Monthly Archives: October 2025

Restoring a Unique Weaver Pipes © El Paso Texas USA Pat Pend Billiard

by Steve Laug

The next pipe is on the table is an interesting looking metal pipe with a briar bowl, metal shank tube and a rubber taper stem. We purchased it on 03/05/2021 from Antique Store in Logan, Utah, USA. The pipe is well shaped and has nice grain around the panelled bowl. Each corner on the bowl is rusticated from the top edged around the bottom of the bowl. It has a flat rim top and a heel on the bowl that slides over the metal tube. There is a screw that holds the bowl to the shank like those in Kirstens. The end of the metal tube has an end cap that is pressure fit in place. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and Weaver [over] Pipes © [over] El Paso Texas USA [over] Pat. Pend. There was grime and dust ground into the smooth finish of the bowl and shank. The bowl was heavily caked with lava on the rim top and edges. The inside edge looks like it may actually be undamaged under the lava coat. The rounded outer edge looks very good. The stem was calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button and on the button edge. There was no logo or stamping on the stem at all. The pipe showed a lot of promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and tobacco debris as well as the inner edge of the rim. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem. The photos show the overall condition of the stem. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar looked like. It truly has some nice grain around the bowl and shank.He also took photos to capture the stamping in the metal of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.The only information I could find was on the smokingmetal UK website (http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=176). I have included that information below as well as the photos that were there. The flyer I have included also is readable and interesting.

WEAVER, from Weaver Pipes, 1012 Wall Street, El Paso, Texas 79915 USA

Their brochure was copyrighted in 1973 by W R Weaver (originally makers of rifle scopes) so one presumes this was the year of introduction of the pipe

A simple alloy tube, push fit bit and removable plastic end cap. According to the packaging it also came with a cleaning brush which could be used to push out the end cap. The makers call the bit material Valox.

9 bowls available, Classic Billiard (smooth and Barq-relief) Oval shape in Barq-relief with 4 polished panels, Octagon Shape in Barq-relief, Masculine Heavy in Pot shape Barq-relief, Apple shape in Smooth or Barq-relief, Apple in Barq-relief with 4 polished panels and a Littel Buckeye in polished finish

Stamping on left side of pipe Weaver Pipes El Paso Taxas USA pat pend.

Overall length 5 5/8 inch (143 m/m) Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in a Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer bath and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. It looked very good. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top, inner and outer edge of the bowl are in excellent condition. The stem surface looked very good with a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There was also some remaining oxidation. The stamping on the shank side is very readable. It is stamped as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The taper stem is nice and the photo gives a sense of what the pipe looks like.I used a screwdriver to unscrew the screw holding the briar bowl to the metal tube. I used a large slotted screwdriver to break it free. Once I had the screw out I was able to remove the bowl from the metal shank. You can see the buildup of “crud” on the tube where the bowl had been sitting. It was hard and needed to be scraped off. I took a photo of the parts to show what I was dealing with at this point. I scraped the red build up on the metal shank with sharp blade. I polished the metal with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the shank down with a damp cloth after each pad. I gave it a final buff with a soft cloth. It really has a nice shine at this point. I fit the end plug in the shank end and pressed it in place. I set the shank aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I sanded the smooth rim and sides of the panel bowl with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a rich shine. 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 cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with a shoe brush to get into the rustication on the four corners of the panel bowl and the heel and my fingertips on the smooth. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I pulled together the polished shank and cleaned screw as well as the briar bowl. It looked significantly better and was ready to put those parts together. I put the parts together and tightened the screw in the bowl and into the threads on the tubular metal shank. It really is an interesting looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. This smooth, nicely grained Briar Bowl Metal Base Weaver © El Paso Texas USA Pat Pend Billiard is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich finish and rusticated corners give the shape an elegant look. The flow of the bowl and stem are well done make for a great hand feel. 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 metal and normal touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Weaver Metal Pipe with a Briar Bowl fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.41 ounces. It is a great looking and light weight pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes by Various Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a gorgeous Amphora X-tra 821 Bent Scoop

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one we picked up on 04/12/2024 from a pipe seller in St. Cloud, Florida, USA. It is an interesting looking pipe with the rim top scooped and some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the left side and reads Amphora [over] X-tra [followed] by the shape number 821. On the right side it is stamped Genuine Briar. The finish is dirty and the varnish coat is spotty and peeling on the front and back of the bowl. There are a few small fills in the surface but nothing too huge. The rim top and edges look good with some darkening on the top. There is a light cake in the bowl that should be an easy clean up. The stem is a vulcanite saddle and it is in good condition with light tooth chatter on both sides. It is a neat looking little pipe that will soon be looking for a new home. I took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and tobacco debris as well as the inner edge of the rim. I also took photos of the top and underside of the stem. The photos show the overall condition of the stem. The stamping on the sides of the shank is clear and readable and read as noted above. I took several photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. I took the stem off and took a photo of the pipe to show the beauty of the piece. I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what I could learn about the pipe and its maker. The photos did not show the same pipe but the information was helpful (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a5.html). I did a screen capture of the section and the side bar notes are shown below the photo.A brand of Elbert Gubbels & Sons – Royal Dutch Pipe Factory who has gone bankrupt on March 2012. See also: Big-Ben, Humbry, IRC, Roermond, Royal Dutch, Thompson and Porsche Design

From there I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Amphora) to see what I could add to the information. I quote below:

Amphora pipes are made in Holland by the Jos. Gubbels organization. The pipes are produced in relatively small numbers to a high standard and not commonly found. They were used primarily in promotions and incentives for Amphora tobacco.

The Royal Dutch Pipe Factory Elbert Gubbels & Sons B.V. is the only manufacturer of briarroot tobacco pipes in the Benelux countries where pipes of high quality are made under the brands Big Ben, Hilson, Royal Dutch and Amphora. They also supply numerous smokers’ accessories of high quality.

There was nothing specific about this shape but it gives some background. The pipes were made by the Royal Dutch Pipe Factory – Gubbles and Sons in Holland. From what I can find the shape is a bit of a rarer one with few made. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I reamed the light cake with my Pipnet reamer and the first cutting head. I took it back to bare walls. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife and finished by sanding the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a small dowel. The walls looked very good. I cleaned out the airway in the shank, the mortise and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It came out smelling cleaner and the passages were clean.To remove the spotty varnish coat, I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad. I always like a pipe that has the natural shine of wax versus the shiny varnish coat. In this case the spotty, peeling varnish gave me the incentive to remove it! I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the residual grime in the grain. I rinsed it with warm running water. The grain really stood out and the bowl was clean and smooth to touch. The pipe is was in such good shape that I started my work on it by sanding the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a rich shine. 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 cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips on the smooth. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. It was in great condition other than some light tooth chatter. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. This smooth, nicely grained Amphora X-tra 821 Bent Scoop is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich finish gives the shape an elegant look. The flow of the bowl and stem are well done make for a great hand feel. 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 entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Amphora X-tra 821 fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 38 grams/1.31 ounces. It is a great looking and light weight pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Richmond London Made 190 Bent Volcano

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe is on the table is an interesting looking smooth volcano shaped pipe with a vulcanite saddle stem. Jeff and I purchased it on 08/28/2024 from Antique Store in Astoria, Oregon, USA. The pipe is well shaped and has nice grain around the bowl. It has a flat thin rim top and a rounded heel on the bowl. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Richmond [over] London Made. On the right side it is stamped with the shape number 190 [over] Made in England. There was grime and dust ground into the smooth finish of the bowl and shank. The bowl was heavily caked with lava on the rim top and edges. The inside edge looks like it may actually be undamaged under the lava coat. The outer edge looks very good. The vulcanite saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button and on the button edge. There was no logo or stamping on the stem at all. The pipe showed a lot of promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and tobacco debris as well as the inner edge of the rim. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem. The photos show the overall condition of the stem. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar looked like. It truly has some nice grain around the bowl and shank. The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable and read as noted above. Jeff took several photos to capture the stamping on the underside of the shank.The shape and conformation of this pipe reminded me of a Sasieni Four Dot Ruff Root Richmond Volcano I had worked on in the past. Here is a link to that pipe and I think you can see the similarity (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/10/04/restoring-a-sasieni-four-dot-ruff-root-richmond-volcano/). The curves of the bowl and shank match quite well as do the angles of the walls of the bowl. I need to do a bit more work but I think there is a potential Sasieni connection with this one.

I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r4.html) and found a listing for Richmond pipes – actually two of them. The first links the brand to Sasieni and the second links it to John Redmond. The stamping on both is similar however the Richmond stamp and the Made in England stamp is virtually identical to the John Redman.Pipedia confirmed that the Richmond brand is a Sasieni sub-brand or second. Here is the link for that information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/British_Pipe_Brands_%26_Makers_R_-_T). Given the information on Pipephil I lean toward the pipe being a John Redmond made pipe.

In googling the shape and brand further a link took me to the blog and to a post I had made on a John Redman Leaflet (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/02/04/john-redman-leaflet/). The third pipe down on the London Made Briar list (stamped on the pipe in hand) is the Richmond.

The description says that the Richmond is a superior quality series in a full assortment of shapes, pre-smoked, hygienic filters, three or four finishes which include Antique, Natural Tinted, Red Natural and Shell and the line comes in single boxes and bags. I think that confirms that it is indeed a John Redman Pipe with a Red Natural Finish. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in a Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer bath and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. It looked very good with just a slight tinge of remaining oxidation on the stem. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top, inner and outer edge of the bowl are in excellent condition. The stem surface looked very good with a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There was also some remaining oxidation. The stamping on the shank sides is faint in spots, double stamped but is nonetheless readable. It is stamped as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The taper stem is nice and the photo gives a sense of what the pipe looks like. The pipe is was in such good shape that I started my work on it by sanding the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a rich shine. 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 cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips on the smooth. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. This smooth, nicely grained Richmond Volcano is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich finish gives the shape an elegant look. The flow of the bowl and stem are well done make for a great hand feel. 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 entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished John Redmond London Made Richmond Volcano fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 45 grams/1.59 ounces. It is a great looking and light weight pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Handsome, Classic Falcon 7D

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by Kenneth Lieblich

If I remember correctly, this pipe came in a lot from the US of A last year. I don’t really remember the details of its acquisition, but no matter. Falcons are always fun, good-looking pipes. This one was already in good shape, it just looked tired and worn. This particular Falcon has a straight shank and a carved, Dublin-style bowl. The stem has a nice dental bit. Let’s have a look at the marks. On the underside of the bowl, engraved in the metal, is the word Falcon. Also engraved, inside the centre circle, is the shape number 7. At the opposite end of the shank, near the stem, is engraved the letter D. The number 7 is the mould number from the factory and the D indicates that this pipe has a dental bit (as previously mentioned). The lack of a country-of-origin mark indicates that this one was made in the USA.Looking into the background of Falcon Pipes, my first stop was SmokingMetal.co.uk – a very fine resource for all things related to metal pipes. Here are a few snippets:

There are an incredible number of combinations of Falcon pipes. many variants of the stems and of the bowls. All I can hope to do here is to show some of them. Some of course are no longer avaliable but very many are. Contrary to most descriptions you will see, the smoke tube is not a twisted alloy tube, but a tube that has been scrolled to increase the surface area for cooling.

There are at least three distinct eras of Falcon production, those stamped under the stem with just the single word ‘Falcon’ indicating a USA made pipe, those with ‘Falcon Ireland'( indicating, or it ought to, that the casting originated in Ireland but actually only some bowls originated in Ireland) and those with ‘Falcon Made in England’ which does tell us where that model actually originated from. The bowls come in an incredible range of shapes and finishes, but can always be pinned down as Falcon as they have a 4 start thread, enabling a quarter turn to lock them on the stem. Very, very few other makes have this feature. The numbers and letters under the humidome are mould numbers.

Pipedia has some good information too (which you can find here). Here is a brief summary of Falcon history:

The Falcon pipe was created in 1936 by the American engineer Kenly Bugg. However during WWII the production of the Falcon was limited. In 1949 George Hunt took over production and marketing and by 1954 6 million Falcon pipes had been sold in the U.S.A. By 1961 production started in England. In 1964 the Alco was launched. In 1967 the Brentford was launched but in 1979 it was withdrawn from the market. In 1968 production of the Falcon in Chicago, U.S.A. stopped. The Falcon International was introduced in 1977, which featured a removable mouth piece and filter.

Based on all that I read, I can conclude that this pipe was made sometime after 1948 and prior to 1968, when production was moved to the UK.Let’s take a closer look at the condition of the pipe. As I indicated before, nothing too serious – just some minor wear-and-tear to address. The bowl is lightly smoked and just needs a good cleaning. The metal body has no notable damage and I will simply clean and polish it. Finally, the acrylic dental bit also has only minor wear – should be quite straightforward. I started on the bowl. The first step was to ream it out – 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. Fortunately, there was none. As the cake was light, I used a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to several sizes of wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed.I then took a dental tool and cleaned any gunk from the grooves in the threads of the bowl. To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. I also used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with the same mild detergent and tube brushes. While cleaning, I noticed the number 75 on the bottom of the bowl. I assume this is some sort of shape number. If you have more information, please let me know in the comments below! 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. I then moved on to the metal body of the pipe (including the acrylic stem, which is attached). It didn’t initially look dirty, but took a surprising amount of elbow grease to clean! I disinfected the inside and outside of the pipe with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly. I also used a wire brush to scrub some of the more stubborn areas.In addition, I began my polishing procedure with some 0000-grit steel wool. This worked incredibly well – I was so pleased with the results. I then used some micromesh pads that I have saved solely for metal work and buffed it up to an incredible shine. Looks fantastic! Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws in the stem, even out the acrylic, 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. 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.

This Falcon 7D Dublin 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 ‘American’ pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅞ in. (150 mm); height 2 in. (51 mm); bowl diameter 1⅝ in. (41 mm); chamber diameter ⅞ in. (22 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1½ oz. (44 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 “Malaga” Imported Briar Oom Paul

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a great looking full bent Oom Paul. The pipe has a vulcanite saddle stem. We purchased it from an eBay seller on 08/22/2024 in Harrison Township, Michigan, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this oil cured pipe makes the grain stand out. It was stamped left side of the shank and read “Malaga”. On the right side it was stamped Imported Briar (stamped upside down). It is a beautiful piece of briar. The pipe bowl was heavily caked and there was a coat of lava on the rim top and inner edge. There were some darkened spots on the inner edge on the front right side and left rear. The condition of the rim and top looks okay under the grime. The black vulcanite saddle stem was in good condition other than being dirty and having light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. There were no stampings or logo on the stem itself though it is certainly the original. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The heavy cake in the bowl and the lava on the edges and rim top are visible. The next photos show the stem surface. There is light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and a groove on the underside of the stem. He also took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. They are clear and readable on both sides of the shank. I am including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand, the pipemaker, George Khoubesser and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. The information ther is a great read to garner understanding on Malaga pipes. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the links to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also including a flyer “The Pipe of True Smoking Enjoyment” that Malaga sent with each pipe they made. The language of the brochure is well written and gives a clear picture of how Malaga sees the process of breaking in their pipes. Take time to read it as it is very much written in the language of the times.Now it is time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. 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, shank end and stem with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils, tars and lava on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rusticated rim top and shank end. The inner edge of the rim looked very good. The outer edge looked very good. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it with hot water. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button and what appeared to be some wrinkles in the vulcanite on the underside.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with great grain. I started my work on the pipe by trying to reduce the darkening and damage to the inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I worked it over until the rim edge was clean and smooth. There was also a deep scratch on the right side of the bowl toward the back top that I filled in with clear CA glue and sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the rim top, edges and sides of the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a rich shine. 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 cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with a shoe brush to get into the carving on the rim top and shank end and my fingertips on the smooth. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I sanded out what appeared to be wrinkles in the vulcanite on the underside at the bend with 220 grit sandpaper. I also smoothed out the chatter and roughness on the rest of the stem at the same time (I forgot to take photos of this part of the work). I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I put the stem back on the “Malaga” Imported Briar Oom Paul and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. 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. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Malaga Oom Paul with a smooth finish and faux plateau on the rim top and shank end looks great with the vulcanite fancy saddle stem. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.61 ounces/74 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 Malaga Second Freehand with carved plateau on the rim top and shank end

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a Freehand with a faux plateau rim top and the shank end. The pipe has a fancy vulcanite saddle stem. We purchased it from an eBay seller on 08/22/2024 in Harrison Township, Michigan, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this oil cured pipe makes the grain stand out. It was stamped left side of the shank and read Malaga [over] Second. On the right side there was not any stamping. I am uncertain why it is a second. Perhaps, it is because it has some small sandpits in the heel of the bowl on the right side. I am uncertain as it is a beautiful piece of briar. The pipe bowl was heavily caked and there was a coat of lava on the carved rim top and inner edge. The condition of the rim and top looks good under the grime. The black vulcanite saddle stem was in good condition other than being dirty and having light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. On the underside of the stem there was a groove that looked like it had been chewed in place. There were no stampings or logo on the stem itself though it is certainly the original. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The heavy cake in the bowl and the lava on the edges and rim top are visible. The next photos show the stem surface. There is light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and a groove on the underside of the stem. He also took photos of the sides and heel the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. He took a photo of the stamping on the side of the shank. It is clear and readable.I am including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand, the pipemaker, George Khoubesser and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. The information ther is a great read to garner understanding on Malaga pipes. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the links to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also including a flyer “The Pipe of True Smoking Enjoyment” that Malaga sent with each pipe they made. The language of the brochure is well written and gives a clear picture of how Malaga sees the process of breaking in their pipes. Take time to read it as it is very much written in the language of the times.Now it is time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. 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, shank end and stem with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils, tars and lava on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rusticated rim top and shank end. The inner edge of the rim looked very good. The outer edge looked very good. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it with hot water. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with great grain. I started my work on the pipe by trying to reduce the darkening in the faux plateau on the rim top and shank end. I wanted a bit of contrast in the finish but it had some uneven darkening. I used a brass bristle wire brush to work over the high spots and carved crevices in the carving. Once I finished the rim top and shank end I was happy with the look.I sanded the rim top, edges and sides of the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a rich shine. 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 cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with a shoe brush to get into the carving on the rim top and shank end and my fingertips on the smooth. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I filled in the deep tooth troughs ahead of the button on both sides with the rubberized CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once they cured I flattened the repairs ahead of the button area with a flat file to begin blending them into the surface of the stem. I followed that by sanding them with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I put the stem back on the Malaga Second Freehand with a carved rim top and shank end and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. 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. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Malaga Second Freehand with a smooth finish and faux plateau on the rim top and shank end looks great with the vulcanite fancy saddle stem. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/48 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!

Fitting a new tenon and restoring a Trypis Oval Shank Apple

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by Steve Laug

While I was travelling in Europe I received and email from James regarding a pipe repair that he had. He was referred to me by the local pipe shop. I have included his email below.

Hello,

My name is James and I have been informed of the excellent work you do restoring pipes to working condition. I’ve attached a few pics of a recent acquisition of mine…

As you can see there has been a tragic incident involving mine, the stem snapped and now it’s stuck like this. I’m not sure of the brand or make (bought it second hand) and it’s quite old, uses a filter less vulcanite stem material.

Do you think this is recoverable? The guy at the tobacco store (city cigar) spoke very highly of your ability and experience. Please let me know what you think, and whether you can help.

Thank you for your time

James

He included the following photos of the pipe he wanted worked on. It was a nice looking oval shank Apple with a snapped tenon. The pipe appears to have some nice grain from the photos. The stamping on the underside of the shank reads Made in Canada Trypis. I wrote James back and told him I could repair the pipe. James stopped by yesterday and dropped the pipe off for me. This is what I saw. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Made [over] In Canada [followed by] Trypis. The bowl was smooth with a rusticated patch on each side and one on the backside of the bowl toward the top. The rustication is very reminiscent of the rustication on Brigham pipes. The finish was dirty and had some grime ground into the valleys of the rustication and on the smooth part of the bowl but still looked to be in good condition. The bowl was thickly caked with some light lava on the top at the back and some darkening on the top and the inner edge of the rim. The saddle stem had some light tooth chatter on the top and underside near the button. It had promise but it was dirty. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the overflow of lava on the rim top and inner edge. I also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks.I took some photos of the stem end and the tenon in the shank. The tenon snapped almost smoothly against the stem surface. It was stuck in the shank but was certainly removable. I turned to Pipephil to confirm what I remembered about Trypis. I wanted to read a bit of the history (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t8.html). I have included a screen capture of information on the site below. I have also included information from the sidebar below the screen capture.Artisan: Phillip Trypis first worked for Brigham as production manager. He continued to supply the Canadian brand when he was established on his own with his own Trypis label. Phillip Trypis had a pipe shop in Toronto.

I turned to the section on Pipedia about Trypis Pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Trypis_Pipes). I quote below.

Quoting Stefan Seles: “Phillip Trypis has been a pipe maker in Canada for well over 40 years. Originally from Greece, his experience ranges from cutting burls in a briar mill to making literally thousands of pipes out of his home in the hamlet of Oakwood, Ontario. Brigham pipes benefited from Phillip’s skills where he worked for a number of years. There he directed the pipe production of the company when it was producing over 50,000 a year. Even though he left to start his own pipe shop, he still imported briar and turned tens of thousands of bowls for Brigham not to mention produce a large number of his own branded pipes.

Just over a year ago, Phillip had a serious fall and although he is back making pipes, he is unable to travel around to sell them as he once did. He has asked me to help him in that effort.

The pipes listed below are some of his best work made from decades old MF and R ebuchauns as well as some recently purchased Italian plateau. The prices are excellent, especially given the age and quality of the briar used. In fact, I would venture to say that these pipes have no peers, especially below the $100.00 price. You must be the judge.

Many of the styles are traditional in form although Phillip has a number of freehand styles that are both familiar and off the beaten path. The vast majority of the higher priced pipes are very large pieces to be sure.”

I have worked on quite a few of Phillip’s pipes through the years and it is always a pleasure as they are well engineered and crafted.

I started my work on the pipe by pulling the broken tenon in the shank. I put the bowl in the freezer for a short time to loosen the fit in the shank. I used a screw that I turned into the airway to pull out the snapped tenon. I went through my tenons and found a match that I would use to replace the broken tenon. I began my work by reaming the bowl. It had a very thick hard cake that was like rock. I started with a PipNet Pipe Reamer using the first, second and third cutting heads to remove all of the cake. I cleaned up the remnants of the cake on the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished by sanding the bowl walls smooth with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I cleaned out the inside of the mortise, shank and the airway in the stem with isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners.I scrubbed the externals of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. I rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. The bowl and rim top cleaned up really well with the lava coat removed. The inner edge of the rim was in good condition. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It looked much better once I had finished.I polished the rim top and the smooth briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. By the end of the last set of three the bowl took on a rich shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I flattened out the broken tenon on the stem surface with my Dremel and sanding drum. I then drilled the airway open with several drill bits to open the airway to receive the new tenon end. I used the Dremel and sanding drum as well as a flat file to reduce the threaded end of the tenon replacement until the fit was snug in the opened airway. I glued it in place in the stem with black rubberized CA glue and set it aside to cure. I filled in the deep tooth troughs ahead of the button on both sides with the rubberized CA glue I had used on the tenon fit. I set it aside to cure. Once they cured I flattened the repairs ahead of the button area with a flat file to begin blending them into the surface of the stem. I followed that by sanding them with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I further sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. The repairs blended in very well and I was able to remove all of the oxidation on the surface at the same time.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I polished the stem with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it down with some more Obsidian Oil. It was great to finish the tenon replacement and the restoration of this Smooth Oval Shank Trypis Apple. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the rusticated patches on the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the smooth portions and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. 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. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with deep sandblast all around it. Added to that the polished black, vulcanite, saddle stem was beautiful. This Trypis Apple is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions 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 52 grams/ 1.83 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that James will soon pick up. I think he will enjoy smoking this beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Fixing the Cork Mortise on a Ropp Cherrywood

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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 – replacing a cork mortise – with some added challenges. I hope this blog post will be useful for those undertaking a similar repair.A couple of years ago, I restored this lovely Ropp De Luxe Cherrywood 919 for a friend and he’s smoked it with great gusto since then. In fact, you can see the story of its restoration here. By his own testimony, it’s a great pipe, smokes well, and feels good in the hand. However, over time, he noticed that the cork lining in the shank mortise had chipped and the stem was becoming loose – so he wondered what I thought about it. This news sounded concerning, so I asked him to bring me the pipe. I took it to my workbench and this is what I found: It’s an old pipe and I suppose that it’s no surprise that the cork would degrade over time. This must be repaired so that my friend can continue to enjoy his pipe. First, I took a fairly dull blade (deliberately) and cut out the remaining cork. Mercifully, this was easy and the debris came out quickly.I then gave some thought as to how this should be repaired. In the past, when I’ve repaired cork-lined mortises, I took the cork from a wine bottle and carved it to fit the mortise, then drilled out the cork to fit the tenon. This is fine, but not as precise and tidy as I would like. This time, however, I thought I would try something different. I bought some sheets of cork and decided that cutting an exact piece would be a better solution.How do I figure out what to cut for this pipe? Good question! I am no mathematician, but from somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I remembered how to calculate the circumference of a circle: C = 2πr (or, in this case, C = πd). I grabbed my Vernier caliper and measured the diameter of the mortise. This gave me the information I needed to cut the correct piece of cork. I test fit the tenon with the cork until it fit perfectly. Since cork is a type of wood, I lined the mortise with wood glue and delicately inserted the slice. I let it cure for a full 24 hours, then rubbed the whole stummel with some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm and worked that into the wood. The next day, I returned the pipe to my friend. Happy days.Thanks so much for joining me on this interesting repair. I hope you enjoyed reading this instalment of my Pipe Incident Reports – I look forward to writing more. Below are some photos taken from my original restoration. If you are interested in 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.

Restoring a Great Looking Big Ben London Style 2405 Extra Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was one that I really have no memory of where it came from. In fact, to be honest I just stumbled on it in a box of pipes that had all been cleaned by Jeff. This one was not clean so I knew it did not come from him. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Big Ben [over] London Style. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Extra over the shape number 2405 [over] Made in Holland. The taper vulcanite stem had a stamped logo that read V in a circle. The bowl had a thick cake and there was a light lava overflow on the rim top. The finish was coated with a varnish coat that would need to go once I cleaned off the lava on the rim top. The inner and outer edges looked to be okay. The pipe had some nice-looking grain under the dirty, oily debris on the finish. The stem was oxidized and had tooth chatter on both sides near the button. I took photos of the pipe before I cleaned it up. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. The rim top has a coat of lava on it and the edges looked to be in good condition. The photos of the stem show the oxidation and the tooth chatter on both sides of the stem near the button.I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank and the top of the stem. It is quite a nice looking pipe. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the parts of this pipe. I think it will clean up to be a real beauty. For historical background for those unfamiliar with the brand I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-bigben.html). There were not any pictures of the series but the introductory information was helpful so I am including that.

Big-Ben is a brand of the Elbert Gubbels & Sons – Royal Dutch Pipe Factory. The company has gone bankrupt on March 2012. Production (2009): 250000 pipes/year See also: Amphora, Humbry, IRC, Roermond, Royal Dutch, Thompson and Porsche Design

I then turned to Pipedia for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben). I quote below:

The brand name Big Ben was originally owned by a small trade company in Amsterdam which was already well established in several countries selling pipes among other goods. The firm was bought by Elbert Gubbels & Zonen B.V. – see Gubbels – who were in search for a suitable brand name to further expansion on international markets. Big Ben became Gubbels’ mainstay brand with its own website.

There was a further link to the Gubbels listing on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Gubbels).

With the help of his family the father of Elbert Gubbels Sr. started a retail shop for tobacco pipes and other smoker’s equipment in 1870.

In 1924 Elbert Gubbels Sr., now father/grandfather of the present owners, transformed it into a wholesale trade business. The company grew steadily and imported pipes from various countries as there were no factories producing briar pipes in the Netherlands. The most important suppliers came from France and England.

When German troops occupied the Netherlands in May of 1940, a period of almost five years began in which the Gubbels family could hardly operate their business at all. During this years of forced rest Elbert Gubbels had a notion to become independent of foreign suppliers and he drew up plans to start his own production of tobacco pipes after World War II.

Immediately succeeding the war, it was very difficult to obtain good pipes for the import of foreign pipes was limited and so the time was right to go for something new. In 1946 he launched pipe production at Godsweerdersingel No. 20 in Roermond with a couple of new machines and some workers, a couple of them being foreign specialists and considered himself to commence. Yet the cramped accomodations and the needy equipment of the workshop showed the limits all too soon. It was obvious that the workshop was inadequate and Mr. Gubbels invested in another building covering an area of 900m² that also offered a sufficient warehouse. Now the production could be increased going hand in hand with developing new models and improving the quality of the pipes being produced.

The production grew steadily but it showed now that an “international” brand name was required for further expansion on international markets – obviously no one cared too much for pipes made in the Netherlands. Feeling that the time involved to get a new brand established was too lengthy, Mr. Gubbels bought a small trade company in Amsterdam which owned all the rights to the brand Big Ben and was already well established in other countries selling pipes among other goods. A real happenstance – Gubbels products could be marketed now in all European countries, the USA, Canada and many other countries, and nowadays they can be found in almost every country world-wide.

In December 1972 the company opened new and very modern factory in Roermond at Keulsebaan 505. With the official opening by the Governor of the Province of Limburg, the Gubbels company was, on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, granted the title “Royal” so that the official name became: Elbert Gubbels & Zonen – Koninklijke Fabriek van Tabakspijpen (Elbert Gubbels & Sons – Royal Dutch Pipe Factory).

Armed with that history and having a sense of the brand it was now time to work on the pipe itself. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The walls looked to be in good condition and there was not damage. I cleaned out the inside of the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It was a dirty pipe.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl down with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed off the grime and the soap with running water. It was definitely looking better. I sanded the briar with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the scratching in the surface. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I worked over the inner and outer edge of the rim as well. After each pad I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It really took on a shine by the last three sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips where it works to clean, restore and preserve the briar. I let it do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The pipe looks incredibly good at this point in the process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth chatter and marks with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better at this point in the process.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris.I touched up the stamping on the left side of the stem. It was faint on the front part of the stamp so I was unsure what would happen. I filled in the stamping with white acrylic fingernail polish. I scraped it off with my fingernail and lightly sanded the excess with a worn 320 grit sanding pad. The stamping is fine on the right side of the stamp with the left side more worn.I continued to polish the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Big Ben London Style 2405 Extra Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it with just a few small flaws in the briar. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This smooth Big Ben Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will soon be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Pipe From Various Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Remember we are the next in a long line of pipe men and women who will carry on the trust of our pipes until we pass them on to the next trustee. Thanks for your time reading this blog.

Restoring a Block Meerschaum Apple with a Twin Bore Stem

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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. The one I chose was a ball or apple shaped smooth meerschaum with a Twin Bore vulcanite stem. It is a beautifully shaped meer with light scratches from its journey and some nice patina developing around the shank and sides. The meer is dirty from use with a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the inner edge and rim top. The stem fit well against the shank end and had a threaded tenon in the shank that aligned with properly with the stem in place. The tenon was a Kaywoodie type threaded one without a stinger and was oxidized and pitted. 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 rim top. It is another dirty pipe but still a charmer. The TWIN BORE vulcanite taper stem has light chatter and deep tooth marks on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the inside of the case. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. I took photos of the end of the stem to try to show the threads on the end that sat against the shank end and the twin bores in the button.I started my work on the bowl by reaming 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 stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular). It was much better.Now it was time to work on the scratches on the bowl and rim top. 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 filled in the tooth marks with some clear CA glue. When it cured I flattened the repairs with a small flat file to blend them into the surface of the stem. I 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 – 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 Meerschaum Apple with a Twin Bore Stem turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a unique shape and smooth meerschaum bowl. The vulcanite taper stem is really nice. The rich patina on the meerschaum came alive with waxing and buffing. 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 Apple 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: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 59 grams/2.08 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!