that will go on the Ceramic and Meerschaum Pipes Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. 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.

Restemming and Restoring a Meerschaum Apple

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by Steve Laug

This afternoon I decided to work on the pipe that I no longer know where or when we purchase it. I have a large box of Meerschaum pipes that is sitting in my storage that I need to clean up and restore. I have honestly avoided them for years but now was the time to start my work on some of them. The first one I chose was definitely an older ball or apple shaped smooth meerschaum with a red acrylic shank extension. It is a beautifully shaped meer with scratches from its journey and some nice patina around the shank and sides. The meer is dirty from use with a thick cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the inner edge and thin rim top. The acrylic shank extension was loose and would need to be cleaned. The stem fit well against the shank end however it was a Preben Holm vulcanite stem and it was too long. It would need to be replaced with a more fitting stem for the size of the pipe. There were no identifying logos on the bowl or shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started my clean up work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable. You can see the cake in the bowl and the build up of lava and debris on the edge and top of the thin rim top. It is another dirty pipe but still a charmer. The vulcanite stem has chatter and deep tooth marks on both sides near the button. It also has a Preben Holm crown on the top of the stem. It will be replaced so fortunately I will not need to deal with it.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. To me proportionally the stem is too long for this pipe. I went through my stems and found a stem that would work well. In the photos it looks the same length or longer but it is about an inch shorter and the blade is also wider and looks good. I took a photo of the pipe with the new stem. I shortened the tenon a bit to bring it closer to the shank extension. The second photo of the stem in the shank shows the new look. I reamed the thick cake out of the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer and the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to take back the cake to the walls of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished it looked very good. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as in the new stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular). It was much better.I cleaned up the rim top and edges of the bowl with a 320 grit sanding pad. I removed the darkening and damage and it looked better.The shank extension was held to the shank with a white Delrin tenon. The shank on the pipe was thread and the smooth end fit partially into the extension. When screwed into the shank it was a snug fit. I chose not to glue it but leave it unglued and removable.Now it was time to work on the bowl itself. I started my work by sanding with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. It smoothed out the scratches and revealed more and more of the patina around the bowl and shank. It is a beautiful looking pipe. I polished the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cotton cloth. The bowl took on a shine by the last pads. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’s Wax that blends both carnauba and beeswax in a soft wax. I rubbed the wax on the bowl sides and the shank end with my fingers and set it aside to dry. Once the wax cured I buffed the bowl with a clean buffing pad and then with a soft microfibre cloth. The bowl has a rich glow. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks on the surface. It lifted many of them. I filled in those that remained with some black, rubberized CA glue. When it cured I flattened out the repair with a small flat file and then sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I continued sanding the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to protect it and preserve it. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am really happy with the way that this Meerschaum Freehand Style Apple turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a unique shape and smooth meerschaum bowl. The acrylic shank extension and the fancy vulcanite saddle stem are really nice. The patina on the meerschaum came alive with waxing and buffing. The rich patina on the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. 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 the stem multiple coats of beeswax/carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Meerschaum style Freehand really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. 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 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 66 grams/2.33 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Pipes Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Life for a Bjarne Hand Made in Denmark rose variegated acrylic stem Freehand

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by Steve Laug

This afternoon I decided to work on the pipe that Jeff picked up from a seller in Nampa, Idaho, USA on 11/09/2023. It is a beautifully grained Freehand with a Plateau rim and shank end. The right and left side of the bowl are panels with the left side fluted. The bottom is flattened and the pipe stands well on the heel. It has a fancy variegated rose coloured acrylic saddle stem. It is a beautiful grained piece of briar that I can appreciate why he chose it. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Bjarne [over] Handmade [over] In Denmark. The briar is dirty from use with a moderate cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the bevelled inner edge and rim top filling in some of the plateau around the edge. The plateau shank end was dusty and dirty. The stem fit well against the shank end. The variegated rose coloured acrylic saddle stem had some tooth chatter and scratches on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. There was a Bjarne bj logo on the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. I have included them below. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the build up of lava and debris in the plateau of the rim top and shank end. I really is a dirty pipe. The variegated rose acrylic stem and has chatter and a few deep tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It really is a nicely shaped pipe that has a great finish under the grime on the briar. The next photos Jeff took show the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in spots but still readable as noted above. He also took a photo to show the stem logo. In a previous blog I had researched the brand quite a bit. I have included it in full below for information on this pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/03/07/another-pipe-from-the-eastern-canada-lot-a-hand-carved-bjarne-freehand/). I quote:

I turned my favourite go to sites on background of brands. The first is Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b5.html). There I looked up the Bjarne brand. I have copied the pertinent information below.

Bjarne Nielsen (1941 – † 2008) distributed his own “Bjarne” brand and pipes carved by Danish pipemakers (Mogens Johansen, Tonni Nielsen or Ph. Vigen). High grade pipes were stamped “Bjarne Nielsen” without any logo on the mouthpiece and graded A, B, C and D. Bjarne second brand: Viking.

I have included a screen capture of the section on the brand below. I turned to Pipedia and looked up the brand for a bit more information on the pipes that were stamped like the one that I am working on (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bjarne). Toward the end of the article I found what I was looking for. I quote:

Among the pipemakers that worked for Bjarne were Johs (for the lower priced high volume pieces), and makers like Ph. Vigen, Ole Bandholm and Tonni Nielsen for high grade pieces. The cheaper line was stamped “Bjarne” while the highest grades were stamped “Bjarne Nielsen” (never with the pipemakers’ name) and graded, from highest to lowest, by the letters: AX, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J.

Now I knew that I was dealing with the cheaper line of pipe made by the company. It was stamped Bjarne while the higher grade pipes were stamped Bjarne Nielsen with a grade stamp.

Jeff did a great job cleaning off the debris and grime on this old. He reamed it with a PipNet reamer and smoothed the walls of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim and shank with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to the oils and tars on the bowl, rim and shank. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the grime was removed the finish underneath was in stellar condition. There is a scratch on the right side toward the top that is visible. The rich patina of the older briar was a variegated finish of smooth and plateau looked great. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub then soaked it in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed off the deoxidizer with warm water and wiped the bowl and stem down with a light coat of olive oil to rehydrate both. The pipe really was quite stunning. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were. The rim top and bowl were in good condition with some darkening on the inner bevel of the bowl edge and some lightening of the grooves of the plateau rim top. The stem looked better but the deep tooth marks and chatter were still present. I would need to remove those to bring the stem back.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is readable. It is clearer on the top half of the stamp than the lower but it is still readable. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe.I started my work on this pipe by addressing the darkening on the high spots on the rim top and the bevelled bowl edge. I sanded the edge bevel with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edge and to smooth it and to reduce the darkening. I touched up the valleys in the plateau with a black Sharpie pen. It looked better when I had finished.As I examined the exterior of the bowl before polishing it I noticed some flaws or nicks (potential small cracks) in the briar on both side of the bowl where it joined the shank. I filled them in with clear CA glue. Once cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. I touched up the sanded area with a Cherry stain pen. They came out looking very good. There was also a deep scratch on the right top edge that looked like a crack but on examination I affirmed it was a scratch. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cotton cloth. The briar took on a shine by the last pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the plateau rim top and shank end. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded tooth chatter and marks smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the acrylic. I continued sanding the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to protect it and preserve it. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am really happy with the way that this Bjarne Hand Carved Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a unique shape and smooth and plateau finishes. The fancy original acrylic saddle stem is really nice. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown and black stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. 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. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Bjarne Freehand really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches long x 1 ¾ inches wide, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 57 grams/2.01 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the Danish Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Restoring a Comoy’s Tradition 203 Cutty

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Oh, I really love the look of this pipe! This older Comoy’s came to me in an auction lot and, although it was filthy, I was immediately charmed by its shape. This is a beautiful cutty shape, from the Tradition line, and marked with the 203-shape number. The briar has some very attractive grain hidden away. The pipe has a nice, long shank and a nice, long, oval, vulcanite, taper stem. It has endured a hard life, but must have been well loved over the years. Many of the marks of its hardship still remain, but they are an important part of this pipe’s story. This pipe is actually a bit of a stunner, and it’s light and comfortable to hold. Let’s look at the markings. They are slightly worn, but still very readable. On the top of the shank (but towards the left side), we see Comoy’s [over] Tradition. On the top of the shank (but towards the right side), we see the circular logo showing Made [over] in [over] London. Then below the circle is the word England. Further along the shank, we see the shape number, 203. In addition, the left side of the stem has the so-called three-piece “C”. Comoy’s shape number chart lists the number 203 as being a straight cutty with an oval stem, and that describes exactly what we’ve got. I consulted with the dating guide on Pipedia to narrow down the date of this pipe. If you want to read along, please have a look at https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s_Dating_Guide in order to see what I’m talking about. This pipe dates from the 1950s onwards and corresponds to the first variant of Comoy’s stamp during this period, which is

(1) A simple block-letter style without serifs but with the C larger than the other letters and the apostrophe before the “S”.

You can see that this matches my markings. Next, the Tradition line is also referenced in this article. It provides some further information:

Tradition. This grade was introduced in 1925 to mark 100 years of pipe making and continued in production until the 1970s. In 1965, it was priced at $20.In addition, the “Made in” stamp also corresponds to the same time period as above. The same article mentions the following:

This is again stamped in a circle with “Made” at the top, “In” in the middle, and “London” at the bottom, with “England in a straight line beneath the F/B. I believe this stamp was first used in the export drive in the early 1950s, and I have not seen any pre-WW II Comoy’s stamped in this way.

The three-piece “C” on the stem also dates from the 1950s onwards and was discontinued in the early 1980s, when Cadogan took over. So we know this pipe is before the Cadogan era. We are left with a date range of the 1950s to the 1970s. I am making an assumption that because this pipe corresponds to the first stamping variant listed in the guide, it is of an earlier part of that range. However, I have reason to make that assumption. I looked at Greg Pease’s writeup on Comoy’s and his dating information is basically the same as the Pipedia stuff above. Pease, however, adds this important tidbit:

Sometime in the 60’s, the serifs were returned to the “COMOY’S” lettering, though, as mentioned above, the typeface is not as fancy as the earlier one. It appears that some grades carried different stamps or at least that the stamping changed in different years for some grades. At this point, this is highly speculative, as my sample size is too small to verify it.

Based on this, I am going to suggest that this pipe probably (but not definitely) dates from the 1950s. If you can shed some light on this, please do so in the comments below.This was one dirty, harried pipe. The stem was thoroughly oxidized and had much calcification on it. This would take some work! There were a couple of small tooth marks, but nothing serious. The stummel was coated in grime and needed rejuvenating. The bowl was choked with cake and the rim had lava everywhere. Who knows what I would find under there? I could see that the edge of the rim had several small nicks, but nothing that disturbed my peace. Let’s get to work! 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, next-to-nothing happened. Alas. The stem’s calcification was quite substantial. I used an old butter knife and gently scraped some of the thicker accretion off. Doing this now helps later in removing the oxidation. I used alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps.

The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. Boy, was it dirty! I used many pipe cleaners and cotton swabs.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 was 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 of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush. Due to the severity of the oxidation, I then repeated the scrubbing with the cream cleanser for maximum effect.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used 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 applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a couple of reamers, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. Humorously, the cake in the bowl was so hard, that I actually got a blister on my hand from cranking the reamer.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 there was some notably burn marks and a few more nicks. Too bad, but no problem to restore. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean. Oh, it was so filthy! The previous owner must never have heard of pipe cleaners.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 the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and distilled water, with cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. However, it also revealed a mild burn on the underside of the bowl. We’ll come back to that in a moment.The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.To deal with the burn, I took some crystalized oxalic acid and dissolved it in warm water. I used some cotton swaps, dipped in the solution, and rubbed the burned spot vigorously. The weak acid works very nicely to alleviate superficial burns (burns where the integrity of the wood is still sound). The burn is quite superficial and the solution did work a bit, but the burn will remain as part of the pipe’s history.The damage to the rim was significant. In order to lessen the burns and nicks on the rim, I ‘topped’ the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded the rim on a piece of 400-grit sandpaper. This effectively minimized the damage, without altering the look of the pipe.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.This Comoy’s Tradition 203 Cutty 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’ 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 5⅞ in. (150 mm); height 1¾ in. (46 mm); bowl diameter 1¼ in. (32 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1 oz. (32 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.

Looking good a Wiley 87 ‘Unique’ Patina USA 11 Freehand with an Amber acrylic stem

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by Steve Laug

This afternoon I decided to work on the pipe that Jeff picked up on Facebook Marketplace from a seller in Seattle, Washington, USA on 02/26/2025. It is a beautifully grained larger Freehand with a Plateau rim and shank end. It has a fancy amber coloured acrylic saddle stem. It is a beautiful grained piece of briar that I can appreciate why he chose it. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Wiley ₈₇ [over] ‘Unique’ [over] Patina [over] U.S.A. [over] 11. The briar is dirty from use with a moderate cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the rim top filling in the inner edge and some of the plateau around the edge. The plateau shank end was dusty and dirty. The stem fit well against the shank end. The amber coloured acrylic saddle stem had some light tooth chatter and scratches on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. There was no logo on the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. I have included them below. Jeff took some close up photos of the bowl and rim top. You can see the light lava coat in the plateau top. The inner edge of the rim looks good with a spot of darkening and damage on the left back side. There is a light cake in the bowl that seems to have been recently reamed. The photos of the stem show the scratching and tooth marks in the stem at the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the beautiful grain on this piece briar. It is a really stunning pipe. Jeff took photos to capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I am guessing that the pipe was made in 1987 from the stamp next to Wiley. The 11 after the USA is probably a grade stamp.I looked on my usual sites for information on the brand. I turned first to Pipephil’s site and did not find a listing for the brand. That is unusual. I then turned to Pipedia to see what was available there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Wiley). I quote from that article below:

Having been apprenticed in wood carving, Randy Wiley fell into pipe making in the 1970s as a means to follow to his passion. At the age of 25, and after two years with a Florida based pipe manufacturer, Wiley struck out on his own and has since become one of the most recognizable craftsmen in American pipe making.

Randy Wiley is a distinctive maker as he never sandblasts his work and remains one of the few makers that will oil-cure a pipe. He currently produces around 1000 pipes annually, and the majority are smooth or completely rusticated. Sometimes he will carve a feather over a sandpit, which allows the beautiful grain to not be covered in texture. Aside from his shallow rusticated pieces (done with a rotary tool), Randy also makes some craggy carved pieces for his Old Oak line. All of his stems are made from acrylic, and many of them are very colorful, and twisted by design. Courtesy, Smokingpipes.com

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and overflow of lava on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer, rinsed it with warm water and looked amazingly clean. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the thick cake and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The plateau outer edge and the beveled inner edge of the rim look quite good. The plateau shank end also cleaned up well. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar. There was still some darkening on the rim bevel that I would need to remove. The stem looked very clean and with polishing would shine. The amber acrylic worked well with the bowl. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I have noticed on some repairs that folks don’t pay much attention to the stamping when they are restoring a pipe. To me this is a critical part of the restoration – to leave it undamaged. It is the only link we have to who made the pipe. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.I started polishing the briar and the inner edge of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I wet sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the plateau top. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the marks chatter on the stem surface. I further sanded it with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads and smoothed out the sanding marks further. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris. It was looking very good by the last pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Randy Wiley 87 Unique Patina 11 Freehand pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. 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 nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Randy Wiley 87 Unique Patina Freehand – the fancy turned acrylic stem and plateau rim top and smooth shank end give the pipe a great look. The polished amber acrylic stem looks really good with the rich browns standing out in the grain. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.57 ounces/73 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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.

Breathing life into a Dunhill Bruyere 780 F/T Oval shank Brandy with a lot of issues

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by Steve Laug

This afternoon after work I decided to work on the pipe that we picked up from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 08/09/2024. It was one that was in rough shape. I think that probably it was a beautifully grained oval shank Brandy with a vulcanite taper stem when it was purchased. It has travelled a hard road before it even made the journey from Copenhagen to us. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the and reads 780 F/T [followed by] Dunhill [over] Bruyere. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in England (three lines) [followed by] 4 in a circle [followed by] A. There did not seem to be any date number following the D in England. The briar is in rough condition and dirty from use with a moderate cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the rim top as well as damage on the crowned rim top. In one of the photos Jeff included there was what appeared to be a hairline crack in the side of the bowl. There is a shank repair rejoining the bowl and shank. It is well done. The stem fit well against the shank end. The vulcanite taper stem was oxidized, calcified and had some light tooth chatter on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. There was a Dunhill White Spot logo in the top of the stem. Judging from the repairs and the crack it was obviously someone’s favourite pipe and deserved some attention. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. I have included them below. Jeff took some close up photos of the bowl and rim top. You can see the damage on the crowned rim top. The inner edge of the rim shows some damage around the entire inner edge. There appears to also be some damage on the outer edge as well. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks on the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl to show the interesting grain on the Brandt shaped bowl and shank. It appears that there is either a hairline crack in the bowl side of perhaps it is deep scratch. I will check that once the pipe arrives. Jeff also captured a look at the left side of the bowl and it was definitely a fine crack. I would need to examine it further and see how extensive it was and how deep it extended into the briar.He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is faint in spots but readable as noted above. In the first photo you can see the shank repair that has been done to the pipe. It is between the shape number 780 and the F/T stamp.I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Root Briar Pipes to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Bruyere

The original finish produced (usually made using Calabrian briar), and a big part of developing and marketing the brand. It was the only finish from 1910 until 1917. A dark reddish-brown stain. Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red.

There was a link on the above site to a section specifically written regarding the Bruyere finish (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Bruyere). I turned there and have included the information from that short article below.

Initially, made from over century-old briar burls, classified by a “B” (denoted highest quality pipe); “DR” (denoted straight-grained) and an “A” (denoted first quality), until early 1915. After that, they became a high-end subset to the Dunhill ‘Bruyere’. The DR and B pipes, a limited production, they should be distinguished as hand-cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that “no French briar was employed”.

Bruyere pipes were usually made using Calabrian briar, a very dense and hardy briar that has a modest grain but does very well with the deep red stain.

“Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red. The Shell finish was the original sandblast with a near-black stain (though the degree to which it is truly black has varied over the years). Lastly, the Root finish was smooth also but with a light brown finish. Early Dunhill used different briars with different stains, resulting in more distinct and identifiable creations… Over the years, to these traditional styles were added four new finishes: Cumberland, Dress, Chestnut and Amber Root, plus some now-defunct finishes, such as County, Russet and Red Bark.”

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). Armed with that information it was time to work on the pipe. I needed to examine the pipe more carefully at the shank repair and the potential cracks on the left side of the bowl. Lots to think about as I went to work on this bowl.

Jeff had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the remnants of cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl of the pipe. He rinsed it with running water. He dried it with a soft cloth. He was able to remove all of the debris in the briar leaving only the damage on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The small crack on the left side was clean and visible. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the condition of the top and edges of the rim. The top and the inner edges show some burn damage and nicks. The stem photos show the light tooth marks and scratching on the surface of the vulcanite.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank to capture the words if possible. It was faint as noted but could be read. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to give a sense of the proportion of the parts to the whole. It is a well designed and made pipe.I decided to begin by addressing the damage on the rim top and the inner edge. I carefully sanded the edge with a folded piece of worn 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damaged areas and clean up the surface. I wanted to smooth out the damage and the darkening on the inner edge. It was a good start. More would need to be done before it was smooth enough to my liking. I examined the bowl to understand the depth and nature of the crack. I was surprised in some ways to see that there was not just the one crack that Jeff captured but there were a few small hairline cracks on both sides and the front and back of the bowl. The inside of the bowl and the rim top were crack free so I was dealing with surface cracks as far as I could see. It is just a guess, but I think that with the shank repair it appeared to me that the pipe was dropped and the cracks are pressure cracks that happened when the bowl broke loose from the shank and hit a hard surface. To further support this surmise the heel of the bowl had some road rash on it where it had hit a hard surface.

To give a sense of the nature and location of the cracks, I marked the thin hairline cracks (none go deep in the surface) with a black Sharpie pen. I took photos of the marks on the bowl. They go around the bowl almost all of them at the same horizontal position on the bowl sides. There were also two thin vertical cracks – one on the back and one on the front of the bowl all starting at the same height on the briar as the horizontal cracks but none going to the time edge or top. As noted there were road rash marks on the heel of the bowl. I marked the cracks with a black pen on the briar using a magnifier. They are all hairline cracks that seem to be in the surface. I probed the cracks with a dental pick and found that they were only surface. None were deeper than the first one that Jeff pictured above. I filled them in with very thin CA glue so that it would seep into the cracks. I pressed it into the cracks with a dental pick tip. I set it aside to dry. Once the glue repairs cured I sanded the surface with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth them out and blend them into the surface of the bowl. They would be less visible and the repairs would be solid once I was finished. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to further blend in the repairs, the rim top shaping and to smooth out the joint of the shank repair on the underside. I wiped the briar down after each sanding pad with a cloth and olive oil. The bowl began to take on a shine by the last sanding pad and the repairs are less visible. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris from the surface. It looked very good by the time I finished. I decided to de-ghost the bowl to remove the smell that was very present. I pressed cotton bolls into the bowl and used an ear syringe to fill it with alcohol. I plugged the shank end with another cotton boll and let it and it sit. The process would also serve as a way to check that the cracks did not go all the way from the bowl interior to the outside. If any did go through they would weep with alcohol and cotton balls in the bowl. The repaired cracks did not leak and once the cotton was removed the smell was gone. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. With the bowl finished I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter in the vulcanite with 220 grit sandpaper. It did no take to long to remove them all. It looked better.I further sanded it with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads and smoothed out the sanding marks further. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris. It was looking very good by the last pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with some Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra to deepen the shine. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Dunhill Bruyere 780F/T Group 4 Oval Shank Brandy is a surprisingly beautiful looking in spite of and probably because of the repairs. The red and brown stain on the bowl works well to highlight the grain. The polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. With the grime gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and is eye-catching. 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 Dunhill Bruyere 780F/T Brandy is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ 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 34 grams/1.20 ounces. It will soon be added to the British Pipe Makers Section on the rebornpipes store.