by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was purchased on 03/08/2025 from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the shape number 999. It was another pipe that was someone’s favourite. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned and there was no lava build up on the rim top. The finish looked good underneath all of the grime and oils that were ground into the bowl sides and heel. The vulcanite taper stem P-lip had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the P-lip and on the underside edge of the button. The “P” stamp on the left side of the stem was clear and just needed to be touched up otherwise it looked good. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. It is another pretty pipe! The next photos show the bowl and rim top as well as the stem condition. The bowl was quite clean and had been lightly smoked. The rim top and edges were also very clean in terms of tar. The stem looked good with some light tooth chatter and marks on both sides and the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl and shank to show the grain around the briar. It is unique and quite beautiful. I can’t wait to see it once it is cleaned and polished. The stamping on the shank sides was clear and very readable. It read as noted above.I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Dublin line. On page 298 it had the following information.

Dublin 1906-2003 Although Dublin appears under Peterson’s on many pipes over the decades, it has served mostly as part of the brand name. The word first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1906-11 Stamped Peterson’s over Patent over Dublin. The simpler Peterson’s over Dublin first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1912 after the expiration of the patent. Illustrations of pipes in the ’37 catalogue show a random dispersion of the stamp Peterson’s over Of Dublin together with the ordinary Peterson’s over Dublin on every model offered. Specimens of the former will either bear an Irish COM or London Made over England COM and almost certainly date from 1945-62. It was first mentioned in print as part of a model name in ’68 price list, as K&P Dublin, in ’92 for a Danish market line and in 2017.

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping on the pipe. It is a Republic era pipe. The three line Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp on the right side of the shank tell me it was made in 1981. It is a beautiful pipe in a popular shape – 999.

Now, on to the restoration of this beautifully grained Republic Era Peterson’s Dublin 999 Rhodesian. With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He cleaned up the remnants of debris 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 and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I started to work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl and the stem. You can see the bowl and it was lightly smoked and clean. The stem surface was clean but there is light tooth marks and chatter on both sides on and ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. There is also a “P” stamp on the right side of the stem. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is really quite nice looking. I sanded the briar – bowl and rim top – with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It was looking much better.I polished the briar and the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. You can see the grain around the bowl and shank in the photos below. The bowl looks great and took on a shine as I finished the polishing. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes, then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.I touched up the stamped P on the left side of the tapered stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I applied it to the stem with the applicator and scraped off the excess material with a 1000 grit sanding pad. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil Cloth. It came out looking very good.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2 inch x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. It looked very good.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 a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. I don’t know how many times I have said this but I love it when I come to the end of a restoration. All of the parts come together and the pipe looks better than when we started the cleanup process. I put the stem back on the Peterson’s Dublin 999 Rhodesian and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank sides during the process. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is a real stunning example of a Republic Era Peterson’s Dublin 999 Rhodesian. Once again, the grain and the way the shape follows the grain is amazing. Give the finish pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/45 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

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.